This is going to be kind of a rambling post, so strap in... :)

I watched "The Misery Chick" again yesterday, and something struck me about
it, in relation to the second season episodes we've been seeing so far.

At the end of the episode, Mr. O'Neill is discussing Alfred, Lord Tennyson, in
particular his famous quote, "It is better to have loved and lost than never
to have loved at all." Daria's analysis of this statement, I think, is the
thesis of a lot of the second season's shows.

Daria: Well, he's acknowledging that if something makes you feel good, like
       being in love, there must be a corresponding painful side, like losing
       at love. It's just a fact of life.
Mr. O'Neill: Sad, but true...
Daria: And what's intriguing about it is that no-one calls Tennyson a big
       unhappiness freak just because he understands that.
Mr. O'Neill: Is he a big unhappiness... "freak?"
Daria: No, he's a realist. He says that emotional involvement can bring
       pleasure *and* extraordinary pain. Then he declares that it's still
       better than never feeling anything at all.
Mr. O'Neill: That is *excellent*, Daria!
Daria: Of course, that was written before the advent of community property
       laws.

Now, let's look at "See Jane Run." Daria has an emotional relationship with
Jane; she has since the show started. (No snickering... you know what I mean.
They're friends.) She has experienced strain on that relationship twice now,
once in "Misery Chick," and now in SJR. She's felt some of the pain that
emotions can cause. But even if she understands what Tennyson was saying, can
she transfer that understanding to her personal life? She admitted to Jodie in
"Gifted" that she shuts herself off from people as a defense, and that she
might be missing out on things, but as she said, "It's what works for me now."

But how long can she go on like that? Let's face it: She *missed* the old Jane
in SJR. She wound up alone and talking to herself. Trent even seemed to be
more interested in his own problems than usual, and she's got no chance of
talking about this with her parents, they'd never understand. She needs Jane
there for her, as a sounding board, an equal, and as a friend. Jane's not
going to be there forever, though, and what will Daria do then?

What we've been seeing this season, then, is Daria's own words coming home to
roost. She understands, on an intellectual level, what she said in "Misery
Chick." We've been seeing her failure to accept it on an emotional level all
season. In fact, the great lesson Daria is going to have to learn throughout
the rest of the show is that she can't be an island unto herself, and that no
matter how much she despises the popularity contest that daily life is, she's
participating in it whether she wants to or not. Despite her best efforts,
there are people around her who care about her: Her parents, Jodie and Mack,
and even Kevin and Brittany. Even Sandi has a certain amount of respect for
Daria, coming to her for advice in "The Misery Chick," and clamming up in
front of her in QTB. (I think she realized that if she had actually confronted
Daria about Quinn, Daria would have shredded her. And Sandi can't have that
happen in front of her FC underlings.)

Daria is a classic Shakesperean "tragic hero." She's certainly the protagonist
of the show, and she is the character that most everyone here identifies with.
But she has a fatal flaw: her attitude. Whether or not she can realize that
for herself is the biggest conflict of the show as it goes into season 3, in
my opinion.

But that's just my opinion... I could be wrong. What do you think?

Chris