Danny is no Mick, and Mick was no Danny. Carmen knows this, in fact has known it throughout her children's lives, and I'm sure Carmen wished for Mick to be more like Danny. Our Queen might be of the mafia type, but queen none the less, who wants her children to be dutiful princes and princesses. Carmen does not want a mob son like Mick, and her desperation to clear Danny comes as no surprise at all. What king/queen wants the crown prince to have anything other than an unsullied record or reputation? In retrospect [always easier, ain't it?] we should have expected Carmen to come to the rescue, not Michelle, not Pilar. [The entire arrest episode, I'd like to add, is much more than a plot twist to get Ben more involved with the Santos empire, and the empire with the rest of Springfield or Pilar grazing the tip of the evil iceberg, etc... -- but I'll get back to this.]

Let's get back to Danny, the Crown-Prince... Danny, though not first-born, is the chosen one , the heir to the Santos empire, because he is thoughtful, analytical and questioning -- qualities which are essential in a king, especially one who has the task of not only keeping the kingdom afloat, but legitimizing it in the process.

Unfortunately (or fortunately for story-telling purposes), Danny has a very dark side, which is a combination of genes and environment. He knows this, as evidenced by his comment "I can be ruthless for this family. I can be ruthless..." Though he is ashamed of it and wants to hide it especially from Michelle, I think that part of him embraces it. When I say "embrace," I don't mean that he easily gives in to it, let alone relishes giving in to that side. What he embraces is the power he gets from it, or more accurately, the chance to put that power into good use, e.g. legitimize the family business.

His ways are vastly different from his mother's, so he feels confined and resentful of being groomed by her. At the same time, I have no doubt that a big part of him is eager to take over, but not because he is some power-hungry maniac. He has his own ideas and agenda, and is sincere in wanting to pursue them (and by this same token, Carmen is far from ready to give him the keys). Think back to some of Danny's conversations with Carmen, about running the business "my way" and "within the law." But he also knows too well that he needs that ruthless, nasty streak to be an effective "ruler" or head of the Santos empire, during both the transition to legitimacy and what follows thereafter. Again, just look to his words "I can be ruthless for this family."

So just as power invigorates him, it also scares him. He understands and is frightened of what power and the corresponding responsibilities can do to him (e.g. "shut down ... every bit of humanity" to get rid of Michelle and do "what's best for this family") and vice versa -- what he can do with that power, even if it were only a means to "good" ends. That basic "goodness" in him always strives to be above and beyond the likes of Mick, and he is therefore galled by the inherently ruthless "barbarian" in him.

So as much as he is eager to take over, he is also very reluctant, because he knows that taking over means exercising some of that nasty side. Part of that reluctance also stems from "Why me?" Surely, he has grappled with this question most of his life, but has come to accept the responsibility. With Mick's intellect (or lack thereof) and personality, and Pilar being a "girl" (cultural, old-world attitude on women, perhaps), the burden of carrying the dynasty falls on Danny's shoulders. Danny knows this and probably didn't need Carmen and Papa Santos impressing that knowledge onto him.

That very same thoughtful and responsible nature which makes Danny a reluctant heir, at the same time makes him unable to refuse the reins. He reminds me of another fave fictional character of mine who said "I've told myself I'm clever and civilized. I've said that my goal is the rule of law, not that of the sword... I was raised a prince to protect and nurture the land and my people." Danny may as well have spoken those words. His Santos "land and people" may not have the best reputation, but Danny cares very much and feels responsible for them.

Just pay attention to his sobered-up reaction and words when the cops bad-mouthed the Santoses during the arrest: "You don't know my family... Don't even pretend to!" They reveal so much of his true feelings towards the family. Danny cannot and will not walk away from La Familia Santos, and Michelle is quite naive to think otherwise. (This doesn't mean, of course, that he can't make a new home with Michelle -- oh, that new thread is filling my mind with even more possibilities.)

Danny had accepted this course for his life, and had everything in control. He was aware of his dark and ruthless side, but always had it in check. Even before Michelle, he dared to dream, e.g. go completely legit, perhaps marry (though he probably didn't expect to fall in love to high heaven) and have kids.

Then boom! A certain Lady Michelle from the respectable House of Bauer enters his canvas, and Danny's life starts to spin out of control. His desperate love and desire for her (and her rejection of him) almost turn him into something he never wanted to become (e.g. post Mrs. Silva episode), while the animosity of his mother towards Michelle forces him to tap into that darker, ruthless side he so wants to control (e.g. the ledger).

From the moment Michelle entered his life, he has had to go up against the family he has been raised to nurture, and all for a woman he thinks has nothing but contempt, or worse pity, for him. He has lost his balance, and he thinks letting Michelle go is the answer. Little does he know yet (and that is a key word) that Michelle actually grounds him. Nowhere is this more evident than real-Monday's episode which started with Danny *calling* to Michelle and ended with the 'I don't care anymore, just lock me up so I don't have to deal with my joke of a life' arrest fiasco.

Ahhh, the arrest, which ends one arc and starts the next... still another solid stone in the Conforti wall. I do think that Carmen knew (or at least suspected) what Danny was up to. BettyM suggested, and I have to agree, that Carmen blew the whistle for the cops to hear. But what's her motivation if she wants to keep the crown prince's record clean? I don't think it has anything to do with keeping the Lady Bauer away (even if she were around). It goes back to the dynamics between ruling queen and crown prince.

The whole fiasco is probably a means to pull him back into control, not necessarily under her thumbs -- to show who's the boss -- but rather for his own control, to stop what she sees as self-destruction in Danny's part. (Yes, I saw genuine concern in Mama during the pre-arrest and post-arrest scenes.) It's Carmen's way of throwing a bucket of ice on Danny's head to sober him up and make him start behaving like the crown prince again.

Which now brings me to wild speculations for the upcoming weeks (and years). Danny's fall into the abyss and the resounding thud at the bottom will sober him up. BettyM has noted, and I agree, that the 'real' Danny, cool and in full control, will re-emerge even stronger (so if I were him I'd actually sing "Thank you Mama dearest for blowing the whistle on me").

Michelle, renewed and gassed up with the truth-and-no-denial serum, will fight tooth and nails to chip at him, but he'll resist. Somehow, I doubt that Danny's resistance of Michelle has much to do with any inferiority feelings re: Michelle only wants him because she's rejected by Jesse (so it matters not to me who (Michelle or Jesse) first speaks the final "So long!"). Danny's reluctance to a reunion runs much deeper than a wounded male ego. It has more to do with Danny trying to find a balance between Michelle and his familial duties (Carmen, Pilar, and the whole spectrum in between).

So I think we've got a deliciously ironic twist: The nature of the Santos dynasty and Danny's "initial" discovery of and love for Michelle combined to make him even more of a reluctant heir (especially because he didn't want his Bauer lady to see the dark side which comes with the territory) and send him spiraling out of control.

However, a full realization and acceptance of Michelle's love for him and again combined with that undying familial responsibility, will actually make him more eager to take control, so he can start doing and running things his way, not Carmen's. [I am looking forward to the power plays between mother and son, and how Ben (both on business and personal levels), Pilar, Michelle, etc. participate and affect this struggle.] Being at the throne is the only way Danny can reconcile his familial devotion/duty with his love for Michelle (and have her by his side).

It is definitely and neatly ironic that the two "pulling ends" of his life -- family and Michelle -- trigger his fall but will end up grounding him and becoming his real source of strength. And Michelle will have to come to grips with this force that is Crown-Prince Danny, while Danny has to come to grips with this no-longer naive Michelle.

I've said before, and I'll keep saying these ... what we've seen so far (e.g. Jesse and Drew) will seem so minor in the long run. There is a wide, imposing cultural barrier between them, but they don't need a full grip and complete resolution on those dividing issues before they admit their true feelings for and to each other. That admission is the "relatively easy" part. They're only about to start chipping at that wall, and it will take years before they can resolve those issues, if they ever completely resolve them (doubtful, in my opinion).

Their life together ain't gonna be all peachy-rosy, bubbly champagnes and bath tub parties. I'll be drooling over those surely, but I feel tons of mega-conflicts ahead. I wouldn't ask for less. Of course... I'll be eating my words with sour cream, as more and more pages of the Conforti bible are revealed to us...

Some parting thoughts:

* Have I said enough how much I am enjoying the Santoses, and now, that hooty-hoot Ben as well?

* I do want my Manny, but let's not forget one half of Manny is Danny, and as Michelle said, it's a whole Santos package we gotta deal with... Oh yeah, I love them Santos clan, dirty laundry and all!

* It is damn difficult to hush while a wonderful, fascinating, beautiful (I can't run out of adjectives here) saga unfolds before my eyes...

* In Paul Anthony Stewart I lust, In Conforti I trust. No other I shall want. Yowzas!!!

Melissa