Character Analysis
Have you ever felt like you were living in somebody else's shadow—be it a sibling, a friend, or that kid who sat behind you in homeroom peeling glue off his hands, then suddenly became internet-famous for his viral hand-glue sculptures, and now he makes custom glue sculptures for Elton John?
That's how Daniel Bae feels about his older brother. Charlie's smart, athletic, good-looking, and gets all the girls. He's also a Grade-A jerk, so Daniel doesn't feel too bad when Charlie gets kicked out of Harvard.
Speaking of which, Daniel's supposed to have an alumni interview for Yale—although his parents refer to it as "Second Best School." Way to really drive home that sibling rivalry, Mom and Dad. His parents have planned his entire future: Once Daniel gets into Yale, he'll become a doctor, marry a nice Korean girl, and settle down with the requisite white picket fence and 2.5 kids. As the son of Korean immigrants, his life will exemplify the classic American Dream.
If only that were the life he wanted.
Actually, he doesn't really know what he wants to do, but he'd rather write poetry while he figures it out. However, as he later tells Attorney Fitzgerald during his Yale interview, it doesn't really matter what he wants. Daniel's family ties are as strong as they come, and he's proud of how hard his parents have worked to provide for him and his brother. He even goes out of his way to support small businesses because the little guys need to stick together. He'll go along with his parents' plan out of duty and love for them—that is, until he meets Natasha.
Daniel = Bae
Daniel says that something about Natasha makes him think his life "could be extraordinary" (72). For every ounce of Natasha's cynicism, Daniel matches it with an over-the-top belief that they're meant to be. He's even imagining what Natasha would be like as a mom to their future Bae-bies right before they part ways for her mystery appointment.
If all that seems a little intense...well, it is, but not in a creepy stalker way. Daniel's just a passionate guy, and Natasha finds his idea of fate as charming as he finds her belief that humans don't have souls. Their relationship definitely fits the "opposites attract" model, and their clashing personalities give them some pretty poignant insights into each other's psyches considering they've known each other less than 24 hours.
For Daniel's part, he identifies that Natasha is actually extremely passionate about music, food, and science, and she tends to deflect in emotionally charged moments by dropping in an emotionless fact. See Natasha's analysis for more on how she uses science as a defense mechanism.
On the flip side, Natasha points out that Daniel just wants to use fate as an excuse to make tough decisions—it's not his fault he wants to defy his parents' plans for his future; fate just had something different in mind. Even Daniel has to admit she's right about that. Still, his undying belief that they're supposed to be together does seem to work out in the end, so maybe there's something to be said for "meant to be" after all.
Daniel's Timeline: