‘Gilmore Girls’: Was Luke Danes a Twin?
Luke Danes was never supposed to have a huge role in Gilmore Girls. In fact, the character was originally written as a woman named Daisy. Over the course of season 1, the writing team expanded his role, and eventually, he became one of the key characters in the town of Stars Hollow. While fans learned a bit about Luke’s family tree, they can’t figure out how old he is or whether he and his sister, Liz Danes, are twins.
How old was Luke Danes when Gilmore Girls started?
When Gilmore Girls aired its pilot episode, the show made it known that Lorelai Gilmore was 32-years-old and that she found out she was pregnant when she was just 16. While the series repeated that fact repeatedly, everyone else’s age was considered pretty inconsequential. That is until Luke became Lorelai’s love interest. So, exactly how old was Luke?
It’s hard to say. Reddit fans note that a trophy from Stars Hollow High School places Luke in the school in 1985. Assuming Luke was a senior in 1985 and wasn’t markedly old or young for his grade, fans can assume that he was about 33 years old when the series began. So, that means he’s just one year old than Lorelai.
Luke Danes had one sister named Liz Danes
In season 2, Gilmore Girls revealed that Luke had one sister and one nephew. The revelation was made when Liz Danes’ son, Jess Mariano, showed up in Stars Hollow because Liz couldn’t handle him any longer. The sole purpose of Jess’s existence was to keep Luke and Lorelai apart, but it did make for an interesting backstory. Fans have spent years trying to figure out just how old Liz is.
Viewers have ascertained that she is older than Lorelai. Liz was briefly married to Jess’s father. That means she had Jess when she was at least 18. In a 2004 episode of the series, Liz returned to Stars Hollow for her High School reunion. That means Liz graduated from Stars Hollow High in 1984. In 2004, she would have been about 38 years old. In 2004, Lorelai was 36.
Were Luke and Liz Danes twins?
It is strongly assumed that Liz is actually younger than Luke because she often calls him big brother, but based on clues from Gilmore Girls, that appears not to be the case. While Luke and Liz don’t seem to be twins, some basic hints indicate that she is a year or two older than the brother she refers to as “big brother.”
Why would Liz call Luke her “big brother” if he is younger than her? It could simply be a plot hole. Gilmore Girls creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino, sprinkled several plot holes into the series. It is equally possible that Liz refers to Luke as her big brother because of his height and his responsible nature. Luke, at 6’0, was substantially taller than his sister. She also regularly references how he was constantly saving her.
