This Year's Model

“This Year's Model” was the sixth episode of the first season of Daria.

Summary
Ms. Li has invited recruiters from the Amazon Modeling Agency to scout for new talent at Lawndale High. The recruiters, Romonica DeGregory and Claude, will select a number of students for a special modeling class in the auditorium, and then award one of these students a modeling contract. Daria and Jane deride modeling altogether, both to Ms. Li and Romonica and Claude. Quinn, however, is quite enthused; she has been selected for the class in the auditorium and Romonica calls Helen to hint, quite unsubtly, that Quinn may be the winner of the contract. Helen allows Quinn to attend the class, but then asks Daria to go and keep watch on her sister. Daria agrees, but on cynical ground: she senses "potential for the total humiliation of Quinn here. I'd never forgive myself if I missed it."

Daria's Reading Material
Daria is reading Henry David Thoreau's Walden in the kitchen in the scene immediately following the class in the auditorium. This is for a school assignment: the opening scene has Mr. O'Neill trying (unsuccessfully) to engage Brittany Taylor in a discussion of whether Thoreau's retreat "to live deliberately" is a withdrawal from life or an attempt to understand its essentials. Walden is also referred to obliquely at the end of the episode, when her father exclaims in shock at the news of a scandal on the local news, "Does no one have any ethics anymore?" Daria replies, "Only you and Thoreau, Dad." After agreeing with his daughter, Jake goes off because he remember he has to "call that baby formula guy," presumably a reference to the ongoing Nestl&eacute; baby formula scandal.

Trivia
Among the Daria fan community, the ending of this episode may be one of the most controversial non-supernatural endings of the series history. It is often especially contrasted with the more "realistic" ending of the similarly themed Fizz Ed.

“This Year's Model” and Fanfic
In response to one of John Lane's remarks, Romonica DeGregory invites Daria, along with Quinn, to participate in the onstage class in the story, "New Model Year" by Richard Lobinske