Did Danny Cheat? *416 Spoilers*

Well, it would have been nice if after all this time the writers had made it CLEAR whether Danny and Lindsay were in any kind of relationship between "Snow Day" and this episode. My assumption is that they may have been 'dating' insofar as they might have had lunch together (and possibly slept together occasionally) and stuff like that, but I don't think they were on the same page as far as what they thought was going on. I really don't think Danny saw whatever was going on as being serious, certainly not to the same extent Lindsay did--it just doesn't make sense given what we saw as far as his reactions.

So I guess my problem is whether you consider it cheating if one person doesn't realize the other person thinks it's serious...I don't think Danny's actions were intended to hurt Lindsay, in any case.

 

No, he didn't cheat. These episodes were supposed to clarify whether they were together or not. I never considered them in a relationship, and tonight's episode made it clear for me, in spite of the word "boyfriend" being tossed around. Danny is confused, he is **** up and he is trying to cope with a death of a child, a death he holds himself responsible for. The fact that Lindsay wasn't there for him when he needed it, plus the stupid remarks about her birthday pushed Danny away and "he did what young men do, look elsewhere". What happened in Snow Day was something meaningless, that came true because of a few shots of alcohol.

As Fay said above, is it considered cheating if only one part of a supposed couple believes it's serious, and the other doesn't?

 

It may come as a total shock to some, but I voted "No"

I'm gonna be lazy and quote what I posted in the D/L thread:

 

I'm gonna say no, because if they were not an official couple, then technically he didn't cheat. In the episode however, Lindsay did say she wasn't a clingy bimbo girlfriend or something like that. Danny never corrected her with the term girlfriend. So it's possibly the are a couple. However, I have a good friend who was dating this guy. It was just about the same situation as Danny and Lindsay, and the guy went and slept with his ex-girlfriend. When you're dating and there's a possible relationship involved, it sucks and just about feels like you've been cheated on. At least that's what my friend said. So I understand the cheating part.

 

I really don't know if he cheated or not. The relationship seemed undefined to me. Lindsay's use of the word 'girlfriend' was interesting, and I personally think that would imply some level of relationship, but then she also said that she felt like she had lost a best friend, so clearly they were close but not necessarily romantically involved. I guess only time will tell (possibly, or maybe it will always be open to interpretation) what their relationship was supposed to be. I wonder if Danny would tell Lindsay that he slept with Rikki? And how Lindsay would feel about that? Chances are that Lindsay will feel betrayed, and to some extent will feel that Danny 'cheated' on her. If Danny doesn't tell Lindsay, then it is either because he doesn't want to hurt her feelings, or because he has some guilt over his actions too.

I didn't get the impression from Rikki that she thought Danny was cheating on his girlfriend with her, but I also think that it was probably the first time they had slept together, although they may well have spent a lot of time together. So, in my mind and through the language used in the episode, whatever relationship Danny and Lindsay had, it completely changed after Ruben's death, to the extent that I don't think it would be fair to accuse Danny of cheating just yet, and not without more information.

 

I don't think Danny had the first idea that Lindsay felt so strongly about him. Had he done so I think he might have reconsidered the night with Rikki. I think he believed that theirs was just a friendship, perhaps a friendship with with extras, but certainly not an exclusive deep, passionate love affair.

So far the cheating discussion has referred to only to sexual cheating, but what about emotional cheating? Danny is certainly engaging in a more open, intense and passionate way with Rikki than he ever has with Lindsay - he gives more of himself to her and wants the same in return. True Danny and Rikki are both damaged and desperate but their relationship has an intensity and honesty to it that is definitely lacking between Danny and Lindsay. If anything it is in this sense that Danny is cheating; engaging emotionally with someone other than Lindsay. Does that make any sense??

 

I agree we don't really know if he was cheating until we have more information -- information we may never actually get

Your point about Rikki not thinking he cheated on his girlfriend brought up a question. If Danny and Lindsay are in a relationship where they are exclusive bf/gf then Rikki would surely have known about it because presumably she would have seen them together a lot. The fact that she didn't mention Danny having a girlfriend being a reason they shouldn't be doing what they were doing may indicate that there was no relationship between D/L beyond friendship. Maybe. Although as I type this out I see some flaws in my own argument.

 

I voted "I don't know" because right now there is no solid evidence of what type of relationship they had.

It appears to me that their relationship was undefined and that Lindsay and Danny weren't on the same page as to their status, and that would lead me to believe Danny didn't cheat. But unless it is confirmed on the show that their status wasn't dating exclusively I can't say that he did or didn't cheat.

I can say that if he did cheat I still have sympathy/empathy for him because he is obviously behaving out of grief and guilt and not out of malice or a deliberate attempt to deceive. People make mistakes. People make BIG mistakes. Danny makes COLLASALLY BIG mistakes. I also don't see this mistake as something Danny and Lindsay can't work past to remain friends. Or start over with a romantic relationship if TPTB choose to go that route.

 

I voted "no". As dutch_treat said, there has been no clarification since Snow Day that the two were in any kind of intimate relationship. We can make as many inferences as we choose to about their behavior since, but from my perspective, that was a drunken hookup. It is apparent that Lindsay has believed their relationship to be closer than Danny did, but he was clearly confused after her rant. "Clingy girlfriend" and "in love"? I don't see it, and have not seen it. Therefore, Danny's grief-stricken, potentially misguided hookup with the hot grieving mother next door -- not cheating.

 

^^ I voted for "no" and the reason for that is exactly what Springmoon said.

 

I voted 'no', for the simple reason that, in my opinion, I haven't seen anything up to this point that indicates to me that the relationship between Danny and Lindsay consists of anything more than friendship. I think the hookup in 'Snow Day' was just that: a hookup. I suppose it's possible that they slept together more than that one time, but I based my vote on what was actually shown on screen since 'Show Day' aired.

It became apparent to me after Lindsay's little speech that the two of them viewed their 'relationship' completely differently.

Would have been nice if TPTB had clarified just exactly what kind of relationship the two had before brining Rikki into the mix, though.

 

No, Danny didn't cheat. I think Danny viewed his relationship with Lindsay as 'friends with extras' at best, and 'two colleagues who slept together' at worst. We have seen no evidence of their having a deep or exclusive relationship. I don't just mean we haven't seen them dating or going to one another's apartments, I also mean that the interaction between the two of them throughout s4 did not indicate they were in a serious relationship, or even dating. There was no flirting like in s2. No talk about where their relationship stood like in Hung Out to Dry. Danny did call Lindsay 'Montana', but he always called her that. Also, when Lindsay used the word 'girlfriend', Danny looked shocked to me, like he was thinking 'Girlfriend? WTF?' I don't think he thinks of her as his girlfriend. He looked just as shocked when she said she was 'in love' with him, which suggests to me he totally isn't on the same page as her when it comes to their relationship. If they were in a serious relationship, I'm sure Danny would know Lindsay was in love with him.
I also agree with whoever said that thing about Rikki not bringing Lindsay up. She never asked 'What about your girlfriend?' If Danny and Rikki have been getting close since All in the Family, surely Rikki would know if Danny had a serious girlfriend on the go.
When Danny said 'sorry' to Lindsay, I don't think he was apologizing for 'cheating' because I don't think he saw having sex with Rikki as cheating. I think he was aplogizing for not realizing how seriously Lindsay took their relationship, not realizing she 'loves' him, and for hurting her (without meaning to) by sleeping with Rikki because he didn't understand how she felt.
I agree with the people here who said Danny had sex with Rikki out of grief and guilt, that's what Rikki said it was, though he did seem much more open with her emotionally than with Lindsay. I think when Danny didn't get the emotional support he needed from Lindsay, he went to Rikki.
Finally, I just can't see Danny as a cheater. He strikes me as an incredibly sweet and loyal guy, who if he was in a serious and exclusive relationship, would not sleep with someone else.
So if Danny is guilty of anything, it is of misunderstanding what his and Lindsay's relationship was, of not getting how she felt about him, and of letting his grief and guilt drive him to have sex with Rikki. Those are mistakes I imagine many men make. Men are kinda slow sometimes when it comes to relationships. But in all fairness, Danny has every right to be confused. Lindsay calls herself his girlfriend, but wasn't there for him at the hardest time of his life? After he was there for her in SOOH? Also, after what happened to Ruben, I'm sure working out what exactly the status was of his 'relationship' with Lindsay was the last thing on his mind. He was (and still is) feeling grief and guilt, and trying to figure out a way to deal with that. I think sex with Rikki was something Danny did because he was trying to offer her comfort, and forget about his pain for a while.

 

Exactly! So, no, Danny did not cheat. He just wasn't on the same page with her, and not talking just made it all worst. Now, they are one big messy puddle of goo.

 

I said No but i also don't really know.

I agree with what most have said about the whole DL thing still seems like it was as undefined for them as it was us.

And Danny/Rikki was almost expected to happen to a degree and different people deal with grief and this was obviously the only way they could help each other. But the way they both talked about it made it sound like it was mutual and how he never mentioned Lindsay or anything made it more clear he didn't consider her his gf or if he did he just didnt intend on telling her.

The best friend line Lindsay said summed it up for me they just had added benefits therefore Danny was still free to persue other avenues.