No matter how long it’s been since Gilmore Girls aired, the debate centering on who Rory should have ended up with continues to be a hot topic. Since it's streaming with a Netflix subscription and is one of the most rewatchable shows ever, more and more people are either rewatching it or discovering one of the best dramedies for the first time, with more contributing their two cents to the discourse about Rory’s love life. This debate mostly centers around Team Dean, Team Jess, and Team Logan, but there's a camp of fans who are actually Team Tristin. Now, Chad Michael Murray, who played Tristin, has revealed whether his character could have captured Rory’s heart if he had stuck around longer.
Before starring on One Tree Hill, Murray recurred in the first season of Gilmore Girls as wealthy Chilton student Tristin Dugray. His crush on Rory was evident, but due to his ego and bad behavior, she mostly didn’t give him the time of day unless she was forced to. That didn’t stop him from still pining after her, though. While she did reciprocate those feelings at one point, things got complicated. And he was later sent to military school because of his behavior, with his final appearance on the show being in Season 2, Episode 9.
Considering Tristin's arc was cut short, could there have been more between him and Rory if military school had never been an option? While Murray was promoting Freakier Friday with co-star Manny Jacinto, the two were asked by Capital Buzz which project fans come up to them the most about. After Murray mentioned A Cinderella Story and One Tree Hill, he was asked if fans ever mention Gilmore Girls. He then shared his thoughts on the relationship, and I so wish Tristin had stuck around:
They always come up and ask me: ‘Was Tristin supposed to be endgame?’ Oh, Tristin would have totally been endgame. Come on! Come on.
Even though Murray previously fired shots at Tristin, it seems like he's changed his tune. Having his character and Rory be endgame would have definitely changed the course of Gilmore Girls, and the storylines could have been interesting.
Rory was slowly warming up to Tristin, but due to her feelings for Dean and Paris’ feelings for Chad Michael Murray's character, nothing could really come from it. But being able to flesh out those complications and see how things would have turned out even with Dean still around would have been fun.
However, as someone who has been jumping between Team Jess and Team Logan for a while now, I’m not sure how I’d feel with yet another main guy in the picture. Maybe Team Rory was the right answer.
Everything worked out for the better, though, because just four years after being involved with a love triangle on Gilmore Girls, Murray found himself involved in a different love triangle that went on for several seasons on One Tree Hill. It may not have been the same, but it was obviously as entertaining as ever.
Unfortunately, fans couldn’t see if that first romance would have worked out even years later, as Murray was not able to return for Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Whether another Gilmore Girls revival will ever happen is unknown, but perhaps Tristin might still have a chance. That is, depending on who Rory’s baby daddy is.