i couldn’t figure out why steve’s face at the end of 1x24 reminds me so much of a lost little boy
and then i realized it’s because he just expects to be abandoned, that’s his default setting, betrayed by those who promised to take care of him yet again, which practically makes him revert to the time he lost his mum and was abandoned by his father, he looks like an orphan who lost hope he would ever be adopted
which of course makes what Danny says to him more meaningful than your standard ‘vowing to get your loved one out of jail’ trope. he knows how steve thinks, he knows his history, he knows how important it’s to make sure steve hears him
he even knocks on the window to make steve look him in the eye. because what he is saying is more than just an empty promise and a wish for steve to ‘hang in there’, danny wants steve to hear him and to believe him
what he really is saying is ‘I know everyone you ever loved abandoned you, but I am NOT them, I will NOT abandon you and I need you not to give up on yourself as I’m refusing to give up on you’ and the shadows on steve’s face brighten up a bit. because he’s never had someone in his corner to fight for him like this, unconditionally
