On the Couch: Why Y&R’s Danny Romalotti Keeps Falling For Phyllis

Daniel is a grown man on The Young and the Restless. He has a teenage daughter of his own. And yet, Daniel’s parents, Danny and Phyllis, are still acting out the same psychodrama that started before Daniel was born. We understand why Phyllis is doing it. She is insane and hasn’t matured a day in three decades. But, why is Danny continuing to let Phyllis push his buttons – and ruin his life? Let’s get him on the couch to find out….

On The Couch: Danny Romalotti

Once upon a time, Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) wanted Danny (Michael Damian). Danny was married to Christine (Lauralee Bell). So what? Phyllis claimed Danny was the father of her son, Daniel. Christine and Danny broke up. Phyllis never quite got Danny the way she wanted him. But there were definitely stretches of time when Danny was more amenable towards his baby mama than others.

But, that was before he found out she’d lied about Daniel’s paternity. Danny won custody of the boy he still loved as his own, and left town. We all hoped he’d gotten Phyllis out of his system. Nope.

Where We Are Now

A scant 30 years later, Danny is once again circling a newly divorced Christine. So, Phyllis put on her best underwear, threw a fur coat over it, and decided to shove her cleavage in Danny’s face in a public place. Those of us foolish enough to try eating lunch while watching that particular episode of Y&R soon lost our appetite. We assumed Danny would do the same. Nope.

Kiss and Tell

Phyllis kissed Danny. Of course, she did. See: She Is Insane, above. But, Danny kissed her back. Why? He had all sorts of excuses for Christine. We’re not buying it. Here’s what we think: Danny will always be vulnerable to Phyllis. Because Danny was once vulnerable to Phyllis. He was a complete idiot in the past. And, the only way to deal with his having been a complete idiot in the past, is to convince himself that he was not, in fact, a total idiot in the past.

So, over and over and over again, Danny has to tell himself that Phyllis is a different – better – person now. As if that might make up for his falling for her act when she was a worse person then. If Danny admits to himself that Phyllis is still awful, he’ll finally have to face that she was always awful. And he was always a total idiot. Nobody wants to do that to themselves.

The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. For an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.

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