#but i dunno theres a lot that can be gleaned from the show

[dekalko-mania]

Danny Fenton is a prime example of an unreliable narrator/protagonist. Like for real, it’s crazy how much he sells himself short. He’ll say phrases such as “if I wasn’t a C student, I would’ve figured this out sooner,” “So much for the Fentons being a family of geniuses,” and make jabs at himself for not doing enough as a hero. Which is wild to hear when his every action contradicts those statements. 

Like I’m serious, actually paying attention to his fights and methods of overcoming adversity, it becomes pretty clear that he’s actually incredibly intelligent. He’s a quick thinker, resourceful, and honestly? Although he’s the good guy in the show, he really is quite good at manipulation and finding other’s weaknesses.

Examples:

He’s won plenty of fights where he didn’t even have access to his powers for extended periods (Maternal Instincts, Life Lessons, Pirate Radio, Micro Management, etc.)

Clever af plans (Maternal Instincts, One of a Kind, What You Want, Lucky in Love, Pirate Radio, etc)

He’s tricked foes into a friendly fire (Memory Blank, Million Dollar Ghost, Life Lessons, etc)

He’s been shown to still have fighting ability and weapons training as Fenton, also just catches on quick (Pirate Radio, Flirting With Distaster, My Brother’s Keeper, etc.)

There’s times where he seems to know his parents’ inventions even better than they do 

Whole reason I’m pointing this out is ‘cause a pretty good portion of fights aren’t won just because he’s powerful. Plenty of ghosts overpower him, especially in S01 and with mega ghosts like Pariah Dark. He wins consistently because of clever strategy, and quick thinking.

Danny is super smart and I feel like it’s very important to his character to state that. Says a lot about him and his upbringing if he perceives himself as anything less than that. 

Might be a stretch, but I have a theory that perhaps he thinks this way because he’s been taught to equate performance in school with intelligence. Jack and Maddie both come from heavily educational backgrounds, and they do sometimes place a lot of pressure on their children to live up to the expectations of being a Fenton. I.E. the whole speech his parents gave him about Fentons only getting A’s (B-’s if you’re Jack).

So when Danny’s grades plummet, even when there’s a perfectly valid reason for that happening, he immediately assumes he’s not intelligent anymore. I wonder if prior to becoming Phantom, he may even have been an A or B student considering even a C leaves him completely mortified. Lancer also reported that he hasn’t had any records of bad behavior before that.

It’s just a very problematic way to view intelligence, to simply equate it to one’s grades, because that’s certainly not the case. (Literally when he passes Lancer’s test, the first thing he says is, “I’m not an idiot!”) And I think his parents may have done him a huge disservice in that regard. There’s plenty of factors that would make someone struggle in school. Home life, accessibility to resources, stress, financial burdens, mental illness. Like, there’s A LOT. 

I even wonder if perhaps, along with struggling with his double life, Danny may have an undiagnosed mental disorder. There’s plenty about him that feels relatable in that regard, but that would be a post all on its own and some really great ones already exist here and here. We've already seen how horribly his parents react to signs of MI, it wouldn't surprise me if they overlooked that. I just think he’s really going through it, and could honestly use more responsible adult figures in his life. Someone who can help correct the way he thinks of himself, and who can give him the proper means of getting help and feeling comfortable to ask for it. We have Jazz, but she’s a kid way in over her head too who I feel may also benefit from talking to someone.