Line #7 TearJerker/Daria


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/source_5.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Poor Daria...]]
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4	[[AC: General]]
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6	* Trent is the only one in the Lane family that Jane can truly count on and vice-versa.
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8	[[AC: Season 1]]
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10	* "The Misery Chick", arguably the GrowingTheBeard moment for the show. Everyone has to reconcile with the sudden death of Tommy Sherman, [[NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead especially since he wasn't a nice person in life]]. Daria and Jane even have a schism form between them because [[WhatTheHellHero Jane feels Daria isn't taking it seriously enough]], and Daria starts to take umbrage when everyone comes to ''her'' because [[TheEeyore they assume she's just miserable in general]] so she'll understand how they feel. In the end, there's no easy answer for anybody.
11	-->'''Daria:''' [[DueToTheDead He shouldn't have died]].
12	-->'''Jane:''' No.
13	-->'''Daria:''' [[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk But he wasn't a nice guy]].
14	-->'''Jane:''' ...No.
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16	[[AC: Season 2]]
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18	* In "See Jane Run", Jane joins the track team and becomes a big athletic star. Daria talking to herself is funny until it hits you that she's doing it to compensate for Jane being busy with practice all the time. Jane is her only real friend in the world, and not seeing her really takes its toll on Daria.
19	* In "Write Where it Hurts", Daria is frustrated about her inability to complete a writing assignment. Helen, after initially upsetting Daria due to her own stress problems, helps Daria to come up with a writing premise. Just hearing Helen speak so knowingly about Daria, which indicates that she cares far more than Daria realized, is touching. But the real kicker is the story itself: She writes about her family, years in the future, happy and well-adjusted. Her sister is raising a family, Daria's a professional writer, her father is much more relaxed and her mother is content. Underneath all the layers of cynicism and sarcasm, she loves her family and wants what's best for them all. Helen wasn't the only one tearing up after she read that.
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21	[[AC: Season 3]]
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23	* There's a small and easy to miss moment in "The Lost Girls." When the Morgendorffers are having dinner with egotistical and deluded magazine editor Val, Daria delivers a small and somewhat scathing explanation on the concept of "Edgy," that is, the idea of marketing executives engineering "This fake concept of seeming to be dangerous" when everything they do is mass produced, planned in advanced, and meant to suck the spending money out of society's younger generation. When Daria finishes speaking, Quinn suddenly looks very depressed, as if she was actually listening to what Daria was saying and understood it. And by understanding it, it's one of those moments when Quinn is forced to face that all the things which make her popular, the clothes she wears, the music she likes, the movies she sees, also make her part of the same bland, faceless crowd that is being willfully exploited for their money. The moment doesn't last long, but it's one of a few times in the first half of the series when Quinn is legitimately saddened by something.
24	* During "Daria!", when Daria and Jane are hiding with Brittany and Kevin and trying to wait the storm out, the girls are pretty sure their families haven't even realized they're not around. Of course, Daria's parents are trying to get a hold of her at that very moment... but Trent wouldn't even 'know' there was a storm coming if the phone hadn't woken him up.
25	* In "Lane Miserables", Trent says he once lived in a tent in the yard for six months, waiting for someone to invite him back inside. What makes this even sadder is that his mother relates this fact, earlier, but under the oblivious impression it was a childhood quirk or Trent expressing his artistic sensitivities.
26	* "Through a Lens, Darkly" shows Daria at her most vulnerable. She decides, after much agonizing, to get contact lenses; it's initially for practical purposes (the [[{{Meganekko}} thick glasses]] she wears are blocking her field of vision), but she also knows that it will change her appearance considerably, and her entire public persona is built around the idea of not caring what others think. Her first day at school wearing the contacts is a mixed bag--Brittany and Kevin call her "almost normal", Jane is clearly surprised, and Trent genuinely compliments her appearance--and leads to a nightmare about her looking monstrous for "selling out." The next day, Daria hides in a bathroom stall near tears, because she feels like she's betrayed herself for having the perfectly-understandable desire of wanting to feel good about her looks. It's tough to see someone as [[TheSnarkKnight snarky]] as Daria facing such a crisis--and even tougher when you realize that she's struggling immensely thanks to the perfectionist standards she's put on herself.
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28	[[AC: Season 4]]
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30	* The outcome of Mr. O'Neill's effort to teach success through failure in "The F Word" was nothing but pure despair for almost everybody, especially for Brittany and Kevin. They may be idiots, but that doesn't mean you can help feeling bad for them. O'Neill himself is very affected after he saw how badly things went.
31	* In "I Loathe a Parade", Tom and Jane head off together, leaving a paint-splashed Daria behind. Tom steals a longing glance back at Daria, who fades into the distance looking utterly lost.
32	* "Of Human Bonding" has Jake and Daria on a plane en route to a seminar. Earlier in the episode, Helen suggested to Jake that they could bond during that time. Jake thought to himself that maybe he should resolve his DaddyIssues and try to be a better father for Daria, while Daria ponders if she should let her guard down and let her father know that she loves him. Only small talk about peanuts and goldfish escape their lips.
33	** For the first (and thankfully, only) time, we get a flashback to Jake's time in Military School. Jake is shown at the top of a climbing rope, paralyzed with fear of the height. The Drill Instructor (presumed to be the infamous Corporal Ellenbogan) callously tells Jake he's leaving him up there for the night, and then mentions he told Jake's father about it. Mad-Dog's response: Don't bother coming home for Easter.
34	** Quinn and Sandi each have nightmare of one cutting the other's hair off and both waking up with their hair horribly disfigured. Awaking suddenly, the girls each brush off their nightmares, but both lie back down with a very unsettled look. It really hammers home the reality that these girls really don't like each other.
35	* Helen's BreakTheCutie moment in "Psycho Therapy": ''"Everybody hates me."''
36	** And unfortunately, Jake and Helen weren't exactly wrong with how they were portraying each other. Jake uses his DaddyIssues to avoid responsibility, and Helen does have a tendency to act like ItsAllAboutMe. "Lane Miserables" opens with Helen making a big deal about how families should spend time together and feels the need to bring up how she had to rearrange numerous meetings that could impact future dealings so she could be there. She then wonders aloud why she even bothers when no one acknowledges what she just said.
37	** The way Jake slumps back into his chair after berating Helen shows that he got no pleasure out of it.
38	* In "Groped By An Angel", where Quinn becomes obsessed with what she believes is her guardian angel, she has a crisis of faith and asks Daria for advice. Daria takes the blunt tactic of simply stating that until proven otherwise, she doesn't believe in any afterlife. Something about the way Quinn says "But... that's so sad..." is just heartbreaking.
39	* Jane's situation in "Fire!", as it becomes increasingly clear her relationship with Tom is failing. Meanwhile, Tom and Daria (who is staying at Jane's house temporarily) are getting along a lot better. Jane and Trent both seem to notice the brewing attraction between Tom and Daria, and when Trent points it to Daria at the end, she seems deeply unsettled by the implication.
40	* The end of "Dye! Dye! My Darling". After "The Kiss", Jane tells Daria that she and Tom broke up, and then they argue about the events leading up to that point. At the end, they break off their friendship (at least until "Is It Fall Yet?").
41	** That whole episode is full of depressing moments. From Jane forcing Daria to dye her hair which is very clearly an excuse to pick a fight, to Jane and Tom breaking up, to Daria's incredibly out-of-character sadness and urge to talk to her mother about it, to Daria telling Jane she and Tom kissed and Jane getting so mad at her.
42	** In the series' original airing, the song "Friend Is A Four Letter Word" plays during the end credits.
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44	[[AC: Interlude TV Movie: Is It Fall Yet?]]
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46	* Daria and Jane's friendship is still in tatters after Daria starts going out with Tom. Jane is cold towards Daria, who desperately tries to instigate a genuine talk with her friend only to be rejected. When Daria and Jane finally have a heart-to-heart, Jane admonishes Daria for wanting to go out with Tom, regardless of what it did to their friendship (even though Daria really didn't want to lose her friend). Jane even admits she was wrong to say she was alright with the relationship initially, as she knew she deep down she wasn't, implying Jane is just as mad at herself as she is with Daria.
47	* Daria has finally made a bond with the outcast boy at the summer camp she is volunteering at. He starts to open up to her, so that she can help him... and O'Neil comes waltzing up and interrupts, making Daria's attempts at friendship sound more like manipulation. Incensed, Link storms off, followed by Daria, both looking like they want to cry at how everything went wrong in a matter of seconds.
48	* When Quinn's tutor rejected her and she began to cry in Daria's room. It was the first time she actually really ''liked'' someone, and for more than superficial reasons. For the first time in her life of guys blindly worshiping her, she gets rejected. It was one of her rare moments of genuine vulnerability to a guy.
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50	[[AC: Season 5]]
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52	* In "Life In The Past Lane", Jane starts dating a guy who's extremely into 1940's fashion and music. Because it's her first date since breaking up with Tom (and the infamous kiss), Daria and Tom both admit they feel responsible for Jane's social life. It's clear the circumstances of Tom and Daria's relationship isn't lost on either of them.
53	* "Boxing Daria", the entire episode. The sight of an over-sized refrigerator box causes Daria to [[RepressedMemories recall parts of a childhood memory]] of her in bed, overhearing an argument between her parents and her dad storming out. This memory keeps nagging at Daria and leaves a real strain on her, until she finally remembers what the argument was about: Jake and Helen were fighting about her, due to the collective stress of working aggravating jobs ''and'' being called in by the school because Daria wouldn't socialize with the other kids. The box was important [[SecurityBlanket because Daria had one just like it when she was younger that was a sort-of haven.]] The entire episode has Daria on the defensive and very insecure, and even the normally flighty Quinn is rather unnerved. Seeing her be that emotionally vulnerable without bursting into tears and thinking that she's a cause of constant and unwarranted stress on her parents and family because she chooses not to socialize and "be herself" is almost painful. This is something that just about everyone has gone through in their life, and it's hard not to sympathize with Daria and be a little awed by her when you realize she began to reconsider the decisions she's made and wonder if she may have been wrong in making them the way she did.
54	** It also hits ParentsAsPeople hard at home too. Turns out that while they did have a fight about Daria's problems in school; Jake and Helen were struggling working bad jobs they had to work and all the petty stresses just exploded with Daria being the final straw. Daria takes it all as her fault (and given the fight at the time, it's perfectly understandable). Jake and Helen were completely over-stressed and took it out over their child. While not right to do; its not uncommon for people to well up and explode.
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56	[[AC: Finale TV Movie: Is It College Yet?]]
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58	* There's something incredibly tear jerking about Kevin and Brittany's implied separation, probably due to the fact that out of all the relationships in the show, theirs was always the closest and the happiest.
59	** One still feels sad for Kevin, who is left behind by his classmates in high school and then by his girlfriend.
60	** And let's not forget about Daria's break-up with Tom. While Daria is convinced it is the right thing to do, she is genuinely heartbroken. Tom seems to take it even harder.
61	* Trent encourages Jane not to pursue art school as it could potentially stifle her creativity, and she seems to agree. Later on, Daria convinces Jane to apply anyway and when she asks Trent to drive her to the post-office to mail her application, he shows his disappointment by silently handing her the keys, and only saying "later" after she leaves. It marks what is perhaps the only time in the series Trent is noticeably upset with his sister. It turns out Trent was scared of the possibility of losing Jane, who in all fairness has been his closest companion in life (though Jane is quick to assure him that won't be the case).
62	* Quinn gets her first real job at a restaurant, and makes friends with one of the other hosteses, Lindy. Unfortunately, [[TheAlcoholic Lindy has a drinking problem]], and throws Quinn under the bus when their boss discovers a screwdriver at the front counter Lindy had been using to nurse her hangover. This results in Lindy being fired, and Quinn trying to confront her about it, but Lindy simply deflects by countering that Quinn was just trying to make a "nasty little accusation" to get back at her. As soon as Quinn is gone, Lindy angrily goes to the fridge for a beer. Later on, Lindy makes a gift for Quinn as a peace offering, and tries to downplay her drinking, saying that she quits "all the time" to prove that she can, and doesn't acknowledge her problem.
63	** The "Where are they now" segment at the end suggests that she ends up with Allison of "Is It Fall Yet?" but the canonicity of this moment is in question, and even if it's taken as canon, it isn't given much to show if it's a healthy or happy relationship, especially given Allison's use of alcohol to attempt to ply Jane in the previous movie.
64	** Just the way Lindy tried desperately to save her job after the screwdriver drink was discovered. After Quinn made it clear she wasn't going to lie for her, Lindy tried pinning the blame on one of the male workers, then one of the waitresses, then finally insinuating it was Quinn's screwdriver. That last one just made both Quinn and their Boss pity her in her desperate situation, where the latter just begs her to come clean. Despite her plea, the Boss firmly fires her on the spot.

Context TearJerker / Daria