When my editor told me I could start reviewing episodes of the latest season of Girls, I was a little weary. While I’ve been mostly a fan of Lena Dunham’s controversial, nudity-filled show, I didn’t enjoy last week’s two-part premiere, which mostly revolved around Hannah and Adam’s evolving relationship and how terrible of a person Jessa has become. Aside from the highly entertaining confrontation in the coffee shop between Hannah, Adam and his ex, Natalia, I felt like I was watching a different show (the road trip in episode 2 felt quite sitcom-y).
I feared each week would involve me just complaining about how annoying each character is and how Shoshanna can’t actually resemble a real person. Thankfully, last night’s “She Said OK” was a return to form. The episode was hilarious, shocking in some ways and wasn’t heavy on plot. This is the Girls that I like.
So let’s get the big development out of the way: Adam’s sister Caroline (portrayed by the hilarious Gabby Hoffmann) showed up on his doorstep and is a hot mess, to say the least. Who knew someone could make Adam look completely normal and put together? Caroline, who was channeling the crazy cat lady from The Simpsons, has obviously had some issues for a while and her boyfriend literally putting her out on the street didn’t do her any favors.
In a very un-Hannah-like thing to do, Hannah invited her to stay and attend her 25th birthday party, the focal point of the episode. Adam objected, but eventually decided to oblige and let Hannah see what a train wreck she was. Of course, Caroline stirred up all sorts of antics at the party and even tried to initiate some flirting with Ray, who wasn’t having any of it.
Hannah’s parents and Marnie were in charge of throwing the birthday bash at a local bar (the secret password to get free drinks was “banana!”) and it surprisingly wasn’t the shit show I was expecting it to be. Aside from Ray’s scuffle with Hannah’s loud and proud editor (who is also a hot mess), things went quite smoothly. Jessa was completely silent, giving her friends and viewers a break from her terrible word vomit. And Shoshanna must have taken some Xanax before she arrived because she was pretty cool, calm and collected as well. Ray even told her he never wanted to see her or remain friends with her again after hearing some rumors from her new boy toy, and she was just like “…..”
I guess the moral of the episode was that when it comes to other people’s family members, Hannah should just listen. While she didn’t do anything completely infuriating or stupid as usual, it was nice to see her get a wake up call when it came to Caroline.
After the party, she and Adam stumbled back to their apartment and proceeded to initiate sex, until a sound came from the bathroom. Surprise! It was Caroline, donning a t-shirt and NO PANTS OR UNDERWEAR and breaking a glass with her BARE HANDS. I’m surprised this scene didn’t give me nightmares. Thankfully, after this uncomfortable debacle in which Adam had to patch up his half-naked sister, they didn’t end up having sex.
I still can’t say what direction this season is headed, but Hannah turning 25 does prove to be somewhat of a milestone. Even though she really hasn’t accomplished that much since college (Shoshanna said it, not me), she does seem to be headed on a track that’s more steady.
Stray hairs
– In Marnie news, Marnie starred in her own auto-tuned music video back when she and Charlie were still together. Unfortunately for her, it’s still up on YouTube and people are still leaving mean YouTube comments and my mouth is still agape from watching that horrific piece of work.
– Ray referred to Hannah’s editor, who was trying to meet guys on Grindr, as “poor man Anderson Cooper” and he ended up with a bloody face. The editor, David, was a lot stronger than he looks and come to think of it, there was a lot of blood in this episode.
– Hannah’s parents were a welcome sight, and they swing dance!
– The episode also reminded us that Laird still exists. Remember Hannah’s junkie ex-neighbor Laird? Quite the character.
– “I love you like a bastard son.”
– “I leave my body during sex. It’s called disassociation. It’s an anxiety symptom.”
– “It’s really amazing that all three of you have accomplished so little in the four years since college.”
– Can we talk about how Adam gave Hannah a necklace made with one of his actual teeth?
– Hannah was rocking that “Birthday Bitch” hat.
