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| Left to right: Lena Dunham and Donald Glover |
Welcome back to the TV Recap column for the Golden Globe-winning HBO series Girls. Join me as I capture the exploits of the Lena Dunham-penned series as it ventures through another season of scandal, accidents, and life in general. Will it be another great season for the Tiny Furniture director and her growing cast of friends? Tune back every Friday to find out more.
Before I begin this recap, I am wanting to say that I apologize for starting the recaps a few episodes in. However, in an attempt to get back on schedule, I will be covering episodes from season two up through the fourth episode during the course of this week with intention of being back to a Friday release schedule by episode five. Hopefully this will help to put things back on track.
Last time we saw the cast of Girls, Hannah (Lena Dunham) and Adam (Adam Driver) broke up because Marnie (Allison Williams) moved out of Hannah's apartment and she replaced the vacancy with her gay ex-boyfriend Elijah (Andrew Rannells). Meanwhile, Shoshana (Zosia Mamet) and Ray (Alex Karpovksy) had sex at Jessa (Jemima Kirke) and Thomas John's (Chris O'Dowd) wedding. In a sense, this episode definitely earns the title "It's About Time" despite not being a year since the previous season. Still, there were looming questions in the air and as the series garnered more appraisal, it only made sense that the second season of the Judd Apatow-produced show needed to deliver a punch.
The episode begins fairly simple. Hannah and Elijah wake up in the same bed only to have a conversation on whether they should convert Elijah's room into a gym. Shoshana is purifying her room with incense as she meditates and talks about Ray. Meanwhile Marnie's boss Reese (Christina Kirk) is inviting her out for a lunch that is actually about Marnie getting fired. As expected, Marnie is upset by this because she is far more competent than another coworker who got in trouble for spilling stuff on valuable art. Still, she loses her job.
We also meet Hannah's new boyfriend Sandy (Donald Glover), who is excited to have met her at Grumpy's. The two run around a library before deciding to stop and make out. Hannah is uncomfortable with him displaying affection towards her, but the two continue to make out and later have sex. In fact, Hannah tries to play this down by saying that she won't bother him in the middle of the night or make up weird excuses to see him. It is quickly revealed that the only reason she still sees Adam is because she feels guilty for him getting his leg broken.
As Hannah and Adam watch Bye Bye Birdie, a film that she likes because people break out spontaneously into song, the two begin to talk about their relationship. Adam is convinced that not that long ago he was told to keep them from breaking up. Still, Hannah claims that she has moved on and this isn't enough to stop Adam from wanting to watch movies with her. He clearly shows affection and cannot take that she has moved on to Sandy.
Marnie tries to console in her mother (Rita Wilson) about being fired, but it doesn't work. Her mother is convinced that she is just transitioning and that everything will be all right. She then goes on to accuse Marnie and her friends of being like floats in the Macy's Day Parade: big heads on little bodies. There is a sense of disconnect as the mother tries to relate to Marnie, but is quickly offended when she is talking badly to her. Marnie claims that she talks way worse to her friends.
Back at the apartment, Hannah and Elijah are dressing up the apartment while playing Carly Rae Jepsen. Hannah gets into a festive mindset and begins listing a whole lot of ideas of what to do for parties. Elijah shuts her down because he doesn't want them to all be food based parties. He thinks of things like Gertrude Stein-themed parties. He also states that he is skeptic about his boyfriend George (Billy Morrissette) showing up because while he likes dating an older man, it is problematic because he pays for everything and Elijah feels like he is abusing him a little bit.
Shoshana is the first to show up, and she is paranoid that Ray will show up. She talks to Elijah and Hannah about having sex and losing her hymen. However, she claims that she doesn't miss it, just that she feels like something is missing. As more people show up, Marnie runs into Charlie (Christopher Abbott) by the bathroom. The two catch up and Marnie compliments him on being a nice guy. She doesn't seem too bothered by Audrey (Audrey Gelman), who used to seem problematic back when they first began dating. Marnie and Hannah catch up and reveal that they don't really have any bad blood just because they no longer live together. They are close, even if they don't live close to each other.
A drunk George tries to convince Elijah to do karaoke, but when he refuses, George just begins cursing the room out. Elijah tries to convince him to leave, but eventually just gets Hannah to do it. Hannah needed to leave to attend to Adam, who now was out of pain killers. Elijah acts like a fascist dictator and forces Hannah to walk him out and lock the door behind him. Afterward George gets the hint and leaves for good, she heads over to Adam's to take care of things. He is still convinced that they can get together and watch the Legend of Bagger Vance special features, but Hannah is not interested because she needs to attend to Elijah.
Meanwhile, Shoshana finally runs into Ray after he did karaoke with Charlie to the Animals' "House of the Rising Sun." The two talk about misleading text messages (a panda bear next to a gun next to a present) before Shoshana tries to officially run away. With a beer in his hand, Ray forces himself on her. The two begin making out as Ray's beer begins pouring all over the floor of the room in which all of the jackets were being thrown in, including Shoshana's shiny thing that she couldn't find.
After everyone has left, Elijah and Marnie are alone doing karaoke. The two are drunk and begin discussing what is wrong with their lives. Maybe Elijah is bisexual and Marnie cannot handle being a gay man as she doesn't like anal sex or blow jobs. Elijah also claims that bisexuals are the last minority that can still be made fun of along with Germans. He is both, so he feels odd about that. One thing leads to another and soon the two are naked and having sex. Or they do until Marnie rolls her eyes and Elijah realizes that he cannot feel sexual attraction towards her. With that established, the two choose never to mention it again and move on with their lives.
The episode ends with seeing Jessa and Thomas John somewhere that speaks Spanish. They are catching a taxi and leaving for they don't know where. Hannah also heads over to Sandy's house late at night. She jokes about wanting to borrow "the Fountainhead" before just crashing naked on his bed.
Rating: 4 out of 5
I must post a disclaimed now. I have seen the first four episodes prior to this publishing, so I know where things go up through then. I will try not to spoil them at this moment.
Last time we saw the cast of Girls, Hannah (Lena Dunham) and Adam (Adam Driver) broke up because Marnie (Allison Williams) moved out of Hannah's apartment and she replaced the vacancy with her gay ex-boyfriend Elijah (Andrew Rannells). Meanwhile, Shoshana (Zosia Mamet) and Ray (Alex Karpovksy) had sex at Jessa (Jemima Kirke) and Thomas John's (Chris O'Dowd) wedding. In a sense, this episode definitely earns the title "It's About Time" despite not being a year since the previous season. Still, there were looming questions in the air and as the series garnered more appraisal, it only made sense that the second season of the Judd Apatow-produced show needed to deliver a punch.
The episode begins fairly simple. Hannah and Elijah wake up in the same bed only to have a conversation on whether they should convert Elijah's room into a gym. Shoshana is purifying her room with incense as she meditates and talks about Ray. Meanwhile Marnie's boss Reese (Christina Kirk) is inviting her out for a lunch that is actually about Marnie getting fired. As expected, Marnie is upset by this because she is far more competent than another coworker who got in trouble for spilling stuff on valuable art. Still, she loses her job.
We also meet Hannah's new boyfriend Sandy (Donald Glover), who is excited to have met her at Grumpy's. The two run around a library before deciding to stop and make out. Hannah is uncomfortable with him displaying affection towards her, but the two continue to make out and later have sex. In fact, Hannah tries to play this down by saying that she won't bother him in the middle of the night or make up weird excuses to see him. It is quickly revealed that the only reason she still sees Adam is because she feels guilty for him getting his leg broken.
As Hannah and Adam watch Bye Bye Birdie, a film that she likes because people break out spontaneously into song, the two begin to talk about their relationship. Adam is convinced that not that long ago he was told to keep them from breaking up. Still, Hannah claims that she has moved on and this isn't enough to stop Adam from wanting to watch movies with her. He clearly shows affection and cannot take that she has moved on to Sandy.
Marnie tries to console in her mother (Rita Wilson) about being fired, but it doesn't work. Her mother is convinced that she is just transitioning and that everything will be all right. She then goes on to accuse Marnie and her friends of being like floats in the Macy's Day Parade: big heads on little bodies. There is a sense of disconnect as the mother tries to relate to Marnie, but is quickly offended when she is talking badly to her. Marnie claims that she talks way worse to her friends.
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| Left to right: Dunham and Adam Driver |
Shoshana is the first to show up, and she is paranoid that Ray will show up. She talks to Elijah and Hannah about having sex and losing her hymen. However, she claims that she doesn't miss it, just that she feels like something is missing. As more people show up, Marnie runs into Charlie (Christopher Abbott) by the bathroom. The two catch up and Marnie compliments him on being a nice guy. She doesn't seem too bothered by Audrey (Audrey Gelman), who used to seem problematic back when they first began dating. Marnie and Hannah catch up and reveal that they don't really have any bad blood just because they no longer live together. They are close, even if they don't live close to each other.
A drunk George tries to convince Elijah to do karaoke, but when he refuses, George just begins cursing the room out. Elijah tries to convince him to leave, but eventually just gets Hannah to do it. Hannah needed to leave to attend to Adam, who now was out of pain killers. Elijah acts like a fascist dictator and forces Hannah to walk him out and lock the door behind him. Afterward George gets the hint and leaves for good, she heads over to Adam's to take care of things. He is still convinced that they can get together and watch the Legend of Bagger Vance special features, but Hannah is not interested because she needs to attend to Elijah.
Meanwhile, Shoshana finally runs into Ray after he did karaoke with Charlie to the Animals' "House of the Rising Sun." The two talk about misleading text messages (a panda bear next to a gun next to a present) before Shoshana tries to officially run away. With a beer in his hand, Ray forces himself on her. The two begin making out as Ray's beer begins pouring all over the floor of the room in which all of the jackets were being thrown in, including Shoshana's shiny thing that she couldn't find.
After everyone has left, Elijah and Marnie are alone doing karaoke. The two are drunk and begin discussing what is wrong with their lives. Maybe Elijah is bisexual and Marnie cannot handle being a gay man as she doesn't like anal sex or blow jobs. Elijah also claims that bisexuals are the last minority that can still be made fun of along with Germans. He is both, so he feels odd about that. One thing leads to another and soon the two are naked and having sex. Or they do until Marnie rolls her eyes and Elijah realizes that he cannot feel sexual attraction towards her. With that established, the two choose never to mention it again and move on with their lives.
The episode ends with seeing Jessa and Thomas John somewhere that speaks Spanish. They are catching a taxi and leaving for they don't know where. Hannah also heads over to Sandy's house late at night. She jokes about wanting to borrow "the Fountainhead" before just crashing naked on his bed.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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| Left to right: Christopher Abbott, Audrey Gelman, and Allison Williams |
However, what a decent beginning episode to the season. I must admit that there are small similarities to "Pilot" that you wouldn't expect. For one, a Jay-Z song is used ("99 Problems" as opposed to the "Pilot" episode's "Onto the Next One"). The opening shot recalls the opening shot of Hannah and Marnie asleep in bed together.
Before I dive into the good stuff, I must admit that I wasn't really interested in seeing what was up with Jessa and Thomas. Just because they were not integral to the story doesn't mean we need to see them roaming around wherever they were in bliss. It didn't really add anything to the episode as a whole. Of course, I suppose this episode was mostly established to try and help us understand where everyone was at that moment.
In some odd way, I feel like Hannah and Marnie's positions are shifting. Yes, Hannah is still a mess, but she does have a job now and seems somewhat happy with her boyfriend Sandy. The worst part is that she is still seeing Adam, but it feels like it has evolved into something more platonic. She at least seems to be maturing as a person while Marnie's life is falling apart. She lost her job and is single. In some sense, she even feels like she is trying to befriend Charlie in a curious fashion. She isn't so much out to spit Audrey anymore, but there is a sense that she wants to get back together.
Of course, the desperation comes when she has sex with Elijah. It has long been established that he was gay and while it ends awkwardly, it just shows where Marnie's downward spiral for the season may go. Her overly confident performance in season one is kind of withering away and she has nothing to go for. In fact, that could possibly explain why she decides to go over to Charlie's house and sleep with him (not to have sex) just because she needs company. It is interesting how fragile that character is getting. Also, a subtle reference to the first season in that Marnie told Hannah that she only shows her breasts to people she's having sex with. In the "Hard Being Easy" episode, she is wearing a bra when having sex with Charlie. However, she exposes herself to Elijah. Either there is a contractual thing going on, or that's an interesting character reveal that she has reached that level of desperation.
Hannah is in an interesting slot because Adam is getting more confusing. Where he ended last season as the sympathetic hero, he is now reduced to a leg cast and referencing their relationship as something of a clitoris. He kind of seems despicable, but more in the way that he feels hurt by Hannah. It is only time before he slowly turns into a creep again and he becomes the desperate person on the show. It was nice seeing him again, though I cannot help but wonder if the short lived optimistic side of Adam was for naught and all we get now is the tragic downfall of him, too.
Hannah, as great as she considers Elijah at the start of the episode, seems to be swayed against him, thanks to George. She doesn't want to deal with Elijah's relationships and hopefully this will lead them down an interesting departure, though it raises the question on who could possibly be the new roommate. It is doubtful that Adam will be the replacement because, he is kind of a creep. Maybe she'll move in with Sandy, who hasn't really done too much on the interesting side in this episode. He felt more like he existed.
Shoshana also feels like she is slowly becoming a real character. She still has that gimmicky nervous chick thing going on, but it feels like she is no longer eager to have sex. Now we're focused on her relationship with Ray, which I have anticipated as being the most fascinating part of the show. Truthfully, Marnie's downfall is kind of overpowering the interesting aspect of the premiere episode. Still, when the two begin kissing in the jacket room, it is kind of a romantic gesture that will hopefully last. We don't really see a conclusion to the scene. However, don't be surprised if it doesn't continue. If you remember, Marnie kissed Thomas' friend last season, and he hasn't appeared since.
Overall a strong start with plenty of solid karaoke from most of the cast. I feel like Hannah is no longer the main character and is slowly being mixed into the cast. I like that in theory, as this episode really was about expanding the universe. We get to see Marnie's mother and everyone just getting together in one room for an all out party. Plenty of revelations and just fun around every corner. If this episode suffered from one thing, it was the Jessa/Thomas thing, but it is highly forgivable, as I assure you, they will be back next episode for a more fleshed out role. I also hope that the universe continues to expand and sends Sandy into more interesting directions.
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