Here is this creature who is softness, goodness, and light, and whom he adores. For the first time in his life, he is probably being told "no" by a member of the opposite sex. The poor boy is operating in a continual state of confusion. One minute Michelle is all over him (Danny,) the next minute she is going on and on about TWV and her desire to be free. Danny is used to getting what he goes after, yet she is seemingly immune to his charms.

I also think that he is in love for the first time in his life, and he doesn't know quite what to do with that. I sincerely doubt his parents were a model of a healthy, nurturing, communicative relationship. But let's be honest, neither were Michelle's parents. If he feigns this complete control over his life, then he is following part of the family code -- never let 'em see ya sweat.

Thus, in my opinion, all of this translates into Danny's need to maintain self-control, not a need to control all of those around him. To me the latter is simply the occasional end result of the former. When he put his hands around Michelle's neck I don't think he was trying to control Michelle or show her who was boss, so much as he was subconsciously begging her to trust him with her life. And guess what? She does.

I just don't see an abusiveness in him. If anything, Michelle is much more volatile; her emotions and physical self fly all about the place. Danny implodes; Michelle explodes. The two are like spontaneous combustion. But boy it's fun to watch!

One last point off of the above subject. Today while suffering through forty-eight minutes of the other fluff on Guiding Light, I noticed something with the last scene of the show which was Manny. The moment that Paul Anthony Stewart and Joie Lenz share a scene magic does indeed happen. When Manny is on, the scene is charged. There is an electricity in the air that simply is not present when the other actors are doing their scenes, or even when Lenz or Stewart are playing a scene with others. It's almost as if I wait to take a breath until after their scene is over, there's so much tension in the air and on the screen.

Kristie