"Boxing Daria" is this show at its best. I loved the episode's structure, that has the refrigerator box trigger Daria's troubling memory from childhood, and uses the rest of the episode to have her slowly piecing together and reacting to what happened.
Season 5 has been, in large part, about Daria recognizing her own faults, stepping outside her own, often unyielding perspective, broadening her horizons, and showing a great deal of personal growth. This episode was the perfect capstone to that, with her concern over being a burden on her parents, and her hurt that even they see her as a misfit, turning into a recognition that her parents understand her better than they let on, and appreciate and love her for who she is, and that, in turn, makes Daria appreciate how lucky she really is to be raised by these people she's so apt to resist.
Much of this show has centered on Daria's misfit status, and closing out its regular season with one last 3,000 foot view of how Daria feels about being an outsider, how its shaped who she is and who she's always been, was a wonderful way to approach the end of the series. As strong and distinct and interesting as Daria is, her greatest flaw is myopia (figuratively, though she probably has literal myopia as well). Being able to look at herself a little more clearly through her parents' eyes, and with their respect, take a step toward being more social like leading a freshman tour, was a wonderful bit of symbolism to show the potential for growth and change in Daria without taking the character away from the sarcastic non-joiner we've come to know and love.
There were also a lot of wonderful little grace notes to help tie up the series here, from a call back to the ink blot test from the series's premier, to Daria telling Jane she's the person that Daria trusts most in the world, to Quinn saving Daria's box. Even the deft way the show handles how a child remembers their parents' fights, or depicts how the uber-popular Quinn was once just an energetic toddler feels well-observed and trenchant. There's a heart and complexity to the best episodes of this series, and "Boxing Daria" had both in spades, from a complicated look at the conflicted feelings an outcast like Daria feels, to the strong bonds of friendship and family she's built despite that. I'm still looking forward to "Is It Fall Yet", but "Boxing Daria" is a strong a note for this series to go out on as any.
Agree with everything you said here. It was a really well written and constructed series finale, something very rare in television thanks to abrupt cancellations or just shows outstaying their welcome.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2016-01-26T01:45:07Z
"Boxing Daria" is this show at its best. I loved the episode's structure, that has the refrigerator box trigger Daria's troubling memory from childhood, and uses the rest of the episode to have her slowly piecing together and reacting to what happened.
Season 5 has been, in large part, about Daria recognizing her own faults, stepping outside her own, often unyielding perspective, broadening her horizons, and showing a great deal of personal growth. This episode was the perfect capstone to that, with her concern over being a burden on her parents, and her hurt that even they see her as a misfit, turning into a recognition that her parents understand her better than they let on, and appreciate and love her for who she is, and that, in turn, makes Daria appreciate how lucky she really is to be raised by these people she's so apt to resist.
Much of this show has centered on Daria's misfit status, and closing out its regular season with one last 3,000 foot view of how Daria feels about being an outsider, how its shaped who she is and who she's always been, was a wonderful way to approach the end of the series. As strong and distinct and interesting as Daria is, her greatest flaw is myopia (figuratively, though she probably has literal myopia as well). Being able to look at herself a little more clearly through her parents' eyes, and with their respect, take a step toward being more social like leading a freshman tour, was a wonderful bit of symbolism to show the potential for growth and change in Daria without taking the character away from the sarcastic non-joiner we've come to know and love.
There were also a lot of wonderful little grace notes to help tie up the series here, from a call back to the ink blot test from the series's premier, to Daria telling Jane she's the person that Daria trusts most in the world, to Quinn saving Daria's box. Even the deft way the show handles how a child remembers their parents' fights, or depicts how the uber-popular Quinn was once just an energetic toddler feels well-observed and trenchant. There's a heart and complexity to the best episodes of this series, and "Boxing Daria" had both in spades, from a complicated look at the conflicted feelings an outcast like Daria feels, to the strong bonds of friendship and family she's built despite that. I'm still looking forward to "Is It Fall Yet", but "Boxing Daria" is a strong a note for this series to go out on as any.