"Through a Lens, Darkly" [SPOILERS]

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[Episode 301] "Through a Lens, Darkly"

Okay, a good episode. I'd like to start off by saying that in retrospect I wish I had started on this list a week later ;^)

If that was the case I would have assumed that these first two episodes were in chronological order. There would have been some suspense to this episode. "Does she keep her contacts or not?"

However, since I knew that "Daria!" was an episode set for later in the season, and she wasn't wearing contacts, it wasn't the start of a new look.

The show itself was very good though. Solid. The return of Aunt Amy! Woohoo! Okay, it was only a few seconds but she's just too damned cool. Turns out Aunt Amy was more of a "role model" than I expected. I figured she was a one-off character.

Highlight of the episode, in my opinion, was Brittany's speech. "It's not like you're E.T. or somebody." No, Brittany, you're not as shallow as you think you are. ;^)

Daria comes off as a bit whiney in the beginning (the first few minutes didn't sit well with me). However, once again we are presented with a Daria that has much to learn. She even asks advice from Quinn. Be still my heart.

All in all a quality episode.

I don't do the grading thing, but suffice to say I found it excellent.

Warning: Season Three Spoilers!!!

I must say, I liked this episode, if for only one thing: Daria may finally realize that it's not that she's stronger than everyone else, she just has a different crutch. Jane's line was perfect: "So you've chosen egoism over vanity." (quote not perfect, of corse) After all, egoism is little more than the mentally based counterpart to vanity. Not that that's a bad thing; it happens to be my chosen method as well, just there's something about being able to accept it that is liberating. Daria truely HAS aged a year!

Otherwise, I think it was a good ep.The way they used Aunt Amy was really good. No fanfare, no "Hey look guys! We're using Aunt Amy!!!!!" She was just another part of the episode. Admittedly un-satisfying, but from an artistic standpoint, probably the best way to go about it. Besides, who better to give Daria advice about this? (Besides Brittany, that is.)

I must say, I liked the improving attitude toward brains among her peers, even if they still don't quite get it. And the fact that Daria's experement in vanity managed to narrow the gulf between her and Britanny was a good thing, for her at least (though perhaps not for those yearning for another season 1).

And, of corse, despite the intensity, Jane's lines pretty much saved the day where humor is concerned. "Daria's boots, could you tell me where Daria is?" I almost disturbed my parents because of that one!

Point for the Treant Estrogen Brigade, "Hey Daria, like the new look!" Could they avoid that? Don't think so.

Still, it seemed just a bit... unconnected. I'd put it up with my favorites, but it had an unfinished feel to it. Not an A.

I give it a B, by my own standards. Not "Write Where it Hurts" or "Pierce Me" (or even Fair Enough, which I truely enjoyed, at least at the end) but still an excelent ep.

vanity. Not that that's a bad thing; it happens to be my chosen method as well, just there's something about being able to accept it that is liberating. << Tarvok

Oh, Daria's *definitely* an "egoist" in the full Randian sense of the word. She refuses to compromise herself to anyone else's demands ... she acts on her own values, not on those others try to convince her she *should* hold.

peers, even if they still don't quite get it. <<

They're starting to mature too.

I think that Trent basically likes Daria a lot (even if not romantically) and would pretty much look for any excuse to compliment her. When he bothers to pay attention, that is.

Sincerely Yours, Jordan

Chris Seamans wrote in message ...

were

episode.

I don't think this will be a problem. Most of the people I know who wear contacts frequently switch back and forth between glasses and contacts. They could easily slip in some "Daria wearing contacts" scenes without any problems now that they've established that Daria has gotten contacts.

Woohoo!

I hope we see still more of Aunt Amy. She's an interesting character who could contribute a great deal to possible stories concerning other issues that Daria has yet to face.

A very powerful Daria story. On a par with "Quinn the Brain" in that Daria has to deal with basic issues of identity and self-image. All her life she's defined herself, or allowed other people to define her, by the fact that she wears glasses. As if glasses made any difference at all regarding who Daria is or why we like her. Still, I was just a little surprised at the reactions from people who ought to know better, like Mr. O'Neil and Ms. Li.

An reinforcing counterpoint is provided by Kevin and Brittany wearing glasses. A kind of "magic feather" they hope might make them smarter. Dream on.

Why didn't Daria bring her glasses along as a backup, even if she had been wearing her contacts? Surely someplace in that backpack she carries she could find room for the glasses. Then she wouldn't have been so incapacitated when the contacts started irritating her eyes--or when she decided that bumping into things wasn't cool.

We get to see Daria's emotions a little. Cowering in a bathroom stall, we see her a little vulnerable, in a situation where her sarcasm can't help her cope. And it turns out it's her friends who help her, illustrating yet again that Daria has more friends, who care about her, than she realizes.

Good episode.

Bob

    [...]

    This part makes more sense to girls/women who've grown up wearing
    glasses.

    People REALLY do say idiotic things like Mr. O'Neil and Ms. Li did when
    they see the glasses wearing person show up one day without the glasses.

    My reaction to the episode:  "Oh God, it's the obligatory get-rid-
    of-the-glasses-on-the-brainy-girl story..."  I suppose they had to
    do it some time.

    Face it.  If you wear glasses day in and day out for the basic purpose
    of seeing it IS part of your identity and people do say lame things
    that imply glasses make you unattractive and unappealing to the world
    in general and you notice it.  The just went over the top so people
    with 20/20 vision would notice.  (Anybody notice Aunt Amy REMOVING
    her glasses when talking to Daria and on the phone yet, where no one
    could see her anyway?)

In article , Eugenia wrote:

What's up with Amy and her glasses anyway? In "I Don't", she arrived driving and not wearing the glasses, but then later put them on. Maybe they're just the equivalent of reading glasses?

Scott

(snip) (Anybody notice Aunt Amy REMOVING

I believe she was reading something, then removed them when the phone rang. This makes me think she only needs them to read, but then again Helen earlier made the comment about Amy not being able to see without glasses.

In article , [email] wrote:

I wa always under the impressin that she had contacts myself, but that could have just been a misconception :)

Daniel McCollum Mono@Transformers: Lost years "death is a feater, duty is a mountian" Ravid Wisconsinite Nationalist

On Thu, 25 Feb 1999 17:14:58 -0800, Eugenia wrote:

One of my teachers in high school didn't even recognize me when I showed up with lenses. This was a person I'd known for six years. How pathetic is that?

And I think I did the "walking around school with no lenses and no glasses on" thing a few times, too. When my lenses hurt and my glasses gave me a headache. It's fun seeing everyone as a pink or brown blob.

Erin

Eugenia wrote in message ...

Daria

she's

she

Daria

reactions

glasses.

Maybe so. I guess you have to have lived it.

Ok. But contacts are an option for lots of people who wear glasses. It would be unreasonable for Daria, or her mother, to ignore that option. At least they didn't wander into the area of surgical vision correction.

Another option for people who wear glasses is frame selection. I can imagine that if Quinn were the one wearing glasses (maybe a possible future story) she'd have a pair of glasses to go with each outfit.

Of all the stupid, insensitive things I've ever done in my life (beyond enumeration), I can't remember ever commenting judgementally on someone's wearing glasses. I can't remember ever using the epithet "four-eyes." While I am 20/20 (well, they say 20/15) I do know lots of people who wear glasses for a variety of vision problems. I do wear sunglasses. They not only protect the eyes from harmful radiation but also look cool. And of course you wear safety glasses when you're working with dangerous machinery or substances. And I'm told, though I'm not sure how valid this is, that if you live long enough you'll eventually need glasses, maybe bifocals. Eyeglasses are a part of life. It isn't so clear-cut an issue of glasses vs. non-glasses--geek vs. non-geek.

In "I Don't," Aunt Amy only put on her glasses in the "little girls room." Maybe she only needs them to see close. She was driving without them. I think Aunt Amy was reading or something when the phone rang. When she got up to walk around with the phone she took the glasses off, maybe to keep from bumping into things from wearing glasses that were inappropriate for the activity.

Of course Trent noticed Daria's new look and commented. Of COURSE he'd comment. Everyone will comment when you get contacts and put away the glasses. It's when no one notices or comments, when everyone ignores you, that you've got a problem.

Bob

In article , "R. K. Henry" wrote:

On the topic of frame selection, it's interesting to note that in Daria's fictional "future" she was still wearing glasses, but they were those little oval lenses that are all the fashion trend now. (Personally, I think they're ridiculous. Talk about no peripheral vision. My lenses are huge, and I still have to crank my head around to see.)

Daria is (typically) too hard on herself. The contacts did serve a purpose. In contrast, it would have been an act of *pure* vanity to change the style of her glasses to something currently trendy, though.

"R. K. Henry", great posts, I enjoy reading them.

Scott

Spoiler space ichi ni san

Yes, definitely, as a person who actually wears contacts (and purely for vanity, even though I'm not normally like that), they are an option...

I rather liked Daria's frames in the future story in "Write Where it Hurts"

That's possible, although also some people who get contacts also have reading glasses, which is the equivalent then of having bifocals. Although, come to think of it, those are mostly older people.

When you're dealing with something like that you gotta know they'd stick Trent in there, as the only person ever known to bring out any vanity in Daria.

Yes, something like "You're not wearing glasses", which is very profound of them. I think Ford Prefect must have been right about people stating the obvious, that they have to talk or else their jaws will freeze up (or, worse yet, their brains start working)... something like people who go up to Petoskey and rent a canoe to go see Hemingway's house and say things like "That's Hemingway's house." "He's dead, you know."

Dagny misery chick, cynic, general loony

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