Trent Revisited s3 Spoilers

Jeez, on topic two days in a row. Just shoot me now. Cue the spoilerspace music.

Whew! I've been reading all the posts re:JA and something sticks out like a sore thumb. Trent has been called immature, irresponsible, a flack, etc. Before JA I probably would of agreed. Now I'm not so sure. JA has caused me to see Trent with different eyes.

I think Trent behaves and acts the way he does as a defense mechanism against a world that has treated him pretty cruelly. Look at it this way, Trent says he cares about only one thing, his music. Yeah, we can all say that he cares about Jane and Daria too and he may show it, but he doesn't *say* it. He has simplified his life down to caring for one thing, and it isn't even a person.

How long did he live in a tent? And why? Growing up the way he did, I'm surprised he's not a raving sociopath. I wonder just how many times he has been really hurt, and just how badly.

Trent relates to other people in a take-em or leave-em manner. Look at his relationship with his 'girlfriend'. I don't think it's anything other than physical. Who's his best friend? Jesse? That's like having a rock as your best friend. The band members? I think they're there just for the music and nothing else. I don't think Trent thinks he *has* any friends and on the surface he's cool with that. I think that deep down Trent is one very lonely guy.

People here have said that Trent failed Daria and Jane. Maybe so but it goes deeper than that. In trying to help the girls, the only thing that Trent cares about failed *him*, his music. He couldn't get it right and the last and only thing left to him let him down.

Why would Trent make a commitment? What or who has ever made a commitment to him? I see Trent now as a much sadder character than before JA, which is one of the reasons this ep works so well for me.

Enough of the 6am blues.

[email] wrote:

<deep and insightful idea snipped to save space>

Damn, Jon-- I thought he had issues, but put in that light, even our misanthropic Heroine has an easier time with interpersonal relationships. Thanks for the analysis-- I think you may have hit the nail right on the head.

It would also explain why he was so embarassed to have to write that jingle in TLF. Kind of like using your only love for something dirty. You know, the *bad* kind of dirty.

rich.

"Absolute certainty is stasis, boring. We need uncertainty -- it's the only way to go." -- Dr. Leon Lederman, physicist.

In article , [email] wrote:

I think that would have made a good episode theme, or at least subplot...it was too bad they gave it such a brief treatment in TLF.

--Tice

[email] wrote:

Thanks. I was just wondering why everbody was hammering Trent when the writers have given him a life that has already hammered him down pretty good.

Which takes me to the kiss. I know alot of folks think it's 'goodbye' and alot of folks think it's 'hello'. I don't think it's either. Has Trent had a real, personal, emotional, relationship with with anyone on the show? You could argue, yeah, with his sister, but I don't think so. I think Trent keeps his emotions buried very deep, out of fear of getting hurt yet again. By kissing Daria, he's allowing himself to get emotionally involved with other humans again. When you're all the way down, the only way you can go is up. Should be interesting to see what happens next.

Space Ranger said:

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Pointing out that Trent has problems with responsibility isn't "hammering" him. It's not just the fans who pointed this out anyway ... Daria did too, it was one of the main things she realized in "Lane Miserables" and told him in "Jane's Addition". Jane also realizes this about Trent; I suspect one of the reasons she wants to fix him up with Daria is for TRENT's good.

My fiancee Marie thinks that it's Trent's promise to Daria that he'll try to become worthy of her. I think the ambiguity of that gesture was intentional on the part of the writers.

I think he has with his sister, and only with his sister. It's significant that Monique only got shown onscreen in two episodes, and only briefly. This implies that their relationship was pretty distant for a romantic one. You would have THOUGHT that he'd have been bringing her to his house, to his gigs, etc.

I agree.

By KNOWING Daria, he's allowing himself to get emotionally involved. I think the kiss was a concretization of that.

Yes.

Sincerely Yours, Jordan

"Man is a god in ruins" (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

On 21 Aug 1999 14:05:44 GMT, [email] (Jordan S. Bassior) wrote:

WritER, actually. Glenn Eichler. Who, by the way, is on record as stating his disappointment in the fans that obsess over Daria and Trent's non-relationship. Is it any wonder that he used "Jane's Addition" to (A) get rid of the Jane/Jesse notion once and for all (bless you, Glenn!), and (B) put some distance between Trent and Daria WRT a romantic relationship, at least at the present time?

Martin
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[email] (Martin J. Pollard) wrote:

No, but when you consider how strongly many fans identify with the characters, such behavior by fans shouldn't be unexpected-- we all do it to some degree with everything we read or listen to or watch-- we identify with the hero/ine because we see ourselves in him/her. We hate the Villain because s/he represents that which we do not identify with, or that which we dislike.

Now, to the Wilfull Suspension of Disbelied, add a teaspoon of obsession, a dollop of the human tendency towards overanalyzing interpersonal relationships, a scarcity of episodes scattered out over time, and a myriad of traumas inflicted upon those whom society has labelled "brains," and frankly, I'm not surprised at all at the degree to which some fans obsess over it.

Then again, some people are also gushy Romantics at heart, too, and can't stand to miss a good Love Story, even if one isn't fully present. I'm not judging, I'm just commenting-- the world is full of all kinds of people, and, like it or not, Mr. Eichler's story struck a nerve with a lot of people-- so much so that many feel the need to express their feelings on something as global as the Internet. I'd consider that a great tribute to his ability as a crafter of tales.

Besides, sometimes it's just plain fun to speculate! ;-)

rich.

Quinn: People are so weird!

Daria: Some are weird. Some are just astonishingly self-centered and deceitful.

[email] (paperpusher) wrote:

Gawd, I can't spell tonight! That should be "Willful Suspension of Disbelief." Grrr...

rich.

Helen: Bureaucracy is the price we pay for impartiality.

Jake: Jefferson!

Helen: Stalin.

On Sun, 22 Aug 1999 07:40:58 GMT, [email] (paperpusher) wrote:

This ain't IRC, dude. You don't *need* to make a comment about your bad spelling if you don't want to. :-)

Martin
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[email] (Martin J. Pollard) wrote:

Yes, but I mangled it so badly, I felt it was necessary to remove the obfuscation...

rich

Helen: Bureaucracy is the price we pay for impartiality.

Jake: Jefferson!

Helen: Stalin.

If he's so disappointed with the 'shipper element, why didn't he make it absolutely clear that a Daria and Trent relationship is not going to happen (though it was clear enough to me, many others still hang on to their hopes)? Could it be because if he flat-out ended it, that might lead to a lessening of interest in the show and perhaps to a definite end after Season 4, rather than continuing beyond? Or in other words, did he sell out?

On Sun, 22 Aug 1999 21:39:03 -0400, Jeg7777 wrote:

Only if you assume that he's a complete idiot. I think Glenn is smart enough to separate his personal feelings from what's practical for his show. If that's "selling out," then so be it; it's far from the worst that could happen.

Martin
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In article ,

I agree with everything 100%. Trent now knows what is going on from this ep. and hopefully will do everything he can to make himself a more worthy person in Daria'a eyes.

A.J.

In article , [email] wrote:

Wow, you brought a tear to my eye :( Very insightful. I think I'll go rewatch that ep now...

wicka_chick

[email] wrote:

<practicing safe self-snippage>

<smiling> Thanks. Any clown can make people laugh. Only the really good ones can make people cry too.

Always striving to improve my clown-ness.

I'm afraid of clowns. They're scary.

Jess "Morgendorfer" [email]

Daria: "NOW do you think I'm timid?"

Daria code thingy A D+ T0 W1 Q+ FN^FR O+ Ow+OH+Os M+ C++ MV-- C5X F:308, 105, 210 BB+++ FCD -DT+ q+ fT

let me guess, you read or saw that companion piece to mein kampf, "it"?

Dagny

http://members.aol.com/Eccles9697

"I'm not different for the sake of being different, only for the desperate sake of being myself. I can't join your gang: you'd think I was a phoney and I'd know it." Vivian Stanshall

Dagny said:

Don't listen to Dagny! She's part of IT ... I saw when the mask slipped! I saw what she really was! No! It's coming through the drains. It's eating my BRAIN! Eaaaagggghhh.... Sincerely Yours, Jordan

"Man is a god in ruins" (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

On Fri, 20 Aug 1999 12:42:59 GMT, [email] wrote:

<snip analysis>

Boy. I never saw it that way. I think that makes a lot of sense, now that I think of it. And your mention of LM strengthened the point. It does seem that Trent's only "friend" is his music. Compared to Daria, she's the lucky one.

Good thought-provoking post.

On Fri, 20 Aug 1999 12:42:59 GMT, [email] wrote:

I'm sure he'd be one if not for Jane. Maybe that's also true the other way around. MSB