Gilmore Girls: 10 Dramatic Things That Happened At The Dragonfly Inn

When Lorelai Gilmore moved out of her parents’ house with her one-year-old daughter Rory, she went directly to the Independence Inn. It was there that she was greeted by friendly people, was given a job, and a place to live while she raised her daughter as a teen mom. The Independence Inn made such an impact on Lorelai’s life that she opened her own inn, the Dragonfly Inn, in the fourth season with her best friend, Sookie.

Once Lorelai and Sookie opened the Dragonfly Inn, their lives changed forever. But it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. There were plenty of monumental and dramatic things that happened on the Dragonfly Inn grounds in Gilmore Girls.

10 Jason Vs. Luke

When Lorelai and Sookie were ready to open the Dragonfly Inn’s doors, they did a trial weekend with all of their friends and family. At this point in the series, Luke and Lorelai were slowly seeing each other but never had “the talk.” Luke showed up at the inn to show his support but was shocked to find Jason — Lorelai’s ex-boyfriend — there as well.

Luke had the courage to talk to Jason and was shocked when Jason said that he and Lorelai were still seeing each other. Luke was beyond mad at freaked out at Lorelai on the Dragonfly’s porch. But it was at that moment that both Lorelai and Luke realized their feelings were stronger than they thought and they shared their first kiss.

9 Kirk’s Naked Night Terrors

During the Dragonfly’s trial weekend, Kirk was nervous about spending the night with Lulu. He told Luke that he had serious night terrors and was terrified he would have an episode in the middle of the night and scare away Lulu.

He asked for Luke’s help to get him under control if the situation came about. And unfortunately for Luke, it did. Kirk ran out of the inn naked, which prompted Luke to chase him and calm him down.

8 Rory And Dean’s Dramatic Relationship

In the middle of the fourth season, Dean begins having issues with his marriage and confides in Rory. After all of these years, Dean and Rory started focusing on their “friendship” but it became obvious that the two were unable to stay that way. They began hanging out again and flirting when they were together.

In the episode “Raincoats & Recipes,” Dean was helping Lorelai with renovations on the inn when he ran into Rory. The two had a heated argument about Rory being friends with Jess and would have kissed if they weren’t interrupted by another worker.

7 Say Goodbye To Lunch

As well as the Dragonfly Inn was doing, the inn’s accountant admitted that they weren’t in the best place financially. To save money, the accountant suggested getting rid of lunch on the inn’s menu. Sookie was incensed. How could a chef as talented as Sookie cancel lunch?

Throughout the episode, Sookie is bothered and acting erratically. As it turns out, she was pregnant!

6 The Breakdown Of Emily & Richard

Richard and Emily began having issues in their marriage as soon as he was forced to retire. The couple wasn’t used to spending much time together and it began to eat away at them. Emily needed her space and Richard felt like a burden. He didn’t know what to do. Sadly, things only got worse when Richard decided to start his own business.

At the opening of the inn, both Richard and Emily showed up to show support for their daughter, but it wasn’t a happy weekend. They hated that Lorelai placed them in their own apartment that was separate from society. They also were annoyed that Lorelai didn’t give them any input on the kind of attire they would wear. At the end of the day, the Gilmores were only there for a couple of hours before leaving early.

5 A Negative Lunch With Christopher

In the episode “Emily Says ‘Hello,'” Lorelai invites Christopher to see the inn and have lunch. The two hadn’t caught up since he had Gigi, and Lorelai was worried about him as a single dad. But when Rory stumbled into the inn and saw her mom and dad having lunch together, she was immediately put off.

Before the surprise lunch, Rory told her dad to stop coming around because he tends to screw up everything. He told Rory “things were different” far too many times and always messed things up. The two got into a heated argument that ended poorly.

4 Lorelai’s Magazine Interview

In the episode “To Live And Let Diorama,” Lorelai is humbled when a well-known magazine wanted to interview her and do a feature on the inn. This magazine feature could lead to amazing exposure and bigger things for the sleepy town of Stars Hollow.

However, leave it to Lorelai and her big mouth to get her into trouble. When Lorelai was asked about her parents, she didn’t have the nicest things to say about her mother and forgot to say they were off the record. Emily was excited about her daughter’s success but it immediately faded when she got her hands on that article.

3 Luke’s Character Recommendation

In the seventh season, Lorelai is married to Christopher and slowly working on her friendship with Luke. It’s obvious to everyone but Luke and Lorelai that they still love and need each other but they put their romantic feelings to the side.

In an effort to get custody of his daughter April, Luke needed a strong character recommendation from someone who knew him in and out. To everyone’s surprise, he had the confidence to go to the inn and ask Lorelai to write it. Writing something so personal was a big deal for Lorelai. It proved how much she knew and respected him. She spent many nights at the Dragonfly Inn writing her feelings for Luke by the fire.

2 Chin Chin’s Memorial

In the episode “Farewell, My Pet,” Michel is devastated when his beloved dog Chin Chin dies. In order to distract herself from Christopher, Lorelai planned an inspirational memorial service for Chin Chin at the inn. Sadly, she didn’t realize that Michel wanted Chin Chin’s memorial to be akin to a person’s. After a lot of mistakes, Lorelai and Sookie end up making Chin Chin’s memorial special for Michel.

1 Lorelai’s Heartbreak

Lorelai was never upset that Luke had a daughter he didn’t know about; she was upset that he knew for two months and never told her. He got mad at Lorelai on multiple occasions for not being honest with him about Christopher but when the tables were turned, Luke didn’t offer the same transparency.

Lorelai gave Luke plenty of space to figure out being a new dad but after a while, she gave him an ultimatum: either they got married now or never. When Luke didn’t answer, Lorelai took that as his answer and went directly to Christopher to ease her pain. The next day at the inn’s kitchen, Lorelai came clean about her heartbreak and what she did with Christopher to a very judgmental and heartbroken Sookie.

About The Author

Lynn Gibbs
(1650 Articles Published)

Lynn is a nomad who travels the globe on the hunt for her next adventure with her husband. A lover of being outside (and finding the best latte in town), Lynn is typically hiking, walking, or jogging when she’s not focusing on her love of writing. When it comes to shows streaming on Netflix or anything Bravo-related, Lynn’s your gal.

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