On hearing that this week’s episode was titled “Together”, I assumed a Hannah-Marnie reunion was in order. Hannah’s MSWord declaration that “A friendship between college girls is grander and more dramatic than any romance…” is as close as we got, and perhaps I would have more enjoyed last night’s hit-and-miss season two finale if we’d seen a little more of this drama, and a little more of this sentiment carried into action.
A Girl on Girls: I Know I’m a Mess (S2/E10, “Together”)
In Girls‘ last season’s finale, “She Did,” Jessa included the following prophetic statement in her wedding vows: “Your dreams are not what you thought they’d be.” It made sense then, because in the context of her wedding to Thomas John, we saw a bohemian malcontent settling for a 401K and high-rise apartment. Having spent the past few months taking in the second season, Jessa’s proclamation seems truer than ever. As a finale, “Together” shows us that finding love (or sex, […]
A Girl on Girls: What Other Way is There? (S2/E9 “On All Fours”)
“On All Fours” is a great way to jump back into what has been a largely impressive season of Girls, save for the last two episodes. It is a return to more genuinely affective plot lines without resorting to gimmicky shock plots or heavy editing. I think the only time I noticed a distinctive editing “trick” was when Charlie and Marnie were talking in his office and right before she leaves, the camera frames her point of view and then […]
A Guy on Girls: Adam’s Sad Drops, Hannah’s Ear Pops, & Kanye Cosplay Flops! (S2/E9, “On All Fours”)
In the year 2525, when they’re still running “TV’s 33 and ½ Craziest Moments, Part 2” on VH1 Jupiter, will the conclusion of last night’s Girls rank as The Ejaculation Heard Round the World? The Semen That Changed It All? Or will the legacy of this historic puddle end with a whimper, as Adam himself seemed to last night, faced with a partner who will either challenge his conventions or bore him to death?
A Girl on Girls: Sometimes He Uses Me as the Decoy (S2/E8 “It’s Back”)
This week’s episode of Girls could have easily been titled “Left Turn” instead of “It’s Back,” considering all the curve balls that get thrown at the audience. I don’t want to be a sour Sally, but I may or may not have said that this episode seemed to include a potentially jumping shark. All I’m saying is that if you’re going to make Marnie a singer, Charlie a successful startup guy (which felt like wish fulfillment and a revenge fantasy […]
A Guy on Girls: Inline Skates, Mystery Dates, and Counting to Eights! (S2/E8, “It’s Back”)
“It’s Back” is an episode about the internalized manifesting itself, and feeling a loss of control in the wake of others’ actions. Shoshanna runs into the arms of a man whose job isn’t much better than Ray’s, but who seems to be enjoying it more. Marnie yearns to sing Norah Jones style smooth jazz and ends up belting it out with abandon, a dream so buried that it’s been unknown to us to this point. Adam hasn’t had a drop […]
A Girl on Girls: I Manifested the Solution (S2/E7, “Video Games”)
Another week, another bottle episode of Girls. “Video Games” takes place outside the show’s chronology (except for including Jessa’s split with Thomas John) and only features Hannah and Jessa from the main cast. We get to meet Jessa’s dad (Ben Mendelsohn, playing an absent father with anger issues), his girlfriend Petula (Rosanna Arquette) and Petula’s oddball son Frank. It’s nice getting a peek into Jessa’s emotional and historical life world, but I’m not convinced it was worth leaving Brooklyn.
A Guy on Girls: Abandonment Issues, Fresh Parental Miscues, and Toiletry Tissues! (S2/E7, “Video Games”)
A trip up the Metro-North has long been an act of refuge for New Yorkers. But in “Video Games”, an all Jessa-Hannah production in which we meet Jessa’s louse of a father and not much else happens – was Lena Dunham riding the rails to get away from her own looming storylines?