"That Was Then, This Is Dumb."

I liked this one, but it wasn't the best. I can sum up the brunt of the excitement I felt for this episode in one proper noun: Jesse. An admitted Morenoite, I was ecstatic to see him again.

However, I think I'm really tiring of the Daria-Trent plot device. I know, you're saying "Road Worrier was the only one! How could you be sick of it?!?!" Two words there: Fan Fiction. We're all to blame here- MTV for waiting so long between episodes, and all the writers (myself included) who wrote the 10 or so Daria and Trent Hook Up stories. I felt like I was just reading another fanfic that I'd read a hundred times. The best point for me was when Jesse pulled the "Boy Who Doesn't Care" thing. Even though I like Jane, and I like Jesse, it was beautiful to see the writers not pair them off, because two couples would just get sickening. I felt bad for Jane- I know rejection, but I felt happy to know that at least I won't have to see any Jane-Jesse business. I think it will be interesting to see how the show deals with Daria's ongoing feelings for Trent (which seemed semimutual this ep) and that perhaps this infatuation may run for some more episodes. What I'd like to see is an episode where Quinn gets interested in Trent. That would be neat.

The interaction between Helen and Jake and Willow and Coyote were fairly run of the mill, although I was surprised to see Helen attempting to get earthy again. The flashbacks to the '60s were probably the funniest thing about it. "Damn five-sided building!" Ethan didn't strike me as the type that Quinn would fall for- in the past, slouchy brooding guys weren't her bag. I guess it was just one of those days...

Overall, a good effort squelched by fanfic. Oh well, no fault of MTV's, I guess.

Eagerly anticipating next week,

-Superfan Katherine