>>118584878Pretty much this.
Also remember the show starts out as a surreal parody itself. Everyone is a caricature arc-types, to the point of being almost disfunctional (and would be, if their world were not calibrated for their little niches). The 2nd wave feminist 80s Super-Lawyer yet slightly neglectful mom, the traumatized but well meaning father, the jock, the cheerleader, the hippie-happy "everything's special" teacher, the angry bitter teacher, the high aiming Asian principle. The list goes on.
Daria IS part of that parody. She's the snarky outsider girl, and she is famous because that largely had NOT been done before in cartoons or media. She was in many ways a trend-setter for things we take as common tropes now days when they appear.
If I remember, Daria even acknowledges that she's got her shields up, can't trust people (yet), is too quick to judge, too wounded to try, and she's a parody in her own niche like those she criticizes. (She criticizes herself sometimes too, but far less because she does less.)
The show starts out as that parody but slowly many characters develop more depth, gaining flaws, weakness, advantages, skills, etc. I personally love the way Jake is handled. I love Mr. DeMartino and Mr. O'Neil by the end.
She is clearly a much more developed person by the end, along with some others, and that journey is fun to watch.
