Remember when Danny Castellano was the ultimate stud? A huge upgrade on New Girl’s Nick Miller, he was curmudgeonly and gruff but had a heart of gold and the sweetest dance moves. In many ways, Danny is still that guy, but his recent exploits in The Mindy Project’s fourth season have got us all kinds of ticked off.
Flashback to the moment when Danny begged Mindy to meet him at the top of the Empire State Building, in a rom com dream only Mindy Kaling could think up. We knew of Danny’s troubled past relationships—particularly with his wife, Christina—and we weren’t too keen on how he treated Mindy after their steamy airplane makeout sesh turned short-lived coupling. Yet, we believed that Danny meant what he said and things would be real this time around. And for nearly a season-and-a-half, their romance was just as blissful as we hoped it would be.
But with the birth of little Leo Castellano (who, don’t get us wrong, is the most adorable baby we’ve ever seen) has come a whole lot of issues. We’ve admired Mindy since the show’s start for her gumption and career-driven mindset. Although she was a little boy-crazy, she never let her search for a man marginally deter her work goals.
But a lot has happened since then. Dr. L convinced Danny to propose, had Leo, started her own fertility clinic and went back to Schulman & Associates following Danny’s oddly timed and strangely lengthy departure to California to care for his sick dad. Somewhere in between all that plot, Mindy and Danny’s ideals of “having it all” might have strayed from one another a bit. Namely, Danny expects Mindy to stay at home with Leo…as in, halt every other aspect of her life, sacrifice everything she’s worked for and never voice her opinion on the matter.
It’s not that we don’t understand Danny’s desire for Mindy to play stay-at-home mom. It’s an obvious sore spot for him, brought on by the years in which his own Ma was working to keep their family afloat. But still, what Danny has demanded of Mindy in recent episodes is so not cool.
First, there was his attempt to impregnate her without her knowledge, thinking baby number two would force Mindy to put her career on hold. Tracking her ovulation and getting her drunk while on a romantic carriage ride, knowing that she’d give it up regardless of a lack of protection—that was just his first offense.
After many arguments about Mindy’s motherly responsibilities and Danny’s decision to delay their wedding, Mindy was left to heartbreakingly ponder whether Leo’s crib would fit in her old apartment. That’s right—she’s thinking of breaking things off and moving out.
And we can’t say we blame her. After all, Mindy and Danny used to be #relationshipgoals. But all these anti-feminist antics that Danny’s been pulling are out of line. We know he’s traditional but attempting to shame Mindy into submission is beyond cruel. We certainly don’t want to see this once amazing TV couple split, but it’s high time that Danny understands—it’s Mindy’s prerogative whether she wants to continue her career or not. The guilt trips, the unrelenting attacks to Mindy’s character and the boozy carriage rides stop here.
We’re not sure when you became such an anti-feminist, holier-than-thou jerk, Danny, but we’re so done crushing on you until you’ve made a major change.
