The Rory Gilmore Book Club discussion
Gilmore Girls Discussions
>
Chris , Max or Luke?
Luke's daughter was bad, bad writing.
Torn! I still liked Chris! Remember when he rode in on his motorcycle? And when Lorelai called him from her bachelorette party (for her we-knew-she'd-break-it-off engagement to Max?)
Ugh. Reluctantly, Team Luke.
Torn! I still liked Chris! Remember when he rode in on his motorcycle? And when Lorelai called him from her bachelorette party (for her we-knew-she'd-break-it-off engagement to Max?)
Ugh. Reluctantly, Team Luke.



And I know someone mentioned this on another thread, but, wasn't Luke's kid basically Rory Jr? That irritated me. Yeah, he can have a smart kid, but she Looked and Talked just like Rory would have at 12, 13 or something.

Also, I read somewhere that his part was originally written for a woman but that they decided they needed more guys on the show. The chemistry between the two actors decided the rest.
I just can't be a real Chris fan after he married that wacko. I think Max was pretty sweet. But I missed enough here and there with living abroad, etc., that I can't say for certain. However, from the start, I liked Luke for Lorelai.
But don't you think she could have found real happiness with any one of the three if she'd really committed (because you know she had real feelings for all of them)? Okay, not with Chris when they finally did get together, because that was a total broken-heart, guilt-ridden rebound. But if it had happened before... ?
But don't you think she could have found real happiness with any one of the three if she'd really committed (because you know she had real feelings for all of them)? Okay, not with Chris when they finally did get together, because that was a total broken-heart, guilt-ridden rebound. But if it had happened before... ?

Okay when I first got into the show I could totally tell the chemistry between Luke and Lorelai and was all for it.It took way too many seasons for it to get going though.So I changed and wanted her with Chris but was so happy when they finally did get a relationship.It was so cute especially when Rory and her mom weren't talking.My oldest dd wanted her with Chris.

Clearly, well to me it was clear,Luke and Lore were meant to be together ever since season one. Luke is great but I always wondered while wacthing: how much can a man REALLY take??? Those Gilmores were such a handfull afterall.


Yes, some of us men watched GG.

Aaaaand now I have the Little Mermaid stuck in my head. Great.
Hahaha on the Little Mermaid song! When I was a teacher of music, art, drama, & dance, that was a song frequently used in class. But I love it!
Jondice77, really great points and explanation. I wholeheartedly agree... well, except about the being a man part. 'Cause I'm not. A man. Heh.
Jondice77, really great points and explanation. I wholeheartedly agree... well, except about the being a man part. 'Cause I'm not. A man. Heh.

Luke, one hundred percent Luke. He's that constant in her life and has been for so long, doesn't anybody remember when Suki tells Lorelai that Luke is into her in Season 2, and she goes to Luke and says that whole speech about how there are very few people that are in her life for the rest of her life and she always knows no matter what will be there and Luke agrees with her that he's one of those people? Gah, get's me every time.
Chris was...a beautiful life to me. No matter how much his character grew, he always was like a little kid in a man's world. I think Lorelai knew that. No matter how much he appeared to grow and change, he didn't change much and at the heart was the same Christopher she always knew and I think that's why she KNEW it wouldn't work.

Why?
1. The kiss. Lorelai's had some great kisses in this series, but the absolute best kiss was after Emily told him to go back to Lorelai and she would butt out. And Lorelai is sitting on the sofa watching Judy Garland sing in "A Star is Born" and he rings the doorbell. She answers. And he just walks in and sweeps her off her feet with one heck of kiss. What woman doesn't dream of a kiss like that?
2. The dog. Lorelai returning to Luke's to learn that the dog had gotten into some baking chocolate. Knowing that was probably bad, Luke took him to the vet's. But the vet was closed. So he found out where the vet lived. After waking the vet up and pretty much forcing him to examine the dog, he went home and made scrambled eggs for the dog because the vet told him to feed him something "light". Why? Because Luke knew that with Lorelai's past of killing animals, she would have been devastated if anything bad happened to Paul Anka (the dog, not the person).
3. The ice rink. Because he felt bad that Lorelai and snow had a falling out and thought this might help patch things up.
But mostly, because while I agree that Chris "got" Lorelai in ways that Luke never could, that is more what friends, best friends, are for. But in a marriage, for a spouse, you want a partner--someone who will stand by you in the good and the bad, who will do all those little things without you having to ask, who will go to the parties even though he hates them, play golf with your dad because it will make a good impression, and let your mom criticize you in a totally passive agressive way and still want to date you. But also who will love your kid like his own before there was ever a chance that something could happen between the two of you. Luke was Lorelai's rock and partner and friend. And it was their differences as well as their similarities that made them such a wonderful couple.


He knows Lorelai (and Rory) the best next to Chris, and even Chris doesn't know Lorelai AS well as Luke because he hasn't been around in her life as often as Luke. Luke and Lorelai are also so cute together. Chris is cute in looks, but Luke is cute in looks and personality.

LUKE! I mean, Luke's the big, blue collar guy. He FIXES stuff, and he supplies her with coffee.
Just given my life experience, those are the things that matter. Chris is unstable. Max is too nice (hence my love for Wuthering Heights). Luke's totally where it's at. Lorelei needs someone who can be loving and put up with her craziness but let her know it's bull$-- when she's gone too far.
And he has the least messed up relationship with Rory. Chris would give her the impression that Prince Charmins is always there waiting to come back, Max would give her the impression that her mom has no boundaries. Luke's safe... And looks really cuddly in flannel.



But the love lives ARE a part of them, just as yours is to you. But I agree, sometimes it felt like it kind of got in the way. However, I think that's what made it "real". How many of us have or had girlfriends who's new relationship made them MIA for a while? One of my favorite mini stories is when Rory is newly dating Dean and Lane is going through her crush and because Rory isn't around to help listen to her she ends up brushing her hand through his hair. I was upset that Rory wasn't there for Lane, but it was so natural.

Team Chris (though I don't know the entire story, maybe you know something I don't)

I loved Chris because they've known each other for so long and they had Rory together and there was just something that really clicked about them. But then they got married and that didn't work out.
And then Luke and Lorelai. They were just so great together, so much chemistry, so much (sexual and non-sexual) tension that just made them work!
It's kind of interesting to me that Max was added to the question. He was only around the first couple of seasons! I guess that means from middle of season two onward, Lorelai only went out on dates from strangers and then was back and forth with Chris and Luke.

First, Luke, well he is just hot. Second, he was always there for her. Third, I know that people have obstacles and all but if she was really supposed to have been with Chris it shouldn't have been THAT ridiculously hard! I mean, come on! And Luke appreciated Lorelai's quirks, really loved her for them. But he balanced her, and she needed that balance, as we all do I think.
And he is the most romantic character ever! That moment when he is listening to that tape on finding love and he is supposed to visualize the person and he realizes who it was, that was great. And their numerous first kisses, the first one on the night of the opening of the Dragonfly, and after they broke up and got back together, the one Meghan described. They were just RIGHT. When her and Chris kissed, well there was just no spark for me!
SO LUKE! Unless I can have him....
I thought she and Jason were fun. He was quirky in totally different ways from her, but was totally into her. I liked it.
Still say Luke. From episode one on, they had something amazing brewing. Their concern and support was always there. Plus, there was always something smoldering. Something strong. Emily saw it before they ever did. She hated it, but she saw it.
Still say Luke. From episode one on, they had something amazing brewing. Their concern and support was always there. Plus, there was always something smoldering. Something strong. Emily saw it before they ever did. She hated it, but she saw it.

I know. Lorelai and Chris had such a deep-seeded connection. He was the original go-to boy when her parents were driving her nuts at sixteen. I still love it when she calls him from her bachelorette party.

Max has given me the heeby-jeebies since he was introduced. He looks about 10 or 20 years older than Lorelai, but that wouldn't matter if he just didn't make my skin crawl. I can't really put my finger on it. Watching him flirt with her in the little coffee shop by the school and touching her just grossed me out.
Chris, being a high school sweetheart, is just out of the question. Plus the history of coming and going and being irresponsible with money.
Luke is like that perfect combination of being a regular guy, yet frequently accidentally showing his sentimental side. And he and Lorelai just seem to fit. Okay, and he's really cute, although I didn't like him in the sweater that Lorelai bought him at 6 trillion% off.
So I repeat--TEAM LUKE!

Lorelai and Luke will always be the perfect match.

SPOILER
I was glad they phased him out but I was kind of sad that she just walked out like that. There are times in this show where you just have to wonder what was she thinking?

SEASON 1 SPOILER!
Yeah, the writers had no problem reminding us that Lorelai and Rory were flawed, just like us. They both made a bunch of bad decisions. I mean, they were never tragically bad. I felt like they were using some of their bad choices to reveal a little bit more about their characters. (Like Lorelai running out on Max, rather than facing it head on, for one example. That was actually kind of cruel, to me. But that's what she did--she ran.)
Yeah, the writers had no problem reminding us that Lorelai and Rory were flawed, just like us. They both made a bunch of bad decisions. I mean, they were never tragically bad. I felt like they were using some of their bad choices to reveal a little bit more about their characters. (Like Lorelai running out on Max, rather than facing it head on, for one example. That was actually kind of cruel, to me. But that's what she did--she ran.)



Miranda Otto's my favorite.
I like Cashmere Mafia. Maybe because I don't have girlfriend who have lasted in their various stages of life that I really enjoy watching ones who stayed committed as these women have. Same with Women's Murder Club... maybe not the best show ever, and it has driven me insane at times with it wrongly spoken "local" slang, but I really love the girlfriends thing. WMC has shown more depth of character than CM, though.
But I adore Lucy Lui. I've long been partial to Miranda Otto and Frances O'Connor as well. The blonde actress annoys me, but I get her character. I get the curiosity and discovery and trying it out with a woman. I totally get the ambiguity of trying to understand yourself in all of that. She makes total sense to me. Which completely frustrates me since as I said, I really don't like the actress and even the character is a bit annoying. (At least in figuring all that out she doesn't have to worry about friends or family ditching her. That's pretty great.)
The other thing about CM is that they all always look FABULOUS. That's always fun to watch! But most of all, I love that it shows really successful women. It shows the sacrifices that being one can take - the tolls it can demand. It realistically shows that "having it all" is a myth.
I would agree with Sarah that it is and "okay" show... but at the same time I've obviously enjoyed watching it. Then again, I'm so partial to Lucy, I'd be hard-pressed not to!
But I adore Lucy Lui. I've long been partial to Miranda Otto and Frances O'Connor as well. The blonde actress annoys me, but I get her character. I get the curiosity and discovery and trying it out with a woman. I totally get the ambiguity of trying to understand yourself in all of that. She makes total sense to me. Which completely frustrates me since as I said, I really don't like the actress and even the character is a bit annoying. (At least in figuring all that out she doesn't have to worry about friends or family ditching her. That's pretty great.)
The other thing about CM is that they all always look FABULOUS. That's always fun to watch! But most of all, I love that it shows really successful women. It shows the sacrifices that being one can take - the tolls it can demand. It realistically shows that "having it all" is a myth.
I would agree with Sarah that it is and "okay" show... but at the same time I've obviously enjoyed watching it. Then again, I'm so partial to Lucy, I'd be hard-pressed not to!

I don't know if you read my posts earlier about Max giving my the creeps. (Still can't explain it.)
Anyway, I think on the night of your Max sighting, our remote must have gotten bumped and the channel was switched away from whatever I was watching, only I didn't realize it at first. (I was probably watching one or another mutation of Law & Order.) My husband laughed at me because, I said, "Eeew, that's Max. I hate Max!" I'm not sure why I used the word hate, because my feelings aren't really that strong. I spent several minutes trying to figure out how he fit into the plot, then finally figured out, with relief, that I was on the wrong channel.
I hope it doesn't give any of you the creeps to know that Max gives me the creeps.
I thought Max was fine (points for being Literature teacher) until he started to tell Lorelai how to raise Rory...asking her should she be on the porch with Dean and all that. It was downhill from there...


I would have to pick Luke. Man is he some good eye candy and they are so perfect for each other. It still kills me that Luke didn't tell Lorelai about about his daughter