Did Daria Actually Like Tom?
Around the end of season 4 did Daria actually have feelings for Tom or did she think that she had feelings for Tom because everyone else (everyone else meaning Jane & Trent) was saying that she did?
I just watched the "Is It Fall Yet?" movie where Jane finds herself confused about her sexual orientation. She knew that she was straight, but for a while there she was worried that maybe she didn't know herself as well as she thought that she did because Allison said that she picked up a lesbian vibe from Jane & Jane was worried that maybe the world thought so too as well even though she herself isn't intentionally giving out those vibes at all. Granted it was hinted at that Allison herself was most likely lying about Jane "giving off gay vibes" so that she could get into her pants, but nonetheless it still had made Jane question herself.
I wonder if that's sort of how you could look at the whole Daria & Tom situation around the end of season 4. Daria knows herself better than anyone else would. And like she herself had said in defense of herself (prior to the Tom kiss, and I'm paraphrasing here) "I mean, yeah I don't hate the guy as much as I did originally, but I'm not romantically interested in him either." I feel like Daria was genuinely telling the truth (she would never lie to Jane anyway period). The same way that Jane was not "in denial" of her "true sexuality" I feel like Daria was not "in denial" about her "true feelings" about Tom. I feel like everyone else around Daria was trying to make it a self-fulfilling prophecy for Daria to get with Tom all but Daria herself (if that makes any sense?).