All episodes Season 4 S04E16 2004-03-02 60 min 2000s WB/CW

Gilmore Girls

The Reigning Lorelai

TV Flash files “The Reigning Lorelai” as hour 81 of 153 in the TV Flash guide — Gilmore Girls (2000–2007) on WB/CW, season 4, episode 16, aired 2004-03-02, 60 min.

From the desk

How this hour is filed

This leaf is S04E16: listed hour 81 of 153 in the Gilmore Girls guide, hour 16 of 22 in season 4. It aired 2004-03-02 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Scene in a Mall” (S04E15). Next is “Girls in Bikinis, Boys Doin' the Twist” (S04E17).

Gilmore Girls — The Reigning Lorelai (S04E16)

Catalog log

Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.

The rift between Emily and Richard widens when he goes on a golf date with clients instead of accompanying his wife to the funeral of her best friend. Doyle goes on a theft and plagiarism rant; Trix dies suddenly and stricken with grief and guilt, Richard is inconsolable; Emily calls it quits on arranging Trix's funeral and drops everything in her daughter's lap after finding a letter in which her mother-in-law pleads with her son on the eve of his wedding to Emily to marry Pennilyn instead; Luke and Nicole have all of Stars Hollow listening in and reading lips as they quarrel; worried about her parents and frantic over fulfilling Trix's exacting requirements for her funeral, Lorelai has a meltdown while shopping for Trix's funeral undies; after the service, cousin Marilyn regales family and friends with tales of Lorelai the First; Emily and Richard finally reach out to each other as he defies one of his mother's last wishes for the sake of his wife.

Viewer FAQ

Where does The Reigning Lorelai sit in the Gilmore Girls guide?

S04E16 is listed hour 81 of 153 — hour 16 of 22 in season 4, season 4 episode 16.

When did Gilmore Girls S04E16 air?

The Reigning Lorelai aired 2004-03-02 and is listed at 60 minutes.

Where should I start Gilmore Girls?

The WB premiere, with Lorelai and Rory in Stars Hollow. The talk speed is the show; don't skip to a later romance arc.

In the series

Why this series still plays

Lorelai and Rory fill Stars Hollow with rapid-fire pop-culture talk and coffee logistics. Amy Sherman-Palladino made walk-and-talk caffeine a lifestyle brand: Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel at 100 mph, grandparents as class warfare. Dialogue-forward comfort TV with a Netflix encore that reopened the town.

The first look is steam off a coffee cup and two women talking fast enough to count as tailoring. Lorelai and Rory Gilmore fill Stars Hollow with pop-culture talk, caffeine logistics, and class warfare with grandparents Richard and Emily — walk-and-talk as a lifestyle brand. Amy Sherman-Palladino premiered the series October 5, 2000, on The WB (later The CW) for seven seasons through 2007. Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel carry a town of eccentrics: Melissa McCarthy's Sookie, Scott Patterson's Luke, Kelly Bishop's…

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Also in season 4

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