TV Recap: Girls - "She Did"

Left to Right: Jemima Kirke and Chris O'Dowd

I am going to attempt to keep up a weekly entry recapping the brand new HBO comedy series Girls, written, starring, and directed by Lena Dunham of Tiny Furniture fame. While the episodes usually premiere on Sundays, my entries will be posted towards the end of the weeks, usually on Thursdays or Fridays. This is more of a time convenience as I hope to take this new venture seriously and take time to review each episode. If this goes over well, I will continue to do more of these. I was going to do Bob's Burgers, but the idea came a few episodes too late. However, I am still considering doing Louie, whose previous season remains the best 30 minutes of TV each week.

This week, we finally come to the end of the first season of Girls. What better way to end the season than with a surprise wedding? The answer may be somewhat surprising as Marnie (Allison Williams) and Charlie (Christopher Abbott) are still separated and Hannah (Lena Dunham) and Adam (Adam Driver) don't yet strike us as the type to get married. Since Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet) has yet to have an established relationship besides a possible guy named Bryce, that would only mean one person: Jessa (Jemima Kirke).

But who could Jessa possibly want to marry? Her arc this season has featured so many romantic partners that it is impossible to see her settling down so soon. However, after having a discussion with Katherine (Kathryn Hahn) in "Leave Me Alone," it kind of makes sense that she would make a rapid change. Instead of going back to someone like Jeff (James LeGros), she returns to the unlikely Tom (Chris O'Dowd), whose short appearance in "Weirdos Need Girlfriends Too" didn't seem to bode well, but apparently sparked some chemistry and a wedding two weeks later.

The episode begins on the tail end of last week, where Hannah, Marnie, and Adam are moving Marnie's furniture out of the apartment.Once everything is out, Marnie encourages Hannah to find a new roommate, even though she paid rent up through next month. When discussing Marnie's lack of direction, she seems to be fine with wandering aimless for awhile. She ends up sleeping in Shoshanna and Jessa's apartment because they haven't heard from Jessa in days.

While at work with Ray (Alex Karpovsky), Hannah discovers a text message that states that Jessa wants them to attend the most important party of her life and to dress up. Everyone does so and meets up at this building where everyone is in tuxedos and dresses. Ray claims that it has an Eyes Wide Shut vibe and it is then revealed that Charlie is back in town, though without his other girlfriend. It is possible that they had their own conflicts and are now separated. Also during this time, Adam drops hints that he wants to move in and that they are a great couple.

Left to Right: Zosia Mamet
and Allison Williams

It is soon revealed that Tom and Jessa are getting married via their friend (Bobby Moynihan), who became a registered minister online. Jessa and Tom share their story of how they came to be in love and how at first they were not attracted to each other. Over time, they began to realize that they were perfect for each other, and suddenly decided to get married. After the ceremony, Tom cues the music: Lady's "Pussy be Yankin." 

Hannah spends a brief moment with Jessa discussing the apartment situation and if she should consider Adam to move in. She is not sure if he is being serious or if it is a good idea. Jessa is so happy that she feels like she is sleeping a rosebud. This and a few drinks probably contributes to her optimistic advice that Hannah's tough decision is making her an adult, though she provides little encouragement to invite Adam into her life.

Meanwhile Elijah (Andrew Rannells) makes the rounds. First Marnie insists that he needs to stop messing with her. Then he gets into talks with Hannah, who reveals the desire for another roommate. She insists that he and his boyfriend, who have been looking for a place that doesn't discriminate, move in. It is also revealed that Elijah indeed did give Hannah HPV. This was revealed when he went through his sexual history and discovered that a sleazy redhead gave it to him.

Meanwhile Charlie and Marnie talk for the first time since "Welcome to Bushwick a.k.a the Crackcident," and she finally seems over him. Charlie insists that they have sex in the bathroom, which Marnie teases before shooting him down. She spends most of the rest of the episode eyeing Tom's friend, who she finds to be adorable, even if his jokes are bad. If anything, this is the happiest we've seen her in a few episodes and it may have something to do with drinks.

Ray and Shoshanna meet up, and discuss how pathetic the party is. While Ray is against dancing, Shoshanna is more against the promiscuous nature of her friends. She calls them dumb whores and is frustrated with everything. Ray reveals that he has been thinking about her since the night they met and that he would love to have sex with her. The two gallivant off to do so, and unlike in "Hannah's Diary," it actually happens this time.

While dancing to Beyonce's "Halo," Adam and Hannah begin to discuss plans of her apartment. When she reveals that she was talking to Elijah about it, Adam storms off. Hannah follows him into the streets out front, where he finally unleashes his full opinion of her. He is frustrated by Hannah's self indulgence and lack of faith in her own life. He is mostly angry because she is scared and thinks that a relationship will get in the way of her success. During this time, Adam becomes so frustrated that he walks out into the middle of the streets and gets hit by a car. When the ambulance comes and whisks her away, Adam insists to not let her on because she is not family, and instead a monster.

Hannah gets bummed out and takes the subway to Coney Island, where she sits on the beach, eating a hot dog. There is no sure way that she will make it back home. The episode ends the way the season began: with Hannah alone and eating.

Adam Driver

Everything that makes this episode amazing comes in the final half of the episode. For starters, this is a great look at how the characters have evolved since "Pilot." The notable change is the heartfelt shouting that Adam does before getting hit by a car. He has become such the romantic that his love for Hannah now seems tragic and the fact that Hannah doesn't accept it may be reflective of her and her writing from "Leave Me Alone," but there is a chance that Adam is now slowly discovering what a hopeless cause she is. This is sad because just in "Weirdos Need Girlfriends Too," he seemed to be the perfect boyfriend. While I wrote earlier during "Hard Being Easy" that he would be fine disappearing, I now feel that it could happen and be a sad necessary revelation.

What is brilliant though is the Hannah arc essentially has been about her going from losing her financial gain from her parents (Peter Scolari and Becky Ann Baker) to her financial gain from Marnie to losing her boyfriend for Elijah, whose petty nature didn't play well against hers in "Vagina Panic" and since Elijah doesn't have a great relationship with Marnie, this could create a new conflict of Elijah as a bad roommate. 

Lena Dunham

Essentially I see Hannah becoming the more insecure Marnie next season. She has really messed up her life by this point and has little to be proud of. Her main supports have all disappeared, though Marnie doesn't seem that upset with her. Maybe the time apart will mend the wounds. Marnie may become the confident woman who now dates Tom's friend, even though he seems just as innocent and simple as Charlie did, which doesn't bode well in the long run. However, it will be nice to be rid of the pouting Marnie who spent "Weirdos Need Girlfreinds Too" just looking at pictures of Charlie.

Then there is Jessa, who I felt was the most developed of all characters. If you look at "Pilot," in which she was some pregnant tourist, you can see the development to slightly more responsible. Even then, she is selective with her responsibilities and I feel that her marriage to Tom won't last. How that will play with Marnie and Tom's friend's relationship, I don't know. While I am very excited to see Chris O'Dowd back on the show, I feel like this is leading to something tragic next season.

And bravo to Shoshanna for finally getting an apt story this week. It almost seemed like she was upset with being written off the show the past few weeks. While it is a relief that she didn't end up with Bryce (a subplot that I felt would have involved Adam and the penis picture from "Hard Being Easy," but I'm glad it didn't), I am glad that it was finally realized that the two oddballs ended up together. I feel like Ray's alternative mindset blends well with Shoshana's insecurity, and will play well next season. That is, unless we discover that Ray really is a dick and will leave her in due time.

Left to Right: Mamet and Alex Karpovsky

Either way, I would love it if we finally gave Shoshanna an actual plot that didn't seem like a gimmick. This was a nice beginning, but now can we give her more of a character? She is the least developed, and it has frustrated me to see her just wasted when she was on screen. I mean, what was her use in "All Adventurous Women Do" but sitting on the couch talking about game shows? What was her point in "Hard Being Easy" besides watching Jessa have sex? 

I am just excited that maybe things will change. I also wonder who will come back next season. I feel like we have come to the point where it could be anyone. Most of all, will the changes in the characters mesh well? Can we actually get them all in one room together? It feels like they only got together once every few episodes because of a party or event. Those episodes end up having the most satisfying twists because we get to see them all in action. While I love "the Return," there needs to be more of a balance between the entire cast.

Favorite moment: Hands down Adam screaming in the street. While I felt like the phone call in "the Return" would have ended up topping my list, this one is a close competitor. I am surprised mostly how I have come to root for him and that it all ends with Hannh appearing to be the enemy. While I haven't quite hated Hannah entirely, that rant alone was enough to justify why I should dislike her. I am just wondering if this silly relationship will now end, or if we'll just see them have one bad moment after another.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

ATTENTION: Stay tuned next week for my Retrospective of Girls season 1 in which I share my entire thoughts on the show and how my first venture into TV recapping went. I may even introduce my next assignment (which is most likely not Louie). I look forward to seeing you back here next week. 

Check out more of my work at www.nevpodcast.com where I post every Wednesday and have a podcast called Nerd's Eye View.