SEASON THREE

"LAZY-HAZY-CRAZY DAYS"
Lorelai has a dream that she and Luke are married and she's pregnant with twins. After returning from a summer internship in Washington, D.C., where she mingled with members of the U.S. Congress, Rory faces a dilemma with Dean and Jess. Lorelai is overjoyed to have her daughter home. Even though she and Luke aren't on speaking terms after their big fight when Rory broke her wrist thanks to Jess, Lorelai, after having a bad day goes into the diner for much needed coffee, pretending to be a new customer, Mimi. She talks to Luke about how bad she is with relationships and how she'll never have it all. Luke tells her she will. When she leaves, he tells "Mimi" to come again. She says she will.

"HAUNTED LEG"
Ignoring Lorelai's pleas to stay out of her love life, Emily tries to reunite Christopher with Lorelai and Rory. This results in an ugly confrontation between Rory and Christopher. Meanwhile, Lorelai rebuffs the romantic advances of the town geek, Kirk, and Rory learns that Jess is angry that she neglected him during the summer.

"APPLICATION ANXIETY"
When an application to attend Harvard University arrives, Rory and Lorelai arrange a dinner at an alumnus' house to get advice. Meanwhile, Lane becomes enamored with a boy who answers her advertisement for rock band members. And Taylor Doose convinces Luke to open let him an old-fashioned soda fountain next to the diner.

"ONE'S GOT CLASS AND THE OTHER ONE DYES"
The Stars Hollow Parent Teacher Association invites Lorelai and Luke to speak at the high school's career day, but when the students bombard Lorelai with questions about her teenage pregnancy, the PTA moms turn ugly. After discovering that her mother wants her to go to a conservative religious college, Lane asserts her independence by dying her hair purple--with Rory's help.

"EIGHT O'CLOCK AT THE OASIS"
Lorelai pursues an attractive man, Peyton Sanders, whom she met at an auction organized by her mother. However, when the first date is a disaster, Lorelai tries to cancel the second date, and Emily and Richard insist that she is damaging their social standing. Meanwhile, Rory enlists Jess' help when she can't turn off a neighbor's sprinkler system.

"TAKE THE DEVILED EGGS..."
When Rory is invited to a celebration for her father's pregnant girlfriend, Sherry, Lorelai is forced to attend as well, and she inadvertently learns more about Christopher's life than she wanted to know. Meanwhile, after Luke interrogates Jess about where he got the money to buy a used car, he discovers that Jess has a job at Wal-Mart.

"THEY SHOOT GILMORES, DON'T THEY?"
Determined to win the annual Stars Hollow 24-hour dance marathon, Lorelai forces Rory to be her partner. While everyone in town dances around them, Rory and Jess can't stop arguing, a fact that Dean definitely notices and breaks up with Rory. Lorelai and Luke talk about having kids, when each meets the right person.

"LET THE GAMES BEGIN"
Lorelai and Rory join Richard and Emily on a trip to visit Yale University, but Richard causes trouble with the news that he has arranged an interview for Rory with the dean of admissions. Meanwhile, Luke tells Jess how he feels about Jess' relationship with Rory.

"A DEEP-FRIED KOREAN THANKSGIVING"
Lorelai and Rory enjoy the bounty of Thanksgiving four times in a row when, on the way to a formal dinner party with Richard and Emily, they stop for celebrations with Lane, Sookie and Luke. Lorelai is shocked to learn that Rory has also applied to Yale University. Meanwhile, Dean and Jess almost get into a fistfight over Rory.

"THAT'LL DO, PIG"
Lorelai is forced to miss the Stars Hollow Winter Carnival due to the unexpected arrival of Richard's mother, Trix, the original Lorelai, otherwise known as Gran. Gran insists on having dinner with Richard and Emily at the inn and makes a surprise announcement that she's moving back to Hartford. Meanwhile, Jess refuses to accompany Rory to the carnival, until he finds out that Dean will be going.

"I SOLEMNLY SWEAR..."
Rory is tricked by her manipulative classmate Francie, who convinces Paris that Rory has been plotting against her. Meanwhile, when Emily is sued by a former maid, Lorelai worries that if she gives a deposition in the case it will cause more problems with her mother. Lorelai meets an interesting man, Alex Lesman, at a business seminar.

"LORELAI OUT OF WATER"
After surprising herself by agreeing to go on a fishing date with her new beau, Alex, Lorelai asks Luke for a lesson in fishing techniques. Meanwhile, the political battle between Rory and Paris escalates when Paris tries to have Rory impeached. Lane plots to go to the prom with a guitarist, Dave. And Luke asks Taylor's attorney, Nicole, on a date.

"DEAR EMILY AND RICHARD"
When Christopher's pregnant girlfriend, Sherry, begins labor and asks Rory to stay with her at the hospital, Lorelai reminisces about the day Rory was born. In flashbacks, 16-year-old Lorelai learns she is pregnant, decides not to marry Christopher, and leaves home with her new baby.

"SWAN SONG"
Lorelai goes away with her new boyfriend, Alex, for a weekend in New York, but she worries about leaving Rory and Jess together. Meanwhile, when Jess goes with Rory to dinner at Emily's house and refuses to explain his injured eye, Rory accuses him of fighting with Dean.

"FACE-OFF"
Tired of waiting for Jess to call and make plans for the weekend, Rory accompanies Lane to a hockey game, where she encounters Dean and his new girlfriend, Lindsay. Meanwhile, Lorelai confronts Jess about his poor treatment of Rory. And when Gran comes to visit for a few days, Emily is shocked to find her kissing a man.

"THE BIG ONE"
While nervously waiting for their college acceptance letters to arrive, Rory and Paris compete to give a speech at Chilton Academy's bicentennial celebration. Meanwhile, when Lorelai encounters her former fiancé, Max, they share a passionate kiss, she wonders if ending the engagement was the right decision. Also, Sookie's strange behavior has a surprising explanation - she's pregnant.

"A TALE OF POES AND FIRE"
When a meeting of the Edgar Allan Poe Society at the Independence Inn is interrupted by a minor fire, Lorelai must find rooms for the guests at various homes around town. Forced to relinquish her bedroom in her own house, Lorelai spends the night at Luke's place with him and Jess. Meanwhile, trying to decide amongst Harvard, Yale and Princeton, Lorelai and Rory make an extensive list of positives and negatives for each college. And Luke worries that Jess may not be attending school when he learns that Jess has been working a surprising number of hours at Wal-Mart.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY"
While Lorelai deals with the rebuilding of the fire-damaged inn, Rory schemes to give her mom a great birthday party, complete with a gigantic pizza. After Richard surprises Lorelai with a large check that resulted from an investment he made when she was born, she uses part of the money to repay her parents for Rory's education, a gesture which does not please Emily. Meanwhile, Luke confirms that his suspicions are correct: Jess has been skipping school to work extra shifts at Wal-Mart.

"KEG! MAX!"
With graduation approaching, Rory happily anticipates attending the Stars Hollow High School prom with Jess, but he gets some surprising news from Principal Merten -- he can't go because he won't be graduating. After Lane's rock band debuts at a big party, the evening ends badly when the long-standing animosity between Jess and Dean finally results in a fistfight. Meanwhile, Lorelai reluctantly serves on the parents' committee for the Chilton graduation party, uncomfortably reuniting her with Max Medina.

"SAY GOODNIGHT, GRACIE"
After the brawl between Jess and Dean, Lane is in a lot of trouble with her conservative mother, and Luke is furious at Jess. But ironically, Lorelai is proud of Rory for causing such passion in two guys. Later, a mysterious coffee shop patron observes Jess at work and accidentally leaves his wallet behind. Upon finding it, Luke discovers that the man is Jess' estranged father, Jimmy Mariano, from California. Jimmy's arrival causes Jess to ponder a major decision. Dean amazes Rory with a life-altering announcement that he and Lindsay are getting married. And Lorelai and Sookie guiltily try to capitalize on the death of Fran Weston, whose old Dragonfly Inn they desperately want to convert into their own.

"HERE COMES THE SON"
Jess leaves Stars Hollow and travels across the country to Venice, California, where his father, Jimmy, lives. The reunion and the important decisions it engenders cause tension with Jimmy's live-in girlfriend, Sasha. Meanwhile, although she has an almost impossible amount of school-related work to complete before graduation, Rory agrees to help her grandmother choose an outfit for the ceremony, resulting in another conflict with Lorelai. Also, Lorelai agonizes over paying for Rory's Yale education when they inform her that because of the money she got from the investment, Rory is not a candidate for financial help.

"THOSE ARE STRINGS, PINOCCHIO"
In the season finale, Rory and Lorelai happily prepare for Rory's graduation from Chilton. But major developments involving the Independence Inn threaten to dampen the festivities -- it can't be rebuilt and the owner, Mia, is going to sell it. Rory secretly approaches Emily and Richard for help, telling them she will continue the Friday night dinners if they'll loan her to money to go to Yale. Meanwhile, Rory and Dean share a bittersweet moment as he prepares for his wedding. Rory's beautiful valedictorian speech causes many tears. Rory tells Lorelai she can use the money for Yale to put a down payment on the old Dragonfly Inn. Rory and Lorelai are excited about their summertime European trip. And Luke has a surprising dream about Lorelai on the night before a romantic cruise with his girlfriend -- She walks into the diner and tells him not to get engaged.