Lawndale High sets up a casino cruise night, where Quinn is worried that her date may have stood her up, Mr. DeMartino struggles with a gambling addiction, Jake gets seduced by his client's wife (who also tries to seduce Mr. O'Neill), and Daria and Jane try to get some sleep after staying up all night to watch a Sick, Sad World marathon.
This episode provides examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer: DeeDee, the hot-to-trot wife of boat owner Lee, takes an immediate liking to Jake. He's horrified. She later tries to seduce Mr. O'Neill.
- Damned by Faint Praise: Trying to avoid succumbing to his addiction, Mr. DeMartino offers all his chips to Daria, saying it's for not making him as suicidal as her classmates do. When she declines, he turns to Jane, and all he can come up with is she's angular.
- Dumbass Has a Point: When Quinn says Marco plans to stop by later, it's Tiffany of all people who immediately points out they're on a boat. Quinn deflects by reminding Tiffany that helicopters exist.
- Foreshadowing: The episode ends with a ship sinking. So does the next episode, metaphorically speaking.
- The Gambling Addict: DeMartino. He tries to get out of chaperoning just to avoid being around casino games, but Ms. Li isn't having any of that. Predictably he loses big at poker and has to go around trying to sell his watch.
- Helping Another Save Face: When a model who asked Quinn out on a date fails to show, Daria covers for Quinn by telling the Fashion Club that he'd called to say he was working late (which ironically turns out to be true later).
- Laser-Guided Karma: As usual, Sandi tries to humiliate Quinn starting the rumor she was stood up. At the end of the episode, Sandi's date breaks up with her in front of everyone.
- Pet the Dog: Daria decides to back up Quinn's lie about Marco being retained at a photo shoot to shut Sandi up. When Jane points out that Daria did something nice for her sister, Daria attributes this to sleep deprivation.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Since leaving the boat itself isn't feasible, Daria and Jane bet all their chips on a roulette wheel spin, predictably lose, then head out to the deck to try and catch some Z's.
- Skewed Priorities: Oh, Quinn."Sandi is always accusing me of being shallow, but I think a lot about important stuff. Like, what about all those poor people in those other-world countries who can't afford professional grooming assistance?"
- Sleep Deprivation: Daria and Jane plan to stay up all night watching the Sick, Sad World marathon. They make it until just after dawn.
- Stop Drowning and Stand Up: The cruise boat crashes into a garbage barge, everyone has to evacuate and there aren't enough lifeboats (in fact, there was only one lifeboat that accidentally drifted off). Luckily, they are only a few meters away from the shoreline and just need to stand up.
- There's No Kill like Overkill: A segment of Sick Sad World features a woman who stabbed a guy to death. Repeatedly.Woman on TV: I didn't mean to hurt him!Daria: The knife just slipped. 67 times.
- Too Dumb to Live: Ms. Li thought it was a good idea to rent a cheap boat with only one lifeboat for a mandatory casino fundraiser.
