Season 4 of "Gilmore Girls" aired in the standard Tuesday 8pm time slot, running from September 23, 2003 to May 18, 2004. There was a decline in ratings from S3, mostly because of "American Idol" (the one with Jennifer Hudson and Fantasia Barrino), which aired on FOX in the same placement starting in January. During this television season, "Gilmore" ranked #6 for the WB and #128 in the overall Nielsen ratings, which is its lowest placement since S1. This sounds somewhat troubling in writing, but it's not unusual for teen shows to take a dip when characters move from high school to college. It happened with "Veronica Mars," "The O.C.," "Gossip Girl," "Boy Meets World," and many other shows, as detailed by this Vice article. With "Gilmore," the shift wasn't as pronounced since the show's formula didn't change that much with Rory (Alexis Bledel) at Yale.
While there were more scenes with Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory apart in S4, there were still plenty of mother-daughter Stars Hollow shenanigans to maintain the show's cozy familiarity. As Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) notes in S3, Stars Hollow is only 22.8 miles away from New Haven, so that's a 45-minute drive at best. Rory can't pop in to Luke's (Scott Patterson) for a pre-class breakfast like she could in high school (which was never particularly believable), but it's easy for her to return for frequent weekend visits. Paris's (Liza Weil) presence at Yale also helps ease the transition, giving the place a Chilton 2.0 vibe. By the end of the season, Rory, who has been slowly undergoing a mild identity crisis c/o her first period of true independence, regresses back to her high school self by fucking Dean (Jared Padalecki) in her childhood bedroom. Enough of the OG "Gilmore" DNA is present to ease the viewer into the college years without shaking things up too significantly.
The other big storyline that kept viewers locked in was the Luke and Lorelai romance finally coming to fruition. The show had been steadily teasing this union from the beginning and finally, after a cheesy self-help tape does some heavy lifting, they kiss at the Dragonfly Inn test run. In S1, Lorelai's engagement to Max (Scott Cohen) prevents them from getting together. In S2, Jess's presence serves as a distraction for Luke, and Lorelai's entanglement with Christopher (David Sutcliffe) keeps her occupied until he inevitably fucks it up with his inability to responsibly fuck. S3 introduces Alex Lesman (Billy Burke) and Nicole Leahy (Tricia O'Kelley), then a bulk of S4 is dedicated to my beloved Digger Stiles (Chris Eigeman). There are always impediments that prevent Luke and Lorelai from taking their relationship to the next level until both of their relationships serendipitously end around the same time and Luke is just healthy enough to almost voice his intentions.
The other big storyline during this season is the dissolution of Emily (Kelly Bishop) and Richard's (Edward Herrmann) marriage. After being kept in the dark about a few too many things, Emily can no longer keep her ire at bay. Richard is likewise irritated because he feels he's made the best possible decisions for his family and can't understand why everyone is upset with the piss poor way he handled his business venture with Jason. The elder Gilmores' relationship doesn't fully crumble until the following season, but it's fun to watch the tension increase over episodes like "Ted Koppel's Big Night Out" and "The Reigning Lorelai."
S3 and 4 are as good as it gets, so choosing favorites feels dumb when you should really just watch the seasons in their entirety; however, this is where I'd focus my attention if I was short on time.
Top 5 Episodes From "Gilmore Girls" Season 4
- "The Festival of Living Art" - The only "GG" Emmy, in the category of Outstanding Makeup for a Series (Non-Prosthetic), was awarded for this episode. Marie Del Prete, the makeup department head for S3-4, took inspiration from Laguna Beach's annual Pageant of the Masters to create iconic recreations of paintings like da Vinci's "The Last Supper" and Renoir's "Dance at Bougival." The episode also introduces Gil (Sebastian Bach), one of my favorite side characters.
- "Ted Koppel's Big Night Out" - The Harvard-Yale football game leads to catastrophic Pennilyn Lott (Linda Gehringer) revelations, Paris's "affair" with an old dude, and Lorelai's first date (at a supermarket, natch) with Jason. Froggy (Greg Cipes) also gets fired from Luke's Diner for singing Limp Bizkit on top of a table.
- "Nag Hammadi Is Where They Found the Gnostic Gospels" - Jess and Rory are both in Stars Hollow at the same time, skillfully avoiding each other until he tracks her down at the Firelight Festival and tells her that he loves her. We also meet Jess's mom, Liz (Kathleen Wilhoite), for the first time, which gives significant insight into his character flaws.
- "Girls in Bikinis, Boys Doin' the Twist" - Rory and Paris spring break in Florida with Madeline (Shelly Cole) and Louise (Teal Redmann). They watch "The Power of Myth," go to a Shins concert, kiss, get drunk, and leave early using Paris's frequent flyer miles. It's like the "Montecito" episode of "Hacks" where the writers are clearly throwing a bone at all the gays who want Debra and Ava to get together.
- "Last Week Fights, This Week Tights" - Luke and Lorelai dance to Sam Phillips' "Reflecting Light" at Liz and TJ's (Michael DeLuise) wedding and from this moment forward, things are never the same again. Luke and Jess also have one of the nicest scenes in the entire series that always makes me cry.
Take Asher's (Michael York) advice and pair S4 with All-Bran so that you live long enough to make it to S5. Or, if that doesn't appeal, maybe go with a daytime cigarette and a mojito a la Emily "throw the old harpy's carcass in a ditch" Gilmore. Don't be shocked if you're now middle-aged and suddenly find Jason Stiles attractive. The man has a guest room stocked with Kiehl's products and classic novels, ffs!
