My winter break just ended and I spent quite a bit of it re-watching Gilmore Girls. I have seen this show countless times and it just never loses its magic. During my marathon I came to a revelation; the first three seasons are far superior to the later seasons and the revival. These seasons take place while Rory is in high school, thus making it the high school era. The remainder of the original series takes place in college. The college seasons weren’t bad (except for the last season) but they lacked the same feeling of Gilmore Girls. I think most people can agree with this but for nonbelievers, I will state my case. Here are my reasons why the first three seasons of Gilmore Girls are the best. There will be spoilers ahead.
1. Re-watchability
One of the reasons why Gilmore Girls is so popular is because it can be re-watched. Whether this be the whole series or just certain seasons or episodes, this show can be enjoyed after its initial viewing. Season 2 is my personal favorite. During my most current re-watch I stopped after the third season. I had no desire to continue after the high school era. I’ve asked other viewers and they agree, the first three seasons are the ones they re-watch the most. There were fun plot lines, characters, and a cozy feeling to the show at this point that later seasons lacked. The comedy was also the best and most original in these seasons as well. Later seasons felt more dramatic and unrealistic compared to earlier ones. Most iconic episodes came from these seasons as well which are the easiest to re-watch as well.
2. Rory’s character development
Gilmore Girls is very focused on its characters and their personal journeys. One of the characters with the most focus is Rory Gilmore. She starts off the show as a 15-year-old girl and ends as a 22-year-old woman in the original run. Her progression was exciting to watch in the high school years but not so much in college. Now Rory is far from perfect (which becomes more clear with re-watching) but her high school growth is so much better than in college. In high school, she felt relatable to many people. She was stressed about school, innocent, bookish, and introverted. She always found ways to overcome her failures. She had flaws like being a bit self-centered and entitled but she was still a teenager trying to figure out her life. However, college Rory takes her old flaws and just pronounces them more. She honestly becomes quite the spoiled brat in season six after dropping out of Yale, ignoring her mom, and mooching off her grandparents while failing to recognize her flaws. She also sleeps with a married man and tries to justify it because he was her boyfriend first…Rory is still likeable in these seasons but much less so, which is disappointing. She gets even worse in the revival but let’s be honest, who actually thought the revival was better than the original run?
3. Uniqueness
Gilmore Girls is a show that hasn’t been replicated. It is a truly unique show because it makes the life of a mundane mom and daughter actually interesting and exciting to watch. The writers truly shined in the high school era with all their unique ideas for the show. An example is the third season episode, “They Shoot Gilmores, Don’t They?” where there is a random 40s themed dance marathon that causes Rory and Dean to break up. Like I said earlier, the plot lines and dialogue was at its peak. This momentum couldn’t withstand four more seasons and slowly trailed off. The original writers even left for the last season and that season is by far the worst of all. Most shows get stale in later seasons and Gilmore Girls is no exception.
4. Jess Mariano
Yes, I’m giving Jess Mariano his own section. Love him or hate him, he is one of the most iconic Gilmore Girls characters. He threw curveballs at the other characters and his relationship with Rory is one of the best in the entire show. I am 100% team Jess, but even if you aren’t, you have to admit he made the show so much more interesting. He took Rory’s comfortable life in a whole new direction and helped with her growth. Now, why is he on this list? Well, he only stars in the second and third season. He makes a few small appearances in seasons four and six but his true impact was during the high school era. The show just didn’t feel the same without him. The college seasons gave us Logan but he just couldn’t compare to Jess
These are my four main arguments for why the high school era of Gilmore Girls was far superior to the college era. I am still a huge fan of the show and will watch the later seasons. They are not terrible seasons but just lost steam(and an iconic character) which makes them worse in comparison.