See now, while I get disliking Gordo in season 1, at least he felt like an actual character, with some dimension and agency. He had *something* going on more than just being a general train-wreck of a human being.
Danny is just a one-note, one dimensional, one track cardboard cut out of a character that actively sucks enjoyment out of every scene he's in (nothing against the actor to be clear, he's doing his job, this is a writing thing.)
It's not that he's terrible (some of the best characters ever are terrible!) it's that he's boring and actively making everything around his scenes worse.
I think sometimes RDM just has really bad instincts for this kind of thing. I've often heard writers of all stripes claiming that "any strong emotional reaction you get out of an audience is a good thing", which is true enough to a point (if a little too flippant for it's own good) but I feel like some often forget that there's one fairly iron clad caveat to that; strong boredom is NEVER a good thing in one's audience! That's basically death for any story. Ask any kind of live performer and they'll tell you the thing they fear the most from an audience isn't boos, hisses, jeers, or even thrown missiles; it's indifferent silence. Crickets.
I don't hate Danny. I just don't care about Danny, which is a problem when he's taking up so much screen time. It's an annoyance, like an obnoxiously unskippable ad.
Danny Stevens
, hope they have at least a heart to heart talk - would love to see them reunite and Ellen to come out on her terms
