The Steve and Danny Dynamic
On one previous episode discussion post awhile ago, a bunch of us were lamenting the loss of the old McDanno dynamic: the bemused, but fond look on Steve's face in response to some of Danny's rants; the fond looks, period; the touching; the hugging; the lack of personal space; Danny's "I heart you," that made fandom explode in S1.
Then there was the evolution from the comedy of Danny's rants and Steve's responses, to just plain angry, mean bitterness between the two of them. It became not funny at all; Steve came across as a jerk and Danny was written as a "weak link," and a whiney malcontent with nothing really to contribute to the team.
And the insertion of Lou Grover. While there appeared to have been a moratorium on displays of any kind of affection or fondness between Steve and Danny, the sudden focus on Steve-and-Lou-as-buddies seemed like a slap in the face. Worse, it seemed like a knee-jerk reaction to fandom's (and even casual observers who were NOT close-minded homophobes), observance of the blatant subtext between Steve and Danny. In large part due to Alex and Scott's acting choices, Scott's comments about wanting to explore the possibility of a relationship between S & D on ET Canada, and to the show's teasing us about this possibility early in the series, especially S1 (remember that gag reel with Alex and Scott running hand-in-hand down the beach together, shouting, "WE DO!!")?
Don't call it a bromance, indeed.
After S1, it was easy to imagine someone higher up having a panic attack at all the gay subtext and fandom's glee over it. An original promo for the S2 premier showing Danny's visit to Steve in prison so obviously crossed the line between subtext and text that it was deleted from existence and replaced by different dialog and different interactions between the two.
And then, there was the disappearance of an interview clip in which Alex talked about Steve's POV and the profound impact that meeting Danny had on Steve.
(And as an aside, sadly we all now know what a certain EP thinks of Alex's opinions on how Steve McGarrett would react to certain things).
HOWEVER....things on the internet never really disappear and I was overjoyed to find a transcript of that vanished interview clip!!
Here it is:
Kristin: Tell me about the challenges of … you are now playing a native Hawaiian, your character is a native Hawaiian, correct? Or he grew up in Hawaii?
Alex: He is native, but he went away for a long time. He was sent to the mainland as a kid. You know, his father sent him away for reasons that we will find out throughout the series. And when he comes back here, yes he does know a bit of Pidgin and he does know the area pretty well. He knows a lot about the island from growing up here, but he does feel like an alien again.
I think that, that is one of the things about McGarrett, is that he …. he feels alone in this world, you know. He feels …. He lost both his parents now and he feels detached in this world and that’s why the connection he joined … the connection that he finds with Danno, his new partner, is so important.
Kristin: Right
Alex: Cause it’s one of the only connections that he has, you know. And it is about really important stuff.
From: https://alexoloughlinintensestudy.wordpress.com/2016/02/10/watch-with-kristin-alex-oloughlin-september-2010/
At this point, someone needs to prove that this clip's disappearance, the change to the S2 prison visit promo, and the complete 180 regarding the Steve/Danny dynamic (and its focus away from being integral to the show), are not just all chance coincidences that have nothing to do with TBTB freaking over the gay subtext and assumption.
Thankfully, S7 brought us closer to the S1 dynamic and less character assassination for Danny, as well as renewed focus on their partnership. Hopefully S8 will continue, and that CBS and others will get with the times and stop pandering to the lowest common denominator (CBS is the most conservative--hence homophobic-- of the networks). I also hope Alex and the remaining cast will be given more creative input into storylines.
But I fear this is too much to hope for.