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‘Gilmore Girls’: Scott Patterson Has a Serious Issue With 1 Major Storyline From Season 1

Scott Patterson and his TV character, Luke Danes, apparently have a few things in common. Patterson's character didn't like Lorelai Gilmore dating Rory's English teacher, Max Medina, and neither does Patterson. The famed actor explained his distaste for the relationship on his new podcast, I Am All In.

Luke Danes was Lorelai Gilmore’s main love interest in Gilmore Girls. Still, it took five seasons for the couple to finally get together. For the first four seasons, Luke had to watch Lorelai cycle through four main love interests. Scott Patterson, the actor who portrayed Luke for all seven seasons, has a serious problem with Lorelai’s earliest love interests

Scott Patterson takes issue with the way Max Medina hit on Lorelai Gilmore 

During episode four of I Am All In, Patterson’s podcast about the famed series, he noted that he has a serious problem with Lorelai and Max Medina’s pairing. Patterson said he found Max’s blatant flirtation with Lorelai, both in front of other parents and in front of Rory Gilmore, to be wildly inappropriate and kind of creepy. 

Scott Patterson stands in front of the Stars Hollow pool in 'Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life'
Scott Patterson as Luke Danes | Netflix

Patterson went on to say that both Lorelai and Max were selfish for pursuing a relationship with each other. He suggested that the couple jeopardized Rory’s education. He isn’t wrong, either. The relationship certainly caused problems for Rory during her time at Chilton. Paris Geller, Rory’s nemesis turned best friend, certainly used the situation to bully Rory. 

Max Medina and Lorelai Gilmore dated through season 1 of Gilmore Girls 

Max was Rory’s English teacher at Chilton and took a quick liking to Lorelai. He was particularly pushy when asking her out and continued to pursue her, even after Lorelai suggested it wasn’t a great idea. Eventually, she consented and began dating him. Things got serious pretty quickly. 

Max was Lorelai’s first serious relationship on Gilmore Girls if you don’t count Christopher Hayden. Lorelai even told Max that she didn’t date much and never introduced Rory to her potential suitors. The couple dated briefly in season 1 before breaking up and getting back together. Max proposed to Lorelai after an argument involving none other than Luke. 

Lorelai called off the engagement, and fans only saw Max a handful of times afterward. His last appearance came in the season 3 episode, “Keg! Max!”. His final appearance made it clear that the couple still had intense chemistry and interest in each other, but nothing ever came of it. Rory and Lorelai never mentioned him again. 

Where is Max Medina now? 

Fans, unfortunately, never learned what became of Max after Rory left Chilton. Scott Cohen, the actor who portrayed Max, didn’t reprise his role in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, either. Gilmore Girls fans can infer what happened to the sexy English teacher, though. 

Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore and Scott Patterson as Luke Danes walk down a street in Stars Hollow in 'Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life'
Lauren Graham and Scott Patterson in ‘Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life’ | Netflix
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‘Gilmore Girls’: Was Max Medina Too Pushy?

Max was not on hand at Chilton when Rory returned to speak to current students in the revival. His absence seems to suggest he was no longer teaching at the prep school. After his engagement to Lorelai ended, way back in season 2, he headed out to California to teach a college course before returning to Connecticut and Chilton. Considering his previous cross-country trek, It seems plausible that Max could have landed a job as a professor somewhere on the West Coast in the years between Gilmore Girls and Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.