Now back to Friday's scenes at the Lewis house --- Cassie was definitely bad-mouthing the SANTOS name and ways, and Danny would have none of it. But note how Danny still appeared composed/calm (very different from those April scenes, and I can't gush enough about Stewart's range of delivery on these different scenarios) and how he looked at Michelle before addressing Cassie. Joie Lenz's Michelle had a little shrug, as if to say "Well, she's got a point ..." but more on this later... If there is anyone at all who can possibly "know" or "understand" Danny, it is Michelle -- for a host of reasons .. including the glaring and practical fact that she has now experienced the two worlds in conflict (in a way that the others have not) --- one with the likes of the Bauers and Lewises... the other with La Familia Santos. Whether or not she has actually let herself grapple with very important questions (raised by Aunt Meta in the kitchen and Danny at the park) is a whole other issue and story ... but I've digressed ...

And of course, Josh's line ties perfectly well with everything else going on, from the "anti-Danny" outbursts/sentiments from Cassie and Billy, to the other stories that unfolded in last week's Towers scenes (Carmen, Vanessa, Frank, David, etc.). I already mentioned this in another post, and LizM picked up on it, saying that the Manny/Santos canvas is definitely expanding.

I meant to respond, but never got a chance :-( Well, I'll do it here now. Yes, we definitely have had more build-up in the anti-SANTOS vibes --- the "They are killers" perception from the vast majority of Springfield society. And it is a label that automatically applies to Danny himself, no matter what "good ends" he did/might/will achieve. Is it any wonder that Cassie and Billy reacted the way they did to Danny --- from his mere presence to his actual involvement? The labeling is unfair, but unfortunately it's the sad truth -- it happens. And so once again, Danny's words at the park continue to resonate: "How long before your friends starting wondering. 'Nice marriage. She saves lives. He kills them.'"

And indeed, as LizM cited in her examples, we see more and more characters from Michelle's "world" alluding to or outright saying the "he kills them" part ... not necessarily Danny the individual, but the SANTOS family as an entity). I think the other part, "she saves lives," have also started to unfold, but in a more subtle manner (Michelle's nobility, as manifested in her interactions with other characters ... and I'm hoping the writers do plan to put Michelle back in the Med school track -- that would really tighten the themes even more so).

And just as I was wondering when we'd start seeing Michelle herself see/hear the prejudice against her husband and his family coming from other characters (other than her immediate family, e.g. Rick) and how she'd react (in public and in private) -- we get the Friday episode with Cassie's rantings against Danny. When Danny looked at Michelle (before "confronting" Cassie), Michelle sort of hunched up her shoulder -- it's unfortunate that we don't see her face immediately -- as if to agree w/ Cassie's points on violence. Remember what Michelle said to Danny during the post-shower scenes, something along the lines of "I can no longer make excuses for you, Danny..... You're not some misunderstood gangster... your family kills people." So although Michelle "trusts" Danny (and I use this word kinda loosely here), what can she say to her friends who say "Nice marriage, Michelle. You save lives, but your husband kills them."

[Note: Many Manny-acs while agreeing with everything else Melissa wrote here, disagreed heartily with this point as best expressed by GrannyC ... The one place I disagree with you is Michelle's reaction to Danny's glance. To me she was responding to Danny as a wife would -- with support and love because she knew he was having to hear things upsetting to him. I did not take it the way you seem to have taken it at all. In fact to me, the fact that they looked at one another told me just how connected they are. She knew he needed her eye contact just then. That was the way I took that scene.]

What I find absolutely and wickedly clever in this whole Danny/Santos bashing are the ironies which the writers are once again spinning. With the character dynamics in the "Operation Save Reva" story, the writers are giving us another angle on the rampant hypocrisy surrounding Danny and the Santos name. (Note, it also ties in quite neatly with some questions/issues raised during the psycho ward arc.) While the rest of the "respectable and upstanding" citizens of Springfield look askance at the Santos name, Josh turns to that family's own crown prince, no less, for Danny has the means, illegal they may be.

Who cares about the means if they get his precious Reva safely home? Of course, Danny being Michelle's husband gives Josh the connection to Danny; I don't think it would even occur to Josh to turn to our Santos prince were it not for the Michelle connection. My question now is this -- now that the rest of sunny SF has a "connection" with Danny (again, through Michelle), how long will it be before one of these self-righteous anti-Santos bashers come crawling to Dark Angel Danny (and his SANTOS sword/means) for help?

I am now reminded of some discussions (on the old board) we had on the issues of cultural differences, morals and change... and specifically, Danny "changing" for Michelle and her world. Just my opinion -- the show has NEVER suggested that Danny needs to change or leave his family. Remember Michelle's comment at the park -- "You would give anything to live in my world" ... and Danny's post shower lines about changing to be a better man -- to me, those lines were about the "romantic" point of view of their story.

But I think the writers are trying to suggest just the opposite. And now, as the ironies continue to play out, once again I see the writers just asking us questions, like -- Is one "world" really "better" than the other? Is Danny Santos, the way he is now, already "good?" And in poster BettyM's words, is the world a place for "sinners" that only "evil" can battle "evil?"

It has occurred to me that there are echoes of Manny in the current Jeva/Richard story. I haven't quite decided for myself if this is intentional or not on the writers' part. Reva/Michelle is held "prisoner" in the "prince's castle," and someone's life depends on the captive's "cooperation." When Josh was talking about Richard's threats, and Michelle blurted out, "I can't believe this ... well, maybe I should ..." She looked at Danny then went on to talk about Edmund, but part of me was in hysterics and expecting her to say something like "Well, my dear husband here DID use the threat on my life to hold me prisoner... but that was then, this is now" :-) Even Josh's comments about Richard reminded me of Meta's remarks about Danny .... something along the lines of --- "he is a very polite man, is well-mannered, BUT..." Intentional or not, it does make Manny's involvement with this Josh/Reva plot tighter to me.

Anyway, I'm enjoying this Manny/Josh and Reva story and also waiting anxiously for the Santos/David/Spaulding developments because they are expanding Manny's sphere while strengthening the old themes ... in new guises.

Melissa