After Kevin and the rest of the football team (except Mack) get perfect scores on a history test, Mr. DeMartino heavily suspects they stole the answers and threatens to fail the entire class if Kevin doesn't confess. The following night Daria has an elaborate dream where she finds herself in the middle of Kevin's murder investigation as the number one suspect and must clear her name. Problem is there are plenty of other people who wanted Kevin dead as well...
This episode provides examples of:
- Acceptable Breaks from Reality: Even when the audience is aware that most of the episode happens inside of Daria's dream, there's a lot of elements that Daria inside the dream doesn't consider weird and show that nothing is real.
- Suddenly Daria's locker is big enough to stuff Kevin's corpse inside.
- Somehow, Jake decides to switch from publicist to private detective, and then police officer. The same with Helen going from lawyer to police officer.
- Mr. O'Neill and Mrs. Barch have no problem making out in the middle of Kevin's funeral and in the school hallway, when they have only been intimate in private.
- Despite Ms. Li's paranoia using school funding on absurd security upgrades for the school, she purchased an electric chair, and wanted to send Daria despite innocent just so it already was made with Daria's measurements.
- All Just a Dream: It's established fairly early in the episode that Kevin's murder is a dream Daria's having.
- Apathetic Citizens: The episode ends with Kevin being strangled by Mr. DeMartino for real with no one reacting.
- Berserk Button: At the end of the episode, Mr. DeMartino decides not to fail the entire class because it would be unfair to the others, opting for making everyone retake the test, and still couldn't prove that Kevin stole the answers for the football team. Cue to Kevin arriving making a bad joke about having being shot, which makes Mr. DeMartino snap and strangle him for real in the middle of the classroom.
- Bluffing the Murderer: Daria claims she put special paint on her locker which only the guilty party would have on their hands. Jane, Brittany, Mack, and DeMartino all check their hands and Daria reveals her bluff. Only after Jane admits she was one of the killers she remembers she never went near Daria's locker in the first place. For that matter, neither did Brittany or Mack since DeMartino is the one who stuffed Kevin's body in the locker.
- Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: Ms. Li brags she's using Kevin's murder as an excuse to violate the privacy of people who have nothing to do with the case, and then realizes what she just said.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Kevin is ultimately murdered because he refused to admit he cheated on the test.
- Jane wanted him dead because he cost her an 84 she "Worked all her life for." Mack was sick of being called "Mack Daddy." Brittany was about to lose her place on the cheerleading squad. And Mr. DeMartino thought his "Pathetic portrayal of a corpse is an insult to widows, and orphans, AND ME!"
- Dream Episode: The majority of the episode, specifically the section concerning Kevin's death, is a dream Daria has after falling asleep in front of her TV upon returning home from school.
- Dull Surprise: Kevin's dead body dropping out of Daria's now oversized locker only elicits Daria questioning when her locker got so big.
- Et Tu, Brute?:Kevin: Et tu, Mack Daddy?Mack: I told you not to call me that!
- Everybody Did It: Kevin was poisoned by Jane, beaten by Mack, shot with an arrow by Brittany, and strangled by Mr. DeMartino. Oh and Ms. Barch kicked him.
- Flanderization: An in-universe example. Several people are more exaggerated in Daria's dream then they are in real life, an indicator of how Daria sees them.
- Kevin is so annoying he manages to piss off Jane, Brittany, Mack, and Mr. DeMartino enough to murder him.
- Quinn says Daria is "Our cabana girl's adopted cousin."
- Ms. Li is eager to have Daria electrocuted for a murder she didn't commit and uses Kevin's death to violate the privacy of people who have nothing to do with the murder.
- Helen and Jake are completely useless and later lead Daria away to the electric chair even after she proves she's not the killer.
- Ms. Barch's only dialog consists of declaring her happiness that Kevin's dead at his funeral and lustfully having sex with Mr. O'Neill in the school hallway.
- Daria herself is exaggerated in that she is the Only Sane Man to the degree that she's the only smart and rational person and ends up getting constantly screwed over and eventually put to death.
- Kick the Dog: Ms. Barch's response to seeing Kevin dead on the floor was to kick him in the shoulder.Ms. Barch: It's gonna be a good day!
- Last Disrespects: Kevin's funeral consists of insults and Ms. Barch declaring she's glad he's dead because she wishes all men were dead.
- Not Quite Dead: Jane thinks Trent was killed in his bed, but it turns out he was just sleeping.
- Not So Stoic: Daria learning Trent might be dead gets more of a reaction out of her than Kevin's body falling out of her locker.
- No Sympathy: No one except Mr. O'Neill is particularly upset about Kevin dying, and no one's particularly bothered when Ms. Li decides to have Daria executed anyway.
- The Other Darrin: Discussed in-universe when Tiffany keeps hanging around Upchuck's Angels until Sandi blurts out she won't be part of the team until "Quinn leaves over creative differences."
- Police Are Useless: Parodied when Daria's parents show up at the school as police officers to arrest Daria. Naturally the two are totally incompetent and even drag Daria away to the electric chair despite Daria proving who actually killed Kevin. Jake's particularly inept.Helen: Jake would you please act like you're the law around these parts?
- Red Herring: The gun in Daria's locker, found just after Jane accurately guess Daria will most likely find some supposedly incriminating piece of evidence Ms. Li will jump all over as proof of Daria's guilt. It's a water pistol belonging to Quinn.
- Shout-Out: Daria's dream includes numerous references to several mystery shows. Justified seeing that she fell asleep with the tv on.
- The title refers to Murder, She Wrote and even has a shot of Daria riding a bike like Jessica Fletcher.
- Daria's later seen driving a car similar to Columbo.
- At Kevin's funeral, Daria and Jane are dressed like Magnum and Higgins.
- The Fashion Club become Upchuck's Angels.
- Jake as a bumbling, mustached detective and shouting "Sacrebleu!"
- Daria riding a horse through city streets
- There's No Kill like Overkill: Kevin's poisoned, shot with an arrow, beat over the head with a golf club, kicked, and strangled.
- Too Dumb to Live: Kevin and the rest of the football team besides Mack believing they could really get away with perfect scores on the test with no one suspecting how completely unlikely that would be.Brittany: Kevvy, what's that A doing on your paper?Mr. DeMartino: Why Brittany, that's the most INTELLIGENT question you've asked all year!Brittany: Thanks!
- Whole-Plot Reference: To several different mystery TV shows.
- With Friends Like These...: The Jane in Daria's dream lets Daria take the fall for murdering Kevin and doesn't even protest as Daria's led to the electric chair despite Jane and the rest admitting they killed Kevin.
- Women Are Wiser: Even Brittany could see how Kevin and the football team obviously cheated on the history test.
