Everything you need to know before watching the Gilmore Girls revival on Netflix

What you need to know: Lorelei is sad as Christopher commits to Sherry, and so is Rory who is uncharacteristically angry at her dad. Rory’s still with Dean, but is upset to find Jess has a girlfriend. Jess totalled Rory’s car in season two, so Rory spontaneously throws devilled eggs at Jess’ car.

During the Stars Hollow dance marathon, Dean realises his girlfriend loves Jess and breaks up with her. Rory and Jess get together, but later she feels torn as she still enjoys Dean’s company and feels neglected by Jess. When Jess fails to graduate and Luke turfs him out, he disappears from Stars Hollow. Rory tells him on the phone that she might have loved him – but it’s over.

Rory must also decide where to apply to college. Harvard is the dream, but after a surprise trip to Yale masterminded by Richard, she starts to change her mind. Despite her Harvard acceptance, she chooses Yale.

What else? Kirk asks Lorelei out. Lane dyes her hair, dyes it back again and secretly starts a band. Lorelei goes on a date with a boring man played by Jon Hamm. Rory and Paris go to war over student council. Paris has sex, and a meltdown. Lorelei reunites with Max and parts from him again. And, importantly, the Independence Inn burns down, fast-tracking Lorelei and Sookie’s plans to buy and run the Dragonfly Inn.

You should watch…

Episode 7, They Shoot Gilmores, Don’t They? The dance marathon episode. Both Jess and Dean turn up to watch, but when Rory is provoked by Jess’ presence, it’s the last straw for Dean and he breaks up with her.

Episode 13, Dear Emily and Richard – Gilmore Girls rarely takes viewers back directly into the past, but this one features flashbacks of the romance between Chris and Lorelei and what happened when Lorelei got pregnant with Rory. It helps to explain some of the tensions in her relationship with her parents. Back in the present day, Sherry is giving birth to Rory’s half-sister.

Episode 22, Those are Strings, Pincoccio Watch this one for Rory’s valedictory speech at her Chilton graduation about her mother and grandparents. You’ll need tissues.

Season four 

What you need to know: A year of transition. Lorelei and Sookie are trying to open the Dragonfly Inn, but it’s hard – for one thing, they have money problems, and for another, Sookie has a newborn baby.

Rory heads to Yale where things are also tricky: her roommate is Paris, the classes are hard, and she must find her place on the student paper (the Yale Daily News). While she stays single and even goes on a date, her old loves keep popping up: Jess tells her he loves her, and Dean marries his new girlfriend but is still pining for his first love.

Also in this series: Lane finally stands up to her mum, and is thrown out to live with her band. Luke spontaneously gets married, but it soon ends in divorce. Richard goes into business with the young Jason “Digger” Stiles, who secretly dates Lorelei – but when her parents find out, and when business matters get complicated, everything explodes and the relationship falls apart, also dividing Richard and Emily. Paris has a relationship with the elderly Professor Asher Fleming. Luke’s sister (Jess’s mum) Liz turns up in Stars Hollow and marries her stupid-yet-loving fiance T.J.

You should watch…

Episode 2, The Loreleis’ First Day at Yale With the help of Luke and his truck, Rory moves to Yale – where she finds herself rooming with nemesis-turned-friend Paris. When Lorelei leaves her on campus, Rory has an attack of homesickness and calls her back to stay the night – but Lorelei turns things around with a takeout food party so Rory can get to know the rest of the dorm.

Episode 4, Chicken or Beef? Rory is back home for the weekend and gets a wedding invite from Dean. But during the stag do, Dean gets drunk and reveals to Luke just how much he loves Rory. It foreshadows his disastrous marriage.

Episode 22, Raincoats and Recipes After trials and tribulations, The Dragonfly Inn is almost ready for business. But there are also momentous developments for the Gilmore Girls: Emily separates from Richard, Luke and Lorelei are finally dating, and Rory loses her virginity with a married man – Dean.