‘Gilmore Girls’: 3 Things Lorelai Gilmore Should Have Known About Luke Danes but Just Didn’t
The chemistry between Luke Danes and Lorelai Gilmore was present from the very first episode of Gilmore Girls. It took five long seasons for the couple to finally get together, but their friendship predated the series. Still, for two people who spent so much time together, they didn’t seem to know a ton about each other. Over the course of six seasons, Lorelai was stymied to learn things about Luke that she absolutely should have known.
Lorelai had no idea Luke Danes had a sister until season 2 of Gilmore Girls
Lorelai spent nearly every day of her life in Luke’s Diner. The pals had plenty of light banter, but apparently, they never really discussed Luke’s life beyond his business. Lorelai had no idea Luke even had a sister until her son showed up in Stars Hollow after causing problems back home in New York. Even after she learned about Liz Danes’ existence, she didn’t go out of her way to find out much about her.
It took two more seasons for Lorelai to put a face to the name. In season 4, while on the phone with Rory, Lorelai describes a “hippy chick” talking to Luke. She and Rory theorized that the woman might be a lawyer from Nicole’s firm, a potential rental, and even a dominatrix. It never occurred to either that the woman in question was Liz. Eventually, Lorelai and Liz met, but it took way too long, considering how close Lorelai was to Luke.
Lorelai Gilmore didn’t recall any of Luke’s relationships, even though they were friends when they were going on
Liz lived far from Stars Hollow, which makes Lorelai’s lack of knowledge about her believable. Luke’s romantic relationships, however, were something Lorelai probably should have noticed. Before dating Lorelai, Luke had three major relationships. Before Gilmore Girls began, Luke dated Anna Nardini, which resulted in his only child, April Nardini. In season 1, he reconnected with Rachel, a girlfriend he had before the series started. Finally, Luke dated and accidentally married Nicole.
Lorelai only knew about Nicole. Sookie St. James, Lorelai’s best friend, wasn’t nearly as close to Luke, but still, she knew about Rachel. Miss Patty and Babette both knew about Anna. Lorelai knew about neither, even though she knew Luke at that point and visited his diner regularly for coffee.
Lorelai Gilmore had no idea that Luke had a “dark day”
Gilmore Girls fans have dismissed Lorelai’s lack of knowledge about Luke’s early dating life repeatedly. One Reddit user suggested that Lorelai was busy raising Rory when the bulk of Luke’s dating happened. While it somewhat plausible that Lorelai wouldn’t know much about Luke’s romantic life, the fact that she didn’t know anything about his dark day seems impossible.
Every year, Luke disappeared for one day. He closed the diner and left Stars Hollow. Everyone seemed to be aware of Luke’s dark day, except for Lorelai. Kirk Gleason, Miss Patty, and Babette were all familiar with it. Lorelai and Rory, however, apparently never noticed. Since the event happened each year on the same date, Lorelai probably would have recognized his absence.
To be fair, though, Stars Hollow residents claimed they had no idea why he took off. Luke later revealed that the dark day was the anniversary of his father’s death. That seems like something everyone in Stars Hollow would have known. Luke’s father, William Danes, was a longtime resident of the town until his death.
