A school dance is coming up, and Sandi tricks Quinn into organizing it, then throws her own party the same day. Quinn, however, manages to pass her duties onto Jane, who has been looking for a way to do a massive art project—she paints the walls in the style of Jackson Pollock. Meanwhile, Kevin and Brittany are suffering from a temporary break-up, and attempt to make the other jealous. At the dance, Daria and Jane meet some interesting guys, only to learn something terrifying about them.
This episode provides examples of:
- All Men Are Perverts: Exploited by Sandi and Quinn when they convince the guys to a hit a party with girls in miniskirts and bikinis or the dance where the girls will be in halter tops.
- Annoying Younger Siblings: Sandi's younger brothers left the Fashion Club locked outside of the house and ignored their pleas to get in.
- Bittersweet Ending: Discussed and Played for Laughs by Daria and Jane in a "Pros and Cons" listing. The Good: Jane got to do her Pollock tribute in the gym. The Bad: Quinn got all the credit. The Good: They met handsome twins with awesome personalities. The Bad: They were related to Upchuck. What weighed the night as an overall Good was the Fashion Club girls locked outside in their bikinis as it stars snowing.
- The Bro Code: Both the football players and the cheerleaders refuse to date Brittany or Kevin, respectively. The exception is Robert, because he doesn't know what's going on.
- Cock Fight: Kevin picks a fight with Robert out of jealousy and ends up with a broken jaw. Also Joey, Jeffy and Jamie start to fight with Quinn's dates, to her utter delight.
- Death Glare: Poor Stacy's attempt to stick up for Quinn comes to a screeching (or rather, squeaking) halt when Sandi shoots her a threatening look.
- First-Name Basis: Brad and Brett are pretty much the only people in the series to refer to Upchuck as "Chuck".
- For the Evulz: There was absolutely no provocation for what Sandi did in this episode beyond humiliating Quinn, and it's one of the few times where she's at her absolute worst.
- Hates Being Touched: Quinn apparently won't slow-dance until the fifth date, and freaks out when her dates try to do it.
- High-School Dance: The plot centers around Quinn being tricked by Sandi into heading the dance committee and Jane signing on when she sees an opportunity to use the gym for a personal art project.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Sandi's scheming backfires on her when all the guys she invited to her party ditch it because it was so boring, and later Sandi, Stacy, and Tiffany end up locked out of Sandi's house in their bikinis while it snows.
- Manipulative Bitch: Sandi pulls this trope to the fullest in this episode when she senses a prime chance to make Quinn utterly miserable. To wit, she browbeats Quinn into volunteering to lead the dance committee, makes a big stink when Quinn gently states Sandi's own idea isn't practical, and then purposefully plans a party the same night of the dance so all of the popular guys won't show up. Thankfully, Sandi's plan is a failure because her party sucks and the dance turns out to be a big hit due to Jane's artwork.
- Nice Guy: Robert, who had absolutely no clue that Kevin got the football team to swear off on going to the dance and feels bad that Brittany's not enjoying herself.
- Operation: Jealousy: Brittany and Kevin both try to pull this off after they "break up," though only she succeeds. It's particularly obvious near the end, when she suddenly starts kissing Robert as she notices Kevin nearby.
- Party Scheduling Gambit: Sandi tries to pull this off, scheduling her own party on the very same day as the school dance. Unfortunately for her, her party stinks, and the boys who came abandon it for the dance.
- Relationship Upgrade: Implied. This is the episode when Mr. O'Neill and Ms. Barch go from "random flings" to "actual relationship".
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
- Jane and Daria immediately flee after discovering that Brad and Brett are Upchuck's cousins (and after one of them imitating Upchuck’s flirtatious purr).
- The boys all flee Sandi's party when it turns out to suck, especially after the big football game gets preempted on TV due to bad weather.
- Secondary Character Title: The episode is entitled "Daria Dance Party" yet Daria herself plays a supporting role, the main foci being on Quinn and Jane.
- Shout-Out: Ms. Li warns the students against rigging up a bucket of pig's blood to the rafters at the school dance.
- Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Brad and Brett. Unfortunately, they’re Upchuck’s cousins.