‘Gilmore Girls’: Luke Shouldn’t Have Kicked Jess Out, Some Fans Say
For seven seasons, fans enthusiastically watched Gilmore Girls and cheered on the series’ beloved characters. At the heart of Gilmore Girls was mother-daughter-duo Lorelai and Rory. Appearing alongside the notorious pair were the eccentric but lovable residents of Stars Hollow.
Gilmore Girls would have never been the same without Miss Patty, Lane, Taylor Doose, and, of course, the one-and-only Luke Danes. Over the course of the TV show’s 154 episodes, Luke had many memorable scenes, but there was one in particular that fans think may have been mishandled.
A look back at why Luke kicked out Jess on ‘Gilmore Girls’
Fans and followers of Gilmore Girls remember Jess Mariano’s season two entrance into the series. When things started to get out of her control, Luke’s sister, Liz, sent her son Jess to live with his uncle Luke in Stars Hollow.
Jess, known for his bad boy reputation in Gilmore Girls, seemed to enjoy bringing a little bit of chaos to the quiet town. Despite the tension, Luke worked to build a relationship with Jess. When Jess first arrived in Stars Hollow, there is no denying he got off to a rough start.
Luke let him stay upon the contingency that he must graduate high school. In the episode “Keg! Max!” things came to a head when Jess could no longer hide the fact that not only was he not able to go to prom, but he also wouldn’t be able to graduate. Amidst the unsettling discovery, Luke kicked Jess out of his home.
Many ‘Gilmore Girls’ fans think Luke was in the wrong when it came to the infamous season 3 moment
Fans on Reddit had mixed feelings fans about Luke’s decision to kick out Jess. One user kicked off the discussion by writing: “Is it just me, or was Luke kicking Jess out such a s***** thing to do? Jess had nowhere to go … Jess had no high school diploma and also no car because Luke stole it from him.” The fan went on to say that kicking Jess out for not graduating wasn’t the right response and that he should have helped him more.
While Jess didn’t hold up his end of the deal to graduate high school if he wanted to stay with Luke, he was only 18 years old and had grown up with unstable parents who didn’t show up for him, and Luke wasn’t exactly great at monitoring Jess’ behavior.
After all, it was Lorelai who explicitly told Luke that Jess was probably skipping school to work full-time, and Luke tried to dismiss it rather than deal with it. It’s possible that with a bit more oversight, Jess could have graduated high school, even if it was resisted.
Fans also noted that Luke only really made one attempt at getting Jess help with school — an ill-fated tutoring session with Rory that ended with Jess being sent back to his mom. Luke also didn’t seem to be working closely with the school to ensure Jess was going.
There’s also the fact that while Jess wasn’t going to school, he was still working full-time and doing well in his job. It was clear he could apply himself if he was getting some sort of return, and Luke could have looked into alternative education, like a trade school, to get Jess some sort of degree or certification.
Fans went on to say that “at the very least, Luke could’ve given him his car back,” before kicking him out. Though that seems like great advice, perhaps Luke’s rashness was the Gilmore Girls writers’ attempt to make the scene more authentic and real.
Other ‘Gilmore Girl’ side with Luke on the controversial scene
In the thread, many fans and followers of Gilmore Girls didn’t hold back on hiding their distaste or disagreement when it came to Luke’s decision to kick out Jess. However, there were some people who thought Luke did actually do the right thing.
One viewer explained, “If Luke let him stay, all Jess would learn is that he doesn’t have to do what he says he will. He needed to leave and to go on his journey, and he openly credits Luke with helping him end up in a good place.” Many others agreed that holding Jess accountable and giving Jess some tough love was the best thing Luke could have done in the situation.
