Danny Sullivan serves as the leading protagonist of the Apple TV+ drama, The Crowded Room, with him recounting all the events of his distant and recent past that led to him being in handcuffs.
At the very start of the show, a young Danny Sullivan is booked for shooting at a man. However, he doesn’t do that and even confesses as much to the professor about how it was Ariana and Yitzhak also continued to his current state.
However, Professor Rya buys into that just a little, focusing instead on the lapses in Sullivan’s accounts of events that took place.
Rough beginnings
Danny Sullivan is the typical outcast. He sports a meek demeanor at home and at school. At home, he’s bullied by his stepfather and at school, he’s pushed around by the jocks.
However, he’s more than just the clichéd whimpers and cold feet. He can stick up for himself and perform shocking things if the circumstances require so. This is evident by the way he steals Marlin’s money and also makes an effort to get to hang out with Annabelle.
He also manages to begin standing up for others, so much so that he risks molestation in order to purchase a firearm for Ariana to protect herself with.
Sinister past
Sullivan is suffering from something dark that transpired during his childhood. From the first three episodes, it is clear that this dark experience involves his late younger brother and his father.
During questioning, Professor Rya brings up his past and asks what happened to his younger brother, and why he so frequently refuses to talk about this part of his life.
Sullivan remains secretive and adamant about not divulging any details regarding his brother and his past injuries.
He does talk to Ariana about his brother, and this revelation implies that his younger brother was similarly molested during childhood by a family member and when he couldn’t take it all, he killed himself.
Things don’t add up
Throughout his confessions, Professor Rya remains somewhat skeptical about his account of things and events that took place in his past.
This skepticism is made stronger by Danny Sullivan’s frequent lapses in memories and his mental state. He is still to reveal anything regarding the whereabouts of Ariana and Yitzhak.
He’s also almost religious about not revealing what happened to his brother or him during their childhood. Then there’s the fact that the story of The Crowded Room is inspired by the real-life case of dissociative identity disorder and the patient getting acquitted because of it.
Also Read: Is The Crowded Room based on a true story?
