Jared Padalecki Reveals His Favorite Gilmore Girls Scene

In Episode 21 of Season 1, "Love, Daisies and Troubadours," Rory finally works up the courage to tell Dean she loves him, although she also calls him an "idiot" for not realizing it sooner, per Netflix Life.

They experience the ups and downs of a first relationship throughout the course of Season 1 and ultimately decide to go their separate ways when their feelings don't quite seem to line up in Episode 16 (via Decider). But Rory can't let go of Dean. When he drives to confront her at Chilton, the elite preparatory school Rory attends, she runs up to him and, in a moment of honesty, blurts out, "I love you, you idiot!" Then he goes in for a passionate kiss.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Jared Padalecki reveals that this is his favorite scene from "Gilmore Girls." "Dean got to experience putting himself out there, going to a rich school and saying like, 'I don't belong here, but I'm going to go because I care about this person,' and then feeling like, 'Oh, here comes the shame' and then Rory comes and says, 'I love you, you idiot,' and it was a nice, sort of redeeming moment," he recalls.

This redeeming moment sets the stage for Dean and Rory's Season 2 romance, when they get back together and, for the time being, seem stronger than ever. Dean may not be the love of Rory's life, but their relationship is instrumental in helping her determine what she's really looking for in a partner.