I always wonder what makes the more obscure characters tick. Seeing Daria, Jane, Quinn and many others on an episode-to-episode basis, it's not too tough to figure out what's going on inside their heads most of the time, but the minor characters take a little more thought.
Mack is kind of a nonentity. He's one of the few inteeligent male characters on the show, and for that reason I'd like to see them do more with him, but for the moment, he's just a sidekick to Kevin and a sort of boyfriend to Jodie.
Just what IS going on between him and Jodie anyway? I don't think it was ever formally stated that they were a couple until "Gifted" (except in the Daria Diaries, I think.) Otherwise, the hang around together a lot, but I don't see a lot of affection between these two. They don't even hold hands or even talk to each other very much. Of course, Mack hardly gets more than two lines an episode anyway, but Jodie seems well on her way to major character status. Will she leave him behind? Do they really like each other? In the Daria Diaries, Jodie's school paper article has her musing on whether she has feelings for him or whether they're going out "because she's who she is and he's who he is". I have to wonder how much longer they'll be together.
Meanwhile, why the HELL does he hang around with Kevin so much? Of course, it must be the other way around: Kevin hangs around with him. But Mack doesn't seem to like him at all...or does he? In "The Misery Chick" he was pretty pissed with Tommy after he picked on Kevin. Not pissed off enough to tell him off, but pissed off enough to give him a nasty look and grumble "NICE to make your acQAINTance." Maybe in some twisted way he thinks of Kevin as a really annoying younger brother...after all, football teams and other large clubs are always encouraged to think of each other as a big family (at least, that's the kind of stuff they dumped on us in Marching Band). Jodie's hanging out with Brittany remains unexplained as well, and they seem to be on pretty good terms these days in spite of Jodie's "Rent a brain!" comment to Brittany in "Gifted".
Otherwise, there's no one else who much interacts with Mack. Daria and Jane get along well with Jodie but they seem pretty neutral towards Mack. They even kind of give him a kind of male chauvanist treatment in "Misery Chick" after Jodie snapped at him. "Chicks."..." Yeah...chicks." Mack hadn't even said anything! Funny, that's what Ms. Barch usually does to him. "Shut up, Mack!" Mack seems to be the perpetual innocent bystander who gets dumped on.
Mack has the potential to be the only other "good" guy besides Trent, but it's just not happening. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets the Andrea treatment in the distant future and all but disappears.
....and just in case this somehow in some indirect way upsets someone, my address is [email]. (I'm new to the NG thing, so I'm not sure if my non-DejaNews address is included in my posts or not. Gotta be careful with some people.)
--TICE