The BEST episodes of Gilmore Girls season 2

Every episode of Gilmore Girls season 2, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Gilmore Girls season 2!

Lorelai Gilmore has made her share of mistakes in life, but she has been doing her best to see that her college-bound daughter Rory, who’s also her best friend in the world, doesn’t follow in her footsteps. That may be easier said than done, considering that the two share the same interests, the same intellect, the same coffee addiction and the same eyes.

Last Updated: 9/22/2024Network: The CWStatus: Ended
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The Bracebridge Dinner
star
8.04
1024 votes

#1 - The Bracebridge Dinner

Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/11/2001

A blizzard prevents a group from attending the historical dinner that Sookie has painstakingly prepared at their request, so she and Lorelai invite most of the citizens of Stars Hollow to an elaborate feast complete with Elizabethan costumes and horse-drawn sleigh rides. Rory struggles to keep the budding rivalry between Dean and Jess under control.

Directors: Chris Long
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Like Mother, Like Daughter
star
7.95
1052 votes

#2 - Like Mother, Like Daughter

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/13/2001

Headmaster Charleston decrees that both Gilmore girls need to improve their socialization skills at Chilton if they want him to write a glowing recommendation for Rory's Harvard application.

Directors: Dennis Erdman
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Lorelai's Graduation Day
star
7.88
946 votes

#3 - Lorelai's Graduation Day

Season 2 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/14/2002

With Lorelai about to graduate from business school, an excited Rory secretly invites Richard and Emily to her mother's graduation ceremony, despite Lorelai's assertion that they'd never agree to attend.

Directors: Jamie Babbit
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Run Away, Little Boy
star
7.87
950 votes

#4 - Run Away, Little Boy

Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/27/2001

Lorelai receives a late wedding present without a card attached and insists that it be returned. Rory, Paris, Madeline and Louise are assigned to present the death scene from "Romeo and Juliet" as part of ther class participation.

Directors: Danny Leiner
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Red Light on the Wedding Night
star
7.85
1134 votes

#5 - Red Light on the Wedding Night

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/16/2001

During Lorelai's bachelorette party, where Emily regales the group with stories about the week before her wedding, Lorelai realizes she isn't ready to commit to Max.

Directors: Gail Mancuso
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Dead Uncles and Vegetables
star
7.82
948 votes

#6 - Dead Uncles and Vegetables

Season 2 - Episode 17 - Aired 4/16/2002

Lorelai and Rory pitch in at the diner while Luke plans his Uncle Louie's funeral. Emily goes completely overboard in helping Sookie plan her wedding. Luke is upset when family and friends cite Louie's unpleasant personality as a reason for not attending his funeral.

Directors: Jamie Babbit
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
I Can't Get Started
star
7.81
984 votes

#7 - I Can't Get Started

Season 2 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/21/2002

Sookie's wedding draws near, and both bride and groom are getting frazzled. After Christopher comes to town and confesses that his relationship with Sherrie is over, he and Lorelai rekindle their relationship.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Richard in Stars Hollow
star
7.81
997 votes

#8 - Richard in Stars Hollow

Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/29/2002

Richard visits Stars Hollow and drives Lorelai and Rory crazy by passing judgment on every aspect of their lives.

Directors: Steve Gomer
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Hammers and Veils
star
7.81
1126 votes

#9 - Hammers and Veils

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/9/2001

Rory stresses out about being too far behind on extracurriculars, which puts a strain on her relationship with Dean. Henry expresses an interest in dating Lane. Richard and Rory patch up their differences.

Directors: Michael Katleman
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Lost and Found
star
7.80
1012 votes

#10 - Lost and Found

Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/26/2002

When Dean notices that Rory isn't wearing the bracelet he made for her, she covers her shock at its loss and lies that she removed it because of a rash on her arm. She searches for it frantically all over Stars Hollow, not realizing that Jess picked it up after she dropped it on the bridge two weeks earlier.

Directors: Gail Mancuso
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Help Wanted
star
7.77
1010 votes

#11 - Help Wanted

Season 2 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/7/2002

Richard opens a new office and Lorelai volunteers to help him get it in order and hire a secretary. Lane falls in love with a drum set at Stars Hollow's new music shop and discovers that becoming a rock drummer is her new dream in life. Rory is dismayed to discover that everyone blames Jess for the accident.

Directors: Chris Long
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
There's the Rub
star
7.73
1000 votes

#12 - There's the Rub

Season 2 - Episode 16 - Aired 4/9/2002

When Emily and Lorelai go to a spa for a weekend of relaxation, Emily ends up bonding with Lorelai in a way that only her daughter could inspire. Thrilled that she has the house all to herself, Rory hopes to spend a quiet night at home doing laundry and eating Indian food, but her plans are foiled — first by Paris, then by Jess, and finally by Dean.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Secrets and Loans
star
7.72
916 votes

#13 - Secrets and Loans

Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/22/2002

Lorelai and Rory have a major falling out after Rory goes against her mother's wishes and asks her grandparents to lend Lorelai the money she needs to repair termite damage to their house. Lane's desire to become a cheerleader causes a strain in her relationship with Rory.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Road Trip to Harvard
star
7.71
1092 votes

#14 - The Road Trip to Harvard

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/23/2001

To escape everyone's reaction to the news of the broken engagement, Lorelai and Rory hit the road and stumble upon the bed and breakfast from hell. Rory gets a taste of college life while visiting Harvard, and Lorelai muses over what might have been. Lorelai decides to get serious about making her dream of opening an inn a reality.

Directors: Jamie Babbit
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Sadie, Sadie
star
7.70
1136 votes

#15 - Sadie, Sadie

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/9/2001

Lane freaks out when her parents buy her a one-way ticket to Korea for the summer. Luke gives Lorelai a lot to think about when she tells him about Max's proposal. Emily is heartbroken when she finds out about the wedding from Sookie instead of Lorelai.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
A-Tisket, A-Tasket
star
7.70
1009 votes

#16 - A-Tisket, A-Tasket

Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/5/2002

The annual Stars Hollow charity picnic basket lunch auction sparks controversies among couples throughout town; Jess outbids Dean for Rory's basket, causing Dean and Rory to quarrel.

Directors: Robert Berlinger
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Presenting Lorelai Gilmore
star
7.69
988 votes

#17 - Presenting Lorelai Gilmore

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/6/2001

At the urging of her friends, Emily decides that Rory will be making her debut at a society ball. Lorelai asks Christopher to escort their daughter on the night of the big event, and he surprises her by agreeing to come willingly.

Directors: Chris Long
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Ins and Outs of Inns
star
7.63
1017 votes

#18 - The Ins and Outs of Inns

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/20/2001

Lorelai and Sookie gear up their plans to open an inn but encounter a roadblock when the owner of their dream location refuses to sell the property. The unexpected arrival of Mia, the absentee owner of the Independence Inn, complicates matters even further.

Directors: Michael Katleman
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Nick & Nora/Sid & Nancy
star
7.61
1104 votes

#19 - Nick & Nora/Sid & Nancy

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/30/2001

Luke's sister Liz, afraid that her 17-year-old son Jess is headed for trouble, puts him on a bus to Stars Hollow to live with Luke. But the the town isn't thrilled to welcome the new inhabitant.

Directors: Michael Katleman
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
It Should've Been Lorelai
star
7.58
982 votes

#20 - It Should've Been Lorelai

Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/12/2002

Christopher comes to town on a business trip with his girlfriend Sherrie in tow. Lorelai finds out that Emily has always envisioned that Lorelai and Christopher would end up together and blames Lorelai for always keeping him, and everyone else, at arm's length.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Teach Me Tonight
star
7.49
1024 votes

#21 - Teach Me Tonight

Season 2 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/30/2002

Lorelai agrees to Luke's request that Rory tutor an about-to-flunk-out Jess, but they quickly decide to take a break from studying to get some ice cream. Kirk's short film premieres at Movie Night.

Directors: Steve Robman
Watch Now:Apple TV
Back in the Saddle Again
star
7.48
983 votes

#22 - Back in the Saddle Again

Season 2 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/23/2002

Rory asks Richard for help in creating and marketing a first-aid kit for Chilton's annual Business Fair, which leads him to realize that he is unhappy in retirement and wants to start a second career. Dean goes overboard in trying to be close to Rory, afraid that she is losing interest in him.

Directors: Kevin Dowling
Watch Now:Apple TV