This 'Gilmore Girls' Pilot Moment Told Us Luke And Lorelai Were Destined To Be Together
Not only is November 5, 2024 election day in the US (see Lauren Graham's awesome Voter selfie!), it's also a pretty special day in the Gilmore Girls universe: it's Luke and Lorelai's wedding anniversary! After almost a decade of will-they-won't-they (despite the fact they were totally in love with each other before then), the couple finally kisses at the end of season 4. But they don't tie the knot until Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life dropped on Netflix in 2016. Here's a look back at a couple of their best relationship moments — and the sly way the Gilmore Girls pilot told us they were endgame.
- Luke and Lorelai got married November 5, 2016, meaning 2024 is their 8th wedding anniversary.
- The couple shows interest in each other early on, but don't kiss until the end of season 4.
- However, the Gilmore Girls pilot teases the couple was always endgame.
What episode did Luke and Lorelai get together?
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Luke and Lorelai share a kiss during the season 4 finale "Raincoats and Recipes," and it's even more special because it happens at the Dragonfly Inn! The episode finds all of Stars Hollow doing a test run before the inn's opening weekend, which Lorelai is trying to balance alongside her newfound single status. After having a very passionate discussion on the porch about their lack of communication (a classic Gilmore Girls issue), and that they want to be in a relationship with each other, Luke and Lorelai finally kiss. It's about time!
And Scott Patterson actually revealed he was super nervous to film that scene purely because of how long we had waited for it. "[I remember] how nervous we both were on that day and how the crew stuck around to check it out because everybody kind of knew it was this iconic moment," Scott Patterson says in an interview with EW. "The nervousness we were having as actors was, 'We don't want to screw this up'...We both realized this is exactly how we should feel. We should take this into the scene and we did and got the results."
Was Luke always in love with Lorelai?
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I do think Luke and Lorelai were definitely always into each other — even if they didn't realize it. On a thematic level, it's a huge deal that the Gilmore Girls pilot opens with Lorelai entering Luke's diner, and that their conversation is the first few lines of the show. The first moments of any pilot are some of the most important because they introduce us to the characters, and they need to establish their personalities, as well as what's important to them. Similar to how the 2005 Pride & Prejudice plays the same music while Lizzy is at the Bennett home and Mr. Darcy's Pemberley, GG creators Dan and Amy Sherman-Palladino are showing us that Luke's Diner (and being with Luke) is where Lorelai feels at home. Plus, Luke immediately knows Lor is lying when she says she hasn't had any coffee and to be known is to be loved!!
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We don't see Luke too many more times throughout the episode (he does somberly present them with burgers and fries while they discuss the show's first Friday Night Dinner), but how does the pilot end? At Luke's Diner, once again. And when Luke shows up to take their order in a button down, Lorelai is (uncharacteristically) speechless before they tell each other they look nice like two eighth graders showing up to a dance. I love idiots in love!
Do Luke and Lorelai get married?
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Yes! Luke and Lorelai get married on November 5, 2016. You can see it in the "Fall" episode of A Year in the Life, streaming on Netflix.
Did Luke really love Lorelai?
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Yes, Luke really does love Lorelai — he just shows it differently than anyone else. Luke and Lorelai are friends throughout the entirety of Gilmore Girls, and he's the one person she can really count on. He's always willing to get into a debate with Taylor, but at his core, Luke's dependable and steadfast, which totally balances out Lorelai's fiery emotion.
And despite Luke's serious personality, Scott Patterson exclusively told Brit + Co he thinks Luke would get even more serious if his relationship with Lorelai hadn't worked out. "You know, [Sullivan's Crossing character Sully is like] if Luke hadn't ever met Lorelai or their relationship failed miserably and he shut down the diner, couldn't cope anymore, and he escaped to the woods in Canada and opened up a campground," he joked.
Ready for another milestone? Rory Gilmore's 40th Birthday Makes Us Feel Old AF — Here's A Throwback To Her 16th.
