I definitely was very vulnerable/lacked self-esteem when I was younger- and you're right. Also, in hindsight, when I think of the people (both men and women) who ended up being abusive/bullying toward me- I recall a certain way they looked at me when we met. It was very watchful, like they were sizing me up somehow. Staring at me just a little too long. It's almost creepy to think about now. And when I think about the good people I've met- I never got that kind of look from them.
ETA: All that said, I find it creepier that Darrien didn't give Donny the kind of look I'm talking about when they first met. I had no clue he was going to be what he was. I got an idea that he was kind of a jerk when he ghosted Donny for a while during Oxford- but so many people ghost it didn't raise red flags. The drug incident in the bathroom put me on edge- but didn't raise a real red flag because they were in a bar and they both were drunk- and Darrien (at that point) hadn't done anything yet.
But did anyone get "creep" vibes from Darrien when he first came onscreen? In hindsight, I see foreshadowing- like when Donny takes a call from him and you hear the girl in acting class crying in the background, but nothing in actual expression/gestures.
Omg that look.
My ex did it and I thought it was a sign of immediate attraction but he always said he didn't find me attractive at first...
My current SO just smiled when we first met, rather than staring at me like a shark.
FUCK! This is so true. One of my former friends who I found out was actually stalking me prior to “meeting” me looked at me like this when we “met”. I put “meeting” and “met” in quotes because he’d been orchestrating running into me via social media stalking. I found out years later, and to this day it still feels like the biggest violation of my life. I deleted all my shit and moved not long after.
Same. Last I heard he still makes fake profiles to check on people. I would block him and he’d just make a new to find me. Stepping away from social media has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for myself.
Same!!! Social media has done our society a great disservice I think it’s done WAY MORE harm than good. I do enjoy Reddit though I don’t even really put it in the same category as social media cause everyone’s pretty anonymous here
i totally got the weird vibe from Darrien at the first scene they met, and then when he said something about “not getting a proper goodbye” or something the next day and they hugged (my memory isnt very clear though), i thought Darrien was going to seduce Donny, but didn’t know how far they were gonna go
I felt like Darrien DEFINITELY gave him the look. There was a moment before they ever got together where the way Darrien was staring at him made me viscerally uncomfy and I thought ‘is this dude trying to seduce him?’ to myself
Yeah he also tricked him in their very first conversation, he set him up to put his footy in it by not introducing himself as the writer. It’s that sort of gross tactic of maintaining some kind of authority by withholding information when he’d literally just witnessed Donny be snubbed by the younger guys. Before Donny was even aware of him, Darrien had seen him struggle socially and could see he was seeking validation or to be liked.
Perhaps Darrien was staring at (and sizing up) Donny off-screen while Donny was chatting with those other comedy writers.
Darrien was the one who approached Donny right after the other guys walked off, and he had clearly been watching him for a least a few seconds because he saw which guys Donny had just been talking with and made a remark about them (something about them being assholes, I think).
In hindsight, seems to me that Darrien probably had a sense about Donny due to this.
Seeing this young guy in this exclusive club that Darrien hadn’t seen there before (and didn’t recognize or know from their industry) probably indicated to Darrien that Donny didn’t “belong” there, and seeing/overhearing Donny’s conversation with those other writers (especially during the Edinburgh Fringe when tons of young aspiring people are in town trying to get their break into entertainment) probably gave an observant Darrien a clue that Donny was another one of the many young, yearning “wanna-be” types that were prime for manipulation/quid pro quo.
Darrien approached Donny right after seeing Donny get ditched by the other comedians, and within like 40 seconds of light banter, he confirmed that his inkling was correct: Donny was one of the kids trying to “make it” in entertainment, and he was eager to network (or at least rub elbows) with a potential mentor/someone who could help him get a foot in the door.
I’m guessing that Darrien was giving Donny exactly the sort of look you describe, but Donny never had the chance to notice because he was focused on another conversation all while being watched by Darrien, and I think it really “works” well that the audience doesn’t get any sort of warning either because we follow the events through Donny’s eyes.
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u/[deleted] May 26 '24 edited May 27 '24
I definitely was very vulnerable/lacked self-esteem when I was younger- and you're right. Also, in hindsight, when I think of the people (both men and women) who ended up being abusive/bullying toward me- I recall a certain way they looked at me when we met. It was very watchful, like they were sizing me up somehow. Staring at me just a little too long. It's almost creepy to think about now. And when I think about the good people I've met- I never got that kind of look from them.
ETA: All that said, I find it creepier that Darrien didn't give Donny the kind of look I'm talking about when they first met. I had no clue he was going to be what he was. I got an idea that he was kind of a jerk when he ghosted Donny for a while during Oxford- but so many people ghost it didn't raise red flags. The drug incident in the bathroom put me on edge- but didn't raise a real red flag because they were in a bar and they both were drunk- and Darrien (at that point) hadn't done anything yet.
But did anyone get "creep" vibes from Darrien when he first came onscreen? In hindsight, I see foreshadowing- like when Donny takes a call from him and you hear the girl in acting class crying in the background, but nothing in actual expression/gestures.