Gifted

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Daria and Jodie spend the weekend with their families at a school for the gifted, learning along the way that not all the students at said school are worth knowing. Quinn, meanwhile, spends the weekend hopping between the houses of her Fashion Club friends, unable to find a combination that works for her.

Previous: The New Kid

One of the main differences between Daria (Tracy Grandstaff) and her sister Quinn (Wendy Hoopes) is the importance they put on social networking; while Daria sees it as as an occasional option, Quinn instead sees it as a marker of who she is as a person. The more friends that Quinn has, the more popular she becomes, and for her popularity is everything, but Daria's view is that she needs to be herself, regardless of whether or not people like her.

This episode is, in part, a character study of Quinn, who whines at the top of the episode that she doesn't want to go her family to Grove Hills, but on learning that she's not invited she immediately complains that it's not fair that she's not allowed to go, complaining simply because she wants to bribe her parents into paying for her silence. First Quinn goes to spend the weekend with Sandi (Janie Mertz), wherein the two act incredibly passive aggressive toward one another until Sandi finally tells Quinn to stay instead with Tiffany (Ashley Albert). Though Tiffany is, at first, glad to have Quinn's company and opinion, she proves to be so incredibly insecure about her body that Quinn eventually snaps at her, wearing out her welcome and being made to stay instead with Stacy (Sarah Drew). Unfortunately, Stacy's eagerness to please only highlights the fact that she's trying desperately to become more like Quinn, dressing in a matching outfit and suggesting they dye their hair the same shade, scaring Quinn to the point that she decides to stay elsewhere. In the end Quinn shows up at Jane's (Hoopes) door, an arrangement Jane only agrees to out of sympathy for Quinn's fear of being home alone and her weariness of having to try to fit in among her popular friends.

At Grove Hills, Daria manages to offend the other students by pointing out the moments that they're speaking rudely of other students, and though Jodie (Jessica Cydnee Jackson) agrees with Daria's stance on the issue, she instead follows the other students in an effort to keep in their good books. Despite her greatest efforts, Jodie eventually reaches her breaking point and tells the ring leader exactly how terrible he really is. Later, in conversation with Daria, Jodie points out Daria's negative views on life are self-defeating, telling her that she's missing out on stuff because she doesn't open herself up, and while Jodie identifies with that school of thought, she explains that she can be whoever she wants at home, but at school she's seen as "the queen of the Negroes," and has to work harder in order to be accepted. Daria and Jodie become much better friends in this episode, and even though they have different approaches to how they live their lives, they also understand and respect the ways in which each other operate.

Daria and Jodie are chosen to attend the Grove Hills school for the gifted, and Jane is quick to jokes that she "knew those straight Cs in math would pay off someday," which only highlights how ridiculous it is that Daria was chosen at all. There's no explanation given for why Daria was chosen, and while Jodie seems like the perfect fit, maintaining perfect grades and joining a myriad of extracurriculars, there are surely students more academically brilliant than Daria.

Jodie's mother Michelle (Laurine Towler) is shown to take offense to absolutely everything that Helen says to her, often noting that Helen's comments could take on racial overtones. Michelle's sensitivity to this topic does, indeed, make sense in relation to Lawndale as a whole, but it's a little over the top here and simply makes Michelle seem incredibly vindictive.

The voices in this episode are all spot-on, everyone hits their notes perfectly and provide a very enjoyable viewing experience. The regulars all have a feel for who their characters are, and the newcomers here seem to have chosen their intonations wisely and play off the others quite well.

Directors Eric Fogel and Tony Kluck highlight the similarities between Quinn's friendship with Sandi and Helen's relationship with Sandi's mother Linda (Mertz). Helen and Linda speak on the phone bragging about their jobs, their parenting abilities, their former popularity, and the successes that are in store for them, all the while Quinn and Sandi are shown discussing their own plans for the weekend, all of which directly disobeys their mother's wishes. Helen has the same relationship with Linda that Quinn has with Sandi, but the only difference is that Helen actively acknowledges her dislike for Linda, while Quinn maintains that Sandi is her friend.

Peggy Nicoll writes Daria with a reservation about private schools, having her state that she doesn't want to go to one because she's already at a school where kids think they're cooler than her and she doesn't want to be at one where they think they're smarter than her, too. Helen, on the other hand, wants Daria to go in order to make new friends and network, as the students at Grove Hills are likely to go on to great things in the future. Daria's opinion only starts to turn around when she finds out that the students of Grove Hills are as cynical about the world as she is, making her feel as though she belongs when Jodie has the exact opposite reaction. In the end Daria chooses to return to Lawndale High, as it's easier to deal with schoolyard bullies when they're dumb as opposed to when they're intelligent.

Though their views are vastly different on a number of subjects, the bond between Daria and Jodie is greatly strengthened here as they gain a better understanding of what makes the other tick. The division between Quinn and her friends is also made very evident here, hinting that, perhaps, Quinn's relationship with the Fashion Club won't last forever.

Next: Ill