Actually, the storyline has not been executed quite as badly as I previously had thought. It's still not superb Manny, but it's still pretty good. I'm quite convinced that we missed a week of Manny episodes somewhere in there. I feel like we're missing some of the psychological nuances which really would have made this superb Manny as opposed to pretty good which while not quite filler, is mostly just trying to get us somewhere the writers need us to go. A lot of the dialogue has hit upon the interesting issues which could have been picked up in this arc: brainwashing, control, family, respect, the social commentary aspect... But the ideas haven't really been fleshed out to their maximal potential.

I think the one idea which has been fleshed out to some extent is something which we really haven't looked at much recently, which is Michelle's growing up. I know that we've discussed quite a bit of Danny, and his development, as "prince," his ascencion, etc., but I remember thinking a few months ago, actually, my original conception of the story, was this was Michelle's coming of age. And this storyline really is about that, I think. This storyline is about Michelle choosing her identity, as much as the last couple of months were about Danny choosing his. Rick doesn't like that, it's understandable (I know he went a bit loony, but the idea is understandable). But one line, I think I remember correctly which was pretty telling, Rick keeps telling Michelle that she's his sister (her Bauer identity), I think at some point she says something like, he will never see his sister again. If I remember it correctly, it's pretty interesting.

So much of this story has been about the Bauers and what they represent (upper-middle-class white society, a family of physicians, the caretakers of society) and the Santoses and what they represent (the, depending on how you look at it, at worst killing mafia, at best robber barons, Hispanic, underground culture). I think it's about both of them being willing to break away, and declare themselves Danny and Michelle, respectively, and getting both their families to respect that.

I think they will have to come down to earth at some point. Their dependence on each other, I must admit, is starting to radiate co-dependency, although I think it's a phase; they've been apart so long, they really want to be together. And that should make for some juicy storylines, estrangement, power, blah, blah, blah... Hopefully, there won't be too many external timing issues, so we can have Manny at full psychological force.

One thought which kind of played into it all. When Danny and Michelle were looking at each other through the wired little window in her door, I think it was an interesting allusion to the Pyramus and Thisbe legend. It's one of the earlier iterations of Romeo and Juliet (two families on either side of a brick wall warring, the daughter of one house and the son of the other house fall in love, and gradually wear down a brick in the middle of the wall to speak to each other. Both end up dead of course). It's also the totally botched play in the middle of "Midsummer Night's Dream."

Completely diving head first into overanalysis, I also thought it was interesting that Danny masquerades as a doctor to spring Michelle, considering the emphasis on the theme of identity in their general storyline. Danny, the veritable man in black, puts on a white lab coat, literally becoming Michelle's white knight, rescuing the Sleeping Beauty, as a doctor, the traditional healing princes, the "good catches" of our cultures.

Definitely over analysis.

elle