In which I rant about Girls (season 3, episodes 1-5)

Major spoilers for the entire post. Also NSFW for a photo of Gaby Hoffman's pubic hair.

I've thoroughly enjoyed the first two seasons of Lena Dunham's series Girls. Season 2's ending got me on tenterhooks: Hannah's OCD getting the better of her was one of the most emotional season endings I've watched. Plus, Ray and Shoshanna's break-up scene was a great turning point as Shosh realizes that she needs room to explore new things. As such, I excitedly waited for season 3 to see what happened next.

Episode 1 - Females Only

Yes, I get that this was set a few weeks after the last season. But I wish they showed more of Hannah's recovery because that would have made for a much more engaging storyline than that damn Marnie whining about losing Charlie for the nth time.

Meanwhile, Shoshanna has undergone a transformation from girl-next-door to party animal, and I'm not liking it. She was the one decent person in the group, so the change is a jarring contrast. I get that she wanted to experience new things, but damn, couldn't the writers have her do that while keeping her charming attitude?

Jessa is in rehab and is... being Jessa, I guess, with an abrasive attitude that gets to the center's members.

She outs a lesbian to the group and proceeds to go down on her, which is, as I said, Jessa being Jessa. IDK, I think sometimes they just plunk her in a scene and go, "Let's make her do something cuh-razy!"

Episode 2 - Truth or Dare

Hannah, Adam, and Shosh take a road trip to collect Jessa from rehab. Again, not loving the Shosh "growing up" thing by having her turn into a tactless brat. Can she and Whiny Marnie please take a long walk off a cliff, please?

Speaking of Marnie, this episode is proof of how much she thinks of herself. She didn't give a shit that their friend Jessa was in rehab; she was just mad that she wasn't invited, and throws a tempter tantrum through the phone. Classy.

Also, Hannah whining about how ordinary the road trip is just screams PRETENTIOUS WRITER WHO NEEDS SOMETHING TO HAPPEN FOR ~*INSPIRATION*~.

Episode 3 - She Said OK

The high point of the episode was introducing Adam's sister Caroline, an unstable woman who invites herself to crash at Hannah's place indefinitely. Eccentric though she may be, at least her flavor of crazy is less self-involved than our core four characters.

Score another low point for Marnie, who apparently wanted a repeat of her embarrassing Kanye cover by dragging Hannah into singing a Rent song with her.

Without the addition of Caroline, this would have been a forgettable episode. Pass.

Episode 4 - Dead Inside & Episode 5 - Only Child

David, Hannah's editor, dies, and all she could think of was her e-book. I know, she's supposed to be very self-absorbed, but this makes it kind of hard to make her a sympathetic or likable character. I mean, her editor died, and this piece of waste has the gall to ask the widow (THE FLIPPIN' WIDOW) if she knows any other publishers.

Adam shines here as the sole beacon of emotional health as he worries that Hannah may be too narcissistic to feel anything real. Do you understand that? The crazy guy is the one who is the most likable. When that's true, something's off with the way the other characters are written.

Oh, and Marnie fucks Ray, AKA Shoshanna's ex-boyfriend. Again, classy.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Girls' four main women are all self-obsessed to varying degrees, but it was watchable then because they were trying to be better. They went into things with earnestness and hope that their life will turn around. Despite all their acknowledged flaws, they were struggling to improve. Now it appears they've all given up and resigned themselves to the fact that they are narcissistic navel-gazers.

I can't even bring myself to watch episode 6, it's just so bad now. Back to watching Penn & Teller: Bullshit!

P.S. Photos not mine. Credit goes to owner.