Tuesday, June 23, 2009

The True Depths of Friendship...

Someone once said 'Friends help you move furniture. Real friends help you move bodies'.

Well, as this photo reminds us, Jane is a true friend. She let Quinn spend the night at Casa Lane because the copper-top was afraid to stay alone at home.

If you think of it - this is one of the biggest indicators of just how strong the friendship is between Daria and Jane. Not because Jane let her stay there (because Daria might have been annoyed otherwise - or not; after all, this was Season Two), but because Quinn saw Jane's house as a place of safety.

Personally - I'm actually surprised that Quinn knew where it was. Jane's home, that is.

Back on track. There's the notion that Quinn was actually scared (she actually begged to be allowed to stay) - and one must wonder if she considered before going over that asking to stay with the Lanes was certain fodder for Daria to tease her later... and she decided that it would be worth it. One also wonders if Quinn knew that, because she really was scared, that they'd probably go easy on her - especially with what Sandi and Tiffany did - and what Linda allowed to happen. (If I were Helen, I'd put my lawyer foot up Linda Griffin's officious ass for allowing her daughter to put her so-called 'friend' out on the street because of petty jealousy - and BTW, have Quinn and Sandi ever used that term to describe one another? In any regard, I can assure you that if I were Helen, I would have made someone cry after I got back.

If you think on that part of 'Gifted' - that would make an interesting fanfic. Quinn is ejected from the Griffin and Blum-Deckler homes because of pettiness (and in Linda Griffin's case, inattentiveness - ah, Linda, did it never occur to you that you were legally responsible for Quinn's safety?) and ran from the Rowe House (insert rim shot here) after the creepy, 'Stacy, dear, have you taken your Thorazine and seltzer cocktail yet?' behaviors showcased there. She has no other place to go except home, so she returns to Schloss Morgendorffer...

Let your imagination run wild as to what happens next. Oh, the possibilities for angst abound. Helen especially; she all but forced Daria to take a trip she didn't want to and sent Quinn over to Linda's house; Linda, because she totally failed to watch over someone else's child - and in the process, showed just how hopelessly inadequate she was at raising her own. (An interesting sidebar would be Chris and Sam Griffin both ratting Sandi out with extreme prejudice as to why Quinn was forced out, and how Linda never even bothered to check on Quinn, call around and look for her, inform the police that the teenager she's taken responsibility for has disappeared...)

It's when you look at moments like this, that one truly appreciates the friendship that Daria and Jane have. It's so strong that it allows Jane to feel a sense of responsibility for a spoiled brat and more (after all, she offered to buy a keg - and even if it's crap beer, that's still sixty-eighty bucks, plus the deposit on the keg, that she's tossing away on a person who won't even recognize her right to exist if they're walking down the same hall). Quinn annoyed Jane and more - you KNOW that Quinn found the best bed in the house and took it over, probably whined until Trent and Jane drove her home to get a nightgown and other things, and I can see her pouting until Jane fixed supper at Schloss Morgendorffer... and then, left the dishes for someone else to clean. And they didn't throw her into a ditch or just leave her to her own devices.

'Friends help you move furniture. Real friends help you move bodies.'

As I watched "Gifted" this weekend, with Quinn releasing copious amounts of verbal diarrhea into the air as Jane guided her towards home with one hand on her shoulder (and if there's ever been an image in Daria that should be commented upon at length or could launch a fleet of fanfic but hasn't, that should be it!), and Jane simply growled 'Take... her... now..." instead of leaping at Daria's throat for being the cause of it all, I thought to myself, 'Rarely are truer words spoken.'

5 comments:

The Angst Guy said...

This is funny, but I never thought of it that way, about Jane taking Quinn as a measure of Jane's friendship to Daria. Thanks!

E. A. Smith said...

I find that final scene interesting, especially when compared to the many fanfics where Quinn and Jane bond. Not to cast aspersions on the merits of such fics (many of which are quite good), but they do show how optimistic some fanfic writers can be in the field of intercharacter relationships as compared to how said characters were actually depicted on the show.

Gouka Ryuu said...

That still doesn't mean the character Quinn grew to become couldn't later befriend Jane.

gene said...

This is why I love Jane. A sense of fun and a sense of responsibility, and each in the right place as needed. I'd say she learned it from what she did not have while growing up.

Disco316 said...

Hmm, this gives me an idea. Not sure where it's going yet, but we'll see.