The Great Expectations of Manny

by Airpoet

June 25, 2000

I've come to see that Manny mean a great deal to all of us. This couple has furthermore come to be more than just a mere couple for us to watch on our screens. They, in fact, have come to symbolize what love is in its truest form, something many viewers aspire to discover in their lives one day.

As wonderful as Manny's love is and wanting our soap couples to reach that level of trust, communication, dedication, loyalty, and respect for marriage, I wonder if most soap viewers want to see it. I'm not sure I can explain this, but let me try.

For every soap viewer who wants to see a soap marriage be written with purity and reality (meaning that marriage is indeed hard work that must have communication), there is a viewer that wants to see the intense, desperation, storytelling more than the success of a marriage. Some viewers would rather watch their couples, married or not, have the romantic longing forbidden glances and touches than have them get together, communicate, and share their feelings like Manny did on Friday. Most of us probably want to see both a successful developing marriage with elements of excitement and unpredictability, but the soaps themselves seem to pattern the typical route of forbidden loves, third parties, lost children, and infidelity. By feeding into the obstacles, then the writer is feeding into the couple.

In regards to expectations of Manny, my same online friend LOVES dark Danny to the point that she no longer wants him with Michelle. She feels that the two can't co-exist. In the beginning, she adored Michelle, albeit not to the point that she ADORED Danny. But, she loved their story up until the summer. But, when the bearer bonds incident started up, Danny leaving his world, Danny's new hair cut, the very noticeable change in Manny's kissing, Michelle's new hairdo color, my friend no longer was enamored with them as a couple. My friend has lost interest in their story, but she still remains in the hope that Claire Labine will write Danny as the dark Danny she LOVES so much! It's to the point that my friend will accept a new Michelle or even a new love for Danny without hesitation. Then, again, my friend has become frustrated with her character. Admittedly, it saddened me that my friend feels that way toward Michelle and Manny, but it just started me to think about how differently viewers perceive this couple based on the viewers own soap viewing experiences and expectations of what we want to see. I keep thinking if GL would just take care of certain areas that Manny wouldn't lose viewers like my friend.

My friend and others like her want to feel that push/pull dynamic that Manny's story was full of in the beginning rather than the quiet "normal" everyday togetherness of Friday's episode, because those early scenes provide an almost passionate thrill ride and erotic need that the soaps are famous for. What I'm trying to say is that Manny's story in the beginning impressed all of us so much that we waited anxiously for the oodles of passionate nights, kisses, etc. I certainly was expecting them like you wouldn't believe, which is probably why I was disappointed that the scenes I imagined didn't happen. Ultimately, what my friend and many of us want is romance! My friend, who was curious about PAS as Casey on Loving, purchased the tapes from Fran, and she has been going on about how hot PAS and LW were together, and saying how great he was kissing even back then! It just made me realize how much I want to see the romance that GL is not giving me, so I sent off for the tapes as well (combined with the fact that I saw the last hour of PAS in "Somewhere and the City" and loved him in it). I'm not a LW/Cassie fan, but I do want to see PAS as Casey as a romantic, hot, leading man. I want to see the hot kisses. I want that for Manny. I want to see Danny without his shirt on! I want to see Manny undress each other! I want to laugh, which I did in watching PAS in "Somewhere in the City." I don't want to feel that GL has a problem with allowing Manny to have such scenes, because imo it just wouldn't seem right if they did. It leads to too much speculation. Manny is HOT, HOT, HOT, HOT!!!!!!!!! But, GL won't let them show how HOT THEY ARE! Please don't think I'm suggesting that Friday's episode wasn't just the best because it was in mine and most of our eyes, but in my friend's eyes and others who may feel the same way, those scenes were not of how she/they perceive Manny to be! Her great expectations of Manny were simply of what GL alluded them to be based on their story from the beginning, but when the writers focused less on Danny and his sharpness, edge, darkness, and overall intelligence and made him one-dimensional as a husband to Michelle with no job and no home of their own, my friend lost it.

Are our expectations of Manny too high? Are we asking too much for the purity of Manny's marriage to be intact? Is my friend wrong in wanting dark Danny to remain even at the detriment of his love for Michelle?

I hope my post didn't dishearten anyone here, because that wasn't my intention. I just wanted to share my views about expectations when it comes to Manny. I wish there was a way to get all of the Manny fans to return to the show, particularly since Claire Labine is coming aboard. I want to see her vision for PAS's Danny and JL's Michelle and Manny together. I am hoping against hope that she will give Manny the romantic evenings along with great storytelling that Babs and Brown did not! Again, I know the current time for Manny is not appropriate considering their circumstances, but I still want it.

Airpoet
A Manny Fan!