Tom Sloane
Tom Sloane is a "rich kid" with the interesting distinction of being the only character on the show to have dated both Daria Morgendorffer and Jane Lane. And, indeed, he is the only character we actually meet who has seriously dated Daria, period (if you don't count Robert or Ted DeWitt-Clinton).
Character Overview
Tom Sloane is a rich teenager who has certain characteristics in common with Daria. Specifically, he is intelligent, well-read, and cynical, and he is not afraid to show it. He was introduced in the episode "Jane's Addition" and indeed was the titular "addition" of that episode. He has a younger sister, , with whom he appears to have an ambiguously hostile relationship.
It is directly stated by many characters on the show that his family is not only rather wealthy but is also quite powerful. His interest in this wealth and power varies considerably. For example, when first introduced he is driving a Ford Pinto which, due to its being both a dangerous car and a lousy one in almost every respect can be seen as a clear attempt by Tom to escape or at least not be associated with his family's immense wealth. However, by the end of the series he is not only gleefully going to attend the pompous, Ivy League school known as Bromwell, but is also using his family's influence to get Daria in as well.
His family's wealth and power was a source of tension between him and Daria before and during their relationship.
The "Love Triangle" Story Arc
In the episode "Jane's Addition," Tom was introduced and began dating Jane Lane in very short order. They met at a Mystik Spiral gig while Daria was briefly absent. The amount of time Jane spent with Tom was a source of tension between Daria and Jane for many episodes afterward, much as Jane's dates with Evan had been ("See Jane Run").
Daria and Tom, however, had a lot in common. Though Jane was never portrayed as stupid, she was definitely not as "book-smart" as Daria or Tom.
By the episode "I Loathe a Parade," however, it was clear that the tension between Daria and Tom had blossomed into something else. Throughout the next several episodes, the two began a strange flirtation, which did not go unnoticed by Jane. ("When," she asks bitterly, "did I become a third wheel in my own relationship?") In "Dye! Dye! My Darling," Daria and Tom shared a moment known as The Kiss in Tom's car. This betrayal nearly ended Daria's and Jane's friendship. Daria's relationships with both Jane and Tom were not fully resolved until Is it Fall Yet?. At the end of that movie, Daria and Jane's friendship was revealed to be stronger than the boy-drama, and Daria decided to pursue a romantic entanglement with Tom. As far as anyone knows, this was Daria's first romantic relationship of any kind. Daria's and Tom's couplehood was the source of many episodes throughout the remainder of the series. It finally ended in Is It College Yet?
Fan Controversy
Tom's potentially ending the relationship between Daria and Jane (the central relationship of the show!), and effectively sealing the fate of the flirtation between Daria and Trent Lane, caused Tom to be a very controversial character. The Kiss generated enormous antipathy for both Tom and Daria, as described in the essays below under "External Links."
Fanfic Stereotypes
Evil Tom
Because of the Triangle issue, Tom was occasionally portrayed as basically unfeeling and cavalier of the attitudes of others. This stereotype has been parodied and taken to the extreme in several fanfics, painting Tom as the driving force behind global evil. (See Kill Tom Fic.) This trope has become wearisome to many fans, but still it lives on (see Tired Daria Fandom Tropes).
The "Evil Tom" stereotype was on some message boards referred to as "Thom."
Tom-Who-Belongs-With-Someone-Else
The outcome of the Triangle led some fanfic writers to speculate that Tom properly belonged with someone else entirely. This issue has been examined in a number of shipper fanfics, creating pairings such as Tom/Quinn and Tom/Jodie, most of which are implied to have turned into successful relationships.
Trivia
Tom is the only character we meet to have actually "dated" Daria, in the sense of having a mutually-understood, ongoing, romantic relationship. However, he is not the only date Daria's ever had. The double-date in The New Kid clearly counts (wherein Daria was escorted by the not-terribly-bright Robert). Ted DeWitt-Clinton's strange and sweet "courtship" of Daria, in that same episode, also would count. Daria's unexplained drop-off at home late at night in The Big House also might count, especially in light of an interview with the series's creator wherein he floated the notion that it might be Robert who dropped her off. Perhaps unfortunately, Daria's flirtations with Luhrman in the episode I Don't would probably not count for most people.
It is not clear at all, as well it shouldn't be, how far Daria and Tom went physically in their relationship, just that no intercourse was had. This gap has led to some speculation in fan fiction, both pornographic and "normal" (and has predictably produced some pornographic fan art).
Bromwell, where Tom's parents went to college and where Tom is off to at the series's end, is thought by many fans to be modeled after Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The distance from Raft, in Boston, makes Harvard (in nearby Cambridge) an unlikely model. Tom's attendance of that school continues a family tradition, in what was clearly meant to be a parody of the "family legacies" so often present at Ivy League schools.
Tom's initial car is a Ford Pinto, considered to be among the more dangerous cars ever made. (It had a habit of exploding when rear-ended.) Later, we see him driving what appears to be a well-used Jaguar, a car more fitting of his station.
External Links
In-depth studies of Tom Sloane’s character and his role in the TV series may be gleaned from these essays.
- First March 2005 interview with Glenn Eichler on DVDaria, with a long, interesting answer to the question, "Why Tom?"
- January 2006 interview with Anne D. Bernstein on DVDaria (see individual questions)
- “The Other Side of the Kiss: An Examination of the Infamous ‘Love Triangle’,” by Kara Wild.
- “Anatomy of a Tom Hater: Why There Is So Much Anger Towards Tom Sloane,” by Kara Wild with help from Alan Benard.
- “The Fall of Tommunism,” by CINCGREEN.
- "A Rant About 'Evil' Tom," by John Takis
Tom-centric Fanfiction
As will be seen, fanfiction about Tom is not always hostile to him.