‘Gilmore Girls’: The Worst Episode of Season 3, According to IMDb
Gilmore Girls Season 3 depicted Rory Gilmore’s (played by Alexis Bledel) final year at Chilton Preparatory School and marked the start of her romance with fan-favorite boyfriend, Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia). Meanwhile, Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) and Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy) began a new business venture: opening their own inn. Sookie and her husband, Jackson Belleville (Jackson Douglas), welcomed their first child, as did Christopher Hayden (David Sutcliffe) and Sherry Tinsdale (Mädchen Amick).
Overall, season 3 performed well on IMDb, with most episodes receiving ratings of 8 or 9 out of 10. However, there was one episode that received a 7.6, along with some criticism from viewers.
IMDb users gave ‘Gilmore Girls’ Season 3 Episode 11 the lowest rating of the season
Season 3 Episode 11, “I Solemnly Swear,” received a 7.6 out of 10 on IMDb. This episode saw Paris Geller (Liza Weil) and Rory lead Chilton’s student council as they approached their final high school days. When Francie Jarvis (Emily Bergl) felt Paris was ignoring her requests for the senior class, she set out to drive a wedge between Paris and Rory.
Francie arranged a series of secret meetings with Rory to make Paris believe that Rory double-crossed her. When Paris found out, she stormed Rory during fencing class and accused her of betrayal. The two fenced until Rory landed on the ground, and Paris declared their friendship over.
Meanwhile, Emily Gilmore (Kelly Bishop) asked Lorelai to write a deposition for Emily’s lawsuit with a former maid. Unable to attest to Emily’s character, Lorelai instead cracked jokes in court about Emily’s poor behavior.
Back in Stars Hollow, Lorelai met with a new man she met at a business seminar, while Sookie accidentally set herself up on a date with an old friend while married to Jackson. When she told Jackson about the incident, the two entered an argument.
Some viewers didn’t see a point to Paris and Rory’s fight
On Reddit discussions about the episode, some fans noted their disappointment in Paris and Rory’s fencing battle.
“The duel between Paris and Rory was just ridiculous, and I don’t understand why a teacher wouldn’t break it up immediately. Someone could have gotten hurt,” one user wrote.
Meanwhile, another viewer disliked seeing another fight between Jackson and Sookie.
“It upset me sooooo much that Sookie and Jackson were fighting again,” the person wrote. “I really thought their relationship was going down the drain. Then it ended with a kiss, and my heart was happy again. I love them as a couple, one of the best on the show.”
An AV Club review of the episode also mentioned Rory and Paris’s fight, noting its “tired” references to All the President’s Men:
This episode (written by John Stephens) contains a tired spoof of All The President’s Men and ends in a fencing-themed showdown between Paris and Rory. But because the issues they’re fighting about are essentially non-existent (Paris is mad at Rory for even talking to Francie behind her back, which…whatever) there’s just no stakes to the thing.
What was the best episode of ‘Gilmore Girls’ Season 3, according to IMDb?
Two episodes of Gilmore Girls Season 3 received a 9.0 rating on IMDb, the highest of the season. The first was episode 7, “They Shoot Gilmores, Don’t They?” The Stars Hollow Dance Marathon episode showed Lorelai and Rory dancing in ’40s-style costumes for almost 24 hours straight. This episode also marked the end of Rory and Dean’s (Jared Padalecki) relationship before Rory began dating Jess.
The season finale, “Those Are Strings, Pinocchio,” also received a 9.0. In this episode, Rory and Paris finally graduated from Chilton, marking the start of Rory’s journey to Yale University.
