A Thread About Girls (HBO)

[Irvine511]

Hannah's conversations with her gay ex boyfriend continue to be the best part of the show

i love, love Andrew Rannells.

Book of Mormon performance at the 2011 Tony Awards - YouTube

anyway ... i've grown to like this show. it makes me feel lucky to be gay because the heterosexuality on this show is all sorts of unpleasant.

 

[Jive Turkey]

i love, love Andrew Rannells.

Me too. I saw Book of Mormon last year and have listened to the soundtrack an embarrassing amount (showtunes in my car?), so I was happy to see him when he first appeared on the show. Very likable guy

 

[Jive Turkey]

i love, love Andrew Rannells.

Me too. I saw Book of Mormon last year and have listened to the soundtrack an embarrassing amount (showtunes in my car? whaaa?), so I was happy to see him when he first appeared on the show. Very likable guy

 

[bollox]

Finally got around to seeing the finale; kind of a letdown after such a great season.

Spoiler

I'd agree that this episode felt unrealistic compared to the rest of the season. So much of it felt like watching a rom-com

- Jessa impulsively marrying venture capitalist jerk (while not out of character for her, it felt like they needed an 'event' to hang the finale on)
- Adam getting angry and walking into oncoming traffic
- uptight Marnie getting drunk and making out with some dude, thwarting Charlie's hopes to reconcile (drunk Marnie was very funny tho, probably the most I've liked her character)
- The Shosh cashing in her v-card and pairing off with Ray. Yes this pairing was hinted at before, but it just feels arbitrary

I think part of the problem is that this was probably written before a second season was picked up, so it had to function as a potential series finale. I did like the final scene with Hannah at Coney Island, having lost her boyfriend (and purse), still completely uncertain about what happens next.

Despite not really liking this episode, I feel confident that the show will come back strong. I'm looking forward to seeing how Lena Dunham's writing will reflect the various Internet Controversies that the show has sparked.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I think that's a very good analysis, bollox.

 

[bollox]

Thanks! As you and others have said, the realism is one of the big draws of the show, and here it just felt like that was replaced with standard rom-com/sitcom stuff. There were still some great scenes/bits of dialogue though, as always.

I recognized the actor but didn't realize Hannah's ex was from Book of Mormon until I read it somewhere. He is indeed great.

 

[corianderstem]

I'll be the lone person here thinking that Jessa marrying that dude didn't seem that unbelievable (within the realm of the show, anyway).

Yes, I think it was a bit far-fetched that HE was the guy she ended up with (although it was funny, considering what a doof he is and what happened the last time we saw him), but taking into consideration what those kids' mom said to jessa last week (and which they repeated on the "previously on" bit), I totally bought it that it would be something Jessa would do as a rebuttal, as if to convince herself that's NOT who she is (even if she'll inevitably just end up proving the woman's comment more when this ends up being drama and falls to pieces).

 

[Jive Turkey]

I'll be the lone person here thinking that Jessa marrying that dude didn't seem that unbelievable (within the realm of the show, anyway).

but but but.... what about me?

 

[corianderstem]

Sorry, I forgot I wasn't the lone voice. We will stand together on this important issue, JT!

 

[u2popmofo]

I didn't think it was that outlandish either, at least for this show. While it's somewhat believable, it's still TV. I can't imaging most of us would ever put up with interacting with anyone like these characters in real life.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I think I dated Adam in college.

 

[Jive Turkey]

Sorry, I forgot I wasn't the lone voice. We will stand together on this important issue, JT!

Solidarity!

 

[Jive Turkey]

I didn't think it was that outlandish either, at least for this show. While it's somewhat believable, it's still TV. I can't imaging most of us would ever put up with interacting with anyone like these characters in real life.

Not to mention one of the best episodes of the season involved a character accidentally smoking crack then losing her skirt in the streets. If the show was truly realistic, I wouldn't want to watch it

 

[bollox]

While I'm sure this is to be taken with a grain of salt, Lena Dunham claims the accidental crack smoking is something that actually happened to one of her friends.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I was gonna say, that part seemed totally realistic to me but then again, when I lived in NYC I hung out with crazy theater people who did shit like that - namely, my best friend from college.

Someone pointed out to me that when Hannah gets off the train in Coney Island and asks the girls on the roof where she is, there is graffiti on that building that says "BACK FAT" which made me laugh.

 

[Jive Turkey]

I thought it was weird the way they edited the walk from the aquarium to coney island. they made it seem like it took a long time, but it's right next door

 

[Jive Turkey]

I was gonna say, that part seemed totally realistic to me but then again, when I lived in NYC I hung out with crazy theater people who did shit like that - namely, my best friend from college.

Someone pointed out to me that when Hannah gets off the train in Coney Island and asks the girls on the roof where she is, there is graffiti on that building that says "BACK FAT" which made me laugh.

I didn't think accidentally smoking crack was particularly unrealistic, just who smoked it and how naive she was about the glass cigarette (and even the hijinks that followed)

 

[joyfulgirl]

I meant I had crazy friends who would do drugs and lose their pants on the street, lol.

Actually the most unrealistic thing was Hannah sitting on the train with the purse exposed. I would have had my purse on the other side with the strap tied around my arm 3 times clinching it tightly even in sleep. That's how you fall asleep on the F train and wake up in Cony Island. Also, why did she get off the train to begin with? She should have just stayed on and went back home, especially since she no longer had any money. But then we wouldn't have had that nice closing shot.

Ok, ok, it's a TV show.

 

[Jive Turkey]

Also, why did she get off the train to begin with?

I think it was implied it was going out of service

 

[deep]

I meant I had crazy friends who would do drugs and lose their pants on the street, lol.

Actually the most unrealistic thing was Hannah sitting on the train with the purse exposed. I would have had my purse on the other side with the strap tied around my arm 3 times clinching it tightly even in sleep. That's how you fall asleep on the F train and wake up in Cony Island. Also, why did she get off the train to begin with? She should have just stayed on and went back home, especially since she no longer had any money. But then we wouldn't have had that nice closing shot.

nice shot??
of her filling her pie hole one more time

her boyfriend gets hit by a car, and she wants to get in the ambulance carrying a piece of cake

she could have given a crap if someone stole her purse or money, but I don't think a bear could have wrestled that cake from her.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I didn't mean nice as in beautiful cinematic experience, but just fitting for the character. Yeah she was eating her cake (so what?) but seemed introspective as well.

 

[bollox]

Agree, it was definitely in character (Hannah would totally eat that cake). Then there's the obvious symbolism of eating her cake. Also, the cake that Adam got her was a nice gesture from him, so it would be her last good memory of him before things went to hell.

 

[corianderstem]

Yeah she was eating her cake (so what?)

Characters who are 13 pounds overweight are not allowed to be shown eating sweets. They should know better and stop setting such a poor example for impressionable viewers.

 

[Irvine511]

Characters who are 13 pounds overweight are not allowed to be shown eating sweets. They should know better and stop setting such a poor example for impressionable viewers.

at least she had the decency to eat alone. because that's the only place women on TV are allowed to eat. alone.

if she'd been eating a salad, maybe she'd be happier.

Women Laughing Alone With Salad | The Hairpin

 

[corianderstem]

 

[joyfulgirl]

at least she had the decency to eat alone. because that's the only place women on TV are allowed to eat. alone.

if she'd been eating a salad, maybe she'd be happier.

Women Laughing Alone With Salad | The Hairpin

Irvine

 

[FitzChivalry]

. . . but I don't think a bear could have wrestled that cake from her.

Ok, I'm way late to this party, but . . .

Damn, deep! So un-PC, but f***ing hilarious!

This show was funny as hell, but I found myself liking Hannah less and less as the season went on. She's not a particularly likable main character, which makes it hard to root for her, which makes it hard for me to get fully invested.

Maybe I just need to readjust my thinking and see the show more as her downslide into villainism. There are plenty of villains I root for.

 

[anitram]

I was gonna say, that part seemed totally realistic to me but then again, when I lived in NYC I hung out with crazy theater people who did shit like that - namely, my best friend from college.

I started watching this show late but I actually found it very unrealistic and I too lived in NYC at a similar age (probably about 4-5 years older, though). But that makes total sense to me now because anyone I knew there was either a lawyer or an investment banker or something like that and while their experiences were certainly punctuated by the totally absurd, it wasn't Girls-type absurd, if that makes sense.

 

[mobvok]

Tonight is girls' night out!

By which I mean I'm catching up on the rest of Girls, alone, indoors.

 

[bollox]

I just saw Tiny Furniture, the film Lena Dunham wrote/directed before Girls. She plays a character just graduating from college who moves back in with her mom and sister (played by her real life mom and sister). Her character is basically a younger Hannah, and the movie also has Jemima Kirke doing the same as a Jessa-like character (a few of the Girls guys are in it too).

I'd recommend it to any fan of Girls, if only to see how Dunham has developed artistically in just a few years. It's funny in places, but nowhere as assured and consistent as Girls (of course it's easier to develop characters over a 10 episode arc than a 90 minute movie). The film's characters definitely have the same sense of selfish entitlement but are more passive whereas in Girls they are more likely to act terrible outright. I think it shows that Dunham grew more confident to where she could write more unlikeable characters.