Why we should be embracing Danny's downward spiral and its ultimate effect

by Twinners

April 12, 1999

*BEEP, BEEP*...Long post alert:

Ok, Ok, I know it's terribly depressing watching Danny go off the deep end like this, especially without Michelle around to snap him out of his funk. But, I believe it is absolutely necessary for us to see Danny self destruct a little bit and will make the end result -- a united Manny --much more believable and satisfying.

Not many posters can dispute that this marriage has been seriously dysfunctional from the very beginning. Michelle referred to herself as a prisoner from the start. However, I believe that it is Danny who is actually more of a prisoner. He is a prisoner:

*Of his family's code of vengeance
*Of their code of loyalty
*Of his duty to punish his brother's killer
*Of his family's expectations that he will carry on in Papa Santos's footsteps
*Of the community's attitude toward what he does for a living
*Of a mother who strikes at any disobedience among her children

And most importantly:

*Of his compulsion to do the right thing, while keeping his "dark" side in check

While I think that Michelle has brought her own dirty laundry to this relationship, she at least has had the benefit of a healthy upbringing, one where the examples set for her where much more attractive than those that molded Danny into the man he is now.

I still keep going back to the scene between Michelle, Danny and Jesse at the Bauer house where "Romeo and Juliet" was discussed. Danny said he didn't care for "Romeo and Juliet" or R&J as he called them. He said they threw their lives away on what they *thought* was true love.

What Danny hadn't realized at that time was how similar his situation would be to Romeo's. In both stories the lovers are divided by family quarrels. And a series of misunderstandings (or mistrusts) causes the couple's demise. Now, Manny haven't killed themselves like R&J did, but just imagine if you will what *would* have happened if Danny had killed Michelle for calling the FBI. Once he found out that Carmen did it, Danny might very well have killed himself out of guilt and voila...same tragic ending.

Nevertheless, Danny realized that he and Michelle were "killing" each other with their mistrusts and instead of prolonging her "sentence" he let her go. By doing this, he made the relationship salvageable as Michelle could now look at him as more than her jailor.

Hitting rock bottom will be the best thing ever for Danny because in order to be with Michelle...to be worthy of her love, he will have to take a leap of faith, something his family and his profession have never allowed him to do. He will have to turn on his family (like Romeo did) and love blindly, without any strings. And he will have to LEARN how to do this, and thus re-learn everything he has ever been taught about family and relationships. Then, we will finally see the many layers of Danny and of Manny as well.

It may be a long and bumpy ride, with lots of heartbreak and angst...but, that's why we love it. It's all about the struggle...