Everyone has an opinion on Rory Gilmore's love life. It is just a fact of being a Gilmore Girls fan. There's Team Dean, Team Jess, Team Logan, and Team Rory (because Rory choosing Rory is a totally valid option), but there's one guy everyone may be counting out too soon: Marty. That's right, the naked guy, the one who loved Duck Soup, and found out his uncle was his father and his father was his uncle. Marty, the sweetest guy on the show until Season 7 happened. The actor who portrayed Marty, Wayne Wilcox, recently sat down with Bustle — and, turns out, he's just as passionate about Rory love life as fans. While Wilcox has not been confirmed for the Netflix reboot, he revealed he is game if series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino is. And, furthermore, he knows exactly what role he would want Marty to play in the reboot: He wants Marty to be the guy who Rory Gilmore ultimately chooses, and he has a good reason for it.
"I think Marty gets Rory, all the way. I think that's an avenue that needs to be explored," Wilcox said. "I think the fans want it for sure. That's what I see. If it's not that, Marty and Rory complement each other so much there's no way they just aren't in each other's lives anymore in some way as friends or lovers."
In a recent interview with TVLine, Sherman-Palladino revealed Rory will be single when the reboot begins — at least, single in the sense that she won't be in a serious relationship. As a result, the various supporters for the boyfriends of Rory's past have been clamoring to find out which of the fellows will be joining the reboot and in what capacity (note: Matt Czuchry, who portrayed Logan, has been confirmed). But, while the bottom like is that Rory is happy, it's worth considering that Rory has had relationships with all of these men before: Dean was her first love, but she outgrew him, she and Jess were the closest thing to soulmates I've ever seen on TV but their lives never seemed to sync up at the right time, and Logan... well, he showed Rory a different kind of world, but it was one she ultimately decided she didn't want to be a part of forever.
However, Marty and Rory never got their chance together. They were all false starts, but there was so much potential there. Their backgrounds were similar in that they grew up without a lot of money. They both loved obscure pop culture and they carried each other through their first crazy year of college. Rory didn't see Marty as a potential romantic partner during their college years, but what about now?
There is the matter of Season 7 to deal with, though — and since Sherman-Palladino has promised Season 7 won't be dismissed in the reboot, the year where Marty came back into Rory's life and was sort of a jerk to her cannot be overlooked. There wasn't a lot of context for what happened to Marty between Seasons 5 and 7 though, and there was precious little information offered on what he was going through when he awkwardly reconnected with Rory. He screwed up, for sure, but it doesn't negate who he was before.
If an adult Marty and an adult Rory ran into each other again, I can see them finally getting their moment. Wilcox is right about Marty and Rory understanding each other. There are shades of Luke and Lorelai to them with Marty's pining, constant food providing, and down to earth nature. Sherman-Palladino was also obviously a Marty fan. She created the role for Wilcox and expanded it from a one-off appearance to a multi-episode stint. It's hard to believe she didn't have bigger plans for Marty and Rory.
If the last memory Rory has of Marty is a bad one, that would be a heartbreaking outcome for a relationship between two characters that had so much potential. There's no reason to count Marty out just yet. As Wilcox put it, "I think maybe more so than any of the other guys that Rory got with, they got each other without having to say a word."
Logan, Jess, and Dean aren't the only guys who could make Rory happy. Marty is the dark horse, for sure, but that doesn't mean he has no chance. The naked guy could be the guy, and if he is, I would be more than OK with that.
Images: Warner Bros. Television; oywiththepoodlesalready/Tumblr (3)
