Nerd in Another City

I was watching an episode of Gilmore Girls (ok I watched 7) and I’ll admit, I had a momentary lapse. It was an episode from season 7, near the end of the show and Lorelai was married to Christopher.
I sent a hasty tweet that said:
“Ok, I l-l-love Luke and Lorelai,
but I coulda been very happy
with her and Christopher too.”

He’s always been a charming man, albeit a bit of a flake. And while I truly think he loved Lorelai and Rory, he just wasn’t good at that whole being a steady, stable family man thing. He was a hurricane. Plain and simple. And so is Lorelai, so in essence (and according to my theory) they could never have successfully and happily belonged together. Fast forward to season 7 and he is finally attempting the seeming impossible. Going house shopping, wooing the good townspeople of Star’s Hollow, playing dad to Rory and Gigi, but it never feels quite right…this domesticated version of Charming Christopher. And Lorelai isn’t happy…we know she isn’t.

In stark contrast, you have Luke Danes. Steadfast townie. If there is a man in Star’s Hollow who understands commitment, it is Luke. He owns his own diner (in the building his father owned.) He kept his father’s boat. He commits to help Jess, his sister’s son. He even committed hard core to that blue baseball cap that Lorelai gave him in season 1. He never leaves. Never abandons his post. He’s there at the diner every morning to get the Gilmore Girls their beloved cups of coffee till the very last episode.

*Print from LetsAllMakeBelieve Etsy shop

Is there trouble in paradise when Luke and Lorelai finally get together? You bet. It’s a good ship. And good ships are built to withstand the harsh conditions.

*Photo from Nautical Wheeler
Luke is thrown when he discovers that he has a daughter who he knew nothing about. Sure, that’s gonna shock a guy. Like I said, Luke’s problem isn’t commitment. But a case could be made for his shortcomings in the area of communication. Years of unrequited feelings…yeah, communicating wasn’t his strong suit.

Yes, Luke and Lorelai could have had a healthy, happy, ride-into-the-sunset ship. We all would have been very ok with that. But Luke lies about April and cuts Lorelai out of decisions and Lorelai sleeps with Christopher and then marries him. They both makes huge, hurtful mistakes.
In the end, they are a stronger ship for the mistakes they make, for the struggles they face.

Now as I’ve said before (click here) I’ve watched a lot of TV. I should go ahead and capitalize that because I truly means A LOT. And I think I’m gonna go on record and say that Luke and Lorelai’s relationship is one of the very best in television history.

They start as friends. Great friends. They are there for one another as relationship after relationship falls apart. And they get things wrong sometimes. It’s one of the most realistic television relationships of all time.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that the lesson here is “love conquers all.” It doesn’t always. Sometimes it can’t. But love reminds you of the good. Love forgives the wrongs and love fights like hell to survive no matter how much we try to kill it. (Just look at the divorce rate. And even the divorces of both Luke and Lorelai.)

I only hope that they are still experiencing those highs and lows together when the Gilmore Girls revival hits Netflix next year.
And I also hope that Rory finds or found someone who can live up to the father figure she had in Luke Danes.