Fans of Gilmore Girls usually love Luke Danes, the gruff but sweet coffee shop owner. But there are a few moments when Luke completely overreacts. For example, his Season 5 breakup with Lorelai Gilmore — over something that wasn’t even her fault.
In ‘Gilmore Girls,’ Luke and Lorelai break up after a confrontation with Lorelai’s ex Christopher
In the Gilmore Girls episode “Wedding Bell Blues,” Luke (Scott Patterson) and Lorelai (Lauren Graham) attend her parents’ vow renewal ceremony. Also in attendance is Christopher, Lorelai’s ex-boyfriend and the father of her daughter Rory Gilmore.
There’s a lot of history between Lorelai and Christopher, which is why Luke is uncomfortable he’s also at the ceremony. The situation only gets worse when it’s revealed that Lorelai and Chris had spent an evening together after his father died — something she deliberately hid from Luke.
The trio start fighting, and Chris reveals that Lorelai’s mother Emily Gilmore told him it “wasn’t too late” for a relationship with her and that he should keep fighting for her. Lorelai never said anything like this to her mother, but before she can explain that to Luke, he storms out.
Luke’s breakup with Lorelai is a total overreaction
While it makes sense that Luke would be upset that Lorelai had kept her night with Chris from him and angry that Emily would purposefully sabotage his relationship with Lorelai, he completely overreacts in this situation.
Luke leaves the ceremony without letting Lorelai explain her side of the story or tell him that she never said anything to Emily about wanting another chance with Christopher. Even worse, he completely disappears; Lorelai runs all over their town, Stars Hollow, trying to find him. Once she does, he tells her he needs time and space.
Lorelai leaves him alone, but finally goes to talk to him in the following episode after hearing that the rest of the town thinks they broke up. Luke keeps asking for more time, but Lorelai says she doesn’t want to wait. Finally, Luke says that he doesn’t want to be in the relationship anymore.
Like his initial reaction at the vow renewal ceremony, Luke is completely overreacting. Once again, he doesn’t let Lorelai explain anything about the situation — he even starts to get angry about the fact that her parents and Chris will always be in her life.
Luke has a history of shutting down when his relationships get difficult
Luke’s request for time and space to think about what had happened was clearly just a way for him to avoid Lorelai and their eventual split. He does the same thing with his ex-girlfriend Rachel; instead of talking about their relationship or letting Rachel share her feelings, Luke simply shuts down and avoids her.
Lorelai and Luke eventually get back together and, after a few more bumps in the road, have their happily ever after, but this first breakup was really unfair for Lorelai. Not only does Luke break up with her for something she never said, he doesn’t give her a chance to tell him her side of the story. Gilmore Girls fans might love Luke, but most will agree that this was one of their least favorite moments for the couple.
