Quinn the Brain

"Quinn the Brain" was the third episode of the second season of Daria (episode number 203). It first aired on MTV on March 2, 1998.

"Quinn the Brain" was written by Rachel Lipman.

Summary
In English class, Quinn has had a bad grade but she pays no heed until O’Neill mentions she must have an A the following essay or she’ll fail. Helen and Jake, warned by the teacher, try to insist her daughter studies harder, but their arguments make no progress and it takes Daria to convince her when she mentions that Quinn could become the oldest of her class if she fails.

However, Quinn tries to avoid working by bribing her sister to do the writing. After some negotiation, Daria accepts, only to refuse a moment later when Quinn unintentionally insults her. She reiterates her refusal hours later when Quinn has to cancel her date to work.

Quinn eventually writes an essay entitled "Academic Imprisonment", comparing school to prison. It so impresses Mr. O'Neill &mdash; despite glaring mechanical flaws and a petulant tone &mdash; that not only he gives her an A as he reads the text aloud and later has is published in the school’s newspaper.

The grade has unintended consequences: at the Morgendorffer’s, Quinn manipulates her parents into giving her money for the grade, a system Daria is quick to point the faults of by noting she had consistently maintained high grades for long. And, at school, the consequences are deeper: Quinn’s published essay makes her appear smart and intellectual. Her initial distress is soon gone as she transforms being smart into a fad.

Daria, who had first been eager for Quinn’s to be known as smart (as she tough Quinn would become an outcast), soon despairs when she sees, during the following days, that Quinn has maintained her popularity and is assumed among classmates and teachers to be a good writer, despite her writings being awful. That perception causes Daria to suffer an identity crisis and she tries to talk with her father about it - admitting that she doesn't like the identity she's saddled with, but if it's 'stolen' then she's "got nothing". Unfortunately, Jake's response devolves into a panicked rant about his own failed life, ending with a plea to Daria that "You're still a young man! You don't have to live with your mistakes! Get out while you can!" She retreats, dryly commenting that "talking to you has made me feel better about myself" (he doesn't get it).

Meanwhile, Quinn has her share of problems: with so many girls following Quinn’s example and wearing black (imitating Quinn’s intellectual poseur), a furious Sandi suspends Quinn from the Fashion Club. The later confides in Jane that she thinks everybody’s making a big deal of her essay.

Daria continues to despair that nobody notices Quinn's writing is rubbish and that she's losing the "brain" role to Quinn - and since Quinn's "a brain with bouncy hair", "I can't compete". Unwilling to end up as an even less popular brain, when the Three Js approach her to get things back to normal, she works out a plan - one she knew would work all along but couldn't "bring myself" to do before.

That evening, at the Morgendorffer’s, Daria takes a photo of Quinn, marked with a detailed list of 'attributes', and procedes to make herself up to resemble Quinn. When the 3 J’s arrive, loudly stating they’re coming to take Daria out ("by the way, how's Quinn?"), Daria starts to show off her new look in full view of her sister. After a few seconds, Quinn panics and flees for the J's, conceding defeat.

The next day, everything is back to normal, as Quinn has reverted to her old self and clothes, has stopped pretending to be smart and quickly downplays her essay. A haughty Sandi accepts Quinn’s apology and lets her into the Fashion club again. Daria and Jane remark everything's back to normal - i.e. "Thinking: bad".

Trivia



 * Daria remarks to Quinn, "You could be left back and be the oldest freshman at Lawndale High." This puts this episode during Quinn's first year at Lawndale High, and fits the 'two season = a year' theory of Daria timelines.


 * Quinn's essay, Academic Imprisonment, is reproduced in The Daria Database.


 * When Jamie White talks in the first scene, he has a different voice actor to normal. The usual actor comes back later.


 * "Through a Lens Darkly" shows Daria can barely see without her glasses, so how the heck did she manage to Quinn up after she'd taken them off?!


 * Daria already owned a long pink T-shirt.

Daria's Notes on Quinn
Her guidelines on the photo are:


 * "Midriff flesh exposure: 3 inches. Check navel for lint."


 * "Hair bouncy, shimmering, highlights. Oh just try to do something"


 * "Jeans: Cute. Posture: Fun. Attitude: Happy. Prognosis: Hopeless."

Daria's Reading Material
In a scene where Quinn attempts to bribe Daria into writing her essay, Daria is reading Joseph Heller's Catch-22.

Daria's report for Language Arts is on Death of a Salesman, and titled He Had It Coming.

O'Neill's letter to Helen
On the DVD, O'Neill's letter about Quinn's grades was legible, reading:

Dear Mr Morgendorffer, Mrs Morgendorffer, and/or caretaker,

As your daughter Quinn’s Language Arts teacher, it is my sad duty to inform you that Quinn is not working up to her potential and is in danger of failing Language Arts, which I teach.

''Now, I use the term “working up to her potential” deliberately, for it is my belief that all students have the potential to soar like eagles (educationally) when their imagination and interest are engaged, and in fact Quinn’s imagination and interest are engaged, just not by school or anything to do with learning in any shape or form. Ironically, I myself have learned quite a bit about current skort styles and materials by listening to Quinn and her friends, but unfortunately this does not help her grade. Would that it could!''

''In any case, I thought you should know about Quinn’s poor performance so that together we can help bring her grades up. When teachers and parents work together as partners, Look [sic] out world, nothing can stop us now!''

Sincerely yours,

Timothy O’Neill

“Quinn the Brain” and Fanfic
This episode is a common rationale for the trope that Daria, underneath her unflattering clothing and behind her "Manstopper glasses", is incredibly physically attractive (although some would argue she already is). Quinn's reaction to Daria's appearance at the end of the episode lends some creedence to this viewpoint (although her reaction may simply be due to the perception of Daria trying to be like her, without regard for the level of success). A number of alternate endings to this episode have been written as a means of allowing the "cute" Daria to last longer than the trip from her room to Quinn's door.

A novelization of this episode has been written by Martin J. Pollard.

On “Quinn the Brain” the Episode

 * Episode Guide at Outpost Daria
 * Transcript at Outpost Daria

Alternate Universe Versions of “Quinn the Brain”
The story A Tale of Two Brains, by Richard Lobinske, of the John Lane series, has a somewhat altered version of this episode.