I would argue that Gilmore Girls is the perfect comfort show to watch during Christmas time. Every season has one dedicated holiday episode and every rewatch, I reconfirm my opinion that season 2, episode 10 “The Bracebridge Dinner” is the best of them.
“The Bracebridge Dinner” starts with Rory and her mom Lorelai making a Björk-like snowwoman because they wanted to build the one with the most personality for a contest happening in the town, although they think they will lose because someone else has made an insanely good snowman. If you haven’t watched Gilmore Girls and are unfamiliar with the town of Stars Hollow, this might seem strange. The town has endless, hyperspecific festivals throughout the year, including a 24-hour dance marathon, so this contest is not at all out of the ordinary.
As someone who comes from a country where it never snows and Christmas happens during the summer, watching the two of them playing in the snow and making the snowwoman always felt magical to me. As a kid, those scenes were the closest I ever got to experiencing a cold, snowy Christmas of my own. For a moment, it let me imagine what winter holidays might feel like — bundled up, surrounded by white and full of that cozy charm I only ever saw on TV. But right now, with the sun setting almost before 4 p.m., I miss the 30-degree Christmas more than ever.
After Rory and her mother build the snowwoman, we see Lorelai and her best friend, Sookie, both hard at work at the inn. A group of people from Chicago have booked it for a “Bracebridge dinner,” an event in which everyone pretends they are from the 19th century, wears clothes from the period and speaks old English.
Unfortunately, due to the snow, the group who booked the inn are unable to attend their old English party. Instead of wasting an already paid-for dinner, Sookie and Lorelai decide they should invite everyone in town to sleep at the inn and actually make the event happen. Does anyone have anything to do in this town? Ever? I know it’s the holidays, but I might have thought people would have other plans! Apparently not. And anyways, if I could eat Sookie's food for free, I also wouldn’t think twice. On another note, why should everyone sleep at the inn? They all live closeby, so why give the staff such an unnecessary amount of sheets and dishes to clean?
Perhaps it’s because, in the end, the concept of welcoming everyone you know, including the extremely obnoxious ones, and dining together in a large, chaotic group is one of the most holiday-like aspects of the whole show. I don't know what Christmas is all about if not exactly this.
We are then transported to Lorelai having a phone call with Rory’s distant dad, Christopher. He wants to invite Rory to spend a night at his apartment with his girlfriend Sherry, but wants Lorelai’s permission first, who says she will talk to Rory about it — which she never does.
The party finally starts, with Lorelai looking great as always, and their neighbours Babette and Morey being the first to arrive. Richard and Emily, Lorelai's parents who have a complicated relationship with her, also come. Richard is in a weird mood in the start of the episode, but when they get there, he is happier than ever and Emily has no idea why. But what is more fitting for the holidays than some family members behaving in ways that make absolutely no sense?
Paris, Rory’s classmate/enemy/friend, arrives as well, and I mention her for three reasons. First, I have to mention the brief conversation she has on the phone with her Portuguese nanny. I was very surprised to hear her speak Portuguese, and it is not terrible at all, and really brings me close to home watching this episode while thousands of miles away from it. Second, she is sitting between Miss Patty and Taylor, the most annoying person ever, so this was basically a torture session for her. Third, and most importantly, she brings up something that used to bother me a lot, and now I finally have an answer.
Though the dinner is supposed to be set in the 19th century, no one is dressed or speaking like they used to in this time period, which Paris points out. However, after a very deep dive and research from reliable sources (Reddit), I found out that “Bracebridge dinners” come from an 1820 Washington Irving story about Christmas in 1718, but the real events today use more medieval-looking costumes anyway, so the outfits in Gilmore Girls were probably intentional. I knew that Kenny Ortega, the director of High School Musical who also directed this episode, would never disappoint me.
The dinner goes by and Jess — the boy Rory likes, even though she is dating Dean — annoys me with his ongoing Jughead “I’m weird. I’m a weirdo” monologue and his hatred of everything besides Rory. Then, because why not, Lorelai rents horse sleighs for everyone — very Christmasy of her — and she gets into one with Luke, Jess’ uncle and Lorelai’s… I don’t know how to describe their relationship. Let’s just say they’re friends who obviously like each other but deny it all the time. It is the slowest slow-burn ever — and I enjoy every moment of it. My favorite part of the scene is Lorelai saying that the town looks beautiful in the snow while looking directly at Luke — so cute!
These kinds of moments contribute to the episode's Christmas-like atmosphere for me — it creates a warm, but also frosty environment that I never experienced as a child but have always yearned for, and it allows me to experience that winter enchantment via all my favourite characters.
Rory gets in the sleigh alone, but Jess hops in alongside her while it’s moving — OK Mr. Dangerous. Also, he was making fun of it ten seconds before! Rory pretends that she hates being there with him, but of course, she is a teenager in love with a bad boy.
Eventually, Rory finds out her dad invited her to spend a weekend with him after asking Lorelai why he hasn’t called. Rory goes from being upset about her mother withholding information from her to comforting Lorelai about being the “favorite parent.” This is a great way to guarantee your kid has relationship issues later on (and spoiler — Rory totally does).
In the final minutes of the episode, the love triangle continues with Dean kissing Rory, followed by Dean seeing Rory and Jess eye-flirting. I just love the drama, and there's just something about the cold weather that makes every sly glance seem even more dramatic. Lorelai and Rory go home in a sleigh, because why not, and then they see the rival snowman destroyed — obviously Jess showing his love to Rory by helping her and her mom win the contest.
This all goes to show why I think “The Bracebridge Dinner” stands out as the ultimate Christmas episode. It perfectly encapsulates everything I connect with the season — found family, community, tradition, a lot of chaos and the tendency for emotions to spill over when everyone is confined together in the same place. To me, this episode feels more Christmasy than any decorated Netflix film — even if it isn't officially about Christmas.
The episode ends with Björk's “Human Behavior” playing in the background, which is genuinely the most fitting song ever. Some of the first lyrics go: “There’s definitely, definitely, definitely no logic / To human behaviour.” Yes Björk, when it comes to Gilmore Girls, I am also always extremely confused by the lack of logic in their behaviour. Yet, here I am, writing a Christmas review about an episode I have watched probably fifteen times. Go figure.
