Beloved for feeding everyone in the quirky town of Stars Hollow — and keeping Lorelai and Rory caffeinated — Luke Danes is a crucial part of Gilmore Girls. He might have stayed out of trouble and been a loner in the first season, but his love life picked up and soon he had as many romantic entanglements as the other characters.
When Luke did speak, he could be grumpy, resigned, or in rare cases, passionate, but he always got right to the point and he was honest with those around him. Fans can relate to a lot of Luke's quotes, whether he was talking about Lorelai's coffee addiction or his fear of having kids.
"How many cups have you had this morning?"
A lot of forgotten things happened in the Gilmore Girls pilot but the most memorable was in the first scene when Lorelai begged Luke for coffee.
He was onto her immediately and when he asked how much she had already had that morning, he said what every fan was thinking. It was clear from the very start of the show that Lorelai was a coffee addict and that she was always going to ask Luke for more. This scene also serves as an adorable memory for fans who shipped Luke and Lorelai (which was everyone).
"Look, I'm sure it was an accident. Accidents happen."
When Jess came to Stars Hollow to live with his uncle Luke, he was leaving a sad past behind and he felt abandoned by his family.
Luke did what he could but Jess was a rebel who was out of control. When Jess and Rory got into a car accident, Lorelai was livid and blamed Jess. Luke commented that "accidents happen. While this made Lorelai even angrier, as she wasn't going to see things from a calmer perspective, this was something that every fan agreed with. It wasn't Jess' fault and he would never have willingly put Rory in danger.
"Gotta say sleigh rides are a little much but these horses are really beautiful."
Lorelai was a big fan of snow and the colder months of the year, and there are many fun Gilmore Girls episodes featuring the winter season. While Luke tended to be grumpy about most things, he surprised viewers by commenting that going on a horse sleigh ride was "beautiful."
Even the most cynical people have to admit that this is a great winter activity, so everyone can definitely relate to Luke's comments here. It was always heartwarming watching Luke reluctantly admit that he liked something.
"It's the Heinz family's little joke."
When Lorelai asked, "Boy, they keep making that ketchup slower and slower, huh?" in the season 2 episode "Hammers and Veils," Luke had this response.
Who hasn't thought that it took forever to pour some ketchup onto their fries or hamburger? Many great moments took place at Luke's diner and sometimes Luke had the perfect joke while he was going about his regular workday. Even better was when he had no idea that he was being funny.
"Oh God, he's got a nerve. I mean what does he think he's gonna do better than Rory? Is he crazy? Jeez. Alright, well forget it ok. Good riddance, adios, bienvenidos, hasta la vista."
It was tough watching Dean break up with Rory in the first season when she was afraid to say she loved him, and Luke felt just as upset as viewers did.
When Luke shared with Lorelai that Dean would never find someone as great as Rory, fans agreed with him and he said something that everyone had been thinking. If only Dean had talked to Rory a bit longer and let her explain. It definitely seemed harsh for him to just end their romance and refuse to talk to her.
"They're always sticky like they've got jam on their hands. Even if there's no jam in the house, somehow, they've always got jam on their hands! I'm not the right guy to deal with that. I have no patience for jam hands!"
Before he learned about his daughter April Nardini, Luke was scared of kids, and he still had some fear and concern when they began spending time together.
Luke commented that kids often have sticky fingers and that he wasn't sure that he knew how to handle it. This was a time that Luke said what many people think, as kids are wonderful and adorable, but the decision to start a family is a big and important one. It can't be taken lightly and there needs to be a lot of thought and planning beforehand.
"You're just scared. Just like everybody else when they're taking on something big."
Before Lorelai opened her The Dragonfly Inn, she spent many years working at the Independence Inn, a place that was special to her because it's where she worked when she left home and raised Rory as a baby.
When Mia was selling the Independence Inn, Lorelai got really upset and talked to Luke about the sense of loss that she was feeling. Luke had some wise words for her, and he said that he was afraid when he opened his diner. He also shared the helpful advice, "There is no button to push to get you through this. You just gotta jump in and be scared and stick with it until it gets fun."
"Her daughter Rory, who you didn't meet but you'll like 'cause she's a lot like Lorelai, but she's got a slightly tighter grasp on reality."
Luke knew better than most people that Rory and Lorelai shared some personality traits, and he said what every fan was thinking with this hilarious statement comparing the mother and daughter.
Luke loved Lorelai, but he knew that she was prone to fantasy rather than reality and that she didn't like being practical. Rory, on the other hand, was a much more logical person and loved pro/con lists, school supplies, and planning for the future.
"I'm in bed. I have ten more minutes to sleep. Not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things, but still, ten minutes is ten minutes. You know what I mean."
Luke had a great work ethic and often went to bed early and woke up with the sun so he could start work and open up the diner. The residents of Stars Hollow enjoyed starting their day with some coffee and pancakes at Luke's.
Luke described the beauty of just a few minutes of sleep so perfectly in this scene. He was right: even though an extra hour or so would be better, many people wish for a few more blissful minutes of slumber in the morning.
"This right here is all I will ever need. I never imagined that in my wildest dreams that it would happen, that you and me, that we would happen. But we did."
Fans swooned when Luke made this statement to Lorelai in the Netflix revival A Year In The Life.
Luke summed up what so many people in long-term relationships or marriages think: that they can't believe that they were able to find their person. Dating can be frustrating and there's a lot of potential for heartbreak, and it can feel surreal when a date finally goes well. Gilmore Girls fans might not have expected Luke to have tons of wisdom about love since he had been a bit of a loner before, but he knew the perfect thing to say to show his appreciation for Lorelai.