Random thoughts on early and recent shows

by elle

May 10, 1999

Just a few thoughts I had as I was trying to catch up on the last couple weeks of GL over the weekend (almost caught up). I also got to watch some of the beginning of the storyline.

First of all, it's very clear that Danny was right; these two really do have a connection. It's almost like they cannot lie to each other; not in any real way. It's rather difficult to express. It almost feels like they make all these plans to deceive each other, and then, when they actually get to talking to each other, those plans fall totally apart. I guess I noticed this most in the diner scenes. Michelle goes up to Danny, planning all the while to try and do the Drew thing, and suddenly, she's telling him the truth, nobody liked Mick, nobody wanted to go to the funeral, etc. Although we're not privy to Danny's thoughts that early in the story, I feel like something similar happens; suddenly, he's talking to her about her life, why is she friends with these people etc.

The Thanksgiving beach scenes are really interesting. First of all, I really feel like Danny's come a long way (Michelle has too, but more on that later). It's really clear that he was strongly attracted to her, but it's like he has no idea how to express that. When he's screaming at her that wouldn't Jesse kill for her, etc., he really says it with this unspoken "I would" on the end. It seems like since then, he's tried seduction, sacrifice of himself... he's getting there.

Michelle's exit from the scene, Jesse dragging her away with her looking backwards for... quite a while... the annulment scenes at Towers are very reminiscent.

Danny and TWV haven't had many scenes together in a while, but I noticed in the early scenes with them together that TWV has the worst enunciation I have ever heard from a professional performer outside of Mariah Carey (no offense to Mariah fans but she's really got to learn that "what you," "that you," etc. are more than a consonant sound and a sneeze).

Onto more recent stuff:

The Park scenes are some of the most interesting scenes I have ever seen on a soap. First of all, they are exquisitely written, almost perfectly symmetrical. Danny starts talking about the bench and his mother bringing him there, and the initial scene (before the cut for commercial), ends with him talking about his own child with Michelle and the future, bringing his own child to the bench one day.

In between, you really feel almost musical cadences as the interspersed dialogue and speeches rise and fall. I almost felt like I was watching a cross between "Soliloquy" from Carousel and "Henry IV, Part I" (paging Prince Hal).

It really was an excellent example of Danny and Michelle really knowing each other. Danny doing his darndest to push all of Michelle's buttons and Michelle seeing right through it (although still feeling terribly hurt). You could almost see the shifts from Danny talking about the vulnerability of the family, to I never cared about you, to what if we had children. Interesting note, Danny has moved away from using the physical side of the relationship to bridge to the metaphysical side of Michelle to using it to push her away.

It's also a really long scene. I know we're complained about the light Manny screen time (and I really do think there may have been some burn out questions before sweeps), but before the first commercial cut, I think that scene is about 7-8 minutes long.

Miscellaneous thoughts:

Loved the prominent use of the mirror in the Santos home in the scenes between Danny and Carmen. I love the use of mirrors in films, and I thought it was really appropriate in the whole identity crisis mode. (Sorry, I become totally incoherent in ecstasy in the waltz scene from Ernst Lubitsch's "The Merry Widow.")

The wardrobing thing with Danny has been really interesting. The scenes with Pilar and Michelle in Pilar's room, especially. Danny plays with his clothing a lot in those scenes, unbuttoning, buttoning, misbuttoning, taking off shirt, putting on shirt, tucking in, pulling out, etc. It's almost a total reflection of (a) his anxiety, and (b) his identity crisis.

I don't know why, but the Park scenes really reminded me of Prince Hal. Probably no good reason, but I really feel like when Danny figures himself out, it really will be like the sun coming out from behind the clouds.

That really wouldn't have cut it in any of my five Shakespeare classes in college.

By the way, some of the most beautiful love poetry was written by wild playboys, John Donne, John Wilmot, etc. John Donne is my very favorite poet, and you really do feel like you're accompanying him on his discovery of his soul with Anne. Of course, he almost has a loveable outrageous streak, too.

Babbling along,

elle