Daria (TV Series) Jake of Hearts (1999) User Reviews

Jake has a heart attack

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 16 December 2012]

This episode has two main strands; at the Morgendorffer household Jake has minor heart attack and at school a pair of annoying DJs are broadcasting their morning show each day. Jake's heart attack leads Quinn to decide to become a doctor and Jake's mother pays a visit leading to some distressing discussions about how his father raised him. The DJs over-enthusiasm leads nicely to a confrontation with Daria where she tells them just why their station makes her 'mental in the morning'.

Given the main subject this episode is surprisingly funny; in fact even the moment Jake has his heart attack is laugh out loud funny; largely because he ends up facedown in the guacamole and it is quickly established that it is only a minor heart attack. The DJs are funny but only because they are no where near as cool as they thing they are... they aren't cool at all! Daria's deadpan delivery of her put down to the DJs was perfectly delivered and very funny.

Jake the human stress-machine.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 7 March 2011]

As usual, Jake is stressed out and angry. However, this time he lands in the hospital with a heart attack. It's not that serious, but the house is in turmoil. Jake is assessing his life, his bossy mother is visiting in order to take care of him, Quinn is obsessed with learning about heart conditions and Helen is ready to kill Jake's mom. As for Daria, as usual she just stands back and observes.

At the same time, a couple really obnoxious radio jocks have gotten permission to set up for a remote at the high school (the same ones who beat up Mr. DeMartino at the hockey game a season back). The guys are typical of suck radio personalities--untalented, unfunny and obnoxious.

So how are these two situations worked out? Well, Daria delivers two great little monologues--little speeches that put the jerks in their place and solve the problems. Way to go, Daria. See this one--it's a well written and enjoyable episode.

Father's Heart

[Rectangular_businessman · 8/10 · 8 February 2023]

"A few days ago, my father had a heart attack, forcing me to admit his mortality to myself for the first time. Accepting this grim new knowledge has been especially difficult as I've been under constant yammering assault by two utterly brainless and talentless so-called radio personalities. And so, for these reasons, I, Daria Morgendorfer, am mental in the morning."

We often take our family and loved ones for granted, don't we?

When you are young like Daria, it's easy to assume your parents and friends will always be there for you. Sometimes we even get annoyed when they get too overprotective...And then, when they are gone, we always regret not being nicer to them when we had the chance.

I think this an underrated episode. Some people find it "average" or "forgettable", but I think this one of these episodes which marked a character development moment for Daria. Jake's health issues were taken in a humorous light in the episode "The Teachings of Don Jake" , but here his health becomes a bigger issue, despite the heavy humorous elements of the plot.

Daria, for all her snarkiness, cannot help feeling worried for her family, despite not being very expressive about here true feelings.

It's not easy to accept the mortality of our loves, in the same it's not a pleasant thought having to come to terms with our own mortality.

Even when things turn out fine, and the status quo is brought back to normal as Jake humorously recovers, it's clear Daria doesn't have the same perspective of life as before, as her dialogue with Jane in the final scene clearly shows, underneath all the sarcasm.

Daria finally has a glimmer of optimism in her usually pessimistic mood, but also clearly has learned to value her family much more. Even Quinn, despite their constant bickering.

Even if the glass is still "half-empty" in her view, she clearly has learned to appreciate the good stuff from it.

Jake's ticker halts; Daria snubs DJs

[gstockley · 10/10 · 6 August 2016]

The story begins as two DJs from a local radio station show up outside Lawndale High to begin broadcasting their morning program on location for a week. Apart from playing cheesy pop songs, they reward students with cheap merchandise after asking them what makes them "mental in the morning".

That evening, at dinnertime, Jake loses his temper after Helen reprimands him for putting too much shredded cheese on his taco, which went against his doctor's orders. Ironically, he suffers a heart attack and ends up in the hospital. Because of this, Quinn quickly becomes obsessed with studying the human heart, and Jake's overbearing mother comes by to care for him after he became sedentary.

Now, it's evident that Jake's stress-related heart attack was brought on by negative reinforcement from his no-good father. However, as the story culminates, Jake is revived when Daria reveals his father was dead at his age, and she also publicly humiliates those two obnoxious DJs who have been bombarding her for a week, which I thought was the highlight of the episode.

This episode is highly recommended for any true-blue Daria fan. Not only will it make you laugh, but to some extent, it'll make you think.