‘Girls’ Recap (Season 1, Episode 6): Meet the Parents

We’re six weeks into Girls now and I can safely say this is becoming one of my favorite shows on television this summer. I expressed some serious doubts about the pilot, namely with the longevity of the show and its ability to expand, but its been getting better and better by the week. I’m not afraid to admit I legitimately laugh out loud at this show on a regular basis at this point. It’s only going to go up from here too, since Girls has not only been renewed for season 2, but Donald Glover of Community has signed on for the second season.

The main character Hannah (Lena Dunham), is still pretty unlikable, but I’m not sure that’s the intent here. She’s deeply flawed and she’s meant to be relatable for people my age. Guess what? She succeeds in that respect, more often than not. Right now in the show, Hannah is struggling to pay her rent to Marnie, her roommate, who recently tried to get back with her probably-gay boyfriend, and admitted to herself she didn’t want to be with him anymore.

I’m not too familiar with the bohemian New York 20-something beatnik life style, but these characters actually feel like real people for the most part. Their problems are real. The things they do (other than Hannah sexually challenging her boss) seem like natural things people would do. Hannah is probably the least likeable out of all of them though, since all of the girls are now well established and have their own side-plots fleshed out. Someone commented on one of my scathing Veep recaps “It focuses on an older woman in Washington DC of course you don’t like it.” Contrast this (while not the true reason I dislike Veep) to Girls, which I do like, which centers on hip young, attractive people in New York. It’s a sucker’s game and I think I may have taken the bait. But that’s okay, because this show is well directed, funny, and realistically paced. When the characters argue, I know what they’re talking about.

This week’s episode was a weird one, even for this show. Hannah goes back home to try and secure rent money from her parents since she quit her internship as a result of sexual harassment. She gets a date on her first day home and bails on her parents at their anniversary dinner. Then we’re treated to seeing both Hannah and her parents fully nude. It’s a little grotesque, and a lot unnecessary. Someone on Twitter said we’ve seen enough of Lena Dunham’s boobs by now, and while I love the girl’s work I have to agree. I like the gritty and raw angle of the show that leaves nothing to the glamorous or to the imagination, but I think that much is clear at this point.

The episode ends with Hannah returning to New York to her psychotic lover-boy Adam, who’s consistently also naked, and consistently the funniest character in the ensemble. As a guy, when I look at a character like this, I can’t help but chuckle thinking “this is how girls think weird boys act.” It might not be, but it’s funny and it’s how they act in Girls.

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