No amount of character assassination in the later seasons could ever be enough to make me hate Danny Castellano. It will never work because I KNOW that isn’t you, my short king. How could I stop loving the red magnetic reading glasses? The Secret Santa dance? The dorky way he got so excited about the bomber jacket? How nervous he was for his driving test? The strip tease to American Woman? The way his legs dangle when he sits on the countertop with flowers? His sad, lonely piano playing? The way he raised his little brother and supports his entire family? How he apologized for being too harsh about Mindy being late and admitted it was due to his daddy issues? The tailor-made workout plan full of celebrity scenarios? Reading Bridget Jones’s Diary in a terrible British accent? Writing out a list of all his secrets to tell Mindy to prove he trusts her? His fear of the ocean out of respect? His old man rants about not turning on the heat when you could just put on a sweater and do some pushups? The plane kiss??? His exercise addiction as his only mental health coping strategy? The gingerbread houses every Christmas? His love of Ken Burns? His lil beanie when he’s going to the gym? The way he found out about his half-sister and immediately agreed to go to her soccer game? His attempts to make interpersonal chitchat with varying degrees of success? The way he broke his no lying rule to get Mindy out of hot water and did a TERRIBLE job? His nervous sweats? His love of sandwiches, even at parties at other people’s houses? His loyalty to the people he loves? THEY TURNED YOUR GRUMPINESS INTO AN UGLY, BITTER, ABUSIVE THING BUT I SAW ALL THAT GROWTH FOR THREE SEASONS AND I KNOW BETTER, MY BELOVED!!!
