Gilmore Girls’highest-rated episode on IMDb is tainted by one of the show’s most controversial storylines.Gilmore Girlsis a character-driven drama; the choices that Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory (Alexis Bledel) make in their professional, academic, and personal lives push the show forward. Both characters are incredibly flawed human beings, but that’s also what makes us root for them.
When the Gilmore girls get it right, the show is all the more joyous, and when they get it wrong, their mistakes can be hard to look past. Just asGilmore Girls’lowest-rated episode involves Lorelaimaking one of the biggest romantic mistakes of her life, the show’s highest-rated episode involves her finally embracing the most important romantic relationship she’s ever had.
It’s easy to see why theGilmore Girlsseason 4 finale is the show’s highest-rated episode. It could have been even better had the writers omitted Rory’s major, emotionally-charged blunder, however.
Gilmore Girls' Season 4 Finale Is Its Highest-Rated Episode For An Obvious Reason
It Includes A Life-Changing Moment For Luke And Lorelai
Gilmore Girlsseason 4, episode 22, “Raincoats and Recipes,” is the show’s highest-rated episode, with a 9.3 user score on IMDb. For context, the show’s second “best” episode is the series finale, “Bon Voyage,” which boasts a high user score of 9.1. While one major storyline in “Raincoats and Recipes” stands out, there are several reasons why this episode is so important to the show and its fans.
After years of dreaming, financial struggles, business classes, and stressful renovations, Lorelai and Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) finally get to open their long-awaited inn.The Dragonfly Inn is a triumph, and the episode brings the show’s best and most interesting supporting characters under one roof, thanks to Lorelai and Sookie’s friends and family trial run.
That kiss was the moment fans had been waiting for, especially after Luke and Lorelai shared a romantic waltz at Luke’s sister’s wedding.
As a result, Lorelai’s parents, Richard (Edward Hermann) and Emily (Kelly Bishop), get to interact within the realm of Stars Hollow, a nice contrast to the usual isolated family dinners depicted in the show. It makesEmily and Richard’s fightingall the more intense, as well. If these people, usually so intent on privacy and respectability, are having it out in public, what must their lives be like at home?
Of course, the biggest reason “Raincoats and Recipes” is so beloved is because, finally, after four seasons of pining, flirting, lingering looks, and the dreaded but oh-so-effective “will-they-won’t-they” trope,Luke and Lorelai give in to their feelings for one another.
The kiss they share on the Dragonfly’s porch is one of the show’s most romantic, if not the most romantic. The way they sink back into it after the first initial kiss, and the memorable line"will you just stand still,“perfectly encapsulates their relationship. That kiss was the moment fans had been waiting for, especially after Luke and Lorelai shared a romantic waltz at Luke’s sister’s wedding.
The Episode’s Controversial Rory & Dean Storyline Drags “Raincoats And Recipes” Down
Their Affair Is So Complicated
And yet, despite the pitch-perfect start to Lorelai and Luke’s relationship – even when it’s interrupted by Kirk’s (Sean Gunn) naked night terrors – the joy of the episode comes crashing down soon after, as Lorelai discovers Rory and Dean (Jared Padelecki), coming out of Rory’s childhood bedroom, completely disheveled.
That shot of Rory’s rumpled bedding haunts the rest of the episode when you rewatch it. We probably should have seen it coming following Rory’s talk with Lane (Keiko Agena), comparing Jess' (Milo Ventimiglia) unpredictability and Dean’s “stability” (though really, how stable can you be if you decide to cheat on your wife?). Let’s not forget Rory’s whispered encounter with Dean in the Dragonfly, either.
Rory’s reaction to Lorelai’s incredulity and anger might even be the most unbelievable part of this episode.“He was my boyfriend first,“feels much too naive for a character like Rory, and Lorelai rightfully calls her out on it. It’s even worse when she throws her mother’s mistakes in her face, as though that somehow absolvesRory’s and Dean’s infidelity.
For once, the roles are reversed. Lorelai is the level-headed one, and Rory is the one fully acting on instinct and emotion. It’s too bad her instincts led her so far astray, and it’s too bad her choices impacted Lorelai’s moment of happiness.
Why Gilmore Girls' Rory & Dean Storyline Is One Of Its Most Divisive
Rory And Dean Were Never Meant To Be
Rory and Dean’s second attempt at a relationship doesn’t just infect “Raincoats and Recipes,” however. It infects a decent chunk ofGilmore Girlsseason 5, too.
Though it technically only takes two episodes, it takes way too long for Rory to realize that she was in the wrong. She constantly tries to justify her choices to herself, and the rift between her and Lorelai feels so unnecessary. Of course, the fact that she and Dean had sex a second time before Lindsay found out doesn’t help matters, either. Any time this storyline comes up, all I want to do is knock some sense into them.
Rory and Dean’s second attempt at a relationship doesn’t just infect “Raincoats and Recipes.” It infects a decent chunk ofGilmore Girlsseason 5, too.
The way Lindsay discovers the truth about Dean’s affair is painful, too. Rory’s letter to Dean, in which she finally finds the courage to end their illicit trysts, discovered by Lindsay, is just the tragic icing on the cake. Lindsay deserved so much more from her husband. His affair with Rory made it clear that marrying Lindsay was only ever a way to get over his first love. Talk about an extreme reaction to a bad breakup.
After Lindsay and Dean officially split, Rory and Dean decide to give their relationship another go. It’s just so painfully obvious, though, from the very beginning, that it was doomed to fail.Rory and Dean were never meant to end up together. It’s a slog to get through, and by the end of the saga, you care a little less about Rory, and you want to forget Dean ever existed.
Honestly,both characters deserved better.It’s a shame their story had to end this way. It’s even more of a shame that Rory seemingly never learned from her mistake with Dean. That’s what makes her affair with Logan (Matt Czuchry) in theGilmore Girlsrevival,Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life,so hard to watch (though a lot of things in the revival are hard to watch).
It’s got that same,“he was my boyfriend first!“energy, except this time, she probably felt entitled to Logan because he asked her to marry him first. Rory needs to try to remember why she broke up with these men in the first place.
The Timing Of Rory & Dean’s Affair Makes This Gilmore Girls Subplot Even Worse
Season 4 Ends On A Sour Note When It Should Have Been A Happy Episode
Perhaps the biggest gut-punch of all, though, is thatRory’s affair changes how we remember Lorelai’s first kiss with Luke. That was supposed to be a life-changing moment. We were supposed to see her giggle with Rory about it afterward, telling her how it made her feel. Instead, Lorelai’s entire evening is tainted by disappointment and her daughter’s insistence that she hates her.
Yes, the show draws an interesting parallel between Lorelai’s new romance with Luke and Rory’s old romance with Dean and the different kinds of anticipation they experience. You can see where the writers were coming from. Even so,Gilmore Girlsseason 4 ends on an unnecessarily sour note; why couldn’t Lorelai (and the audience) bask in that long-awaited happiness for a while?
