After watching the whole arc I can now clearly give an answer. Did Danny cheat? Of course he did.
5 Signs of a cheater 101.
-They suddenly become incommunicado or forget things or dates, and then offer lame excuses (steak sides) about their absense or their reasons why they forgot.
-Lack of romantic interest
-they will avoid you like the plague, especially your gaze
-Whenever you ask them questions, they seem overly sensitive and defensive. They feel like your prying eyes are on them; worse, they will get mad at you.
-Both of you used to be open with each other, the all of a sudden he or she becomes so secretive.
Geez. Who did all of those things
I highly agree with you in that Danny smiling at what Lindsay said to him in the phone call was because he got confirmation he didn't deserve to be loved or to be happy.
Really. Thats really what you believe, or what you want to believe.
I suggest you watch the scene again. Lindsay had told him she had to let her love for him go. When she said she still loved him, he was relieved. he thought he had F****d everything up. After the crap that TPTB put Danny through last season, you really think that they were going to end the season with him having an even deeper self loathing of himself? Doesnt the guy deserve some happiness in his life, its like some people here want him to continuously suffer.
I hate to say this, but it is the truth: having sex on a pool table after a night of tequila shots and a drunken bet does not a relationship make.
When two characters whose storyline has been played out like D and L, hook up, and then mention not regretting it, it usually means it keeps on happening. There was enough hints that something was going on between them. There was also no signs of awkwardness between D and L which you would assume there would be if it was a drunken one night stand that they both regretted. Thats not to say it was a serious relationship, but still a relationship all the same.
Agreed, completely and I don't think the relationship ever was defined. I expect it will be going forward from 419, but I don't think it was before.
I agree. I think thats why the whole Rueben arc was created. D and L are different to Mac and Peyton or Stella and Frankie. The audience has seen the evolution of D and L's relationship, from when they first met, till now.
They wont leave that up to the audience to assume they love eachother, we will hear the characters say it, and to do that, you have to put them in a situation where the words are warranted. Its the same as a break up. We wont be left to assume that either, and thats why most people took it that D and L were together after SD. You dont built up a realtionship like D and L's to just have it end with a one night stand that both of them regret. It makes no sense as to why TPTB would even want to do that.
After Rueben died Danny sank to the depths of despair. The fact Rikki ,the one that actually lost a child seemed to be able to think more logically than him, should tell you just that. Rikki knew that under normal circumstance what was happening between them wouldn't have been happening. She said that she didn't really know him before all this happened, she also said that "one day you will wake up and realise Ruebens death wasnt your fault" and that she was only "taking advantage of the guilt that he felt so she didn't have to be alone" To which he replied "I don't care, I just want the pain to go away" That should give you some insight into Danny's emotional state. Obviously he wasn't thinking clearly which made him not understand or get what the consequences of his actions could be, but Rikki clearly did. She knew he was going to F**k up his life and his relationship with Lindsay doing what he was doing, and that when his pain and grief susbsided, he would come to regret what he did, but by then it maybe too late. But Rikki was so alone and in so much pain, she couldn't stop it happening again.
We cut to the Lindsay/Danny scenes in their office. If you notice, the only times Danny reacted was when he was reminded of his relationships with Lindsay and Rikki. The first time she says "Dont reduce me to some clingy girlfriend who is trying to smother you, thats not what this is about" then when she said "obviously you decided to do this all on your own, and finally "I've fallen in love with you, and I need to figure out how to let that go" The fact he only reacted to those 3 things sort of tells you YES there was something going on between Danny and Lindsay, something beyond friendship and something way more than just a one night stand or Lindsay reading more into their relationship. And YES on some level Danny knew what he was doing with Rikki was wrong.
I think that Danny in Lindsay's eyes became a different person, that makes sense of her " I feel like I have lost my best friend " comment. The Danny we saw, was not the Danny we all know. Danny has the biggest heart on the show and he is certainly not a liar. The Danny he became was the total opposite of that. He lied to Lindsay about being too busy to have lunch with her, he lied about why he forgot her birthday and he certainly came across as a total a** when he said " I didn't want to go to lunch yesterday, why you got to make such a big deal out of it" Its not just what he said, but the way he said it. Thats what forced Lindsay to react like she did. After weeks of his treating her like crap and shutting her out, she had finally had enough. So she basically told him, she was not putting up with it anymore and that she had to find a way to get over him. Typical human thing to do. Like I said, the Danny he became wasnt the Danny she fell in love with, thats why she had to let her love go. Totally understandable from where I'm standing. I truly belive that Danny thought he could do what he did, and Lindsay would still be there waiting for him. Her telling him that she wouldn't be, was a wake up call to him. He was now at risk of losing the one good thing in his life. And all because of his own selfishness. His " I dont care" was coming back to bite him in the A**. And yes I know that she has been where he was in regards to her friends, but she is still human afterall. When somone treats you like crap, there is only so much you will take, before you have had enough.
Saying that. I dont think Lindsay was weak for forgiving him. It takes a strong person to forgive. Especially after the way he treated her. But she loves him, and I think that after having had some time to think about things, on some level, she could sort of understand why he acted the way he did, plus its just not that easy to throw what they had away. I think after RND she started seeing reminders of the old Danny, the Danny she/we fell in love with. If you can work through crap like this, your relationship normally comes out stronger in the end. Like the old saying. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
And as to people calling Danny an A**. Thats a normal reaction. I think a lot of fans felt like Danny had cheated on them as well as Lindsay. And not just the D/L fans, I saw a lot of Danny fans reacting the same way. I think it shows that TPTB are doing something right. It shows just how connected we are to these characters, which in turn shows good storytelling.
Oh and to the person below me. If Danny didnt cheat. How do you make sense of his " How sorry I am for pushing you away and Lindsay's reply of "Danny, I tried to give you your space, but I don't know how much longer I can feel alone, its messing with my work, its breaking my heart" How much longer I can feel alone. Interesting, because in a way she was sort of saying, I dont know how much longer I can do this. Also, Danny said, pushing away, not that he broke up with her.
Oh in regards to the whole Montana thing. Danny and Lindsay were not in a relationship at the time. There is a big difference. Plus Danny shared the name of her friends killer, People with PTSD( which I believe Lindsay was suffering from) distance themselves from anything that reminds them of the event.
Oh and if the writers didn't think of them as a couple explain Pam Veaseys comment at the beginning of season 4 where she said " Danny and Lindsay are together and their relationship is happy and interesting, but at some point there will be a bump in the road-like any relationship" Yeah that certainly doesn't sound like they were together at all.
