Mike's Delayed Reaction Review-#408 (4-47), "Psycho Therapy"

Mike's Delayed Reaction Review-#408 (4-47), "Psycho Therapy"

Spoilers Space for #408 (If you don't want to know, then don't scroll!)

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Mike's Delayed Reaction Review-"Psycho Therapy"

MDRR #408 (4-47)

Retreat! - At least the firm isn't afraid to spend a lot of money to find out who is partner material. I'm pretty sure everyone knew what they were in for when the got those questionnaires and Helen has undoubtedly seen others go through the process. The odd part is that they seemed to go along with it anyway, especially Daria (Quinn might not have understood exactly what was going to happen, though), who was the only one to offer even a token resistance to the retreat (through her responses and the "1984" remark).

She Knows More Than She's Letting On... - Daria seems to be very perceptive about the psychological problems of her family. She seems to have it down perfectly. Helen likes to work, Jake isn't really that clueless and Quinn is actively trying to avoid looking for any inner depth, for the most part. Her more interesting analysis was the one about herself as "defended." That's not really a big surprise in itself, but a subtle point here is that her little monologue was part of her defense of really trying to anything possible to avoids any real conversation with the therapist.

Driving Miss Helen - Helen is certainly a very career oriented person. She's committed, dedicated and eager to do her work - she's perfect partner material. If this weren't already pretty obvious, it would have been once she revealed her opinion on relaxation. But is her drive ruining her family's lives? It's definitely a source of some tension (which was beautifully blown off somewhat in the Role Playing Scene), but it also isn't ruining anything by itself. As Daria pointed out, there is plenty of blame to go around in that department.

Scene Stealer - Quinn did more than her share of scene stealing in this episode. Just about everything she said and did was funny except for what she did to that poor old lady by telling her life story. A lot of them came in the form of well timed one-liners, again like the Role Playing Scene (maybe she *has* been learning from Daria). However, her humorous parts were at the expense of any growth she made in the past, or could've made here. Depending on how you look at it, this can be either a good or bad thing (I'd say bad, but that's just me).

She's Singing, All Right - I think Mrs. Johansen (who is the fat lady from Cafe Disaffecto) needs more help than vertical stripes. It's already almost over.

Candid Camera - Jane was well aware that not too many people were going to see her live webcast. But it only took a little bit of effort, and all anyone was going to see was some dental hygiene or Trent scratching his arse. In the end, no one really cared except Tom, and that's only because he shook his thing for the camera without knowing it was there. If the Jane-cam served any purpose, it was to possibly give us a glimpse how Daria compares Trent and Tom as possible boyfriends. I don't think anyone would want to see any friend pick his or her nose, so that's a wash. As for her reaction to Tom's butt, well, she didn't seem to be thrilled about that, either. I think her exact words were "too punishing" to watch. So she wasn't exactly glued to the screen for that. Even though what she meant by "punishment" wasn't completely clear, I think it's safe to say she wasn't thinking about *that*.

Know Thy Role - The Role Playing Scene was probably one of the most important of the entire episode. Helen and Jake offer exaggerated but truthful portrayals of each other - Helen pays more attention to her job and has to do everything, while Jake is either confused or angry. In the end, Helen sort of took the high road by just ending it when it was starting to get a bit too hurtful.

Heart to Heart - If any scene was more important, it was the "make-up" scene. Helen was feeling like she was the cause of all their problems and that she was hated. Fortunately, Daria was able to reassure her that they all contribute to any dysfunction (Jake needs the attention, Daria is afraid to open up, Quinn is just, well, Quinn). This display of the caring, supportive side of Daria is welcome (and is sure to ruffle some feathers), though she did use it as sort of a last resort.

Overall, Psycho Therapy was a strong episode in a fairly strong season (it almost makes me wonder when there will be a bad apple, hopefully never). Though no earth shattering changes were made with the possible exception of Helen's future partnership (which will probably be forgotten about for at least a few episodes), there were some interesting insights made. It turned out (and the last scene said this perfectly) that just about everyone is comfortable or maybe even likes the way things are.

Grade: A

Daria as a Whole, Alter-Ego of the Week - This week it's a tie between, Rock and Rock Randy the Scorpion and Upchuck of Hearts.

Copyright � 2000 Mike Quinn [All Rights Reserved]. "Daria" and all related characters are � 1997-2000 MTV Networks, Inc.

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Mike Quinn [email]

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I think the family is more or less used to it, though on Helen's part there's some subconscious uncertainty which came out in the episode.

You're not the only one. This season it seems like Quinn is more shallow than usual and even getting kicked out of the Fashion Club briefly in "Anti-Social Climbers" has done nothing to alleviate this (She literally bought her way back into their good graces). Now this might change with Groped By an Angel. In fact I'm wondering if her behavior is setting up for something drastic. But who knows?

Trent's scratching his butt might re-inforce any doubts she might have had in the third season. As for Tom....well imagine your relatives clowning for the camera and you get the idea. If she was comparing them as boyfriends I'm betting the final score was more or less equal.

I agree.

Very truthful. I thought Helen's interpretation of Jake was a little hurtful though- the guy has to have some good parts or they wouldn't have remained married for so long.

All I'm going to say is it shows that these characters care for each other.

I griped about ASC here but looking at it again it's not as bad as I thought-fair show. I agree that this has been a good season thus far.

Good grade. Catch you next time.

Jeff M.

In article ,

Again, an excellent review. You know, Mike, it seems like I log onto deja.com just to see your reviews and see what my brother priest Fr. Martin S. is up to. :-)

Helen's a complicated question (almost as complicated as the location of Lawndale, although less discussed (thank goodness!) ).

She doesn't make her family or her husband a priority in her life. Jake's imitation of Helen had the characteristic "Eric" dialog that we have all come to laugh at, but really hits the head on the nail. Helen is willing to set aside *any* conversation with Jake for a chance to listen to Eric. Yes, she's a cartoon character, so I'm not losing any sleep over this, but she's neglectful at best. She never lets herself realize this for more than a minute. Her embarassment at her psych eval doesn't even last a full minute when she finds out she can make partner. Her embarrasment after the roleplay disappears after Daria talks her out of it. She never really lets herself feel her guilt at all, even when the facts are staring her in the face. Despite this all, she knows her children, and does what she can given her self- imposed limits, but without changing some of those priorities of hers, she never will be the good mother she has the potential to be.

Again, Mike, you provide an invaluable service to this community. Thanks.

Sincerely, Rev. Paul L. Vasquez

Father Velasquez said:

SPOILERS for 408

Note: this also demonstrates that Jake is aware of and _resents_ Eric.

Well ... she doesn't seem entirely happy when Eric explains to her just _why_ he thinks she'd make a good partner, at the end.

Sincerely Yours, Jordan

Michael J. Quinn said:

Jake and Daria went along with it because it was important to Helen. I'm not sure that Quinn _ever_ grasped that she wasn't going to get a facial.

She obviously has severe health problems, beyond her obesity. We knew she was diabetic ...

Well, what amazingly interesting thing was anyone going to do in Jane's room, anyway? The only thing that might have aroused any "interest" was something that Jane herself was totally unwilling to do in front of the webcam (namely, get physically naked).

Which annoyed the heck out of Tom, when he found out he'd done that into a camera.

I don't know that she was horribly repulsed by the sight of Trent scratching his butt. I'm sure she already knew that he did that occasionally. That was just how Jane wound up violating _Trent's_ privacy.

Because it was a violation of Tom's privacy. Tom wouldn't have done that if he'd known he was doing it into a camera.

I think the whole point of the JaneCam thing (from a dramatic viewpoint) was to demonstrate the importance of privacy, even in trivial ways. Jane had the decency not to get naked or do anything sexual in front of the camera, but she still managed to floss in front of it, and she wound up getting both of the males she cares about into humiliating situations.

Which wasn't her intention, of course. Jane simply hadn't thought things completely through, which is often the case with her.

The "punishment" could be taken two ways:

• Seeing a man she likes and respects innocently making a fool of himself, or

2) Seeing Tom in a sexual sense, when he's her best friend's boyfriend, and thus unattainable.

She let Helen know what she really thought and felt when it was important to do so. Daria usually comes through in a crisis.

Sincerely Yours, Jordan

In article ,

Daria only went along for Helen's sake. She could've blown her famil o the doctors off easily, but didn't out of lov... er respect for her mother.

She doesn't want her wall coming down, and any prying questions could open her up for vulnerability just a bit, something she's trying to avoid at all costs.

By itself Helen's drive is no worse than Jake's cluelessness, or Quinn's attitude to their family, everyone has done their part to make them our favorite (dysfunctional) family.

It's almost as if last seasons development of Quinn has been quickly forgotten. Unless their saving something very big about her in ep #411, or the movie, she's nearly as bad as season one.

If she was comparing the two based on those scenes it'd be a complete wash between the two, although she did see what Jane/Tom talk about and do when she's not there.

One of the more powerful scenes of the season. Never was a huge Helen fan, but I and I think a lot of us felt sorry for her at the end of that scene, give her a hug anyone?

I think despite all this Daria would rather leave everything as status quo, regardless of how she feels about the status quo, she still cares for them.

Agreed.

I'll take Upchuck's.

A.J.

Cheese said:

I think that Quinn is regressing a bit precisely _because_ she's under a lot of pressure. _Real_ pressure, not the beauty-secrets nonsense she prattles on about.

Pressure in particular caused by the conflict between her (nicer) basic nature and the sort of person she'd have to become to continue to play her role.

Sincerely Yours, Jordan

In article ,

True, though all of it was brought upon herself from day 1. If she would take a step back and see popularity for what it really is, and how little it means about how popular you were in high school in the real world, she'd stop the charade she's living under. It may take something drastic to happen to her, hopefully ep #411 will point her in that direction.

A.J.

Cheese said:

_Daria_'s a strongly "character" based show: it's in many ways similar to a modern video version of Jane Austen's novels in that the whole point of the show is how the choices we make in terms of who we decide to be affect our lives. In Jane Austen's social context, this meant "who we marry"; in the context of young women today, this means which (among a wider variety of ways of life that are possible) course they choose to take in the development of their adult selves (*)

One of the ways the show highlights character is by contrast. Perhaps the _strongest_ contrast in the show is between Daria and Quinn: they are both intelligent and charismatic girls, and hence have much the same possible options; Daria has chosen honesty and self-development, while Quinn has chosen superficiality and pursuit of the approval of others. Many episodes have demonstrated the relative effects of these choices. In general, Daria has _real_ friends, while Quinn has only rivals and followers.

(*) _Daria_ is very much centered on the female characters. Even very admirable male characters, such as Mack or Tom, or very interesting ones, such as Trent, are important to the story primarily in terms of the effects they have on their siblings and lovers. This is exactly analogous to the way that (sympathetic) male characters such as Mr. Darcy or Mr. Knightly are treated in Jane Austen's work.

Sincerely Yours, Jordan