When I saw this question, I was going to go back and rewatch the season 6 finale to remember all my thoughts about it, but I can’t find a place to watch it anymore so I’m going off my memory and Wiki so I’m gonna do my best. (Also if anyone knows where I can watch H50 again I’m too poor to afford the CBS shit)

I think that Danny was never given the credit he deserved for how important he was to Steve. Like from the beginning, Steve literally took the Governor’s deal just so he could fuck with Danny. He has always been the person that brought Steve out of his “SEAL Shell” regardless of if Steve wanted it or not. They both drove each other nuts, especially in the first seasons, but they mattered So Goddamn Much to each other. Danny was an uptight, rule-following cop, and he was willing to throw all of it away when Steve was in trouble. 

And then in Season Six, he risked literally everything to save Steve. Breaking their cover could have resulted in them both dying anyways, but he did it to give Steve a chance. And then he backed down from killing the guy they had been hunting for ages, because Steve was in the hospital and needed him. And like I’m a fucking sucker for people saving the life of the person they love, and he doesn’t even hesitate. Steve, the same person he claimed to want to murder back in season one, needed his help and he Didn’t Even Hesitate. 

And there are so many other moments that show how much the two of them came to mean to each other. The entire series is filled with moments showing the audience that they fucking matter to each other, that they care and love each other, and support each other. And that’s why the season finale didn’t sit right with me.

Steve rescues Danny, and then sits by his bedside the entire time, waiting for Danny to wake up. That’s fucking commitment right there. And then, one week later, Steve just up and leaves. He leaves behind the life he had spent the last ten years making. And yes, I understand needing a break from things, to settle his mind on everything that happened with his Mom and Dad, but I don’t think the writers handled it well. The viewers had watched for ten fucking years, seeing how much Danny came to mean to Steve, from not caring about the guy at all to trusting him implicitly in every aspect of his life, and then Steve just left. He left not only Danny, but everyone he considered family. Family means so much to Steve, we see that throughout the series, and he just turned around and left them all trying to ‘find himself’ when personally I think he already had found himself, right there on the island he was raised on. 

The thing that really got me though, was the fact that the writers spent so much time telling the fans that they would get the ending they wanted, that everyone would be so happy with it. And I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I knew better than to expect a McDanno ending. I knew that wasn’t going to happen. However I was hoping that they would give an open ending that would allow for ALL members of the fandom to be happy. Personally, I hate Catherine. I have since the beginning basically because I think she uses Steve for her own gain. But I know some people love her, and I guess those were the only fans that mattered to the writers because that’s the ending they gave Steve. And I think that’s sloppy writing and a shitty way to treat the fans. 

And because I know someone will want to know, here’s the ending I would have loved. After the conversation between Danny and Steve about wanting to find peace, I wanted the entire team, the entire Ohana, to come over for a visit. There didn’t need to be any dialogue, just all of them seeing each other and being there for each other and loving each other. I didn’t need a McDanno ending, I needed a family ending. The group that means so much to everyone, being there together. They went through So Much during the series, and now they’re finally able to find peace TOGETHER.