Season 3

Season 3 of Gilmore Girls, an American dramedy television series, aired on the WB television network.

About

As season three unfolds, both Gilmore girls are growing up fast. Lorelai faced a heartbreaking disappointment when her rekindled romance with Rory's father, Christopher (David Sutcliffe), was thwarted by the unexpected pregnancy of his girlfriend. Trying to move on with her love life, Lorelai now faces the prospect of life without Rory as the dream of Harvard starts to become a reality. Lorelai continues to manage the historic Independence Inn and to nurture her dream of one day opening her own inn with her best friend, the fabulous chef Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy, Charlie's Angels), who is now adjusting to married life.

For Rory, the failed reconciliation between her parents was a crushing blow and led to her first angry confrontation with Christopher over his failures as a parent. She tries to overcome her disappointment by immersing herself in the demanding curriculum at Chilton Academy and the uneasy alliance she has formed with her intense schoolmate Paris Geller (Liza Weil, Stir of Echoes). Rory and Paris spent the summer together at a leadership conference in Washington D.C., where Rory managed to temporarily avoid the turmoil of her own love life. Now back in Stars Hollow for her senior year, she will finally have to choose between Dean (Jared Padalecki), her sweet, safe and steady boyfriend of over a year, or the smart, not-so-safe new boy in town, Jess (Milo Ventimiglia). The possibility of a romance between Rory and Jess continues to be a strain on Lorelai's long-standing friendship with Luke Danes (Scott Patterson, Little Big League), the owner of the local diner and the Mike Nichols to Lorelai's Elaine May. Also there to help Rory sort out her teen life is her friend Lane Kim (Keiko Agena, Felicity) who has now turned her music obsession into action. She has joined a band. Of course, her mother has no idea.

Plot

Senior year meant some surprising changes for the Gilmore girls, as both Lorelai and Rory wrestled with their pasts in order to figure out what the heck they were going to do with their futures. In the wake of finding out that her relationship with Rory's dad was not to be rekindled, Lorelai endured a variety of suitors as she attempted to keep her life on an even keel--not easy when her former flame's girlfriend was pregnant (and clueless), her former fiancé shows up unexpectedly, and her beloved inn suffers some unforeseen damage.

If it was major drama for Lorelai, it was full-fledged soap opera for Rory, who broke up with longtime boyfriend Dean in the wake of her attraction to the moody bad-boy Jess, only to find her new relationship fraught with difficulties. Add to that the pressure of getting into college (Harvard or Yale?) and stressful senior class politics at the snooty Chilton private school and it's a wonder she still had time to crack wise at breakneck speed with her mom and the rest of Stars Hollow.

Starring

Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore

Alexis Bledel as Rory Gilmore

Melissa McCarthy as Sookie St. James

Keiko Agena as Lane Kim

Yanic Truesdale as Michel Gerard

Scott Patterson as Luke Danes

Liza Weil as Paris Geller

Jared Padalecki as Dean Forester

Milo Ventimiglia as Jess Mariano

Sean Gunn as Kirk Gleason

and Kelly Bishop as Emily Gilmore

Special appearance by

Edward Herrmann as Richard Gilmore

Recurring Cast

Jackson Douglas as Jackson Belleville

Emily Kuroda as Mrs. Kim

Liz Torres as Miss Patty

Sally Struthers as Babette Dell

Ted Rooney as Morey Dell

Michael Winters as Taylor Doose

Scott Cohen as Max Medina

David Sutcliffe as Christopher Hayden

Adam Brody as Dave Rygalski

John Cabrera as Brian Fuller

Todd Lowe as Zack Van Gerbig

Teal Redmann as Louise Grant

Shelly Cole as Madeline Lynn

Trivia

• The season was released on DVD as a six-disc boxed set under the title of Gilmore Girls: The Complete Third Season on May 3, 2005 by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

Photos

Season 3/Gallery

Media

Gilmore Girls Season 3 Recap Netflix

Episodes