I feel I've almost been manipulated and brainwashed into believing LL are so incredibly f***ed up and messed up, with so many underlying issues to deal with, which IMO were never truly there until TPTB, for some twisted ancient TV perceptions, felt they HAD to break them up once they were together.

Well, if LL or any other couple for that matter, wait until their issues are solved and buried and their journeys over, then there wouldn't be many couples in the first place. ASP may have thought LL had a lot of personal baggage, but she also said that at one point they'd have to "just suck it up and get it (the wedding) over with."

I hope that happens. I don't care about a wedding, but would like them back as a committed, intimate, cohabitating couple, before the last moment. I don't want neither Luke nor Lorelai ending the show alone, without each other, even if it meant Lorelai barely took one fresh Chrisless breath before reuniting with Luke.

This idea of the producers/writers/actors that LL permanently together could spell the end of the show always strikes me as strange. In a weird way, it actually overemphasizes the importance of LL to the show. Or it overemphasizes the importance of the LL destination to the story while underemphasizing the fan enjoyment of LL moments along the way. (Not saying journey, not saying journey.) I grant that a happy marriage might require Lorelai to shift her view and priorities somewhat, but that might be an interesting transitional process in itself. And Rory will always be a primary focus and friend for Lorelai.

I always thought the only relationship that, if resolved, could possibly end the show is Lorelai and Emily.

Bingo. That's what I thought too - the big IF was whether Lorelai and Emily (and Rory) would ever find a place where they could accept each other's very different lives. Not whether or not Luke could grow some balls or IF Lorelai could stay out of Chris' bed. And you're right, the charm of this show was showing small things big and big things small. Well L/L's happiness is a big freakin' zeppelin casting a huge shadow over the rest of the show, ready to crash and burn and take everybody with them. What I wouldn't give for another Bid-a-Basket moment. Or a simple arm around a shoulder because one of them were upset or scared. Or a disgusting Santa Burger. All those "little things" made up Luke and Lorelai. Not the Elusive Wedding at the End of the Series.

I received this from a source....

Lorelai writes an amazing letter for Luke, which is read aloud in court as Chris simultaneously reads it at home. It's fairly certain by the end of the episode Luke finds out he wins partial custody.