Biting Wit With a Side of Sarcasm, Inc.

imadamselimindistress:

Jane: You don’t care about what happened.

Daria: How can you say that?

Jane: You’ve been treating it like, “Oh well, another stupid day.” The guy died.

Daria: I know he died! I’m sorry he died! But I’m not going to pretend that he was some great person when he wasn’t. People aren’t upset because Tommy Sherman died, they’re upset because they’re going to die.

Jane: That’s understandable.

Daria: Okay, but you know what I’ve been hearing? “You know how I feel, Daria. You’re gloomy. I knew I can talk to you, Daria. You’re always miserable.” Tragedy hits the school and everyone thinks of me. A popular guy died, and now I’m popular because I’m the misery chick. But I’m not miserable. I’m just not like them.

Jane: It really makes you think.

Daria: Funny. Thanks a lot. (starts to leave)

Jane: No! That’s why they want to talk to you. When they say, “You’re always unhappy, Daria,” what they mean is, “You think Daria. I can tell because you don’t smile. Now this guy died and it makes me think and that hurts my little head and makes me stop smiling. So, tell me how you cope with thinking all the time, Daria, until I can get back to my normal vegetable state.”

Daria: Okay.

(From here.)

I loved this ep. The “guy” that dies was a douchebag star quarterback alumnus of Lawndale High who was killed accidentally by a breakaway goalpost (erected in his honor), moments after Jane casually wished he would die in an accident after applying his asshole schtick to Daria.  

Jane kept ducking Daria because she didn’t want to deal with it, and this scene happened when Daria (With Trent’s help) finally confronted her, and the two of them worked it out.

Daria: You didn’t cause his death.

Jane: You’re not the Misery Chick.

<pause>

Daria: He shouldn’t have died.

Jane: No.

<pause>

Daria: But he wasn’t a nice person.

Jane: Nope.

So not only do we have Jane accurately pointing out how society’s superficiality keeps them from fully appreciating things that happen to and around them, but we also have the Idea that you can mourn the death of people who sucked, but their death doesn’t magically make them not suck.

TL;DR Daria was way deeper than the times it aired in, especially the early seasons.