Gilmore Girls offers a compelling mother/daughter duo whose bond is unique to television. In addition, we have layers of family drama, great friendships, and wacky neighbors that make the show truly unique and interesting. There is a reason why the show ran for seven seasons and had a one-year special reboot, A Year in the Life. All of these ingredients created that fan connection and popularity.
One of the key ingredients is also the romance. Before there was a Team Jacob or Team Edward of Twilight fame, there was a Team Jess, Team Dean, and Team Logan--the three most important boyfriends in Rory's life. We also waited in anticipation to see if Luke and Lorelai would develop into a couple. Apart from our two main characters, others also had interesting romantic moments. Here are 10 of the most important.
Dave Trying to Win Over Mrs. Kim
We often forget that Dave was Lane's boyfriend and bandmate before Zack. Matter of fact had the actor, Adam Brody, not gotten cast as a lead in The O.C., we suspect that we would have seen more of this romance.
Dave is committed to dating Lane, but Mrs. Kim is overly strict. So what does Dave do? He masquerades as a Christian guitar player and plays at Mrs. Kim's large family functions, such as the Korean Thanksgiving. After the Thanksgiving, Lane apologizes that her mom had him play guitar for 5 hours straight. He shrugs it off, saying that it helped him develop callouses.
The final romantic moment comes after Mrs. Kim denies letting them date. Dave speaks to Mrs. Kim, listing all the reasons he's good for Lane. Mrs. Kim responds with a verse that Dave assumes is from the bible. Cue the next day, we see a ragged and tired Dave show up at the door, having read the bible from cover to cover to find the verse.
Logan Sending the Life and Death Brigade to Cheer Rory Up
Although The Year in the Life lacked some of the spark that made Gilmore Girls so special, and Rory's relationship with Logan is complicated, we like that Logan recognized that Rory was down. To allow her a breath, he sends the Life and Death Brigade, a secret playful society of which he is a member. She dons a Victorian hat. They have fun around Stars Hollow, and then go on the road to a tango speakeasy.
Logan could have done something for her on his own, but he recognized that she needed friends and fun. This was a sweet moment and gave Rory the breath she needed to get out of her funk.
Max Sending Flowers to Lorelai
At the end of Season 1 in the midst of a fight, Max proposes to Lorelai. She counters back, "A proposal has to be something more than the desperate desire to end a bickering match." Continuing, Lorelai tells him that there needs to be a special gesture, something like a 1,000 yellow daisies. Max looks pensive as he tells her that she is right.
While Lorelai may think that this means that Max accepts that they aren't ready for a proposal, Max understands that it needs to be more special. So, he has 1,000 yellow daisies delivered to the inn, the place she manages, with the note that she must sign for them. We end with Lorelai surrounded by yellow daisies, awed by the gesture.
Rory's Declaration of Love for Dean
In the first season, Dean was a sweet boyfriend, fixing up a car for Rory, celebrating their anniversary, and generally, treating her well. When he declares his love for Rory and she doesn't immediately respond, they break up. Rory pretends that she's over Dean, but later, realizes that she loves him. This leads to her awkwardly and indirectly declaring her love for him at a town meeting.
Then Dean heads off to see Rory at Chilton Preparatory School, only to see another guy holding Rory's books. Feeling angry, he starts to head out. Rory yells, "Stop, because I love you, you idiot." Cue the music, the romantic kiss, and they are back together (for now).
Emily and Richard Renewing Their Vows
In Season 5, Emily and Richard, Lorelai's parents, hit a rough patch. Eventually, they reconcile, leading to a formal renewal of their vows. The most touching moment is when Richard gives a speech before their first dance. He tells the audience that once when Lorelai was a child, Lorelai had horrible earaches, and Emily tried to find a way to soothe Lorelai. Emily sang a song that helped. She'd joke to Richard that it was too bad that his name wasn't Bill or this could be their song. After saying that he didn't particularly like the song, he ends his speech with "for tonight and tonight only, my name is Bill, and this is our song."
Luke and Lorelai's First Kiss
At the end of Season 4, Luke and Lorelai finally have their first kiss. He moves to kiss her, she asks, "What are you doing?" He answers, "Will you stand still?" Earlier in the season, he realized that he was in love with Lorelai. After nearly four seasons of watching these two flirt and support each other in difficult times, this was the moment that the viewer waited for. It was romantic, even if it was broken by a screaming and naked Kirk in the midst of a night terror.
Rory's Kisses with Jess
The chemistry between Rory and Jess is intense, and we couldn't limit ourselves to just one kiss. Unable to resist her attraction to Jess, even though she's still with Dean, Rory kisses a stunned Jess. This first kiss stunned her as well as she ran back to the party.
The other kisses happen once she is no longer with Dean. For one, she asks him what are the chances that he'll smoke the cigarette that he's about to light. He answers that it depends. They kiss, and he puts the cigarette in his pocket. There was so much romantic tension between these two that other small moments like Jess helping Rory turn off her neighbor's water sprinkler system seemed incredibly romantic.
Lorelai Saving Luke's Boat
In Season 5, Lorelai learns that Luke has a dark day when he disappears to grieve his father. He keeps on fixing up his father's boat, kept in an elderly woman's garage. Since the woman is leaving to go to a nursing home, he needs to take the boat. Angrily, he tells the woman to sell it, that he doesn't care anymore, to make it firewood. Then Lorelai buys it for him, just in case he regrets the decision. This results in Luke being very angry with Lorelai. Ultimately, they make up, talk, and Luke appreciates Lorelai's kindness.
Luke Builds Lorelai an Ice Rink
This is one of the biggest romantic gestures. Lorelai loves snow; she can even smell it before it snows. However, in Season 5, she has the worst day ever and the snowstorm is the reason why. To reconcile her relationship with snow and be there for her, Luke makes her an ice rink. He even brings her ice skates, proving that Luke is the king of romantic gestures and romantic moments.
Luke Creating the Good-bye Party
At the end of Season 7, when Rory finishes college and gets a job right away, Lorelai has to cancel the graduation party. She feels happy for her daughter and incredibly sad that she doesn't have more time with Rory. Luke decides to have the party anyways, but as a surprise. He arranges everything with the town. When it seems like the party is going to be rained out, he gets tents and tarps from everyone in order to sew them together.
While the party serves as testament to how much the town loves Rory, it really is the gesture that shows how much Luke loves Lorelai. When she thanks him, he tells her, "I just like to see you happy," before they kiss and get back together. Once again, proving that Luke is the king of romantic gestures and moments, despite his gruff exterior.