Almost coming full circle

by Melissa

I can't help but notice how very neatly the story is wrapping around itself, as evidenced by words and actions, both Danny's and Michelle's, especially in today's episode. (I'll probably end up reiterating here what others have said, but I just wanted to kind of summarize.)

Michelle, at the beginning:
* "There is no you and me"; "There is NOTHING between us. NOTHING. There never will be."
* "This is not the beginning of a great love story, or wedded bliss, or even a one-night stand."
* She implores Danny to find another way (other than marriage).
* She vows to do ANYTHING to get out of the marriage (we can go on and on with her diatribes)
* Danny's sweetness and tenderness start to melt her.

Michelle, at present:
* She WILL NOT SAY that there was never anything between them.
* She is admitting, not just to herself, but to Danny, that the marriage was actually real.
* She is almost begging Danny to reconsider ending the marriage.
* It is killing her to say "annulment", "It's over..."
* Danny's distant and cold attitude really bother her to the point of anguish. Michelle asks Ray "Why is he acting like this?" and Ray answers "The more important question is, 'Why are you reacting like this?' "

Danny at the beginning:
* Though his motives for marrying Michelle were altruistic, I agree with those who say that the marriage was also about him POSSESSING something he WANTS: "She is here because I want her here."
* Though deeply hurt by Michelle's repeated mantra "There is no you and me", he basically brushed them off, since he held hope for their future together.
* He was "courting" her, he opened up to her, was sweet and very tender towards her -- all very much real.

Danny at present:
* He risks his own freedom to set her free.
* He almost implodes/explodes to hear Michelle say that the marriage was indeed real, that there was something between them; he is steeling himself against any hope for the two of them.
* He pushes her away, shuts down all emotions in front of her, and becomes cold and distant -- all an act.

Finally, when Danny said "We are right back where we started" during that knife waving, break-up scene, he couldn't have been more WRONG and RIGHT at the same time! At the surface, he is indeed right, but under all the layers and masks, he is so wrong (though neither really knows or admits to that, yet).

When I started watching this story, I was more intrigued by Danny (hey, its all about PAS, eh?), and the complexities of his life -- his motivations and his choices -- his JOURNEY. I still am more fascinated by him, but Michelle has drawn me more and more also. One poster noted how she's realizing this story is just as much about Danny finding himself as Michelle growing up. I guess I'm from the other end -- with each Manny-related scene, I've come to see that this is as much a 'coming-of-age' for Michelle as it is for Danny, in ways both similar and different. Others have also pointed out that what's now coming out from both has always been there, whether or not they were aware of it. Coming into contact with each other forced/brought it out of them, albeit in a rather explosive way.

I just have to say again -- "What a ride!" The writers started to really kick the chairs and turn the tables upside down with the arrival of Danny, and they keep kicking more chairs and turning more tables upside down, with each *seeming* unexpected twist and turn in the story. Yes, we may sometimes scream in frustration, but look at it this way -- they have been upping and continue to up the ante; oh yes, the stakes are quite high now, but that means the pay-off when (not if) it comes will be that much bigger and more satisfying.

I still think the stakes are higher for Danny; to use an old cliché, OUR Danny (yes Kathy, you have to share him) is a man wandering around on a desert, dying of thirst, and more than once almost got deceived by a mirage. Yeah, we want to see him get a few drops of water. But can you imagine what will happen when the ocean will finally meet up with him, especially if those drops never came his way?

Melissa, who'll be right behind Kathy to see the implosion/explosion!