Originally posted at the DL May 2015
Hurray for clear season markers on the full series set of like 60 episodes.
The first thing I find myself thinking about season 1 on the whole (aside from "wow Brittany sounds weird without her full squeak in the first episode or three") is just how much the seeds for everyone's final character development are present from the very beginning. But let's not dwell on that too much, seeing as these aren't strictly retrospectives.
One thing that actually stands out in these early episodes though is just how much focus Quinn actually has. And the Morgandorfers in general, but especially Quinn. The show gives off the impression of "Daria and Jane basically Greek chorus/snark and the absurdity of life through small town misadventures" but actually watching the show, at least in this season, how Daria relates to her family and the compare/contrast with Quinn in particular are far and away the most dominant aspect of the show. One of the things that stood out, and part of why I wonder just how much of the characters were planned from the outset, is that even in the first episode you can see that Quinn is amazingly savvy, and is actually putting conscious effort into being perceived as airheaded to be liked/nonthreatening/to manipulate. Her skill at getting people to do what she wants isn't just impressive, you can actually see the effort she's putting into it.
Daria similarly is doing the same thing, except instead of trying to get people to act a particular way, she's putting a lot of thought into controlling people's perception of her. And while obviously the show spells this out by the end, it's really noticeable from the start. More interesting in this season though is how we can actually see the cracks in Daria's shell of indifference already. She very noticeably doesn't react to everyone the same way despite her first and usually only response to anything being snark; with classmates there's a certain resignation to the stupidity of it all. But with adults? It's more of a seething anger. These people are letting all the injustice and stupidity run rampant even though they, unlike Daria, can supposedly do something about it. It's sorta surprising going back to the series, but it's pretty consistent.
I love watching Helen and Daria spar. Realest relationship in a pretty danged grounded show.
Best Episode: Pinch Sitter. Sort of a microcosm of everything listed above, with the added bonus of a fairly upbeat ending: Daria actually gets to make a difference!
Weakest Episode: The Lab Brat. One of Daria's strengths as a show, or at least in Season 1, is how grounded it is; sure, one high school student probably wouldn't have all these plots in one semester, but as someone that was indeed in high school for most of the years between 1997 and 2002, yeah, those are all definitely things that could happen in a high school of the time. So while this episode has some decent humor, the absolutely cartoonish level of misandry Barch has here kinda takes me out of the show. You could dial it down a notch without blunting the intent of the character. As well, Quinn being so effortlessly stymied by Kevin without retaliating at all feels off.
Rating: 7/10. Lowish end of 7, but feels too strong (and too consistent) for a 6.
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