"Misery Chick" and the second season...

This is going to be kind of a rambling post, so strap in... :)

I watched "The Misery Chick" again yesterday, and something struck me about it, in relation to the second season episodes we've been seeing so far.

At the end of the episode, Mr. O'Neill is discussing Alfred, Lord Tennyson, in particular his famous quote, "It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." Daria's analysis of this statement, I think, is the thesis of a lot of the second season's shows.

Daria: Well, he's acknowledging that if something makes you feel good, like being in love, there must be a corresponding painful side, like losing at love. It's just a fact of life. Mr. O'Neill: Sad, but true... Daria: And what's intriguing about it is that no-one calls Tennyson a big unhappiness freak just because he understands that. Mr. O'Neill: Is he a big unhappiness... "freak?" Daria: No, he's a realist. He says that emotional involvement can bring pleasure *and* extraordinary pain. Then he declares that it's still better than never feeling anything at all. Mr. O'Neill: That is *excellent*, Daria! Daria: Of course, that was written before the advent of community property laws.

Now, let's look at "See Jane Run." Daria has an emotional relationship with Jane; she has since the show started. (No snickering... you know what I mean. They're friends.) She has experienced strain on that relationship twice now, once in "Misery Chick," and now in SJR. She's felt some of the pain that emotions can cause. But even if she understands what Tennyson was saying, can she transfer that understanding to her personal life? She admitted to Jodie in "Gifted" that she shuts herself off from people as a defense, and that she might be missing out on things, but as she said, "It's what works for me now."

But how long can she go on like that? Let's face it: She *missed* the old Jane in SJR. She wound up alone and talking to herself. Trent even seemed to be more interested in his own problems than usual, and she's got no chance of talking about this with her parents, they'd never understand. She needs Jane there for her, as a sounding board, an equal, and as a friend. Jane's not going to be there forever, though, and what will Daria do then?

What we've been seeing this season, then, is Daria's own words coming home to roost. She understands, on an intellectual level, what she said in "Misery Chick." We've been seeing her failure to accept it on an emotional level all season. In fact, the great lesson Daria is going to have to learn throughout the rest of the show is that she can't be an island unto herself, and that no matter how much she despises the popularity contest that daily life is, she's participating in it whether she wants to or not. Despite her best efforts, there are people around her who care about her: Her parents, Jodie and Mack, and even Kevin and Brittany. Even Sandi has a certain amount of respect for Daria, coming to her for advice in "The Misery Chick," and clamming up in front of her in QTB. (I think she realized that if she had actually confronted Daria about Quinn, Daria would have shredded her. And Sandi can't have that happen in front of her FC underlings.)

Daria is a classic Shakesperean "tragic hero." She's certainly the protagonist of the show, and she is the character that most everyone here identifies with. But she has a fatal flaw: her attitude. Whether or not she can realize that for herself is the biggest conflict of the show as it goes into season 3, in my opinion.

But that's just my opinion... I could be wrong. What do you think?

Chris

Chris Majors wrote:

*straps in**realizes strap is too tight* *frantically claws at strap to get it undone* *manages to get strap undone just before black out occurs* *gasps for air, and curses strap to hell*

Yeah. I think "The Misery Chick" was in a lot of ways the show that really defined Daria as a character. Its episodes like that and "See Jane Run" (I think, I haven't seen the ep..... I MISSED it when it reran today, of course) that make people on television real.

For her whole life Daria has had to rely on herself. Her parents, while they do try sometimes, are clueless. And let us just avoid going into Quinn-- we all know enough about her, I'm sure. Then suddenly, she is put into a situation where she has someone she can identify with, and not be so far removed from that she even feels contempt. For once she is having her "thrival needs" met, but its coming from a very small source. Although in "Ill" we saw that she does get a bit of support, whether she likes it or not, from other people at Lawndale High, the bulk of it comes from Jane. Even though I don't know that they'd ever really go and admit it, they need each other. Although Jane would probably be more willing to admit her reliance on other people than Daria would, but that is just due to the fact that they are two different people with different outlooks. I think by the time Daria and Jane have to part, though, Daria will have grown enough as a person to be able to handle it. Plus... from what I can gather about SJR, she was upset because Jane was changing into something else, which they had both previously scorned. If they seperate because, for example, one or both goes off to different colleges later in their lives (and yes, I know we'll probably NEVER see this in the series, since the time is pretty stationary... but give me this, okay?), it wouldn't be the same. I think it would be easier for Daria to accept. At least, it would be easier than seeing your best friend change into something you really dislike.

People are social beings. Apart from a very few number of people (and even they probably, deep down, are social beings as well), people NEED contact with others. With some, its a matter of having lots and lots of sorta friends. With others, and I put myself in this second category, having just a very few close friends fulfills the need for companionship. But people need others. Not necessarily to survive, but definitely to thrive. And you're right. Daria DOES have to admit this eventually, or she's going to have a lot more conflict within herself. We've already seen some of this in past episodes, and if she doesn't resolve this, there's no way she can ever fully be satisfied with herself.

For most of this, you were right on target. Daria, the show, is categorized as a comedy. But what will keep the show going is how well it handles the non-comedic aspects, the real big issues in Daria's life, and how she reacts to them. Any show can satirize a bunch of stupid people and get laughs out of it (And I'm not saying that's a bad thing... I loved Beavis and Butt-head, for example). But it takes a truly great show to grow beyond that and make the character(s) in it have true depth. I think the people responsible for Daria have so far done a good job of making sure the show doesn't get too big for itself, if you can understand what I'm trying to say.

Good analyzation, Chris.

Jessica :-)

In article , "Chris Majors" wrote:

This is best collective analysis I've read about this season. When I first saw "The Misery Chick," I got the impression that it might have been made during a different production run than the rest of the first season(there were some subtle changes in things like the animation style) and maybe it was intended to be the first episode of the second season instead of the end of the first season. However, I haven't been aware of the character 'build-up' until I read Rich's post. Daria has made a new friend(Jane) and she really enjoys her company(in a platonic way, of course) but she finds herself doing to Jane the same thing that she does to almost everyone else- she alienates them. Maybe, she is trying to avoid what Tennyson said(unconsciously, perhaps?) by not getting too close to Jane(or anyone else, for that matter). If she doesn't have any friends, then she won't have to deal with the inevitable let down. But she will miss out on all the good things. She understands, knows what she's doing is not in her best intrest but can't(or doesn't want to) do anything about it, definately a fatal flaw.

"No man is an island..."