TV Recap: Girls - "Cubbies"

Lena Dunham

Welcome back to another round of Girls TV Recap. Following the amazing third season, this series will focus on season four and the perils that Hannah (Lena Dunham) and her friends face as she goes to Iowa. What new experiences will she face? What will everyone else do while they wait for her inevitable return? Come back every Friday for the latest recap including thoughts and predictions for each episode. Will it remain one of the best comedies on TV? You'll have to read to find out.

In one of the most surprising moves, Girls pulls a cliffhanger that has been long overdue in the show's history. After last season ended with Adam (Adam Driver) and Hannah coming to terms with her moving to Iowa, things are finally looking a little problematic. Everyone has their dreams crushed and the realization that life isn't that easy become a more prescient topic. As the episode progressed through its uncomfortable silences and feeling of defeat, it poses questions that seemed more likely to be discussed at the end of the season. This is, if nothing else, an interesting twist on the established expectations.

Shoshana (Zosia Mamet) gets turned down for a job, which her interviewer claims is because she's maybe analyzes too much. Marnie (Allison Williams) tries to get feedback on her music from Shoshana and Jessa (Jemima Kirke), but finds that their insults aren't helping. Shoshana finds Ray (Alex Karpovsky) out in front of his apartment yelling at cars. She decides to take him on a shopping spree to places that he normally wouldn't shop at. While he considered clothes to be cheap and for quick use, Shoshana convinces him that they're for something more personal as definitive statements.

Zosia Mamet

Meanwhile, Hannah is back in Iowa and dealing with a backlash. She shares a letter with her cohorts about her distaste for them in a way that she thinks is helpful but is interpreted as hate speech. She is encouraged to quit, as she even admits that she isn't happy there. When she meets up with her father (Peter Scolari), she receives advice that Hannah needs to follow her dreams and do whatever it is that she wants to do. This convinces her to head back to New York.

Marnie discovers that Desi (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) broke up with Clementine and wants to be back with her. Shoshana and Ray have a personal discussion that suggests that Ray should take more initiative and protest injustices in a more progressive way. When Hannah arrives back in New York, she discovers that something is off. When she arrives at Adam's door, she is met with Mimi-Rose (Gillian Jacobs), who is revealed to be Adam's new girlfriend. Hannah feels awkward and has no idea what to do.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Left to right: Dunham, Adam Driver and Gillian Jacobs

While I have long held the theory that the Girls girls would be falling apart by the end of the season, it is interesting to see one piece react almost immediately. The season is only four episodes in, but it has dropped the bombshell that we have been waiting for. Who is Adam's new girlfriend. There isn't much hoopla about it yet, but there's the sense that a lot of the show's dynamic is about to change. For better or worse, Adam and Hannah have been together for the show's entire run despite sifting through a lot of alcoholism, mental breakdowns and questionable calls on both parties' part. The only surprise really is that there's only been one new girl for Adam, but that was mostly to establish that she wasn't quite up to Adam's dark sexual fetishes.

In fact, I don't really know where the show is going. While I have rooted for the two to break up, I have also found a soft spot for their dysfunctional connection. They have made some endearing moves, even if Adam seems haggard and over Hannah by the end of last season. We hardly know Mimi-Rose at this point, but it has to be something substantial if she could get past Adam's darker side. In fact, we don't really know what Adam has been up to, save for commercials and breaking it off with Jessa. Maybe Mimi-Rose is an enabler or just a better person. It could go either way.

However, what's really obvious is how much I overestimated the time between Hannah's entrance and departure from Iowa. Where I suspected a more centralized story, it wouldn't be fitting with her character. Since the first season, Hannah has been a flake of terrible proportion. With her father projecting his personal failures on her, there's a sense that she is only encouraged to give up on her dreams if they're too miserable for her. As much as I enjoyed seeing writer Hannah come out to play, there's also the sense that she was trying too hard to fit in. Any more would be a little much.

Much like how Jessa peed in the street last week, I feel a certain feeling like Girls is suspending disbelief a little much. While I can accept Ray as a frustrated figure who often overreacts, the notion of going out and yelling to random cars that are in traffic feels a little off. Maybe I am just not accustomed to this behavior due to surrounding environment. However, it was the only disingenuous moment from the episode for me. The only redeeming quality is that it allowed a very compelling interaction between Shoshana and Ray. Speaking of, for all of the problematic behaviors that Shoshana has shown over this series, she has been a personal MVP for most of this season. She is both charming and aloof in ways that show evolution of character and give her more purpose than she initially had.

I don't really care to comment on Desi and Marnie, whose story is rather redundant and I don't feel really has much to offer. They'll have sex and make music. They are a feeble couple who will likely keep doing this. In fact, Jessa's earnest cries of Marnie's music being poor outrank Marnie right now. If she wants to succeed, then do it. I don't feel like the show has all that much to use her for right now. 

Maybe there will be some great evolution in the not too distant future for everyone. I do wonder what side everyone will take now that Hannah is back in New York. Marnie seems likely to take her side. I don't know about Shoshana and who knows if Jessa and Adam have repaired their damaged relationship. As a whole, this episode's success lingers on that cliffhanger, which introduces a new element and establishes that this show is really a secret backdoor career booster for Community stars. First there was Donald Glover in season two and now Gillian Jacobs in season four. It's only interesting to guess who will be casted next.