My Manny Excogitation

1 . 9 . 00

For quite some time now I've felt many Manny-related issues swirling inside of my brain and heart with nary the time to sit and write them down, let alone figure out what they all mean. So many times I've wanted to respond to particular threads, but didn't want to do so without making some kind of sense – something that I'm not sure I'll be doing here today. However, as those opportunities have passed, my urge to reply hasn't. They have simply festered and I feel the urge to get them out now. Rest assured, this is not a full-fledged rant, but simply some honest observations, some sincere questions, and genuine concern.

I think I'll start off with the topic that first called out to me – the importance of the "Bauer" vs. "Santos" names (to be referred to as SvB from here on out).

While I will never EVER begrudge anyone their right to consider it an important aspect of the Manny story arc, I do hesitate in putting as much into it as has been put by others here on the board. As an exceeding amount of time has passed since it was first brought up on the board, I cannot begin to recall who has said what, so forgive me in that slight.

Let me get out of the way that I do believe that the show is handling this topic very well, but what I see there has been taken here on the board and turned 10 fold into something that I believe isn't there. And that is because of something that has always been true – this board, and it's wonderful and thoughtful and insightful posters, have always given the writers more credit than they deserve. And they've also been able to incorporate meanings and themes that, while they should be there, unfortunately haven't intentionally been put there for us to see. Which is something glorious, albeit misleading. The result of which is a viewer who has written or read so much into a storyline that when it fails to recognize said theme or meaning, the viewer feels cheated. And this, is unfortunate. This is something that has a tendency to make unhappy viewers at times.

However, I also believe that it blinds viewers into believing they're seeing things simply because they want to see them, oblivious to the truth that's in front of them. The entire SvB issue is one of them. I dare say that though the writers have inserted lines here and there from Danny, Drew, Frank and especially David, I don't believe they were put there to insinuate any greater purpose other than to extend the plot. This was not any astounding writing job, simply one that needed to be told, and one that any writer worth their paycheck should've written. For this, I give the writers credit, but not as much as I feel some here think they deserve.

I don't recall who first mentioned it (forgive me), but I'm inclined to truly believe that Manny's involvement in this arc is not about the SvB names and how they're perceived by SF society (though, I think it's a small part), but more so about Danny and Michelle, and how they are perceived by each other. While I have been more than willing to share my unhappiness with the way Manny was placed into this story, I will agree that because of it, Manny have become closer than every before – it has bonded them in a way that was not there before. For this, I am also grateful to the writers. But part of me still believes that the writers don't know exactly what to do with Manny, and for that, I'm a bit worried.

Some people on here (again, sorry) were concerned that Danny was becoming defined as Mr. Michelle Bauer Santos. While I can certainly understand that worry, for it was the same one I felt for Michelle only months ago, it brought up a thought that I'd wanted to post about for some time.

Danny and Michelle – their redefinition. Is this a bad thing? Becoming re-defined by finding the one true love of your life? Your other half? I don't think so. I've realized that Danny has undergone a transformation through these last couple of months, one that some want and others don't (more on that later). I see Danny becoming the man that he wanted to give Michelle, while seeing Michelle adapt into the kind of woman who can accept and appreciate Danny in a whole new way, which only intensifies her love for him, imo. It has been a slow process, but one I see inklings off every now and again. Danny, by virtue of having to be 100% supportive of and for Michelle, is truly learning the meaning of being a "husband" and a "partner". I believe it was kristi who I shared this with in chat one night. But it wasn't until "ice cream night" when Michelle came back and they talked about Maureen, that I truly felt Danny had fulfilled his role as a husband to her. As much as this has been about Michelle, I believe that Danny's transformation has been overlooked. However, some would call it a character assassination because he's not the Danny people fell in love with a year ago.

Which brings me to my next topic. Dark Danny, and why people miss him and want him back. Which coincides with another topic that has been touched upon – Vintage Manny, and why people miss them and want them back.

While Kristie's (I remembered!) thread about Dark Danny was very interesting and I admit that a part of me misses that Danny as well, in reading the responses, I wondered exactly why people wanted it. Before I get myself in too deep without a shovel, let me explain. I loved that Danny AS MUCH as you all did, I really did. I love the current Danny just AS MUCH, but in a different way.

My thinking goes this way, feel free to think I'm crazy. :)

When I look back at the Manny that was before us one year ago, I see something that will never be repeated in my lifetime. Not with any other couple, and not even with the Manny that's before us now. There's just no way for that to happen. As has been eloquently put in other posts, Manny has changed dramatically since then, and when one expects the same couple they got last Spring, I believe they only open themselves up to disappointment. However, Kristie and I discussed this and she expressed that although she knows that fact (as I'm sure everyone does, REALLY), it doesn't mean there can't still be a form of "circling" that attracted us to Manny in the first place. With that, I absolutely agree. But I'm afraid that the Dark Danny that we grew so attached to is gone forever. But isn't that what we wanted? While I don't speak for anyone but myself, actually, I thought that what we loved about Danny's love for Michelle was the fact that it was her love, and ONLY her love, that enabled him to soften, enabled him to be more at peace with himself, and gave him the confidence to get away from a life that was never truly befitting of his character. Isn't this the love story we've been watching for the last 12 months?

Her love, by virtue of its power and strength, has enabled him to become the man he truly wants to be. And yes, I realize that many of you will NEVER believe that Danny could EVER want to be like a Bauer, I've thought about this to no end, and there was a time that I agreed with you, but that time has passed.

I think back to the park bench scene (Tracee would be so proud!), and his line "You think you can pull me into your world, I'd drag you into mine." Well, what we have been given CURRENTLY is Danny and Michelle existing in each other's worlds. It's here. It's now. It's happened. Michelle has been dragged, kicking and screaming into his world. She's having to face the system in a way that she never has had to before. But slowly, we are also seeing Danny being pulled into hers, acting as Michelle's representative to the outside world, having to interact with HER family and HER friends on a level that he has never had to before.

The more it continues, no matter that Danny's first instinct has always been to go outside the law, in the end, I believe he very well may learn that Michelle's life and the way she's always led it, is what he wants now, what he wanted before that day on the park bench, and what he thought was lost to him, until he met Michelle.

Danny is changing. Some don't want to see it, some don't want to accept it. That's their prerogative. But when I look back at oldDanny and oldMichelle and even oldManny, I see a special time that I will never get back again. For whatever reasons we all feel comfortable with, it will never be here again. That may make some of you upset, but it truly invigorates me. Because what I'm seeing, although not always told in the best fashion, is a man and a woman who are evolving, and becoming more of a single entity than ever before. This, ironically, is was makes last Spring so magical for me, and one that I will always cherish and think of with fondness instead of sadness. It's also what gives me the strength not to give up on this couple when it seems hopeless. Danny and Michelle, for all the writer's foibles, are extraordinary characters. With these characters in trustworthy hands (and with that, I do mean PAS and JL), I look forward to every moment I have to share with them. For that, I am eternally grateful.

Hugs n Smoochies…

Candy