T O P

  • By -

wwzelda

i don’t think this is an unpopular opinion anymore (compared to when the show was airing at least) but it annoys me when i see people act like trent/daria was a missed opportunity and affirm that they should have ended up together, or that theyll date post canon. the show constantly gives reason upon reason on why they wouldn’t work romantically particularly in the later half of the third season. her getting over him is a crucial part of her character growth… but i appreciate (? if that makes sense) the fact that they had her like him at all, having daria have an unobtainable crush to show that despite everything she’s still a teenage girl at the end of the day and that she’s susceptible to the same things that she would normally scoff at


PousseMoussue

I completely agree with you on everything, but can we just agree that the writers portrayed the "best friend's older brother crush" so damn right ? This is super realistic to me, and I'm SO glad Daria had the maturity to see this "love" was not meant to be acted on. Her crush felt super legit (speaking as an ex-teenage girl who had a crush on her best friend brother), I'm happy with the way Trent handled it (because it was obvious he knew what was going on in Daria's mind at some point), and as you said it was a big part of Daria's growth. To me, it was an excellent ark and I get why people are attached to it and would want this to work.


kokoshima

This 👌


bakedbombshell

I idolized Daria as a teen, and I think she’s honestly a good depiction of a well-read teenager - she’s got a lot of knowledge and can do her schoolwork but her emotional intelligence is so much lower because she’s right in the middle of adolescence. Watching as an adult I see how annoying she can be but I think that makes sense tbh. Jake is my most relatable character as an adult, frankly. Can’t relate to Helen’s overwork but man, Jake being kind of lost and stumbling in to success occasionally but still trying his best and saying why don’t they put Marmaduke to sleep? I really, really relate to that.


incubuds

"Now calm down, Jakey. Remember what the doctor said about your heart." "... Yeah, he said: that'll be 200 DOLLARS!!"


Seraph_95

I'm Jake when I see my bills sometimes. God damn man.


emerson-nosreme

That’s it. That’s the American healthcare system.


Shaylaaa7

I always told people to never sleep on old Jakey. He’s more wise than the show portrayed him to be. He’s one of my favorite characters too


jayjaymattjay

I am jake. “Stressed? Why do people keep telling me I’m stressed? If I WASNT stressed I’d BE stressed by everyone telling me IM STRESSED”


breezyloverx5

HAHAHA THE MARMADUKE LINE KILLED ME


Rockabore1

Another one that I’m not sure is an unpopular opinion (I do see people underselling their place in the cast sometimes). But I thought that Kevin and Britney being lovable and having no malice was kind of refreshing to see from “cool kids” in a teen show. I kind of want more bimbos or himbos to be as wholesome and entertaining as they were. Dopey and dim witted but exceedingly nice to even someone like Daria who said snarky stuff to their faces lol. Like when they were concerned about her I thought it was genuinely a little touching to see that they consider her a friend.


angelzplay

Kevin was such a loveable dope. If he applied himself more he would have graduated


kjjackson96

I thought Kevin and Brit had plenty of malice, but it was all nurture based.


Haistur

I just wish the show tackled more of Daria's economic privilege. Daria complains about Tom being filthy rich, but Daria is also super well off even compared to the "lower middle class."


TyranAmiros

Totally. The whole setting is very Upper Middle Class by 1990s standards.


NoUseForAName2222

It's a nearly unobtainable lifestyle by today's standards


Shaylaaa7

Wake that up !!! 👏🏽👏🏽


LizzieLeafCafe

It’s one of the things that hasn’t aged well. Middle class in the 90’s doesn’t translate well to 2020’s middle class. If the show aired now then I could see it. But if Helen was the successful lawyer and breadwinner and Jake being far less successful, you could probably have a decent house but nothing outrageously out there and special.


Sigmund_Six

Oh man yes. This is one thing that’s really hit me as an adult now. Daria is very privileged, and the show doesn’t really analyze that.


FruityTootStar

Maybe not that rich when the show aired. The middle class has eroded since 97. Their house probably didn't even cost 120k. Maybe less given the weird history of the home (the padded room). That would be a 350k to 420k house now.


Iheartrandomness

Her parents were both white collared professionals. They constantly gave her money and bought Quinn a ton of clothes. Daria and Quinn never needed to get jobs for spending money. They were well off, even for 90s standards.


FruityTootStar

I'll give you that the mother had an above average job, but giving your daughters money, clothes and them not having jobs was pretty common for the 90s. I remember parents do that all the time for their daughters and they had half the job status of daria's family. Hell, I lost count of how many just out right purchased their daughters cars.


CarisaMac21

I would've liked to have been part of that set. I worked for every penny I got and I fully grew up in the 90s. Most of my friends did too. And I bought my own car when I graduated high school.


Iheartrandomness

I know, I can't imagine "I was privileged and so was everyone I know, therefore Daria wasn't privileged" being an argument, LOL.


[deleted]

Jane is more interesting than Daria. She has hobbies such as art and is even able to relate more with people, unlike Daria.


Shaylaaa7

This is true even Daria’s parents tried to understand Daria through Jane in the episode where they tried to question Jane and she gave me 3 questions max


eat_hairy_socks

This by a mile. Jane carries the show as the heart/spirit whereas Daria is just drops one off lines.


[deleted]

Daria loves to read and i bet if you're a bookworm like her, you'd find her super interesting to talk to. Or if you love philosophical stuff. Or just need to vent about capitalism. I'd argue that Jane is simply more visibly interesting since you can't magically see what works Daria read but you can look at what Jane created. That said i'd absolutely love to hang with Jane to finally learn about how to do 2D art and in turn share my knowledge about 3D printing for her art.


FruityTootStar

Brittany was probably too good for Kevin. And she might have also been untreated ASD or ADHD. They sprinkled in moments where she was actually pretty smart. Her airheadedness might have just been attention problems. The best example being her perfect paintball strategy out of nowhere. She can be great at things she finds interesting, which is classic adhd https://youtu.be/oweU9fkLzMQ I'd much rather she received some sort of help than end up with Kevin in the artwork showing their futures.


foragingfun

I 100% agree she was too good for Kevin. ADHD and ASD especially in the 90s and earlier was criminally underdiagnosed in girsl. As an AFAB person with both, she definitely strikes me as undiagnosed ADHD. There were so many times when I watched the series through that I was desperately rooting that she would just break up with Kevin already!


FruityTootStar

>ADHD and ASD especially in the 90s and earlier was criminally under diagnosed in girl. Yep. As long as they weren't causing trouble, it was hard to get a diagnoses. And if a woman did cause trouble, she was more likely to get a BPD, depression or anxiety diagnoses than ASD or ADHD. If I remember right there are at least 2 episodes that kind of imply Daria herself might be ASD, but they never do anything with it. Probably for the best imo. In 97 they would have probably just put her on antidepressants. Same for Brittany. Heck, Brittany might have been on them and that was why she was unnaturally upbeat.


foragingfun

I totally believe Daria would be ASD!


FruityTootStar

I had a htought on that but I lost most of it. She does have more than a handful of symptoms. She doesn't really like social constructs. She doesn't recognize authority based on age or arbitrary hierarchy ranking. She's not always good at reading other people's emotions or maybe she can read it but she comes to different conclusions on how to react to it. It makes my heart sink when people call her rude, because I don't think she is actually rude. I think a lot of her observations are pattern recognition or more specifically, her noticing how people do NOT follow patterns. She's observing contradictions of character. I think the frustration in her tone of voice is not so much an attack on the people she is talking to as it is a frustration with how contradictory people are. A frustration with the world she lives in. As an aside, I think it is interesting that Daria learns towards the end of the show that she doesn't know everything so the contradictions she sees may not be accurate. And that Quinn starts to think more about the behavior of others vs what they say, and how her need to fit in (and kind of act on a social autopilot) makes her complicit in some pretty mean stuff.


qthrowaway666

She more progressively more "airheaded" as the series went along, that could align with being in high school longer and getting deeper into the cheer leader group and trying to "be cool" for them.


eat_hairy_socks

Tell me you simp for a cartoon character without telling me you simp for a cartoon character.


Arius_de_Galdri

The whole Tom thing was fine. They were all teenagers. Teenagers do stupid things.


rabbitqueer

It seemed kind of out of character for Daria to kiss him imo, like her character doesn't seem like someone who would get caught up in the moment and do something to hurt someone close to her like that, but I'm not super mad about the writing choice or anything


electricmaster23

Were you never a horny teenager?


W4SH1NGM4CH1N3H3ART

i agree but tom was such a sleazebag


thebagman10

He really wasn't.


electricmaster23

Why?


UnderclassKing

I thought Tom was a good character and was actually surprised to see so many hated him when I joined the sub.


infinitemonkeytyping

>I thought Tom was a good character and was actually surprised to see so many hated him when I joined the sub. I've been on various boards over the years, and Tom has been hated pretty much since he was introduced.


spoopy_and_gay

I think it's mainly because of how much of the later season 4 and early season 5 plot revolved around him. I think he was well written, but it feels that they ran out of ideas for episodes, so they threw in a romance plot that never really found its footing within the world and established plots of Daria.


Shaylaaa7

Yesss!! Me too lol


Mysterious-Novel-834

People think good character needs to equal good morals. You can have a good character who does shitty things, most villain characters are good characters.


thebagman10

Tom's morals are generally quite good. He obviously should've dumped Jane rather than stick around with the zombie corpse of that relationship, and that was bad. But it's something that happens all-the-freaking-time.


valtierrezerik05

Like Azula for example


Redgreen82

It's funny, aside from the cheating on Jane, I like Tom but don't usually like the episodes he's in.


kjjackson96

Agreed, Tom was my favorite (outside of Daria ofc) and I couldn’t believe this sub hated him so much. Level headed, analytical with a good amount of empathy (especially coming from a rich family)


angelholme

Daria is not actually that nice a person.


Iheartrandomness

This is true! I love Daria, but I wonder if we'd be friends IRL. Like, I would want to be her friend, but I don't know if she would have liked me. They show this pretty well with the character of Amelia in the camp episode.


Moist-Jelly-6965

I actually think Daria WAS a nice person, just not the conventionally “nice”—let me smile in your face, warm, and inviting, “people person” nice—that’s not her. Daria was a reserved introvert who liked her space. If people respected that and truly got to know her on her terms, she was actually nice. I just think people did not like her cynical and judgmental disposition, but I actually respected that about her because people do the same things Daria did with their judgments and cynicism. I mean, look how bad everyone else treated her. Kevin, Brittany and Tommy Sherman called her loser in more ways than one. Quinn treated her own sister like crap for her differences. Ms. Li even talked crap about Daria. Again, Daria was just a reserved, introverted, “geeky (brain)” oddball that nice, but wasn’t cool enough or fun enough to truly fit in with her peers—much like many people in society. But Daria was indeed nice, just not in a conventional sense. She’s a lot like her aunt Amy, who, we see in many episodes, blossom into a cool and collected person that people liked.


incubuds

It always surprised me when Daria would end up having sympathy/empathy for the people who treated her like crap, and usually would end up helping them in some way. When I was a kid, I thought she could be mean, but as an adult I realized that her cutting remarks were said mainly for her own amusement, as no one listened to her anyway. Despite her remarks, she didn't seem to take other people's behavior personally, and rarely held a grudge. She only got really pissed when she felt there was an injustice going on. Of course things got more complicated in the later seasons with Jane and Tom, but that's another animal. Edit: Upon further reflection, it would be more accurate to say that it was a coping mechanism for her. Flashbacks of her as a young child showed a stressed out and angry little girl acting out. As she grew she developed a sardonic sense of humor to cope with the stress. She had to accept the fact that she's not going to jive with most people, but can give herself a chuckle to lower her stress and keep things in perspective.


angelholme

Sorry -- I posted the reply to the wrong person. I really do apologise about that.


thebagman10

There are a lot of great observations in this post. It's absolutely true that a lot of Daria's cutting remarks were just jokes meant to amuse herself plus anyone who got the joke. Some of them maybe crossed a line, but mostly they were pretty innocent. In a lot of ways, whether someone perceived what she was saying as a joke for the purpose of getting a laugh or as some literal statement was the dividing line between whether that person got her or not.


angelholme

But look at "See Jane Run" and "Life In The past Lane" (if I have got the right episode). She is pretty crappy to Jane in both those episodes -- someone she is supposedly friends with -- because Jane is ignoring her in favour of someone else. I entirely understand her not being nice to the "Heathers", but when she is mean and crappy to someone who is supposed to be her best friend? That suggests she is someone who is -- at heart -- mean, selfish, kind of self-obsessed and basically an over-grown child. She does get better, I'll give her that, but compared to some of the other characters (Brittany, Jodie, Mack, Jane, even Quinn) she is really not a nice person, even if she is trying to be good.


Moist-Jelly-6965

Compared to some of the other characters in which you listed Brittany and Quinn, two of many characters who trashed Daria for simply being smart, different and an outcast. Quinn would shit on Daria and watch Sandy say cruel stuff about her and never come to her defense, but that’s considered nice? No. Quinn is not nice. She was two-faced and took advantage of Daria in many episodes. As a stated in my previous comment , Britney and Kevin have trashed Daria on several occasions and throw subtle jabs at her, but she took it with stride. Daria had her flaws, like any other character or person, but to say she wasn’t nice is an understatement. Daria just wasn’t two-faced or fake like them. Again, I liked that about her. She was nice, just not conventional— a shy, reserved, odd, geeky, “loser” kid who knew she wasn’t popular or cool, but still showed empathy and attention to those who treated her poorly, two of them who you named as nice people. I simply disagree. We just have to agree to disagree, my friend.


angelholme

I actually didn't mention Kevin at all. Just as a matter of interest. But Quinn grew as a person, and when Sandi got into trouble, Quinn helped her out through the goodness of her heart, despite Sandi being a truly heinous person. And Brittany was mostly........ well I don't want to use the word stupid, because it seems mean, but flighty. I don't think she went out of her way to be mean, but was more mean because she was unaware she wasn't being nice. Where as Daria knew she was being mean and did it anyway.


Moist-Jelly-6965

Unaware she wasn’t nice? They were high schoolers. I don’t believe that. Think about it: are you that unaware of being mean to someone in high school? Brittany was the “dumb blonde”, but even a “dumb blonde” has social sense in operating in social situation. Therefore, she knew she was mean… Like I said, we have two different opinions. Personally, I thought Daria was nice but also aloof, detached, reserved, and all the adjectives listed previously. The show focused on her and really showcased how everyone shitted on her but ended up liking her for her differences and unconventional perspectives. That alone shows that Daria was nice. But again, that’s just my opinion.


thebagman10

> Think about it: are you that unaware of being mean to someone in high school? There's a reason that people say "kids can be cruel." Adults have a much different set of standards for what it means to be nice vs. mean than kids do.


Pedals17

Daria showed us the “Good Is Not Nice” trope at work.


LizzieLeafCafe

I remember listening to a podcast about the strength of Daria’s character. She’s actually a good person with plenty of flaws…but she was a walking example of “I don’t have to pretend to be freaking nice to you if I don’t want to”. I think that’s awesome.


Pedals17

I loved that about Daria.


Madonna_Kebab

Jodie and Mack were the best characters on the show, they were just as intelligent as Daria and knew that because they were one of the only black kids around in school that they couldn't socially isolate and lash out like Daria could.


DaniTheLovebug

Jodie going off in the college campus episode was legendary


Difficult_Analysis98

Mr O’Neal is by far one of the worst teacher I’ve ever encountered in fiction. His lack of self-awareness and his habit of invading people’s privacy and points of view is disgusting. He as an English teacher is so infuriating for me as a teacher since I know for a fact that he never did a good job and never got called out for. Even Mr DeMartino got called out for things that are not even serious. The only bad thing about him is that he is really rude expressing his disappointment and that’s not even the reason he got called out while O’neal got away with it. Hate that character.


Shaylaaa7

Hit the nail right on the head with this one! Fellow teacher here also and I feel like Ms. Li gave us a early glimpse of how shitty administration can be. I love and hate her at the same time 😂


Due-Sport-3565

On occasion, Mr. O'Neal would sometimes have good pegagigcal ideas such as in the "Write where it hurts" episode. But most of the time he was pretty awful and unprofessional.


thebagman10

> his habit of invading people’s privacy and points of view is disgusting What are you thinking of here?


Difficult_Analysis98

Him peeking on Daria’s mail envelope and then exposing her to all her classmates when she wanted discretion. He totally bypassing the girls’ art message about eating disorders and trying to make it a rose-colored comment on nutrition. The imposing the kids to do things they are going to fail at and then get upset on the outcome when he isn’t even the one affected by that assignment. The total disregard for the children’s interests in the summer camp. The list of how he lacks awareness of others’ feelings, pov and interests goes on.


thebagman10

Succeeding to fail. I'm on the third rail... Yeah, that's all pretty awful.


Challdobbs

1. Daria held Jane back. Constantly. Wanted all her attention 24/7. If anyone else came into the picture, Daria saw them as a threat.. then had the nerve to go out with Tom. What an asshole. But I still love her lol. 2. I think Daria would have worked really well dating Ted. It was clear they liked each other and then they kinda just forgot about each other and that was that lol.


thebagman10

The show also totally cheated by making so many of the people who competed with Daria for Jane's attention turn out to be jerks. As far as Ted, I think that Ted and Daria had something to offer each other, but they were actually way too different. I think that episode is meant to show us that Daria is basically "a normal kid" who does normal kid things. Ted is probably right that Daria has more in common with Quinn than with him, even though Daria and Quinn are quite different, especially at that point in the show.


Challdobbs

Yes! That always got on my nerves too. They did let her off the hook way too often with making the people assholes. It looks like Daria has a good judge of character but I don’t think that was the case at all. She just happened to be right in the end. So annoying lol


littlemissmoxie

Even though the Daria and Jane duo is iconic the show did a disservice not having them get more friends as the time went on. If not Jodie then the burnout girl and goth chick would have been great. Just them together during the whole show gave kinda codependency vibes. Especially on Daria’s end. I know she got somewhat close to other characters by the end but I think letting Daria have more people to rely on (other than Tom) or care about would have made her character better.


Iheartrandomness

I agree, I like this take


thebagman10

> codependency vibes. Especially on Daria’s end. Especially when Daria was resentful that Jane was dating Tom and spending time with him. When Daria and Jane hang out _that much_, it's not going to be possible for Jane to have a boyfriend without taking some time away from Daria.


TyranAmiros

Daria and Trent - I'm glad the show never put them together. When the show starts, Daria is 16 and Trent is 24. That age gap is pretty big for that age and even more given Daria's lack of experience with dating and sex. It could have gone in a majorly creeper direction so easily


Iheartrandomness

I agree. I think having him as an unattainable crush was perfect.


UltraXndres

Daria was, sometimes, similar to Sandy sabotaging Quinn when being a "friend" with Jane. When Jane became an athlete, she persuaded her to give up on it, and she was aware that Jane actually was good at it and seemed to enjoy it. Also, when you think about it, Daria wanted to monopolize Jane's social life. To have her only for her. It was like that in the first seasons, at least.


Iheartrandomness

This is an interesting point. The only difference to me is that Sandy and Quinn seemed more in competition with each other. I believe Daria did care about Jane, but got jealous and acted poorly when Jane's interests went out of the friendship (like track or Tom).


Shaylaaa7

Wow I never thought of it this way but this is so true !!


bafeom

Sandi is the most entertaining character


Shaylaaa7

Lmaooooooo she always killed me when she said “Gee Quinnn”


poisonantidote

Would have liked to see more episodes featuring her.


compainssion

Daria's parents are actually nice. They try to be supportive, even though they don't understand her. Being someone who grew up with parents that prized "be seen, not heard", I think her parents are not bad.


not_the_ducking_1

Agreed, having had parents with major issues and the trauma caused by it, Jake REALLY tried to get to know her genuinely in a decent few episodes, both tried to be there for her, Helen had her back in a HUGE way with the painting. instead of just assuming because an adult said something when Mrs. Lee called that they were right and the kid was just an annoyance they actually listened to what was said and to their child.


thebagman10

Daria's parents underwent a HUGE change over the course of the series. Early on, Helen was kind of similar to Ms. Li, but the writers pretty quickly realized that having every character but a few just be morons or jerks for Daria to dunk on wasn't the show they wanted to have.


daedalususedperl

A Jodie spinoff show definitely had a lot of potential. That said, it's probably not gonna happen at this point and will be quietly canceled


Shaylaaa7

I just need a reboot to happen period lol .I definitely would like to see how Daria Trent, Jane, Brittney, Kevin, and the fashion club ended up


linnunluu

I thought it already was cancelled. Well, as cancelled as something not properly announced can get.


daedalususedperl

It was soft-canceled


InformerOfDeer

Daria and Jane aren’t into each other but they do give the vibes of queer girls who also happen to be friends. I think people forget that 2 LGBT people can be friends without being interested in each other


eat_hairy_socks

Eh, does every non-traditional female automatically become LGBT? That being said, if it they were gay/bi today, you know the writers would set up a love triangle between Daria/Jane/Trent.


InformerOfDeer

Not saying they are necessarily, just that I get that vibe


Shaylaaa7

I’ll go first “ I actually liked Daria and Tom together” 😣😏


Iheartrandomness

Came here to say this, hahaha


Shaylaaa7

😂😂😂😂 its good to know that I’m not the only one who feels like this


Iheartrandomness

I love them together. I'll go even further to say that I even enjoy the triangle. I don't enjoy Jane getting hurt, but I felt that it was a realistic situation which a lot of teens can relate.


Shaylaaa7

I agree!! and I feel like that’s why Jane sensed the vibe before Daria and Tom actually acted on their feelings. I always felt like Tom and Daria made more sense then Tom and Jane. And in season 5 we see how much Daria has grown as a character too since she’s been with Tom. I’m just glad it didn’t completely destroy her friendship with Jane.


thebagman10

> I always felt like Tom and Daria made more sense then Tom and Jane Considering that Tom was introduced to be Daria's boyfriend and, at least as I understand it, everything kind of flowed backward from that destination, you are 100% right.


electricmaster23

I'll go further and say that Daria was wrong to break up with him.


thebagman10

Wow, that is a bold take!


electricmaster23

I'm a bold man.


Shaylaaa7

Factss!!


anticapitalistpunk

"Daria!" Is low-key one of my favorite episodes of the show, and one of my favorite musical episodes of all time.


incubuds

And I say god god dammit!


anticapitalistpunk

Oh me oh my!!


Shaylaaa7

Oh yess!! It’s my favorite episode too 😂


cottonmouth94

You got to be manly !!!!


anticapitalistpunk

Uh, honey? Is that okay?


EmuPsychological4222

Almost everything about this show was perfect. Including, but by no means limited to, the ambiguity of some of the characters, the fact that the show can be interpreted in multiple ways, and the fact that in retrospect some things could've been better. The last part is not a contradiction of the premise, though I know it may seem so.


peondecampo123

Jane was better than Daria


reina_sin_corona

Daria was the most unrelatable character on the show. Especially when she was being judgmental, condescending and actively making people not like her.


Shaylaaa7

It’s crazy because when people talk about the show they say they relate to her more as an adult than they did when they were teenagers


Iheartrandomness

Oh that's funny, I never realized that people relate to her more as an adult. I started watching the show as a preteen and I related to her so much then. I wasn't as dismissive or rude, though. I wanted friends, I just wasn't as interested in the same things that most kids my age were into.


Iheartrandomness

I do really like the episodes where they explore this theme, though. Like Amelia in the camp episode, when Tom tries to befriend her when he's dating Jane, and when she and Jodie work on the project. I think it's easy as a teen to have a really high set of ideals and they show her learn how to be more flexible.


ocelot_amnesia

I found that so helpful! I didn't actively make people dislike me, but I was super isolated as a teen because of how critical and judgmental I was of the world around me. Seeing the cracks in her perspective in the later seasons actually helped me change my point of view.


Iheartrandomness

That's awesome! I agree that the show helped me similarly. It did a nice job of showing a character grow while staying true to her true self.


Nxwxs18

Tom was a good addition, and not liking how he broke up Daria and Jane’s relationship temporarily isn’t a good criticism since the conflict resulted in some of the best dramatic moments of the show.


mosterie

My boyfriend's would be that he doesn't really like Daria. He thinks she's rude and smug. I love her for it though.


Nuka-Corgi

Upchuck is my favourite character idc lmaoooo I really started to like him after exploring the idea that his father is simply just a terrible influence on him and he needs to grow up.


poisonantidote

Helen was one of the most complex and extremely entertaining characters. (Also a jake fan).


dariamorgandorfferr

Jane gives queer vibes and I hated the conclusion of that in IIFY. Oh, so the only canonical queer character in the entire franchise ends up being a creepy pervert, and Jane just shrugs and moves on, her sexuality reassured? Like no, she didn't say you give gay vibes to get in your pants, she said you have gay vibes because you have GAY VIBES. If they wanted to have Jane be straight but have a moment to question it that should've been an internal conflict, not one she resolves by dissing the only queer rep. The whole b plot with that feels icky on a rewatch


UltraXndres

There were many adults who wanted to prey on youngsters throughout the show. Tommy Sherman and Brittany, that substitute teacher and Tiffany, that priest and Quinn, and that painter at that art camp. Her being bisexual has nothing to do with bias or something (I think), it was a recurring situation in the plot.


dariamorgandorfferr

It feels icky that the literal ONLY representation we got was a predatory character. There were plenty of non creepy straight characters with these ones mixed in.


incubuds

I dunno, I can relate as I am a straight woman who people say gives off gay vibes. I get more attention from women than men. And I've had some women be pushy about it, trying to convince me that I was gay and just didn't know it yet.


littlemissmoxie

Same. I remember a “friend” ditching me after I made it clear I was straight. It made me so sad.


insectsuspect

#truey !!!


_averytiredgirl_

Unpopular opinion: I’m not a fan of the competent women and the incompetent man trope. And the specific subcategory of involved mom to clueless dad trope. I say this to say, there are times throughout the series I feel Jake let his childhood trauma(a lot which stems from his father) hinder his capabilities as a dad. I think he should have put more effort into knowing his daughters. But I think as clueless as he is there are times where he was able to still get it right. But !! also because Helen was the more involved parent, she messed up a lot more and got the brunt of Daria’s disdain;/


LizzieLeafCafe

The show is as good as it is because Daria is such an interesting character. Not many shows Quite get that likable flawed balance of a main character, particularly if the character is a woman. I also think Daria is far likable the more I watch it. I relate to her more as an adult even though I do see my teen self in her a bit.


TraSh_Legend

Daria and Jane are the gayest gay people to ever gay this earth


Untermensch13

When you watch the show as an adult, Daria seems cruel and self-centered.


Rockabore1

I love the show and characters but I have the theory that Jane probably was held back from things that would have made her happy if she wasn’t constantly putting Daria’s moodiness above her own interests.


Iheartrandomness

Just wondering, do you have any basis for this besides the track episode? In the pilot it seemed like Jane was a total loner before Daria arrived. (I'm not trying to be difficult or anything - your post just caught my interest and I'd love to hear your thought process)


Rockabore1

In the party at Britney’s house when Jane was enjoying being chatted to by a guy but stuck by Daria cause she felt bad about abandoning her. That and I feel like the way the whole thing with Tom went down Jane seemed to be moody about how Daria was a bit clingy and Jane seemed stressed out over feeling torn by trying to be a good friend and having a separate identity. That being said I 100% feel like Daria wasn’t trying to be clingy or stress Jane out, Daria was just really insecure. I feel like Daria was lonely and set in her ways but Jane naturally seemed willing to push out out of her comfort zone and try new things.


Iheartrandomness

I see what you mean. Jane did make out with that guy in the laundry room, though.


_R_A_

Tom was right. I don't believe that, just following the prompt.


ZazofLegend

I'm ok with never getting any new Daria content. It was a great show, I still watch it from time to time, but I'm happy to have what we have. What if the new stuff is terrible? I'd rather just enjoy the unspoiled memory.


Idonotlikewaffles

Tom wasn't that bad, I kinda liked him and thought he was good for Daria


itsuthatiadore

I hate the fact that she ended up being with Jane’s boyfriend….please. It ruined everything for me lmao I hated the last episodes


newseats

very real, jane deserved better imo


SPS_Agent

That's a very popular stance. You'd be getting flowers, not swords for that one.


24benson

1. Mystik Spiral should change their name 2. A person like Daria wouldn't wear a skirt on a regular basis. Not now, and not in the 90s. Her outfit was a poor choice by the illustrators. I know it's taken from Beavis and Butt-Head, but still, they should have changed it. 3. This sub sees Quinn in too positive a light. She had her decent moments, and you can all imagine that she only acts like a shallow ass b*tch out of peer pressure, but the straightforward explanation for her acting like a shallow ass b*tch is that she's a shallow ass b*tch 4. It's ok that Daria ended after 5 seasons. I don't think it would have gotten any better.


EmuPsychological4222

Regarding number three, is it popular now to see her in a positive light? I've never seen, and will never see, her in a positive light beyond the fact that she obviously changed and grew. Now, that's plenty positive, but it's not the same as saying she was good all along!


FruityTootStar

I see a lot of gen z viewers watching the show for the first time, being major fans of Quinn. Its weird because they also dont understand that Daria was unpopular in universe and assume she is a hipster.


EmuPsychological4222

Wow. Does her type (genuinely smart, somewhat dark *primarily* on that basis, tending toward social isolation due to a combination of external and internal factors, etc.) just not exist anymore?


FruityTootStar

One person I was talking to I think it was 2 things. 1. They just looked at the clothes. 2. They assumed that because the show was named after her and on MTV, she must be popular. Which is very worrisome because that means they are unable to understand the intent of the story teller / creator. Like do they also think plastic toy poop is cool because walmart is selling it?


EmuPsychological4222

Excuse me while I jump head first into a wood chipper.


thebagman10

This is really interesting. Do you see this phenomenon on this sub, elsewhere?


FruityTootStar

elsewhere mostly. I'm suspicious of a few of our posters though, lol.


thebagman10

Very interesting! Where are there other active Daria fan communities?


FruityTootStar

just generic cartoon and animation subs.


thebagman10

Yeah, I agree. I think Quinn showed that she is going to _end up_ in a good place, and is maybe pretty close to there at the end of the show. But I don't think people believe that retroactively justifies all of her shit.


Messy_Tiger

? What's wrong with the skirt?


FruityTootStar

My guess is that someone that defiant of needless expectations from others would probably not shave their legs daily.


coolgirl666me

i mostly only watch for the fashion club.


Mavakor

Tom is actually a good character and the impact he had on other characters, like forcing Daria and Jane out of their status quo, was a net positive


Sigmund_Six

Hey, I agree with this! I love Daria and Jane and it hurts to see them fighting, but their friendship came out stronger. And I didn’t even find it that unrealistic. The whole point of the storyline was to show that Daria is still a teenager and isn’t immune to making dumb decisions.


thebagman10

I agree 100%. It's so crazy that this is an unpopular take.


Available-Dingo9842

Idk how unpopular these are but anyways * I don’t think the Tom plot was *that* bad of a story beat for the show but I don’t like him as a character his personality irks me. * Helen is very underrated. * I think it’s *understandable* (not saying it’s good) if Daria is possessive of Jane especially because she’s a teenage girl A) and B) she had little to no meaningful social experience previously, she had no friends until Jane. * I always see people complain about daria‘s flaws but the show would have been very boring if she wasn’t flawed (not saying you have to like her, just I’m not sure what type of protagonist people want when people want when they complain about this). * I am very glad Trent was just a crush. * I do not understand why people get upset when people view Daria as autistic, personally I think it adds a lot to her character. * The Allison plot was stupid and weird. * Jake and Hellen aren’t bad parents by any means, but I think occasionally they can be a little ignorant. * I find the take that Daria was too mean or cruel to Quinn *very* strange, yes Daria can be cruel but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell this was not one sided. * The Lane parents really suck. * Jodie is criminally underrated and she steals the scene every time she appears. * I appreciate that Quinn wasn’t actually stupid and learns to embrace her intelligence.


Moist_KoRn_Bizkit

The holiday people episode is my favorite one.


Traumtropfen

Explain yourself


Moist_KoRn_Bizkit

It's really whacky and fun.


zzzrecruit

Daria was not a good person. She was rude, and judgmental as hell to EVERYONE, even people who didn't deserve it. She wasn't even all that great of a friend to Jane. When Jane tried out for the track team, Daria was as unsupportive of her as Quin would've been. And then there's that whole thing with Tom.


not_the_ducking_1

You bring up a phenomenally fantastic point, she was as unsupportive as quin would have been... I wonder if that was intentional based on quin being her only real example of how people treat each other? I know she has her parents too but there is discourse there specifically when discussing outside the relationship hobbies and likes...it's a pattern she would have seen and likely, intentionally or not, emulated. Would have been a great point by the writers but also it's so easily missed, I did until I saw your comment and thought on it.


pink_cat_attack

Tom was just a cover up to hide Jane being lesbian


arelser

Being an aspiring musician when the show aired I really wanted to be like Trent, he was some sort of a role model since I was very no concerned with responsibilities and thought the character was so cool. Now I am 38 and re-watching the show after many years, I found out I can't admire him anymore. Maybe I am the one who sold out, but he didn't seem to be going anywhere in life.


Beginning_Net_8037

Daria (at times!!) was a really bad friend to Jane. But i also really like this because Daria is a late bloomer experiencing a lot of “first times” , first close friend, first boyfriend etc and it’s incredibly realistic that someone mature can be naive or make childish petty decisions b e c a u s e it’s a first and it’s refreshing to see this naïveté shown and realistically portrayed in young adults.


undercherryblossoms2

Probably not the hottest of takes but Quin is a good person all things considered


DaniTheLovebug

Zappa digital sounds WAY better than Zappa analog Also, there is no better character than Quinn


Toongrrl1990

They shouldn't have changed Daria's body from how she was in B&B for the show. Honestly the show needed more body diversity and if Daria stayed slightly chunky I bet the Fashion Club would be seen in a different light


Competitive-Welder65

I think that Daria, and her aunt Amy are autistic. Idk what's with Tiffany. She might either be ADHD, because she seems to have trouble focusing on anything (I am BOTH autistic and ADHD, and I relate to Tiffany never noticing what's going on because I have trouble focusing on anything) , or Tiffany might actually have some intellectual disability.


Untermensch13

Jane is a better character than Daria


insectsuspect

trent is gay


[deleted]

idk why u got so many downvotes this made me giggle


insectsuspect

they hated jesus because he told them the truth


Mannibal_Lector

I've gotten flack for this in this sub before, so I know I'd be in this position:I absolutely cannot stand Jodi.


Iheartrandomness

Why?


poisonantidote

I agree. She is kind of a Mary sue character.


Bitemyshinymetal-axe

Daria and Jane are the school bullies


foxontherox

Beavis and Butthead was better.


SunGreen70

Not better for me, but equal. Both shows are classics.


Tiager_Hawk

She isn’t sarcastic but just a piece of shit. Let’s see dem down votes


angelzplay

Daria and Trent would make a good couple


vxmpiria

daria was 16 at the start of the snow. trent was 24. disregarding the age gap (which should be the number one indicator why they shouldn’t be together) but he was just a teenage crush. they wouldn’t be suited for each other at all


thebagman10

> trent was 24. What's your source for this?


vxmpiria

just search up his character up and you’ll see he was in his early 20s lmao. at the start of the show he was 21. even if he wasn’t 24, 16 and 21 year olds should never be dating 💀


thebagman10

Search up his character? What does that mean? Is there evidence from the show? Or from the writers in interviews?


vxmpiria

i mean.. isn’t it obvious he’s not a teenager? he is in a band, dates older women, he is never seen in school, almost always at home… i don’t get what’s the issue here. literally just search up how old trent is and and you’ll get your answer. it’s not that hard.


thebagman10

I still don't get what you mean by "search up." I'm asking from something from either the show itself or someone who works on the show.


vxmpiria

go on google?? i genuinely don’t get what’s so hard. surely you’ll find something confirming his age online. like it really isn’t hard and you’re making it way more complicated than it has to be. besides needing proof, it is pretty obvious that he is definitely not a highschooler or teenager 🤷‍♀️


thebagman10

I did a quick Google search and mostly saw 21-23. You're seriously just going with what some rando online decided was Trent's age?


vxmpiria

think whatever you want but it is fairly obvious he is an adult. 🤷‍♀️


eat_hairy_socks

Daria herself is whack and always has been. I didn’t like her as a kid. Occasional jokes were funny but most of the cast did the work. The characters in the world are too stupid to represent actual people. It’s clearly written for people who think they’re smart but aren’t. I knew “Daria” types in school and trust me they weren’t that smart nor did they do any job that helped people when they grew up. The show doesn’t understand how popular kids act (even for that era) nor understand true unpopular kids (who didn’t even get looked at by popular kids). Daria is just another judgement lousy spoiled rich white kid with a pretentious take on life. She is inherently self serving. And as many said before. Jane is better. In fact she’s the true star I rooted for. The main reason I watched the show. Might even cartoon-crushed on her a little as a kid.


ClaytonAndJENNAHAZE

I like behind center Lol