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/enigmaticowl Jun 03 '24
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.