Unpersons

Reading: "Turnabout Confusion"

Well, the sleep study is finally finished. I certainly did not get a lot of sleep. There was a twenty minute process of applying electrode leads to my scalp, face, heart, and buttocks. Then, the electricity was applied. It was painful...and in such small portions, too.

The biggest problems were that the bed was softer than I'm used to, and that with so many wires on me, it was hard to turn from side to side without worrying about dislodging something and having the tech come in and reapply everything. (The tech once came in to ask if I could sleep on my back for a while.) I still have this electrode gel in my hair; one shampooing will not be enough to wash it out.


Jane finally catches up with Daria at the end of the day. Daria states that regardless, she isn't enjoying herself. Jane is agast to learn that Daria has two dates that night. Jane reveals her anxiety -- is Daria in over her head -- but Daria states that anything that Quinn could do could never be that hard. Besides, it's personal now.

Quinn, however, has obviously not watched the film "How Not to Be Seen". (Python Pictures Ltd. Inc.) Her truancy is discovered by Ms. Li and reported to Helen, and Quinn is forced back into the classrooms. Tori and Brooke offer the kind of subtle torment that only catty high school girls can offer. Quinn easily parrys Tori's repartee, but Brooke is a bit tougher, spreading gossip in class to the "middle-popular" that QUinn is unable to hear. Quinn worries that Brooke might prove to be a real problem.

As the day comes to a close, Helen and Jake are left to deal with the fallout. quinn retreats to her room and provides no useful information. Daria, meanwhile, stays out to past 11 pm. Helen berates Daria for being late; Daria counters that she's earlier than Quinn.

Helen remains adamant. She criticises Daria's dress, claiming that Daria looks a little trampish, but Daria argues that this is how Quinn looks all the time. Furthermore, there was no hanky-panky between Daria or her dates.

Helen expresses her worry, stating that Quinn has been on more dates than Daria (and presumably, knows when things might be going too far. Daria, finding Helen's comment a disparagment, counters that Daria's lack of dating is something that Helen will no longer have to be concerned about.

(* * *)

I don't know what to think about this second little run of "Turnabout Confusion". Daria seems to have thrown herself into the Quinn role with gusto, maybe a little too quickly. We've gone from hardened cynic to popularity queen in the space of just two days. In Quinn the Brain, Daria was disgusted over the mere act of saying, "Hi! Could you get me a soda?"

Rather than seeing the consequences, I think seeing the process would have been a bit more interesting. Would Daria really have forced herself to make idle chat for three hours or so? This is the "Daria who would go to any lengths to win a bet"; I think this Daria is worth examining a bit.

As for Quinn, it's good to see that she still has her verbal repartee. However, I think that I've put my finger on the problem. Quinn has taken Daria's role as an outcast, but the question is, "then why is anyone worried about Quinn?" As far as we know, the popular kids never spent any time worrying about Daria. Outcasts are simply "not seen" in the world of the popular -- they are "unpersons" in the sense of the old Soviet Gulags. Why would Dawn, or Sandi, or Brooke spend all that time concerned over someone who has taken on the role of a non-person? The only conclusion one can come to is that all of the parties involved -- Sandi, Brooke, Dawn, et. al. -- think that this state of affairs is transitory, and they are now investing time in the hope of making it permanent.

Likewise, we know that Daria went on two dates -- but we don't know anything about how they went. It might have been a bit more interesting to be shown, rather than told. I'm aware that I've not read further; I only hope these issues will be addressed later on. I don't know what's the bigger problem -- that we know nothing about Daria's dates, or that we be presented with an abbreviated synopsis of them.