‘Gilmore Girls’: Kelly Bishop’s Favorite Episode Involves a ‘Drunk in Every Scene’ Emily Gilmore

Gilmore Girls is comprised of 150-plus episodes plus Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Fans have their favorites and so does the Gilmore Girls cast. One episode stands out as a favorite of Kelly Bishop’s, the actor who played Emily Gilmore. 

Kelly Bishop’s favorite ‘Gilmore Girls’ episode is ‘so bizarrely out there’

Bishop shared her favorite episode of Gilmore Girls with Entertainment Weekly in 2016.

“It was when Richard’s mother died and I read the letter and found out that she had been trying to talk him out of marrying me and then I went on a binge,” she said. “I was just drunk in every scene. I was smoking cigarettes. It was like my Tennessee Williams episode.” 

The episode Bishop’s referring to is Gilmore Girls Season 4 Episode 16: “The Reigning Lorelai.” The actor loves it because “it was so un-Emily” and “so bizarrely out there.”

It gave Bishop a chance to show viewers a different side to the normally composed character. 

Emily Gilmore stops planning Gran’s funeral

Bishop’s favorite episode chronicles a sad moment in the Gilmore family. The episode is when Richard Gilmore’s (Edward Herrmann) beloved mother, Lorelai (Marion Ross) dies.

Richard and his mother, whom he called “Trix,” were especially close. Therefore, Richard took her passing particularly hard. He spends most of the episode in tears holed up in his study.

Meanwhile, Emily prepares for the funeral. She sets to work carrying out the specific instructions her mother-in-law, aka Gran, left in her will. 

In the process, Emily stumbles upon a letter Gran wrote to Richard just before their wedding. In it, her mother-in-law urges Richard not to marry her.

Hurt by the contents of the letter, Emily stops preparing for the funeral. She lounges around the Gilmore house in a robe, smoking cigarettes, sipping on cocktails, and reading. 

Emily Gilmore goes back to her normal self in time for Gran’s funeral

Stunned to see her mother in this unusual state, Lorelai asks Emily about the funeral preparations. Emily’s response? A crude remark about putting appetizers in Gran’s coffin. 

While flowers get delivered to the house and Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy) sets up for the wake, Emily continues to ignore what’s going on around her. It’s a rare moment when Lorelai is the one telling her mother what to do and what clothes to wear. 

Lorelai’s concern for her mother goes away when Emily shows up in the proper attire when guests arrive. In the episode, Bishop got to bring to life a new side of Emily. 

Watch Gilmore Girls and Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life on Netflix to see Bishop as Emily.