Continuing discussion from here. Danny's obviously got issues, and they seem pretty severe, more in the realm of CSI's Sara's major issues than Miami's Eric's coping-with-Speed's death actions. Could these issues stem from childhood abuse? 1) He's emotionally stunted. He reacts like a child to people and situations. In The Dove Commission, he lashes out because of a bad childhood incident, so we have evidence (hee, everything's connected ) that this is how he handles traumatic memories. His behavior with Mac is more like a rebellious child dealing with a parent than a subordinate with a boss. 2) Body Language. I could be the only one who picked up on this, but at the end of Crime & Misdemeanor, when Mac is yelling at him, Danny's position seems very defensive--shoulders hunched, head down, etc. It looks like on some subconscious level, he's expecting to be hit. 3) His complete lack of trust in anyone. He's know Mac for five years, and Flack just as long, and in "On the Job" both are giving him good, sound advice, which he doesn't follow. He keeps stating how alone he feels, even though he knows the whole team is working on the case. He doesn't just seem unwilling to trust, but completely unable to. All of these seem like signs of childhood abuse to me. But maybe not; what's your theory? What the heck is wrong with Danny?
I still think it has something to do with tanglewood..Atleast i think he doesnt had a good period in his life...I hope we will see more of it in tanglewood-2
I haven't seen some of these episodes yet. I think if he was though it would make the character even more interesting - could make for some great plot developments.
There definately happend something in Danny's youth, I'm not sure yet, I think there a lot possibilty's. Definately something with the Tanglewood Boys I think (only 9 days left until it hits Dutch TV finaly ), but this is another interesting theory! I think the writers could get a lot of inspiration from this forum!
I'll have to think about this for a while. Physical abuse is certainly possible. His Tanglewood connection certainly plays a role, as well...
Someone in the other thread made a good point about something that happened to him as a child possibly leading him to/having some influence on his affiliation with the Tanglewood gang. After all, while gangs are obviously bad, to some they represent a sense of belonging and even safety. If Danny was being mistreated at home, an affiliation with a gang might have seemed like a good way to escape that.
Yeah, I could see that. It would also go a long way toward explaining the dynamics of his relationship with Mac. I have to go give an exam to my students in a bit, but after I've had more time to ruminate on this, I'll try to make a more thorough commentary. As to the question on the episode thread about abuse coming up in his psych evaluation: I can't claim to know what questions they would ask during the evaluation, but if Danny's family is connected (and judging by his "Tanglewood" commment, they probably are), it is likely that there is no record of abuse. If Danny didn't bring it up, it probably wouldn't have been a factor in his hiring.
It makes sense to me. An unhappy home life could drive one to a gang. It's not the only thing, but it could be an explanation. The Mac thing is really interesting--I don't see that kind of relationship between any of the other CSIs on the other shows. Danny really does seem to look at him as a father figure, and he clearly has mixed feelings about that. On one hand, he seems desperate for Mac's approval and praise. On the other, he rebels at every turn, whether it's following his gut when Mac tells him to follow the evidence or disobeying Mac's direct orders in "On the Job." If Danny was abused, I'd bet money there's no record of it. And I don't think it would have affected his hiring--he's not deranged or anything. The problems that are coming up with him probably weren't evident in the beginning. His lack of trust might have come out, but then, someone could have interpreted that as caginess/shrewdness. Danny seems pretty together until things go wrong, and then he just falls apart.
I'm supposed to be getting ready to leave, and yet, here I am posting about Danny! :lol: Another thing to remember is that Mac did say he was cautioned against hiring Danny. So I'm guessing that someone upstairs sensed the "loose cannon" potential in Danny. Obviously, it wasn't bad enough that he couldn't pass a psych evaluation, but someone picked up on something.
I don't know why, but part of me wonders if it was Stella who warned Mac against hiring Danny. I think she'd pick up on Danny's instability pretty quickly, especially since she may have run across some pretty disturbed kids in the orphanege where she grew up. Stella is pretty sharp, and I bet she's a good judge of character. If it was her, I'm sure she likes Danny now, but she may have been able to spot that he had the potential to be trouble back when he was first hired.
he probably did get his ass kicked a lot as a kid, but who did it...maybe the Tanglewood boys roughed him up a few too many times
Danny being abused as a child certainly explains why he is the way he is. He doesn't seem to trust anybody. I think he tries to and he manages to most of the time. He seems to let his guard down with the others. But when something happens he closes himself off again. I hope the others realise what's going on and try to help him.
I wrote a long speech about this subject, but my computer decided to act out and it didn't get sent so, I don't want to rewrite it. I do work with that population of kids, so I have seen lots in that area. Danny does have some of the symptoms of abuse, whether it is physical, emotional,neglect etc... and I won't be surprised if there was something very traumatic in his life that triggers his attitude, trust issues, and all around behavior. perhaps later when I have more time I will go into detail about my observations! ODD, anyone??? (Oppositional Defiant Disorder)