Gifted

“Gifted” was the eighth episode of the second season of Daria (episode number 208). It first aired on MTV on June 29, 1998.

"Gifted" was written by Peggy Nicoll.

Summary
Daria and Jodie spend a weekend with their parents at Grove Hills, a school for gifted and exceptional students. They discover that "gifted" doesn't mean the same thing as "worthwhile knowing." Quinn is left home at Lawndale, and tries to spend the night with various members of the Fashion Club, but either wears out her welcome (Sandi, Tiffany) or flees (Stacy).

Daria's Reading Material

 * In the opening scene, Daria is shown reading an anthology of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories entitled The Telltale Heart and Other Stories, which Brittany mistakes for a romance novel.


 * In the final scene, Daria and Jodie compare reading material: Daria is reading Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness while Jodie is reading Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People.

“Gifted” and Fanfic
Very little has been made of Grove Hills and its "elite" cadre of students, and few fanfics have explored the alternate-universe possibilities of Daria attending school there. A signal exception is The Trouble with Veronica, a story by Brother Grimace that has the fanon third Morgendorffer sister, Veronica, electing to attend Grove Hills to avoid conflicts with her sisters.

Other Fanwork
Scissors MacGillicutty made a sound collage of Stacy's line to Quinn, "Don't tell anybody this, but I like you best out of everyone in the Fashion Club," over the beginning of the Concerto for Orchestra by B&eacute;la Bart&oacute;k entitled Stacy/Bartok/Fear. Stacy's voice is digitally slowed down and deepened, and thick reverberation added; his intent was to accentuate the lugubrious, Single White Female-esque implications of the line. However, more than one fan could not recognize the voice as Stacy's, so he considers it a failure.

On “Gifted” the Episode

 * “Gifted” summary at Outpost Daria
 * “Gifted” transcript at Outpost Daria