Canon vs. Fanon, part 11: The Fanonization of Saint Daniel, part 2
The Fanonization of Saint Daniel, continued from part one.
Martyrdom
So much for Daniel's saintly behavior. How about the flip side of sainthood, then? Is Daniel a martyr?
Well, yes, by definition. :) There's Kelowna, of course. And the movie, when he sacrificed himself for Jack. And the S2 opener, when he told Jack, "Go! Just go! I'll stay and watch your back." I'm not challenging canon here! What I am challenging are the common fanon tropes I've listed below.
Daniel is always right, but sadly, his theories and opinions are usually denigrated or dismissed until events are on the cusp of disaster (or beyond it).
We’ve already debunked the “Daniel is always right” trope above, but what about the rest of this particular bit of fanon? Is Daniel all too often ignored or derided when he tries to offer advice or a solution? There is some canonical proof for this, although several of the episodes I cite here don’t include an element of danger:
COTG. Daniel tries - twice - to deliver an impromptu lecture at Chulak’s DHD when they first arrive at the planet. Jack cuts him off abruptly. While this could be called a bit rude, there was nothing dangerous in Jack’s continuing ignorance into exactly how Daniel had determined the seventh symbol.
Broca Divide. Daniel wants to explore the cultural implications; Jack ignores him completely. A frustrated Daniel stands up for himself in the next briefing, only to discover that the President in on his side and “you’ve already won.” Again, there was no danger involved here - it was another example of the civilian pursuit of knowledge vs. the military pursuit of weapons.
Thor’s Hammer. Daniel’s excited theories about the possibility of friendly aliens did meet with a bit of skepticism. Once Teal’c volunteers the information on how the Goa’uld feared the symbol of the Hammer, Hammond okays the mission to Cimmeria.
Cor-Ai. Daniel insists on respecting the customs of the people of Cartago, while Jack wants to rescue Teal’c through force. Both ways eventually fail, and Teal’c is released through Hanno’s recognition of his inherent nobility.
Within the Serpent’s Grasp. Daniel has to plead incessantly with the rest of SG-1 to use the address he brought back through the mirror and try to stop Apophis’ invasion of Earth.
Maternal Instinct. Daniel comes out of the temple in Kheb and begs Jack to put his weapon down; Jack does not do so until Bra’tac sides with Daniel and urges him to agree. To be fair, until that moment, Daniel had been busy telling Jack that he was the one performing feats of telekinesis and pyrokinesis, not the mysterious Oma Desala, and Jack was faced with a squad of Jaffa primed to kill him.
The Other Side. Daniel recognizes that there are too many evasions and holes in Alar’s story. Both Hammond and Jack came down very hard on him - I actually winced more at Hammond’s tirade than I did at Jack’s “shut up, Daniel.” It isn’t until Alar displays his racism more openly that Jack realizes that Daniel was right. His anger at being duped drives Jack to the opposite extreme, and they end up destroying the Eurondans and gaining nothing.
The Curse. An irritated Jack hangs up on Daniel and throws away the cell phone’s battery. By the time Jack and Teal’c are back in the loop, Daniel has been severely ribboned and Osiris has escaped Earth. Again, to be fair, Jack had no way of knowing that there was a crisis looming - which is, of course, the problem with cutting off ties so completely.
Chain Reaction. Daniel, with Teal’c’s assistance, finds proof that the planet Bauer picked for the naquadah bomb test was not only possibly inhabited, but also contained traces of naquadah in the soil. Bauer ignored him - but then, he was ignoring everybody.
Red Sky. Jack persistently ignores Daniel’s efforts to deal with the villagers on their terms and tries to debunk their faith in the Asgard. It’s unclear whether the rocket would have been destroyed without the constant undermining of their beliefs, but I doubt Jack’s brutish behavior throughout the entire episode (not only with Daniel!) had all that much to do with it.
Menace. This one is too layered and sensitive to deal with briefly. It’s enough to say that both pursued the solution they knew best, and Daniel’s solution ultimately failed. Whether this was because of Jack’s interference is a subject for another essay entirely.
Fallout. Daniel struggles to deal with the representatives of Langara. Jack marches in and throws all the diplomacy out the window. In this case, I seriously question whether Daniel would ever have actually managed to get anywhere at all. (I have even more serious questions about Hammond asking Daniel to play diplomat with the people who tried to frame him for murder when he saved their lives at the expense of his own, and about Teal’c and Jack walking away from Daniel when he was distressed at seeing that sacrifice thrown away.)
S9 Spoiler! Prototype. Daniel advocates killing Khalek. His advice is ignored, and SGC lives are lost.
That’s thirteen incidents. Of those, two are more about science vs. action; one was wholly theoretical, and was accepted with backing from Teal’c; four involve clashes where no one was really right, or there was no true solution. So in nine and a half seasons of SG-1, there were truly only six times that Daniel advocated a solution or theory that was ignored until the last moment - or beyond.
[I haven’t included Scorched Earth here, because that was a case of Daniel going one way and Jack going the other. Jack did ask Daniel for advice, and at the time, Daniel had none to give.]
Now, how about times when Daniel offered a theory that seemed ludicrous and far-fetched… and Jack/Hammond/whoever was playing antagonist accepted it?
Stargate the Movie. “They’re not hieroglyphs, they’re constellations.”
COTG. Daniel theorizes that the Stargate on Earth can’t connect to other Gates because of stellar drift. Sam: “I knew I’d like you.” Daniel: “You mean I’m right?”
Daniel later suggests in the briefing that there are other aliens like Ra, pretending to be gods: “It could be happening right now.” Hammond accepts the theory and plans the mission accordingly.
Solitudes. Based on a glass of water and some flickering chevrons, Daniel makes the leap to a second Stargate on Earth. Sam and Jack are rescued just in time.
Thor’s Chariot. Daniel recognizes that the myth of the Thor’s “Hall of Might” could very well be based on reality, just like the Hammer. Jack agrees to let him go with Sam and Gairwyn in search of it. They meet Thor and Cimmeria is saved.
Spirits. Sam follows Daniel’s lead in speaking to the “spirits” in the same manner as the Salish. Later, when it’s crisis time at the SGC, Daniel convinces Jack to try for a peaceful resolution. “How do I know it’s you?” “Because.” “Yeah, okay.” (I do love those two!)
The Fifth Race. Daniel recognizes that the download going on in Jack’s head is from the original builders of the Stargate. Because of that theory, he tells Jack about Sam and Teal’c’s predicament and urges him to solve the problem. Jack subsequently draws a fully detailed diagram of the DHD, enabling Sam to reset the frozen DHD on the desert planet so the stranded team can return in safety. He later urges Hammond to allow Jack to go through the Gate, enabling Jack to reach the Asgard in time to save his life.
One False Step. Daniel realizes that the tape of the planet is causing his symptoms even at the SGC. Sam isolates the aural problem and they save the little white guys.
Legacy. Despite drugs and disorientation, Daniel is the one to realize what is really happening with Machello’s Goa’uld-killing “buggers.” Jack leaves Teal’c’s bedside immediately when he hears Daniel is asking for him, believes him when he hears the theory, and gets him back to the SGC in time to work on the solution and save Teal’c’s life.
The Devil You Know. “I’ve been wrong about a lot of things. And I know I don’t always sound like I believe you, but I do believe in you.” Jack does back Daniel in his search for Kheb; the team is coming back from a failed search in Foothold, and they make the trek to Kheb itself in Maternal Instinct.
Crystal Skull. “Sir, radiation is climbing again.”
“Daniel said to let it happen.”
Small Victories. Daniel spots the difference in color between the original Replicator blocks and the ones from the Russian submarine. This stops the SGC from ordering the destruction of the sub before the original Replicator is destroyed, which might have enabled that Replicator, which could withstand the salt water, to reach the shore and start replicating again.
Beneath the Surface. Despite the stamp that overrode their memories, Jack does eventually listen to Daniel’s persistent assertions that something is wrong and that they aren’t where they belong.
Fail Safe. In one of those wonderful Sam and Daniel WonderTwins!™ moments, Daniel points out that the naquadah asteroid had to get into the solar system somehow. The two of them bounce half-sentences off each other and arrive at the solution: taking the asteroid into hyperspace and through the Earth.
Full Circle. “That’s good enough for me, Colonel. If Doctor Jackson is right, we have to find that Eye before Anubis does.”
Orpheus. The SGC mounts a rescue effort on the basis of Daniel’s fragmented memories.
Enemy Mine. Edwards is reluctant to listen to Daniel, but he defers to Daniel’s expertise and kneels before the Unas tribes. Daniel is successful at working out a treaty for the naquadah mines.
The Lost City. Daniel makes the most bizarre logic leaps ever and uses a crossword puzzle to figure out the coordinates to a working ZPM.
Lockdown. Daniel suggests forcing Anubis to use his powers openly. Jack accepts the suggestion and puts the entire SGC on lockdown, a stalemate that ends only because Anubis manages to work his way around the blocks they set for him.
Icon. Based on the few Goa’uld words in Daniel’s static-filled message, Jack orders an assault on the Gate in the Rand Protectorate.
Moebius. Jack agrees to Daniel’s insane proposal to go back in time to get a working ZPM. Depending on your feelings for this episode, you might prefer to include this one in the next section. :)
S9 Spoiler! Arthur’s Mantle. Daniel recognizes that the Mantle of Arthurian legend is actually sitting in Bill Lee’s lab and theorizes that it moved Sam and Mitchell to an alternate dimension. He also determines how to communicate with them, and gets them home.
S10 Spoiler! Pegasus Project. Daniel’s theories lead them to Morgan le Fay in Atlantis, and he recognizes her for the real thing.
The Quest. The team follows Daniel’s interpretations of the virtues, culminating in his walking through the fire to get them to the Sangraal - or its hologram.
That gives us total of twenty-three episodes in which Daniel’s wilder theories were accepted. Two of these are borderline - it might not have been a good idea to accept Daniel’s suggestion - but even if we take those two out, that gives us twenty-one times when people listen to Daniel’s proposals, as opposed to six times when they didn’t.
And how about those times when people listened to Daniel, and it was definitely a mistake to do so?
The Nox. Daniel urged them to capture Apophis, despite having no back-up. By the time the dust settles, they’ve died and the Nox have kicked them off the planet.
Full Circle. “Nothing will happen to the people of Abydos.”
S9 Spoiler! Ethon. Daniel urges a peaceful solution with a psychopath. The Prometheus bites the dust… and, in the end, the planet does, too.
For those that hate Seasons 9-10 and prefer to assert that Moebius moved us into an AU with fish in Jack’s pond and “our” classic team is still living happily ever after, you can add Moebius to the list. Lockdown also might be moved to the “not such a good idea” list, or possibly to the “best idea under the circumstances, but there really wasn’t a good choice” list.
Conclusion: Daniel is not always right. And when he is, his opinion is respected a lot more often than not.
Daniel is unsure of himself, his role at the SGC, and whether he has ever really accomplished anything worthwhile.
This one has some actual canonical basis, but its accuracy is dependent on the timing of the story.
Meridian. “If this is about being honest with yourself. I believe my entire life has been a failure.”
“You can never reach enlightenment if you do not believe you are worthy.”
“Then I guess we may have a problem.”
It’s clear, from Daniel’s discussion with Oma in that otherplace before his death, that Daniel has harbored a deep distrust in his own accomplishments. However, by the end of that episode, Daniel has accepted that he’s done the best he can, and he willingly Ascends.
Orpheus. “I used to feel like I didn't belong - anywhere, really. I think I thought that this whole Ascension thing would change that. And now I'm realizing that the sacrifices were far too great, and my life here is far too important to just leave behind. I guess what I'm trying to say is that for the first time in my life, I feel like I'm a part of something - something important.”
Any lingering uncertainties about his decision to return to the mortal plane are put to rest. Daniel is sure of himself, his place at the SGC, and his friends.
[I personally think that Daniel was pretty confident of himself in the second and third seasons, too, and that it was the definite change in direction at the SGC in seasons four and five that put a dent in his self-confidence. That, however, is my personal opinion only.]
Conclusion: While it might be legitimate to portray an uncertain Daniel in early seasons, and it is definitely canonical to portray an uncertain Daniel in S5, once Daniel descends in S7, he is confident about himself and his role at the SGC.
Despite an abusive, miserable childhood without any love after his parents' horrific deaths, Daniel is sweet and kind to everyone.
First things first, shall we?
The only definite canon we know about Daniel’s childhood is his date of birth, that he witnessed his parents’ deaths when he was eight years old, and that his grandfather would not/could not adopt him. Any other assertion regarding Daniel’s childhood is fanon.
In other words, abused!Daniel is a fanon trope without any basis in canon whatsoever. This was thoroughly discussed, with some very interesting commentary, over here.
No one is going to suggest that it was pleasant for Daniel to see his parents die, or that he had a wonderful life in foster care - or maybe he did. Who knows? That’s the point, isn’t it?
So much for the miserable childhood. What about the “sweet and kind” to everyone part?
I will control my snickers and point out just a few of the times that Daniel’s snippiness is in full view.
Fifth Race. When Sam and the others are trapped on the planet with two suns, several scientists are assigned to the problem. They describe their findings to Hammond, who turns and asks Daniel, “Do you understand what he just said?”
Daniel answers dryly, “It sounds like they have no idea.”
The scientist protests, “Well, actually it’s not ‘no idea,’ sir. Just… not much of one yet.” Another adds, “But we’re working on it!”
Later, when Jack has drawn his detailed diagram of the DHD, Daniel comes hurrying into the room where the scientists are, interrupting them with the news that Jack has the solution. As Hammond, Jack, and Janet rush to the control room, Daniel unceremoniously dumps Jack’s mysterious machine (I’ve seen it dubbed a mini-ZPM by SGA fans, and I personally find that hilarious) on the table in front of them.
“Here, you guys can work on that for a while.”
The scientists stare at it, and one asks, “What is it?”
Completely out of patience, Daniel hurries out of the room and calls over his shoulder, “No idea - well, not ‘no idea,’ just not much of one yet, but work on it!”
I watched The Fifth Race half a dozen times before I picked up on that one... and now I can't watch it without snickering.
Past and Present. Daniel in the briefing room, contemptuously trailing his hand along the back of Hammond’s chair as he stalks out, after flaying both Jack and Teal’c verbally.
Shades of Grey. “We drew straws. I lost.”
Window of Opportunity. “Maybe he read your report?”
The Sentinel. Kershaw says sneeringly, “I feel better just knowing there’s an archeologist watching our backs.”
Daniel holds up his knife and asks brightly, “Yeah. Which end do the bullets go in, again?”
Fallen. “Did I say all I know…?”
I know there are lots and lots more of these. I only picked six, practically at random. Feel free to leave your favorites in the comments. :)
Conclusion: Yes, Daniel can be a genuinely nice guy. He can also be rude, sarcastic, annoying, and snarky. Since we know nothing of his childhood years after his parents died, his years in foster care may or may not have been happy. Either way, they probably had a large impact on his personality, since most of us are shaped by our experiences.
Despite his staunch pacifism, Daniel is forced to kill - and is emotionally shattered as a result.
Why, yes, Daniel sees violence as a last result! Why, no, he is not a pacifist! Which means that while he may not like killing, he will hardly be destroyed by the necessity of doing so.
For a slightly longer-winded debunking of this fanon assertion, and some highly entertaining discussions by the wonderful people who like to comment on these posts, you can wander over here.
Conclusion: Daniel has never been a pacifist. He doesn't like killing, but he will not be emotionally destroyed when he is forced to do so.
Daniel's naiveté and innocence has been tragically torn from him by all the horrors that have been inflicted upon him (or he has somehow managed to preserve it, despite all odds).
Too many people confuse idealism with innocence. Daniel possesses a marvelous idealism, yes. But he wasn’t an innocent, even in the movie.
Daniel has survived years in the cutthroat world of academia. He’s gone on digs and coped with primitive conditions - a survival skill that probably came in good stead during his time on Abydos, which wasn't exactly a four-star hotel. He saw death and ugliness and the seamier side of life long before Katherine met him.
Daniel has unquestionably gone through a lot in his years at the SGC. But so have his teammates, and he has always had the option of walking away. So far, he hasn’t.
Conclusion: Daniel didn’t have any naiveté or innocence to be tragically torn from him. On the other hand, he seems to have kept his idealism mostly intact, if somewhat battered, and we love him for it.
Daniel is a target for every psychopath or stalker in the universe, both on Earth and through the Stargate; he is invariably the one to be badly hurt.
There is no question that Daniel possesses oodles of charm, and he has used that - whether consciously or unconsciously, which is a topic for another day - for his own good, as well as the good of the SGC. There is a vast difference, though, between Daniel’s remarkable ability to be liked by people - people as diverse as General Hammond, Omoc, AU General!Jack, Lya, Colonel Chekov, Nem, Chaka, Jacob Carter, and many more that escape me at the moment - and the suggestion that Daniel is some kind of trouble magnet for stalkers of all shapes and sizes.
Daniel has actually been stalked by two women - Hathor and Shyla - and one Goa’uld, Osiris. (I don’t include Osiris as a woman, despite Sarah Gardener’s status as host, because Osiris-in-Sarah never displayed any interest in Daniel other than a desire to pump him for knowledge and kill him.) Kira didn’t stalk; she displayed interest, and Daniel returned it. Aris Boch seemed to take a rather bizarre liking to him, but the slight matter of Daniel’s real worth as a bounty tends to throw all of Boch’s actions and statements into doubt. (Actually, the reason why Aris Boch is such a fun character is that it’s nearly impossible to take anything he says or does at face value.) He has been abducted five times: by Nem; Chaka; Vala in Prometheus Unbound; RepliCarter; and S10 Spoiler! Adria. (We can call it six times if you include Machello’s body theft.) He is harassed repeatedly by Vala in S9, and one might also argue for S10 (I know I would!). He went missing in TBFTGOG. In all other cases of imprisonment or abduction, Daniel wasn’t singled out; he had the rest of SG-1 along as company.
Sam, in contrast, has been stalked, to greater or lesser degrees, by Narim, who used her voiceprint in his home; by the Ashrak after Jolinar; by Vishnoor in Prisoners, until Linea placed her under her protection; by Orlin, who watched her for hours before making his presence known and refused to go away when she asked, and then tried to flirt with her in the body of a small boy; by Felger, who uses her to fuel his fantasies; and by Fifth, who went so far as to make himself a companion in her image. Jonas Hanson belongs on the list somewhere, although I can’t quite figure out how to classify him. [I refuse to put Pete on the “stalking” list. Discuss below if you care to do so.] She was harassed by Rodney McKay (I am speaking of SG-1 canon only), although he was a lot worse in the AU of Moebius, and the Lucian Alliance guy in Company of Thieves. She was abducted four times: in Emancipation, Desperate Measures, New Order, and Endgame, although Daniel eventually joined her there. She was held hostage in The Enemy Within; and went missing in Grace and Death Knell.
What was it we were saying about Daniel as stalker magnet…?
And no, Daniel does not have a reserved bed in the infirmary because he’s there more frequently than anyone else.
Conclusion: Daniel does not have any claims on being a personal target for trouble, because all the members of SG-1 have been there, done that, and gotten the T-shirt.
Daniel’s many accomplishments are overlooked or ignored, or claimed by someone else (usually Sam).
This one baffles me, and the addendum in parentheses frankly angers me.
48 Hours. General Hammond, on the phone to the President: “I'll get our best man for the job on a plane right away.” To Daniel: “The best man I was talking about is you. We need a liaison in Russia to help coordinate our interests. Pack a bag. You leave in half an hour.”
There has never been any evidence that Daniel is marginalized or denigrated, or that his accomplishments are ignored. He is clearly respected by everyone from Hammond on down. There have only been two true instances in which Daniel is treated with disrespect: sadly, both of these were Jack, in The Other Side and Menace. (“I don't like most of what you say. I try to resist the urge to shove you through a wall.”) But as I clarified above, Daniel’s opinions and theories are highly respected, and the SGC follows his lead a lot more often than not.
As for Sam claiming the credit for Daniel’s accomplishments… Really, I don’t comprehend the Sam-hate that is so rampant among many Daniel fans. (I’m talking gen here, by the way, as that’s what I read. I understand that among other circles, Sam-hate can be a lot worse.) SG-1 is a team. Sam and Daniel work marvelously together, completing each other’s sentences and arriving at the solution simultaneously. And while Sam’s physical solution often owes its existence to Daniel’s initial inspiration, there has never been any suggestion that Sam takes the credit for herself and tries to leave Daniel out of it.
The only thing remotely canonical about this strange bit of fanon is that Daniel has never received any formal recognition for his years of dedication. Jack and Sam were both promoted twice, and were presented with medals in Secrets; Teal’c has a seat on the Jaffa Council, and was honored, together with Bra’tac, with the title of being “Brother to all Jaffa,” whatever that precisely means. Daniel, on the other hand, has collected what is probably a lovely assortment of scars, a really, really high life insurance premium, and what we can only hope have been several raises in salary.
This does not reflect on the people in the SGC and their appreciation of Daniel. It does reflect on a general lack of appreciation for civilians in a military setting, but that isn’t the actual topic under discussion, is it?
Conclusion: The SGC has always recognized and appreciated Daniel’s dedication to his work and his many successes. And while Sam is part of the military machine and has received formal recognition three times - two promotions and a medal - in her years at the SGC, that does not mean that she claimed credit for Daniel’s accomplishments.
Daniel hides emotional and physical pain behind his constant cheerful smiles and his constant refrain of "I'm fine,” even if he is on the verge of collapse.
The “I’m fine” fanon was pretty thoroughly debunked already. I’ll add only two points here.
First, Daniel is much better at hiding physical pain than emotional pain. In almost every instance when true emotional pain is involved - Sha’re’s abduction, the Gamekeeper, the birth of Shifu, Sha’re’s death - he openly admits to being less than “fine.”
Second, it’s bizarre to suggest that when the team is off-world, Daniel will hide physical injury and insist that he’s fine. Daniel is too much of a team player; he would never jeopardize the rest of SG-1 by pretending to be well when he actually isn’t capable of doing his part. Lying about his health off-world is tantamount to risking the team’s safety, and unless it’s nothing more than a mild headache, Daniel would not do it.
For a more detailed discussion - especially in the comments! - you can try looking here.
Conclusion: Every person occasionally hides physical and emotional pain. Daniel is no better or worse at it than anyone else.
So what's wrong with Saint Daniel, anyway? How can a canon character become a Mary Sue?
Is there anything all that wrong with writing with Saint Daniel? Is the over-exaggeration of his good traits any worse than over-emphasizing his good looks and devastating blue eyes? The word "cerulean" should be stricken permanently from fanfic writers' dictionaries when describing eyes, by the way.
Well, yes. There are two good reasons to avoid Saint Daniel:
1. He's not canon. I don't need to expand upon that any more than I already have. :)
2. Saint Daniel isn't interesting. There's nothing wrong, per se, with admiring your favorite character to the point of being slightly hero-worshipful when you write about him. But Saint Daniel isn't Dr. Daniel Jackson, member of SG-1; he's Mary Sue Daniel, and he's incredibly boring.
While many people use the term "Mary Sue" solely to describe an original character that is actually a self-insert by the author, that's not entirely fair; original characters, even those that include an element of wish-fulfillment on the author's part, can often be engaging and entertaining. I think a better definition for a "Mary Sue" is this: any character that takes over the story at the expense of everyone else, so that the character is the sole focus of not only the storyline but also the characters, is a Mary Sue.
By that definition, Mary Sues don't have to be original characters. One of the most famous Mary Sues, in fact, was Star Trek: The Next Generation's Wesley Crusher, who was a genius teenage boy who consistently knew better than the highly trained, intelligent adults around him. A more contemporary example would be Lana Lang on Smallville, who is so loved by the other characters on the show and is so ridiculously perfect that many people have suggested that the show should be called Lanaville instead. On our own beloved Stargate: SG-1, many fans who loved Sam in the first years of the show became irritated with her in the later seasons, when Major Samantha Carter, capable astrophysicist and soldier, became Super!Sam, inexplicable expert in all fields of science and someone who was praised by all the other characters to the point of nausea. (That isn’t my personal opinion, although I do think that Sam has been very badly written on more than one occasion.) And when an author takes a character from the show and warps him to the point where nearly everyone else in the story is practically worshipping at his feet - or agonizing that they haven’t worshipped at his feet in the past - then that character has been rewritten as a Mary Sue.
Mary Sues aren't likeable because they're too perfect to be truly sympathetic. When a character's greatest "faults" are his self-effacing humility and emotional vulnerability - which is exaggerated to the point where the character wouldn't be able to function in a line at the bank, much less in a stressful position as a member of a first-contact field team - there is nothing left with which the reader can empathize. And when the other characters spend their time pondering on the wonderfulness of the character, or regretting that they didn't listen to He-Who-Is-Always-Right, or mentally (or physically) patting him on the head… Well, you might have a clear grasp of Saint Daniel (or, as is often the case, Saint Danny), but you've probably lost a lot of your readers.
My person fanon opinion? No one who has read these posts even casually would suggest that I dislike Daniel. I absolutely adore him, but it's despite - or even because - of his character flaws. I love him for being stubborn and arrogant and pushy; it's those self-same character traits that give him tenacity in the face of the most incredible adversity, and enough confidence in his own talents to make his insanely wild leaps of logic to find the unusual solution, and the determination to stand up and tell the truth even when it's not popular - or even safe. You can't have one side of the coin without the other; and while sainthood is something that is admirable and respected, it's not the right description for Daniel… and I wouldn't like him very much if it actually was!
"Anyway, I'm sorry, but that just happens to be how I feel about it. What do you think?"
Martyrdom
So much for Daniel's saintly behavior. How about the flip side of sainthood, then? Is Daniel a martyr?
Well, yes, by definition. :) There's Kelowna, of course. And the movie, when he sacrificed himself for Jack. And the S2 opener, when he told Jack, "Go! Just go! I'll stay and watch your back." I'm not challenging canon here! What I am challenging are the common fanon tropes I've listed below.
Daniel is always right, but sadly, his theories and opinions are usually denigrated or dismissed until events are on the cusp of disaster (or beyond it).
We’ve already debunked the “Daniel is always right” trope above, but what about the rest of this particular bit of fanon? Is Daniel all too often ignored or derided when he tries to offer advice or a solution? There is some canonical proof for this, although several of the episodes I cite here don’t include an element of danger:
COTG. Daniel tries - twice - to deliver an impromptu lecture at Chulak’s DHD when they first arrive at the planet. Jack cuts him off abruptly. While this could be called a bit rude, there was nothing dangerous in Jack’s continuing ignorance into exactly how Daniel had determined the seventh symbol.
Broca Divide. Daniel wants to explore the cultural implications; Jack ignores him completely. A frustrated Daniel stands up for himself in the next briefing, only to discover that the President in on his side and “you’ve already won.” Again, there was no danger involved here - it was another example of the civilian pursuit of knowledge vs. the military pursuit of weapons.
Thor’s Hammer. Daniel’s excited theories about the possibility of friendly aliens did meet with a bit of skepticism. Once Teal’c volunteers the information on how the Goa’uld feared the symbol of the Hammer, Hammond okays the mission to Cimmeria.
Cor-Ai. Daniel insists on respecting the customs of the people of Cartago, while Jack wants to rescue Teal’c through force. Both ways eventually fail, and Teal’c is released through Hanno’s recognition of his inherent nobility.
Within the Serpent’s Grasp. Daniel has to plead incessantly with the rest of SG-1 to use the address he brought back through the mirror and try to stop Apophis’ invasion of Earth.
Maternal Instinct. Daniel comes out of the temple in Kheb and begs Jack to put his weapon down; Jack does not do so until Bra’tac sides with Daniel and urges him to agree. To be fair, until that moment, Daniel had been busy telling Jack that he was the one performing feats of telekinesis and pyrokinesis, not the mysterious Oma Desala, and Jack was faced with a squad of Jaffa primed to kill him.
The Other Side. Daniel recognizes that there are too many evasions and holes in Alar’s story. Both Hammond and Jack came down very hard on him - I actually winced more at Hammond’s tirade than I did at Jack’s “shut up, Daniel.” It isn’t until Alar displays his racism more openly that Jack realizes that Daniel was right. His anger at being duped drives Jack to the opposite extreme, and they end up destroying the Eurondans and gaining nothing.
The Curse. An irritated Jack hangs up on Daniel and throws away the cell phone’s battery. By the time Jack and Teal’c are back in the loop, Daniel has been severely ribboned and Osiris has escaped Earth. Again, to be fair, Jack had no way of knowing that there was a crisis looming - which is, of course, the problem with cutting off ties so completely.
Chain Reaction. Daniel, with Teal’c’s assistance, finds proof that the planet Bauer picked for the naquadah bomb test was not only possibly inhabited, but also contained traces of naquadah in the soil. Bauer ignored him - but then, he was ignoring everybody.
Red Sky. Jack persistently ignores Daniel’s efforts to deal with the villagers on their terms and tries to debunk their faith in the Asgard. It’s unclear whether the rocket would have been destroyed without the constant undermining of their beliefs, but I doubt Jack’s brutish behavior throughout the entire episode (not only with Daniel!) had all that much to do with it.
Menace. This one is too layered and sensitive to deal with briefly. It’s enough to say that both pursued the solution they knew best, and Daniel’s solution ultimately failed. Whether this was because of Jack’s interference is a subject for another essay entirely.
Fallout. Daniel struggles to deal with the representatives of Langara. Jack marches in and throws all the diplomacy out the window. In this case, I seriously question whether Daniel would ever have actually managed to get anywhere at all. (I have even more serious questions about Hammond asking Daniel to play diplomat with the people who tried to frame him for murder when he saved their lives at the expense of his own, and about Teal’c and Jack walking away from Daniel when he was distressed at seeing that sacrifice thrown away.)
S9 Spoiler! Prototype. Daniel advocates killing Khalek. His advice is ignored, and SGC lives are lost.
That’s thirteen incidents. Of those, two are more about science vs. action; one was wholly theoretical, and was accepted with backing from Teal’c; four involve clashes where no one was really right, or there was no true solution. So in nine and a half seasons of SG-1, there were truly only six times that Daniel advocated a solution or theory that was ignored until the last moment - or beyond.
[I haven’t included Scorched Earth here, because that was a case of Daniel going one way and Jack going the other. Jack did ask Daniel for advice, and at the time, Daniel had none to give.]
Now, how about times when Daniel offered a theory that seemed ludicrous and far-fetched… and Jack/Hammond/whoever was playing antagonist accepted it?
Stargate the Movie. “They’re not hieroglyphs, they’re constellations.”
COTG. Daniel theorizes that the Stargate on Earth can’t connect to other Gates because of stellar drift. Sam: “I knew I’d like you.” Daniel: “You mean I’m right?”
Daniel later suggests in the briefing that there are other aliens like Ra, pretending to be gods: “It could be happening right now.” Hammond accepts the theory and plans the mission accordingly.
Solitudes. Based on a glass of water and some flickering chevrons, Daniel makes the leap to a second Stargate on Earth. Sam and Jack are rescued just in time.
Thor’s Chariot. Daniel recognizes that the myth of the Thor’s “Hall of Might” could very well be based on reality, just like the Hammer. Jack agrees to let him go with Sam and Gairwyn in search of it. They meet Thor and Cimmeria is saved.
Spirits. Sam follows Daniel’s lead in speaking to the “spirits” in the same manner as the Salish. Later, when it’s crisis time at the SGC, Daniel convinces Jack to try for a peaceful resolution. “How do I know it’s you?” “Because.” “Yeah, okay.” (I do love those two!)
The Fifth Race. Daniel recognizes that the download going on in Jack’s head is from the original builders of the Stargate. Because of that theory, he tells Jack about Sam and Teal’c’s predicament and urges him to solve the problem. Jack subsequently draws a fully detailed diagram of the DHD, enabling Sam to reset the frozen DHD on the desert planet so the stranded team can return in safety. He later urges Hammond to allow Jack to go through the Gate, enabling Jack to reach the Asgard in time to save his life.
One False Step. Daniel realizes that the tape of the planet is causing his symptoms even at the SGC. Sam isolates the aural problem and they save the little white guys.
Legacy. Despite drugs and disorientation, Daniel is the one to realize what is really happening with Machello’s Goa’uld-killing “buggers.” Jack leaves Teal’c’s bedside immediately when he hears Daniel is asking for him, believes him when he hears the theory, and gets him back to the SGC in time to work on the solution and save Teal’c’s life.
The Devil You Know. “I’ve been wrong about a lot of things. And I know I don’t always sound like I believe you, but I do believe in you.” Jack does back Daniel in his search for Kheb; the team is coming back from a failed search in Foothold, and they make the trek to Kheb itself in Maternal Instinct.
Crystal Skull. “Sir, radiation is climbing again.”
“Daniel said to let it happen.”
Small Victories. Daniel spots the difference in color between the original Replicator blocks and the ones from the Russian submarine. This stops the SGC from ordering the destruction of the sub before the original Replicator is destroyed, which might have enabled that Replicator, which could withstand the salt water, to reach the shore and start replicating again.
Beneath the Surface. Despite the stamp that overrode their memories, Jack does eventually listen to Daniel’s persistent assertions that something is wrong and that they aren’t where they belong.
Fail Safe. In one of those wonderful Sam and Daniel WonderTwins!™ moments, Daniel points out that the naquadah asteroid had to get into the solar system somehow. The two of them bounce half-sentences off each other and arrive at the solution: taking the asteroid into hyperspace and through the Earth.
Full Circle. “That’s good enough for me, Colonel. If Doctor Jackson is right, we have to find that Eye before Anubis does.”
Orpheus. The SGC mounts a rescue effort on the basis of Daniel’s fragmented memories.
Enemy Mine. Edwards is reluctant to listen to Daniel, but he defers to Daniel’s expertise and kneels before the Unas tribes. Daniel is successful at working out a treaty for the naquadah mines.
The Lost City. Daniel makes the most bizarre logic leaps ever and uses a crossword puzzle to figure out the coordinates to a working ZPM.
Lockdown. Daniel suggests forcing Anubis to use his powers openly. Jack accepts the suggestion and puts the entire SGC on lockdown, a stalemate that ends only because Anubis manages to work his way around the blocks they set for him.
Icon. Based on the few Goa’uld words in Daniel’s static-filled message, Jack orders an assault on the Gate in the Rand Protectorate.
Moebius. Jack agrees to Daniel’s insane proposal to go back in time to get a working ZPM. Depending on your feelings for this episode, you might prefer to include this one in the next section. :)
S9 Spoiler! Arthur’s Mantle. Daniel recognizes that the Mantle of Arthurian legend is actually sitting in Bill Lee’s lab and theorizes that it moved Sam and Mitchell to an alternate dimension. He also determines how to communicate with them, and gets them home.
S10 Spoiler! Pegasus Project. Daniel’s theories lead them to Morgan le Fay in Atlantis, and he recognizes her for the real thing.
The Quest. The team follows Daniel’s interpretations of the virtues, culminating in his walking through the fire to get them to the Sangraal - or its hologram.
That gives us total of twenty-three episodes in which Daniel’s wilder theories were accepted. Two of these are borderline - it might not have been a good idea to accept Daniel’s suggestion - but even if we take those two out, that gives us twenty-one times when people listen to Daniel’s proposals, as opposed to six times when they didn’t.
And how about those times when people listened to Daniel, and it was definitely a mistake to do so?
The Nox. Daniel urged them to capture Apophis, despite having no back-up. By the time the dust settles, they’ve died and the Nox have kicked them off the planet.
Full Circle. “Nothing will happen to the people of Abydos.”
S9 Spoiler! Ethon. Daniel urges a peaceful solution with a psychopath. The Prometheus bites the dust… and, in the end, the planet does, too.
For those that hate Seasons 9-10 and prefer to assert that Moebius moved us into an AU with fish in Jack’s pond and “our” classic team is still living happily ever after, you can add Moebius to the list. Lockdown also might be moved to the “not such a good idea” list, or possibly to the “best idea under the circumstances, but there really wasn’t a good choice” list.
Conclusion: Daniel is not always right. And when he is, his opinion is respected a lot more often than not.
Daniel is unsure of himself, his role at the SGC, and whether he has ever really accomplished anything worthwhile.
This one has some actual canonical basis, but its accuracy is dependent on the timing of the story.
Meridian. “If this is about being honest with yourself. I believe my entire life has been a failure.”
“You can never reach enlightenment if you do not believe you are worthy.”
“Then I guess we may have a problem.”
It’s clear, from Daniel’s discussion with Oma in that otherplace before his death, that Daniel has harbored a deep distrust in his own accomplishments. However, by the end of that episode, Daniel has accepted that he’s done the best he can, and he willingly Ascends.
Orpheus. “I used to feel like I didn't belong - anywhere, really. I think I thought that this whole Ascension thing would change that. And now I'm realizing that the sacrifices were far too great, and my life here is far too important to just leave behind. I guess what I'm trying to say is that for the first time in my life, I feel like I'm a part of something - something important.”
Any lingering uncertainties about his decision to return to the mortal plane are put to rest. Daniel is sure of himself, his place at the SGC, and his friends.
[I personally think that Daniel was pretty confident of himself in the second and third seasons, too, and that it was the definite change in direction at the SGC in seasons four and five that put a dent in his self-confidence. That, however, is my personal opinion only.]
Conclusion: While it might be legitimate to portray an uncertain Daniel in early seasons, and it is definitely canonical to portray an uncertain Daniel in S5, once Daniel descends in S7, he is confident about himself and his role at the SGC.
Despite an abusive, miserable childhood without any love after his parents' horrific deaths, Daniel is sweet and kind to everyone.
First things first, shall we?
The only definite canon we know about Daniel’s childhood is his date of birth, that he witnessed his parents’ deaths when he was eight years old, and that his grandfather would not/could not adopt him. Any other assertion regarding Daniel’s childhood is fanon.
In other words, abused!Daniel is a fanon trope without any basis in canon whatsoever. This was thoroughly discussed, with some very interesting commentary, over here.
No one is going to suggest that it was pleasant for Daniel to see his parents die, or that he had a wonderful life in foster care - or maybe he did. Who knows? That’s the point, isn’t it?
So much for the miserable childhood. What about the “sweet and kind” to everyone part?
I will control my snickers and point out just a few of the times that Daniel’s snippiness is in full view.
Fifth Race. When Sam and the others are trapped on the planet with two suns, several scientists are assigned to the problem. They describe their findings to Hammond, who turns and asks Daniel, “Do you understand what he just said?”
Daniel answers dryly, “It sounds like they have no idea.”
The scientist protests, “Well, actually it’s not ‘no idea,’ sir. Just… not much of one yet.” Another adds, “But we’re working on it!”
Later, when Jack has drawn his detailed diagram of the DHD, Daniel comes hurrying into the room where the scientists are, interrupting them with the news that Jack has the solution. As Hammond, Jack, and Janet rush to the control room, Daniel unceremoniously dumps Jack’s mysterious machine (I’ve seen it dubbed a mini-ZPM by SGA fans, and I personally find that hilarious) on the table in front of them.
“Here, you guys can work on that for a while.”
The scientists stare at it, and one asks, “What is it?”
Completely out of patience, Daniel hurries out of the room and calls over his shoulder, “No idea - well, not ‘no idea,’ just not much of one yet, but work on it!”
I watched The Fifth Race half a dozen times before I picked up on that one... and now I can't watch it without snickering.
Past and Present. Daniel in the briefing room, contemptuously trailing his hand along the back of Hammond’s chair as he stalks out, after flaying both Jack and Teal’c verbally.
Shades of Grey. “We drew straws. I lost.”
Window of Opportunity. “Maybe he read your report?”
The Sentinel. Kershaw says sneeringly, “I feel better just knowing there’s an archeologist watching our backs.”
Daniel holds up his knife and asks brightly, “Yeah. Which end do the bullets go in, again?”
Fallen. “Did I say all I know…?”
I know there are lots and lots more of these. I only picked six, practically at random. Feel free to leave your favorites in the comments. :)
Conclusion: Yes, Daniel can be a genuinely nice guy. He can also be rude, sarcastic, annoying, and snarky. Since we know nothing of his childhood years after his parents died, his years in foster care may or may not have been happy. Either way, they probably had a large impact on his personality, since most of us are shaped by our experiences.
Despite his staunch pacifism, Daniel is forced to kill - and is emotionally shattered as a result.
Why, yes, Daniel sees violence as a last result! Why, no, he is not a pacifist! Which means that while he may not like killing, he will hardly be destroyed by the necessity of doing so.
For a slightly longer-winded debunking of this fanon assertion, and some highly entertaining discussions by the wonderful people who like to comment on these posts, you can wander over here.
Conclusion: Daniel has never been a pacifist. He doesn't like killing, but he will not be emotionally destroyed when he is forced to do so.
Daniel's naiveté and innocence has been tragically torn from him by all the horrors that have been inflicted upon him (or he has somehow managed to preserve it, despite all odds).
Too many people confuse idealism with innocence. Daniel possesses a marvelous idealism, yes. But he wasn’t an innocent, even in the movie.
Daniel has survived years in the cutthroat world of academia. He’s gone on digs and coped with primitive conditions - a survival skill that probably came in good stead during his time on Abydos, which wasn't exactly a four-star hotel. He saw death and ugliness and the seamier side of life long before Katherine met him.
Daniel has unquestionably gone through a lot in his years at the SGC. But so have his teammates, and he has always had the option of walking away. So far, he hasn’t.
Conclusion: Daniel didn’t have any naiveté or innocence to be tragically torn from him. On the other hand, he seems to have kept his idealism mostly intact, if somewhat battered, and we love him for it.
Daniel is a target for every psychopath or stalker in the universe, both on Earth and through the Stargate; he is invariably the one to be badly hurt.
There is no question that Daniel possesses oodles of charm, and he has used that - whether consciously or unconsciously, which is a topic for another day - for his own good, as well as the good of the SGC. There is a vast difference, though, between Daniel’s remarkable ability to be liked by people - people as diverse as General Hammond, Omoc, AU General!Jack, Lya, Colonel Chekov, Nem, Chaka, Jacob Carter, and many more that escape me at the moment - and the suggestion that Daniel is some kind of trouble magnet for stalkers of all shapes and sizes.
Daniel has actually been stalked by two women - Hathor and Shyla - and one Goa’uld, Osiris. (I don’t include Osiris as a woman, despite Sarah Gardener’s status as host, because Osiris-in-Sarah never displayed any interest in Daniel other than a desire to pump him for knowledge and kill him.) Kira didn’t stalk; she displayed interest, and Daniel returned it. Aris Boch seemed to take a rather bizarre liking to him, but the slight matter of Daniel’s real worth as a bounty tends to throw all of Boch’s actions and statements into doubt. (Actually, the reason why Aris Boch is such a fun character is that it’s nearly impossible to take anything he says or does at face value.) He has been abducted five times: by Nem; Chaka; Vala in Prometheus Unbound; RepliCarter; and S10 Spoiler! Adria. (We can call it six times if you include Machello’s body theft.) He is harassed repeatedly by Vala in S9, and one might also argue for S10 (I know I would!). He went missing in TBFTGOG. In all other cases of imprisonment or abduction, Daniel wasn’t singled out; he had the rest of SG-1 along as company.
Sam, in contrast, has been stalked, to greater or lesser degrees, by Narim, who used her voiceprint in his home; by the Ashrak after Jolinar; by Vishnoor in Prisoners, until Linea placed her under her protection; by Orlin, who watched her for hours before making his presence known and refused to go away when she asked, and then tried to flirt with her in the body of a small boy; by Felger, who uses her to fuel his fantasies; and by Fifth, who went so far as to make himself a companion in her image. Jonas Hanson belongs on the list somewhere, although I can’t quite figure out how to classify him. [I refuse to put Pete on the “stalking” list. Discuss below if you care to do so.] She was harassed by Rodney McKay (I am speaking of SG-1 canon only), although he was a lot worse in the AU of Moebius, and the Lucian Alliance guy in Company of Thieves. She was abducted four times: in Emancipation, Desperate Measures, New Order, and Endgame, although Daniel eventually joined her there. She was held hostage in The Enemy Within; and went missing in Grace and Death Knell.
What was it we were saying about Daniel as stalker magnet…?
And no, Daniel does not have a reserved bed in the infirmary because he’s there more frequently than anyone else.
Conclusion: Daniel does not have any claims on being a personal target for trouble, because all the members of SG-1 have been there, done that, and gotten the T-shirt.
Daniel’s many accomplishments are overlooked or ignored, or claimed by someone else (usually Sam).
This one baffles me, and the addendum in parentheses frankly angers me.
48 Hours. General Hammond, on the phone to the President: “I'll get our best man for the job on a plane right away.” To Daniel: “The best man I was talking about is you. We need a liaison in Russia to help coordinate our interests. Pack a bag. You leave in half an hour.”
There has never been any evidence that Daniel is marginalized or denigrated, or that his accomplishments are ignored. He is clearly respected by everyone from Hammond on down. There have only been two true instances in which Daniel is treated with disrespect: sadly, both of these were Jack, in The Other Side and Menace. (“I don't like most of what you say. I try to resist the urge to shove you through a wall.”) But as I clarified above, Daniel’s opinions and theories are highly respected, and the SGC follows his lead a lot more often than not.
As for Sam claiming the credit for Daniel’s accomplishments… Really, I don’t comprehend the Sam-hate that is so rampant among many Daniel fans. (I’m talking gen here, by the way, as that’s what I read. I understand that among other circles, Sam-hate can be a lot worse.) SG-1 is a team. Sam and Daniel work marvelously together, completing each other’s sentences and arriving at the solution simultaneously. And while Sam’s physical solution often owes its existence to Daniel’s initial inspiration, there has never been any suggestion that Sam takes the credit for herself and tries to leave Daniel out of it.
The only thing remotely canonical about this strange bit of fanon is that Daniel has never received any formal recognition for his years of dedication. Jack and Sam were both promoted twice, and were presented with medals in Secrets; Teal’c has a seat on the Jaffa Council, and was honored, together with Bra’tac, with the title of being “Brother to all Jaffa,” whatever that precisely means. Daniel, on the other hand, has collected what is probably a lovely assortment of scars, a really, really high life insurance premium, and what we can only hope have been several raises in salary.
This does not reflect on the people in the SGC and their appreciation of Daniel. It does reflect on a general lack of appreciation for civilians in a military setting, but that isn’t the actual topic under discussion, is it?
Conclusion: The SGC has always recognized and appreciated Daniel’s dedication to his work and his many successes. And while Sam is part of the military machine and has received formal recognition three times - two promotions and a medal - in her years at the SGC, that does not mean that she claimed credit for Daniel’s accomplishments.
Daniel hides emotional and physical pain behind his constant cheerful smiles and his constant refrain of "I'm fine,” even if he is on the verge of collapse.
The “I’m fine” fanon was pretty thoroughly debunked already. I’ll add only two points here.
First, Daniel is much better at hiding physical pain than emotional pain. In almost every instance when true emotional pain is involved - Sha’re’s abduction, the Gamekeeper, the birth of Shifu, Sha’re’s death - he openly admits to being less than “fine.”
Second, it’s bizarre to suggest that when the team is off-world, Daniel will hide physical injury and insist that he’s fine. Daniel is too much of a team player; he would never jeopardize the rest of SG-1 by pretending to be well when he actually isn’t capable of doing his part. Lying about his health off-world is tantamount to risking the team’s safety, and unless it’s nothing more than a mild headache, Daniel would not do it.
For a more detailed discussion - especially in the comments! - you can try looking here.
Conclusion: Every person occasionally hides physical and emotional pain. Daniel is no better or worse at it than anyone else.
So what's wrong with Saint Daniel, anyway? How can a canon character become a Mary Sue?
Is there anything all that wrong with writing with Saint Daniel? Is the over-exaggeration of his good traits any worse than over-emphasizing his good looks and devastating blue eyes? The word "cerulean" should be stricken permanently from fanfic writers' dictionaries when describing eyes, by the way.
Well, yes. There are two good reasons to avoid Saint Daniel:
1. He's not canon. I don't need to expand upon that any more than I already have. :)
2. Saint Daniel isn't interesting. There's nothing wrong, per se, with admiring your favorite character to the point of being slightly hero-worshipful when you write about him. But Saint Daniel isn't Dr. Daniel Jackson, member of SG-1; he's Mary Sue Daniel, and he's incredibly boring.
While many people use the term "Mary Sue" solely to describe an original character that is actually a self-insert by the author, that's not entirely fair; original characters, even those that include an element of wish-fulfillment on the author's part, can often be engaging and entertaining. I think a better definition for a "Mary Sue" is this: any character that takes over the story at the expense of everyone else, so that the character is the sole focus of not only the storyline but also the characters, is a Mary Sue.
By that definition, Mary Sues don't have to be original characters. One of the most famous Mary Sues, in fact, was Star Trek: The Next Generation's Wesley Crusher, who was a genius teenage boy who consistently knew better than the highly trained, intelligent adults around him. A more contemporary example would be Lana Lang on Smallville, who is so loved by the other characters on the show and is so ridiculously perfect that many people have suggested that the show should be called Lanaville instead. On our own beloved Stargate: SG-1, many fans who loved Sam in the first years of the show became irritated with her in the later seasons, when Major Samantha Carter, capable astrophysicist and soldier, became Super!Sam, inexplicable expert in all fields of science and someone who was praised by all the other characters to the point of nausea. (That isn’t my personal opinion, although I do think that Sam has been very badly written on more than one occasion.) And when an author takes a character from the show and warps him to the point where nearly everyone else in the story is practically worshipping at his feet - or agonizing that they haven’t worshipped at his feet in the past - then that character has been rewritten as a Mary Sue.
Mary Sues aren't likeable because they're too perfect to be truly sympathetic. When a character's greatest "faults" are his self-effacing humility and emotional vulnerability - which is exaggerated to the point where the character wouldn't be able to function in a line at the bank, much less in a stressful position as a member of a first-contact field team - there is nothing left with which the reader can empathize. And when the other characters spend their time pondering on the wonderfulness of the character, or regretting that they didn't listen to He-Who-Is-Always-Right, or mentally (or physically) patting him on the head… Well, you might have a clear grasp of Saint Daniel (or, as is often the case, Saint Danny), but you've probably lost a lot of your readers.
My person fanon opinion? No one who has read these posts even casually would suggest that I dislike Daniel. I absolutely adore him, but it's despite - or even because - of his character flaws. I love him for being stubborn and arrogant and pushy; it's those self-same character traits that give him tenacity in the face of the most incredible adversity, and enough confidence in his own talents to make his insanely wild leaps of logic to find the unusual solution, and the determination to stand up and tell the truth even when it's not popular - or even safe. You can't have one side of the coin without the other; and while sainthood is something that is admirable and respected, it's not the right description for Daniel… and I wouldn't like him very much if it actually was!
"Anyway, I'm sorry, but that just happens to be how I feel about it. What do you think?"