Write Where It Hurts

In My Own Opinion...

Just based on my own gut reaction to this ep, this was the best of the whole second season ... as good as "Misery Chick," maybe a little better. If this is the season finale, then they chose a good way to end it. Damn good. A+.

*spoiler space*

You've been warned...

I especially liked the way that the ep felt -- not heavy-handed like SJR was at times, not so fluffy like "Fair Enough." (Altho I loved the scene with Jane and Kevin in this one.) You get a good glimpse of exactly why Daria feels alienated, and why the world that she sees day-to-day seems so lousy, pointless and frustrating to her. I guess that's mostly because she *knows* that life shouldn't be as stupid and shallow and pointless as it is, and that everyone around her is capable of being so much better than they are in the day-to-day.

Besides all that, you also get to see that Helen's at-times-indifferent/confused parenting can hurt Daria's feelings terribly. When Helen does manage to make time for Daria, and actually manages to listen to her, she surprises Daria by giving her very good advice. The really cool part is that Helen's advice helps to break Daria's writer's block, when it looked like nothing else could possibly help her. (Especially Mr. O's *wonderful* advice to put a card game in the story.)

I guess we got a good burst of the character development that's been discussed lately. Of course, Daria still feels ostracized at school (who hasn't?), but at least home is a little more tolerable. We also finally got a speculative look (thru Daria's eyes) of how they turn out. Jake's triple bypass is the biggest nonsurprise of the bunch. Quinn married to Jamie (or whatever his name is <g>), toting around 4 kids, laughing at her shallow past really got me. Daria and Quinn getting along as if there was never an unkind word said between them was also interesting. Daria and Helen sharing an International Foods Gourmet Coffee special moment was also kinda funny. And, what a surprise: Daria looks a lot like Amy, and has a life as a successful writer.

I guess the sad part is that all of that is just fiction in Daria's world. Well, as long as there's time, there's hope.

Rich.

Centurion #1: You care if it falls?

Centurion #2: What?

Centurion #1: The Roman Empire. You care if it falls?

Centurion #2: [Laughing] F*** it.

egad! its like you read my mind. I found this to be a perfect season finale and that it really puts a vision of how Daria really feels. I for one especially liked how Helen and Daria had something of a mother-daughter thing. In a way we've seen this coming. Look back at the past few episodes. In "ill" we have the sublety of Daria saying "thanks for being there for me". In "see jane run" Helen gets Quinn to help Daria out (or whatever) since she noticed how Daria was acting strange. Everything just kinda led up to it if you ask me.

WRITE WHERE IT HURTS was a difficult episode to watch. Partially because I knew it was the last episode of the season so there was a feeling of melancholy about knowing that every scene was the last. WWIH was a curious mixture of the mundane with some very powerful scenes. The two separate conversations between Helen and Daria�the first where Helen totally flubs being a parent and ends the conversation with the self-reproaching line: �Good one, Morgandorffer.� Was for me, only a too real glimpse into the trials and tribulations of parenting. Sometimes despite your good intentions, you just mess things up.

The second scene between Helen and Daria is no less powerful. When mother and daughter finally come together in a moment of understanding and (for them) tenderness. The Morgandorffer clan seems to have a great deal of difficulty expressing overt emotions. Little phrases like: �I love you Mom.� �I love you Daria.� Are not, if completely foreign, are heard all too seldom in the Morgandorffer household.

� Evaluation of the writing sketches is more difficult and less clear cut. All must be judged as a product of Daria�s imagination. At first, one has the impulse to dismiss them all as fiction, and failed attempts as Daria struggles to write something about something.

� THE GRADUATE parody was probably the funniest and most clever of the sketches. The very notion of Jane running off with Kevin was hilarious by itself, and served as a nice coda for the end of the series. Besides, it gave the writers a chance to toss around words like: pulchritudinous. (Try working that word in at cocktail parties). The Jane Austen-esq story worked less well for me, it seemed awkward and stilted. As were the various MACHBETH vignettes. It all seemed like so much fill.

� The end story, where Daria envisions herself married to someone named (Marcello)? A successful columnist for a local paper, and Quinn with four babies in four years. Was if, nothing else, interesting. That�s how Daria sees herself in the future. That was the story Daria chose to tell. A story that says something about something.

�S. Mc Allister

On Mon, 10 Aug 1998 17:07:01 -0400, Steven McAllister wrote:

You forgot the third scene, where Helen breaks down and embraces Daria over what is, for Daria, a touching story. (Never mind that Daria then tries to restore the status quo by pleading with Helen to get a grip. <grin>) Not as important as the first two by any means, but taken together they are what put this episode over the top for me on my "best of" list. I can't think of any other episode that I enjoyed more (except maybe "Ill" -- which also Taught A Lesson at the end -- but that episode was more for pure enjoyment; WWIH was drama).

Which, in the strictest technical sense, is what they *are*. :-)

Minister DeMartino? I don't think even God has that much patience!

SEASON, please. Let's not bury "Daria" before its time. ;-)

Me, neither. I never really cared for such period stories, anyway.

The "hip parents" story could also be considered filler, but it actually worked perfectly at that point in the story: Daria has just had that blow-up with Helen, and was writing out of frustration and anger. (Possibly it reflected her unspoken desire for her parents to be more laid back and understanding, and to have them rag on someone else -- specifically, Quinn -- for not always living up to their expectations.)

And quite possibly the basis for future fan fiction... there's lots of possibilities in the future world that Daria created.

Martin (To send E-mail, remove the "nospam" from my E-mail address.) ---- Quinn: You kids know where Grandma's TV is. Go watch something educational. TV: "Breast implants for chickens???" Quinn & Daria: Not that!!

Martin J. Pollard wrote in message ...

No, but he does have that much of a sense of humor.

God has a sense of humor? That *would* explain a lot...

-Mindy

Daria: I just need to go to the bathroom... Jane: Good idea. Check your lack of makeup.

[email] (Mindy) writes:

This is possibly the major tenent of my personal theology.

G-d exists, and has a really weird sense of humor. However, G-d appriciates humans with a similar sense of humor, and will tend to let things work out for people who get the Joke.

• Ian

"Imagine God as a low comedian, and all of creation immediately becomes explicable."

H.L. Mencken, who I think would have gotten along very well indeed with Daria.

--J.

Xiphias Gladius wrote:

In article ,

I agree. This was, IMHAHO, the best of the second season, maybe of the whole series.

As for the "hip parents," "pride & predjudice," & "family card game" sketches, I got the impression that even though Daria does have a lot of anger directed toward Quinn, she does wish that they had a more normal and caring relationship between each other. In "p&p," they gush over each other in an almost absurd way. (Perhaps that's why she crumpled up the story.) In "hip parents," Daria expresses concern for Quinn's inability to be cool like Daria, in total opposition to the way Quinn treats Daria in daily life-- Quinn can't deal with a sister (um, cousin) "who has a *thing*." (Of course, Daria also has Quinn "accidentally" run into traffic...) Finally, in the "card game" vignette, they interact as adults-- mature individuals who understand each other as separate people with equally valid and separate identities-- and treat each other not only as equals, but as loved ones. Sort of an "each seeing and understanding the good in the other" sort of thing.

So, even though Daria's relationship with her mother improves, I'll bet Daria doesn't hold out a whole lot of hope for Quinn...at least not until after Quinn has the first two babies, which is kind of a shame for both of them. That particular line of thought made the whole ep little more poignant for me.

Rich.

Jake: "I LOVE camping! I love it! ... Has anybody seen my pants?"

Quinn marries Jamie in the future. Did anyone else catch that? ~Your main man, CrtoonDude. (AKA, Sgt. Poski`)~

On 10 Aug 1998 22:17:14 GMT, [email] (CrtoonDude) wrote:

The irony that Quinn would end up marrying the person whose name she could never get straight wasn't lost on me. :-)

Martin (To send E-mail, remove the "nospam" from my E-mail address.) ---- Quinn: You kids know where Grandma's TV is. Go watch something educational. TV: "Breast implants for chickens???" Quinn & Daria: Not that!!

Mmm. Interesting that it was Jamie (as in "Jordan?" "Jamille?").

Shadowcloak [email] http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Museum/7252/

"Must... stick... head... cold... water..." - Jane Lane

In article ,

I think the "austinesq" story further reveiles that Daria wish she had a better relationship with Quinn. This is reinforced with the "six lane hiway" story and the final story. The "helen and jake macbeth" reviles how she sees her parents...Helen would be happier as the crusading conquerer and Jake as the "cook" (his line goes something like 'I can't wait to taste this')