It took way too long for Lorelai and Luke to get married in Gilmore Girls

From the pilot episode of Gilmore Girls, the endgame potential of Luke and Lorelai as a couple was apparent. They were mere friends when the series began, but you could see it. There was something more between them than coffee customer and coffee supplier. And the more time they spent together, the more Lorelai leaned on Luke... the lines were always blurring.

Gilmore Girls never shied away from teasing the sparks between the two. In fact, they teased the romantic tension between them the perfect amount rather than whacking us over the head with the constant will-they-or-won't-they. Being strung along season upon season can become tiresome for viewers, which really makes it crazy to think that it takes them almost two decades to get married. TWO DECADES!

The series premiered in 2000, and Luke and Lorelai don't become an official couple until season 5, which premiered in 2004. By the end of season 6, they're broken up, but they get back together in the series finale, which aired in 2007. By the time we meet back up with the whole crew in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, Luke and Lorelai still aren't married. How could that be possible?!

It's almost as if for Luke and Lorelai, time stopped when the original series ended. What we learned in the revival is that the couple had found themselves in some strange state of stasis. They don't know how they ended up in a rut, and they don't know how to get themselves out of it either. In the wake of her father's death, Lorelai's more conscious of this rut, but Luke just comfortably went along with it, content to spend his life with her no matter what. Lorelai, though, had to pull herself apart to put everything back together.

She begins to explore the option of having a child together via surrogacy, and when you zoom out, it's kind of wild to think that a couple that had been together for almost 10 years (over 10 years if you count the lost years, and we should!) hadn't been having these conversations at all. No judgment to either of them, but how did none of this come up in a real way at all since 2007?

Sure, they make references to the past, but nothing had been realistically pursued it seems, making the question of how and why marriage never happened. Granted, they had both been part of short-lived marriages, so perhaps that put a sour taste in their mouths for the whole institution. Maybe they even felt marriage was unnecessary for where they were in their lives. But one thing's true: They previously really wanted to marry each other.

Do Luke and Lorelai get married in Gilmore Girls?

Yes, Luke and Lorelai get married in Gilmore Girls, though not in the original series. As stated above, fans have the opportunity to attend their long-awaited wedding in the final episode of A Year in the Life. The magical moment happens in episode 4, "Fall," when they have a private ceremony with Rory in town square in the middle of the night. "Reflecting Light" by Sam Phillips plays (if you know, you know), and it's truly just the perfect follow through for fans.

Honestly, I can't be too mad that it took as long as it did for Luke and Lorelai to get married because longtime fans of the series got to see it. Imagine how much madder we would have been if it happened off-screen or we only saw it in flashbacks. I shudder at thinking about the timeline where A Year in the Life finds them on the brink of divorce. Yeah, ending with a wedding was the best option. I'm more frustrated on their behalf, like a friend wanting your bestie to get their dream.

But at the same time, I don't want to sound as though marriage was the only option for them. If they wanted to continue their relationship as it was without marriage, then I think all of us fans would have been thrilled with how Amy Sherman-Palladino pulled that off, too. It's completely valid for two people to choose what's best for them and their relationship without the opinions of others becoming involved. It's no one's business how two people choose to live their lives.

For their love story, as it was written, the series established that marriage was the destination. In season 6, they planned a wedding, but colossal differences drove an enormous wedge between them and caused the split of the century. You can't blame fans for wanting them to have a second chance at achieving their dream. Thankfully, they did, when the time was right. Timing is everything! Still, you also can't help but wish they would have been able to do so sooner.

All seven seasons and the revival miniseries of Gilmore Girls are available on Netflix.