Guest blog post from Flo Hough who is on Twitter @FloCorrieFan
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I think we’ve all read in some form or another about the upcoming story on Corrie about Carla and Daniel. Details are still sketchy at best, but we do know that Carla does snog Daniel, and it doesn’t sound as though Daniel is going to be saying no to “The Carla Connor”.
I personally think it’s going to be a fun storyline on the show and I’m anxious to see how it all plays out. However, I have been very surprised and shocked at some of the comments made in regards to this upcoming romance (if that’s what it’s going to be) and thought it was something that might be interesting to discuss.
According to the wonderful Corriepedia, Carla would have just celebrated her 43rd birthday. Daniel is 23, also having just celebrated his birthday the day after Carla. So there’s a 20 year age gap. Unconventional yes; impossible, no. I’ve seen people with comments such as “disgusting, wrong, blech”. Seriously?! These are two consenting adults. This isn’t Daniel’s first time around the block with an older woman either, remember his dalliance with the reporter from the Weatherfield Gazette? And quite honestly, why not? Just because the woman is older, it suddenly becomes a bit taboo for some reason. I don’t understand why the double standard.
There have been plenty of couples on the cobbles where there have been significant age differences. Deidre and Ken (16 years) Mike Baldwin and Susan Barlow (23 years) and Jenny Bradley and Johnny Connor (17 years) are three that popped into my head immediately. I doubt that anyone thought anything of their age differences or made juvenile comments in regards to such, but suddenly because the roles are flipped and the woman is the older of the two, it’s now just not acceptable. Talk about ageist.
Another comment I saw was that it was weird because Daniel is the half brother of her ex-husband Peter. Wait a second…the story where Carla falls in love with her brother-in-law Liam was one of the more popular love stories on Corrie with a huge fan base of “Liarla” fans (I think that’s what it was called) who still, to this day “ship” over their story. I was one of those fans! Weatherfield is a small town and without a huge population of available males, it’s going to be inevitable that somewhere along the way, this kind of thing is going to happen. And why shouldn’t it? It’s not like its incest or something illegal/immoral. It also makes me wonder if a Carla/David pairing would have worked as well.
Then there are those who say “she would never be interested in someone like Daniel.” Says who? Daniel is well educated, intelligent and while he can be annoying at times, he is well spoken. He’s not too hard on the eyes either, so I can totally see Carla being interested in him, even if it’s only going to be for a short period of time. They are two complex characters who both seem to fall deeply in love when they do, and I think it will make for a very interesting dynamic. As for the age difference, don’t forget that Daniel basically raised himself after his mother abandoned him, so he’s probably far more mature than the average 23 year old. Sure, he has his faults, but at least he isn’t turning to a bottle of vodka for courage every time something goes wrong. (Sorry Peter) Just stay away from the stairs Carla if you make him mad.
I personally look forward to seeing the direction the writers go with this story, it could be a lot of fun. I’m all for fun. As for the age difference, age is only a number. The added bonus is if it gets Daniel away from Sinead, all the better. I’m just glad it’s not Chesney that Carla is kissing, she’s far too much fun for that.
By Flo Hough who is on Twitter @FloCorrieFan
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I agree! I, too, find Daniel to be quite attractive! He and Carla are adults and both, it would seem, are looking for a distraction/place to act out the intense emotions they are going through. More power to them but please let one or both of them use some sort of birth control. I definitely can’t handle another pregnancy on Coronation Street!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhy not Adam? He's a good looking bloke..Daniel? Just sad.
ReplyDeletejeanie (anon):
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, Carla and Chesney! Thanks for the suggestion-- that's an image I will have trouble scouring from my eyeballs.
M--you bring up a very good point about the birth control! And it also made me think of another older woman/younger man pairing that no one seemed to be freaked out about (except maybe Gail)--Nick and Erica! There was a 15 year age difference there. And yes Anon, I think Adam would be just as interesting if not maybe more. But since he's all tangled up with Eva at the moment, I guess that took him out of the running.
ReplyDeleteSorry Jeanie!
Lets not forget Stella and Jason's fling.
ReplyDeleteReading the criticisms of this just makes want to bang my head against the table in frustration. I mean FFS this is 2918 an older woman dating a younger man isn't an issue anymore, also are people forgetting all the older woman/younger man relationships we've had over the years?
ReplyDeleteIt’s not the older woman younger man dynamic that irritates me, it’s that Daniel is a wuss. In my opinion, a strong woman like Carla wouldn’t be interested in a sissy boy.
ReplyDeleteJeanie (anon)
ReplyDeleteAgree with Anonymous 23:00--it's not so much the older-younger dynamic as who they are. Daniel is so mixed-up, vulnerable, struggling with his self-harming. Having to look after himself has not made him more mature and capable around women but rather inexperienced and unable to deal with powerful emotions. Carla may be smart, capable, and sexy but she is also hard-bitten, selfish, and lacking in compassion. The thing that is likely to attract her to him is that he is very different from the men she is used to. Plus she is bored and anxious. So she will claw him apart to alleviate her boredom and see if she can figure out what makes him tick--the same way a cat will tear apart a cat toy to see what makes it squeak. But, maybe it will backfire...She won't be able to get him to act like all the other men in her life (betray her or abandon her). Instead he will go full-blown psycho and stalk, try to kill her. A deranged male bunny boiler, to add to the rapist (Frank), the murderer (Tony), the serial philanderer/alcholic (Peter) and the john (husband) from her earlier collection!
Some of the older-younger pairings worked well and came across as pairing. I found Jason and Stella seemed very plausible. Luke and Tracy were good. Erica and Nick pretty good. It's just poor pale bookish self-harming Daniel paired with the resident Lilith. Creepy! But maybe the actors will pull it off and make it convincing.