(S4 Spoilers) Comments: Partner's Complaint

Warning: Season Four spoilers below. Beware!
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Umm... nice artwork. That was the first thing to come to mind when I started watching this episode. Love those thick black lines. I wonder if MTV somehow jerked the animators around as far as when (or even if) the season premiere would air? Oh well. It didn't kill the episode, and I think that I either got used to it, or it got better as the episode went along. I genuinely think it was the latter.

Didn't Daria get over that Tom thing last season? I know there was nothing more than a short vacation between the semesters in "Lawndale time," but you'd think she'd already be over this. It seems she isn't.

Well, Daria's being a real stick again, and getting reamed for it again; it's nice to see more of Jodie again. ;) Actually, that's one thing I like about Daria. When she errs, she errs on the side of principle; the other side is a much slipperier slope. And she has sufficient humility to recognize when she has erred, and apologize for it when she recognizes it. I must say, her character is maturing very nicely.

Brittney and Kevin fighting? AGAIN?! IIRC, it didn't happen quite as much before season 3. I think Brittney is beginning to outgrow Kevin. She may not be brilliant, but she is very clearly smarter than him, and her vocabulary seems to be expanding a bit, probably from all that romance novel reading. It may not be great literature, but at least she's reading; that more than can be said for Kevin. More muscle mass in the head makes men smarter in Science?!

Speaking of stupid males, it's nice to see more of a certain non-stupid male, namely Mack. He didn't have quite so many brilliant zingers as I'm accustomed to, but then again, he's never had quiet so many lines. I'm hoping for a bit of a trend.

On this same note, it's good to see that Tom is sticking around. I really don't see him leaving any time soon, though he may very well remain a background character for a while. Still, this whole thing is going to *force* Daria to grow. She can't rely on Jane quite so much as she once did; we'll probably see a bit more of Jodie from here on out. I think Daria instinctively knows that Jane's Tom is going to force her to grow, and resents it somewhat. But everyone needs to deal with that at some point in their life; it may as well be for something as innocuous as this.

But I got off topic. The real reason I'm glad to see Tom is that I like seeing non-stupid males. Here's to the non-stupid males!

Anyway, overall, I'd say it was an excellent episode. It started out *very* choppy, with poor artwork and rushed scenes, but it came out almost perfectly in the end. Probably one of the best to date!

Tarvok said:

I kind of like that she's not *completely* over it ... deep feelings are not being easily dealt with in a single show, which is more realistic. You'll note that she wasn't actively hostile to Tom, like she was in "Jane's Addition" ... but she's still not happy with the situation.

That last bit is what saved her from being a real prick this episode. She was able to see that she'd been too hard on Jodie ... which made it easier for Jodie to see that she in turn had been too easy on herself. Daria is a moralist, but not a fanatic.

There's more real character development on *Daria* than there is on most "serious" TV shows.

Kevin is going to have to grow up a bit too or he's going to lose Brittany; she's definitely maturing faster than he is. I think it would be sad if they did break up; Kevin's not a bad egg, even if he is a bit scrambled :)

True. Remember in the college visit episode, when Brittany got to do some poetry and people liked it? Brittany really does value intelligence (which is one reason she took an early liking to Daria, in the second episode, in fact), and she wants to be appreciated for more than her looks.

Sincerely Yours, Jordan

Tarvok said:

*Has* to have been a substitute teacher. I can't see Ms. Barch agreeing with Kevin's theory ...

Yes. Mack is a good person; I think he gets under-utilized as a character because he isn't cartoonishly silly. He works best as a straight man for Kevin, of course.

Yes. Someone like Jane doesn't open up and trust easily; she's a loyal friend when she does do so. I don't see why she'd be any less loyal and persistent as a girlfriend; and it's obvious that she and Tom are friends above and beyond their sexual attraction.

And in general, Daria's going to have to move from her self-image of someone who has no friends but Jane to someone who is capable of having friends in general.

I echo your sentiments :)

Sincerely Yours, Jordan

I stole Tarvok's spoiler space. I am truly sorry. But enough of me...

[email] (Tarvok) wrote:

Okay, I didn't know where to put this, so I'll pose this conundrum here-- Why did Jodie get mad at Daria? She asked her what was wrong, and Daria told her. Granted, she wasn't 100% tactful, but for Daria, she did *try*. ISTM that Jodie's (over)reaction was in part due to the fact that Daria hit a nerve in Jodie somewhere. Granted, it didn't change Jodie's attitude about the incident... much... but I chalk that up to the necessity of getting that "A." ;-)

Then again, what do I know? I'm one of those idealists who prefer "bright line" distinctions. I.e., I sided with Daria in that one. ;-)

rich the inflexible. ;-) (just ask my GF. <g>)

Jane: You know, I don't know why people say we have a bad attitude.

Daria: Screw 'em.

On the mountaintop, [email] spake thusly:

As did I - it struck me as blatantly hypocritical of Jodie to begin the next interview by making it very clear whose daughter she was. Of course, I'm still an idealistic youth... a few years of real-world experience will hammer that out of me well enough. ;-)

When are we going to _meet_ this young woman of yours, Richard? Hmmmm? </mother>

-Mindy

Rich said:

(and I restole Tarvok's spoiler space).

Yep. Remember, Jodie isn't exactly without a conscience, and it probably had struck her that what she'd done was just a bit unethical. Not horribly so ... but it wasn't exactly succeeding on her own merits.

Note that in the class report. Jodie pretty much admitted that she saw Daria's point.

Jodie's more of a "go along to get along" person, but one with high personal standards. She's just more cynical than she lets on. Read her pre-corrected valedictorian address :)

Sincerely Yours, Jordan