Summary: When Daria is hospitalized with a mysterious ailment that covers her face with a bright, red rash, she finds out just how many friends she really does have at Lawndale High.

Full Synopsis: When Daria and Jane attend a Mystik Spiral gig at the Zon, Daria gets two unexpected surprises: she meets an incognito Brittany in the bathroom, and she discovers that she's developed a mysterious rash on her neck and face. Not wanting Jane and the band (especially Trent) to see her like this, she ditches them and gets a ride home in a cab. In the morning, Daria discovers (to her relief) that the rash has disappeared, then has to fend off an overly concerned Jake, who's become convinced that Daria may be taking drugs. At school, Daria's rash returns while she's in Mr. O'Neill's class, and when an uncharacteristically helpful Quinn is unable to do anything for her, Daria is forced to see the school nurse. The nurse sends her to her family doctor, who's equally stumped as to the cause of the rash, so he admits her to the hospital for tests and observation. Helen is freaking out over Daria's condition, Jake is freaking out over his suspicions of drug use, Quinn is freaking out over the very cute doctor that's treating Daria, and Daria just wishes the whole ordeal was over. To that end, she asks Jane not to tell anyone where she is, but Jane accidentally lets it slip to Brittany, who then tells Kevin, Jodie, and Mack. After a bad night's sleep (complete with requisite nightmare), she gets a visit from Jane, and when she figures that no one else at school even knows she's gone, she's shocked to see Brittany, Kevin, Jodie, and Mack arrive, all of whom are concerned about her and wanting to see how she's doing. Daria is finally sent home after the doctors determine that her rash was caused by anxiety, and when Helen and Jake tell her how proud they are of how well Daria handled the situation, she comes to realize that, despite their less-than-stellar parenting, they really do care about her. Jane then arrives to pick up Daria for another evening out, and when she informs her that Trent (who's standing next to her) will be giving them a ride, Daria's rash returns at lightning speed.

Trent Watch: This is the first time we get to see all of Mystik Spiral (I figured that one of them would be bald). It also wasn't that surprising that Trent was one of the causes of Daria's mystery illness (he does produce anxiety for Daria, after all [anyone that doesn't know this hasn't been watching]). Even though part of the cause was predictable, it didn't take away from the story.

Super Rash: What was the cause of that mysterious illness? A burger? A dirty night club? Drugs? Anxiety? Well, it could have been any or all of these things, but I've never seen (or heard of) any rash that comes and goes that quickly. I guess I can accept it, though, since it would be hard to wait too long for something like this to develop naturally (it would take at least two or three episodes just for it to start to emerge; this is an animated program, not a soap opera.

Running Gags of the Week: Anyone who is familiar with me may know that I'm not a big fan of repeated jokes in an episode. However, I think that they were handled quite well here. Mrs. Sullivan provided us with a vivid dream sequence where Daria thought she was dead, and I for one didn't expect to see her alive. Brittany's hair was... never mind that now! The running gags as a whole flowed well in the story and didn't fell like an afterthought. They didn't seem tacked on and I guess that's good.

Jake's Road Rage: If the man has a heart attack, it will be sooner than later. I have to say that Jake's scenes made this episode for me, I laughed out loud at almost everything Jake did (he's living up to the "flying off the handle" description), especially his mad rush to the hospital and watching the drug tape.

Drug Dealers: Maybe it was Brittany's brain that dripped onto Jane's shoes. Her first deal with Daria was out of the fear that she would tell Kevin about Terry (or Jerry or whoever). The second deal was much more sinister since Brittany didn't know she was making a deal "until it was made" (Jane didn't even remember why they made their deal). Her strategic intelligence, as seen in "The Daria Hunter," was short lived; I don't see her mastering hostage negotiations any time soon.

Dealed: No, Daria is not on drugs. She isn't happy, vibrant, or involved, either. Is she not well adjusted? Possibly, but right now this is the best way for her to deal with everything around her. Will she change? Probably, because everyone does. But this is what works for her now.

Even though this episode was somewhat fast paced, it flowed together nicely. It showed, to me, that Daria has some friends, or at least people who care about what happens to her (see the scene where everyone is in Daria's hospital room; I know it was Saved By the Bell-ish, but it was touching). Some of them may be misguided, but they do care. "Ill" is one of the best episodes of the second season.

Grade: A

Daria as a Whole (Bad Pun Alert): The clock in the Morgendorffer's kitchen still is missing its hands, I guess no one had the time (oooh) to fix it. This could also be a continuity check since most of the time (oooh) the clock is hand-less. Maybe it's not really a clock.

Copyright © 1998 Mike Quinn [All Rights Reserved]. Used with permission. The views presented here are those of the author, and may or may not necessarily be those of Outpost Daria Reborn.