at least we still have each other;

Oh, Malcolm, the girl already said she has trust issues. He needs to make this relationship a 2 way street.

We’re gonna get you out of this, Bright.

bonus:

Whump In Every Episode - 1/20

Dani resonated with Malcolm, and against what is probably a mountain of bad experiences with men, started to let him in. In return, Malcolm trusted her, and because of that Dani got to see the demon that Malcolm struggles with (Martin); she’s seen Malcolm be cavalier with his life and others (remember Malcolm almost letting Berkhead murder him? Remember when he tossed that professor off the roof??); she’s seen that what happens when the chips are down is that Malcolm is last man standing (the heist episode! Watkins!). Most importantly, Malcolm has let her see him lose his damn mind over Eve. He frightened her last episode.

Put together, Dani believes she knows Malcolm enough to conclude that he is capable of losing his shit and murdering someone. And it has little to nothing to do with loyalty, and everything to do with Dani’s personal history. A history that the writers haven’t let us see, but it’s there in subtext. It also has to do with respecting what she’s learned from Malcolm himself. He doesn’t allow himself to have blind spots if he can help it, and if she (just because of their ~connection~) defends him without getting proof, that doesn’t bode well for their relationship, which is based on telling each other the truth.

It all looks so.... staged, you know? Their lines, their behavior, their response to the whole thing. Edrisa looks like the only one acting like everyone else should be. IDK.

Dani resonated with Malcolm, and against what is probably a mountain of bad experiences with men, started to let him in. In return, Malcolm trusted her, and because of that Dani got to see the demon that Malcolm struggles with (Martin); she’s seen Malcolm be cavalier with his life and others (remember Malcolm almost letting Berkhead murder him? Remember when he tossed that professor off the roof??); she’s seen that what happens when the chips are down is that Malcolm is last man standing (the heist episode! Watkins!). Most importantly, Malcolm has let her see him lose his damn mind over Eve. He frightened her last episode.

Put together, Dani believes she knows Malcolm enough to conclude that he is capable of losing his shit and murdering someone. And it has little to nothing to do with loyalty, and everything to do with Dani’s personal history. A history that the writers haven’t let us see, but it’s there in subtext. It also has to do with respecting what she’s learned from Malcolm himself. He doesn’t allow himself to have blind spots if he can help it, and if she (just because of their ~connection~) defends him without getting proof, that doesn’t bode well for their relationship, which is based on telling each other the truth.

(gif by @atomrealm )

I was trying to get hold of this scene but not because of Malcolm. Because of Dani.

Look at her reaction. She flinches but doesn't look back at Malcolm after his explosion. People's automatic instinct is to keep the threat in the eyeshot, so they could react immediately when the need will arise.

A bunch of us- me included - yelled WHY DIDNT YOU RUN AFTER HIM DANI?! when he did that she she didnt stop him from going to the hospital. After a 2nd watch I realised that wasnt a normal reaction and this flinching explains why didnt run after him. For whatever reason it was, she was actually scared in that moment and wasnt going to go after the person who did that (and that breaks my Brightwell heart)

The presentation of it really hits the viewer over the head with this idea that Malcolm has decided to completely ignore all of Eve’s failings now that she’s gone, and almost canonize her. But what I don’t get is why. Is this the only way Malcolm can cope with her death? By ignoring all her faults? That doesn’t really seem typical of him. He’s aware, to a fault, of all the shortcomings of the people in his life—from his mother’s drinking, Ainsley’s dogged pursuit of being the best, his father’s crimes, and even Gil’s desire to solve cases even as Malcolm’s health suffers from being re-involved with Martin. He sees the people around them for who they are, blemishes included. So why doesn’t he acknowledge Eve’s?

Initially, I thought it was because the writers wanted us to believe that Malcolm loved her. But now I think it’s because Malcolm doesn’t want to acknowledge that what she needed and wanted wasn’t what he wanted.

Shes normalcy that hes chasing after - and I don't blame him. The nightmares essentially stopped with her in his life and for someone whose life is absolutely ruled by those, who wouldnt want them to stop? After he found out who she was in 17, she came in prepared to leave and end everything - mostly probably because of her fears of the whole situation but also because shes probably like 'welp he knows I used him, hes done'. However,he wants nothing more than to continue on with her, tell her its okay he gets why she acted that way and move forward together to figure out what happened to her sister. Malcom was just crushed with the realization that she used him to get answers and to get to his father for herself and that's his reaction.

Malcolm is completely fucked up, not just because of his nightmares and PTSD, but the way he reacts to those, too, and the way he profiles people before he can get to know them, effectively pushing them away before they can see who he really is. Which leads me to this: he failed to profile Eve and see she was using him, because he needed so badly to be wanted by her, because nobody else wants him :/ 

That's true, he profiled Eve, but not in the same way he does to everyone else.. he didnt continue to profile her after that initial 'party trick' Tally wanted to see. He didnt push her away enough, because he needed to be wanted by her- I love how you put that. He thinks nobody else wants him, but he either assumes that based on interactions (makes sense) or he makes that true by pushing them away with his profiling. It's so true that he needed that so badly and geeze I wish I couldnt say that I fully understand and know that feeling (not to his level, but enough), but I do.

He did have a good start off with Dani (in matters of shipping), she saw his night terrors right off, understood when Gil clarified about Malcolm and his serial killer of a dad (JT kept being an ass, for example), acted super cool about his restraints, never shy away from calling him out on his BS, told him to stop profiling her without much drama, etc. Let's be honest here, realistically speaking, not a lot of people are willing to deal with even 1% of that. But Malcolm getting involved with Dani means putting at risk everything he has, and that isn't a hell of a lot. He got fired from the FBI, he's connecting with his family, he got a job now with a person he considers a father. Messing things up with Dani would ruin most of that. 

But that seeing of the truth, that’s dangerous. Malcolm has been aware of how the truth can damage since he was a child. He wielded the truth and destroyed his family (saved them probably, but there was still destruction). Since then, it seems like Malcolm is careful to use truth only against other people. Because he knows that what he is capable of is not a party trick.

Eve got a first hand look of what being dissected by Malcolm would be like, and she left immediately. And after that, Malcolm was sorry because he hurt her, but also because she was a chance for him to be Normal(tm). So when she worked up the courage to continue (with her plan let’s not forget), he skipped over talking and potentially showing her more of who he was, and went straight to sex.

Eve was the easy, perfect girl to tell his therapist all about. 'See? I did it. I'm having a normal life.'  But with Dani, they're alike in a lot of ways, and so different in others that make them bounce off of each other so well. Malcolm is bound to sabotage whatever may be possible with Dani because of the reasons you mentioned. They're never going to be able to have a relationship (and Dani is never going to allow it to happen) before Malcolm truly lets her in. It's the little things that happen in every episode that show that Dani is trying, and Malcolm isn't letting her go far. I love the whole friends analogy, because it's pretty much like building a relationship: You can't be anything to me if you won't let me be anything to you. 

The presentation of it really hits the viewer over the head with this idea that Malcolm has decided to completely ignore all of Eve’s failings now that she’s gone, and almost canonize her. But what I don’t get is why. Is this the only way Malcolm can cope with her death? By ignoring all her faults? That doesn’t really seem typical of him. He’s aware, to a fault, of all the shortcomings of the people in his life—from his mother’s drinking, Ainsley’s dogged pursuit of being the best, his father’s crimes, and even Gil’s desire to solve cases even as Malcolm’s health suffers from being re-involved with Martin. He sees the people around them for who they are, blemishes included. So why doesn’t he acknowledge Eve’s?

Initially, I thought it was because the writers wanted us to believe that Malcolm loved her. But now I think it’s because Malcolm doesn’t want to acknowledge that what she needed and wanted wasn’t what he wanted.

Shes normalcy that hes chasing after - and I don't blame him. The nightmares essentially stopped with her in his life and for someone whose life is absolutely ruled by those, who wouldnt want them to stop? After he found out who she was in 17, she came in prepared to leave and end everything - mostly probably because of her fears of the whole situation but also because shes probably like 'welp he knows I used him, hes done'. However,he wants nothing more than to continue on with her, tell her its okay he gets why she acted that way and move forward together to figure out what happened to her sister. Malcom was just crushed with the realization that she used him to get answers and to get to his father for herself and that's his reaction.

Malcolm is completely fucked up, not just because of his nightmares and PTSD, but the way he reacts to those, too, and the way he profiles people before he can get to know them, effectively pushing them away before they can see who he really is. Which leads me to this: he failed to profile Eve and see she was using him, because he needed so badly to be wanted by her, because nobody else wants him :/ 

That's true, he profiled Eve, but not in the same way he does to everyone else.. he didnt continue to profile her after that initial 'party trick' Tally wanted to see. He didnt push her away enough, because he needed to be wanted by her- I love how you put that. He thinks nobody else wants him, but he either assumes that based on interactions (makes sense) or he makes that true by pushing them away with his profiling. It's so true that he needed that so badly and geeze I wish I couldnt say that I fully understand and know that feeling (not to his level, but enough), but I do.

He did have a good start off with Dani (in matters of shipping), she saw his night terrors right off, understood when Gil clarified about Malcolm and his serial killer of a dad (JT kept being an ass, for example), acted super cool about his restraints, never shy away from calling him out on his BS, told him to stop profiling her without much drama, etc. Let's be honest here, realistically speaking, not a lot of people are willing to deal with even 1% of that. But Malcolm getting involved with Dani means putting at risk everything he has, and that isn't a hell of a lot. He got fired from the FBI, he's connecting with his family, he got a job now with a person he considers a father. Messing things up with Dani would ruin most of that. 

The presentation of it really hits the viewer over the head with this idea that Malcolm has decided to completely ignore all of Eve’s failings now that she’s gone, and almost canonize her. But what I don’t get is why. Is this the only way Malcolm can cope with her death? By ignoring all her faults? That doesn’t really seem typical of him. He’s aware, to a fault, of all the shortcomings of the people in his life—from his mother’s drinking, Ainsley’s dogged pursuit of being the best, his father’s crimes, and even Gil’s desire to solve cases even as Malcolm’s health suffers from being re-involved with Martin. He sees the people around them for who they are, blemishes included. So why doesn’t he acknowledge Eve’s?

Initially, I thought it was because the writers wanted us to believe that Malcolm loved her. But now I think it’s because Malcolm doesn’t want to acknowledge that what she needed and wanted wasn’t what he wanted.

Shes normalcy that hes chasing after - and I don't blame him. The nightmares essentially stopped with her in his life and for someone whose life is absolutely ruled by those, who wouldnt want them to stop? After he found out who she was in 17, she came in prepared to leave and end everything - mostly probably because of her fears of the whole situation but also because shes probably like 'welp he knows I used him, hes done'. However,he wants nothing more than to continue on with her, tell her its okay he gets why she acted that way and move forward together to figure out what happened to her sister. Malcom was just crushed with the realization that she used him to get answers and to get to his father for herself and that's his reaction.

Malcolm is completely fucked up, not just because of his nightmares and PTSD, but the way he reacts to those, too, and the way he profiles people before he can get to know them, effectively pushing them away before they can see who he really is. Which leads me to this: he failed to profile Eve and see she was using him, because he needed so badly to be wanted by her, because nobody else wants him :/ 

The presentation of it really hits the viewer over the head with this idea that Malcolm has decided to completely ignore all of Eve’s failings now that she’s gone, and almost canonize her. But what I don’t get is why. Is this the only way Malcolm can cope with her death? By ignoring all her faults? That doesn’t really seem typical of him. He’s aware, to a fault, of all the shortcomings of the people in his life—from his mother’s drinking, Ainsley’s dogged pursuit of being the best, his father’s crimes, and even Gil’s desire to solve cases even as Malcolm’s health suffers from being re-involved with Martin. He sees the people around them for who they are, blemishes included. So why doesn’t he acknowledge Eve’s?

Initially, I thought it was because the writers wanted us to believe that Malcolm loved her. But now I think it’s because Malcolm doesn’t want to acknowledge that what she needed and wanted wasn’t what he wanted.