..
They come to a screeching halt and/or die a painfully slow death.
I hate to be grim here, but I finally got around to watching the season finale of "Girls". And to say the least, I was a bit disappointed. Sure, Marnie realized via an act of oral pleasure and a not-so veiled understanding of Charlie's wealth that she wanted to be with him forever. She even showed acceptance of his ethnic flare by confessing her willingness to give birth to his little brown babies. It was a heartfelt moment.
And what about Shoshanna! Props to Shoshanna for ditching Ray and refocusing her attention on her youth. She sat there calmly and told Ray that he should see a shrink given that she couldn't handle being the only thing in his life that he didn't hate. Her delivery is intended to make the viewer uncomfortable, but the poise with which she handled the situation was refreshing. She stuck to her guns and scored herself an opportunity to make out with a hot guy in the bar. F yeah!
But Hannah...I don't know where to begin with Hannah. It's as if Lena Dunham's sole purpose for this season was to make viewers resent Hannah's character and her childish shenanigans. The episode sees her failing to live up to her professional obligations and running to Daddy for help with avoiding a potential lawsuit. It is an episode that also includes an uncomfortably awkward scene in which Hannah's hides under her bed to avoid talking to Marnie. This childish game of cat-and-mouse was one that Marnie was not willing to play.
Adam, in all his shirtless glory, ultimately comes to rescue poor Hannah from her resurfacing bouts of that "OCDC shit" that she'd told him about. This sequence is pretty comical given his own mental instability. Perhaps the unwillingness of his abnormally attractive girlfriend to participate in kinky sex acts grew a bit too off-putting for someone with such an adventurous track record in the sack as Adam. But it's cool, despite all of his eccentricities, he still manages to own an iPhone that enables him to use FaceTime as a tool to exist with his mission to rescue Hannah from herself.
By the way, where the hell did Jessa go? I'd really love to know what she's up to and if she's safe while refusing to check her voicemail.
Look, I still love this show. But I'm not quite sure where they aim to take things next. If there is a merciful God above, I'm sure he or she will do what they can to ensure that Marnie and Charlie's road to happiness collapses beneath them. At which point, Marnie will become an aimless hostess once more looking for meaning in his personal and professional life. And Shoshanna will continue to make herself and the people around her uncomfortable as she progresses throug her collegiate years.
But, will Jessa come back? Her character has been the odd ball out since encountering irreconcilable differences with our friend the venture capitalist. Perhaps she'll spiral into the occasional cameo appearance via phone call while she sets up shop as a free spirit resigned to traveling endlessly throughout Southeast Asia and periodically making love to European tourists.
More importantly, will Hannah grow up? Dunham has done a mighty fine job of stretching out Hannah's antics for two seasons. But I'm not sure how many more calls home to her parents or instances of being topless for an entire episode that the viewing public can take. While Dunham may not believe it, I'd like to believe that there is a way to make Hannah's character compelling without sending her into a dark abyss called writer's block and/or a mental breakdown. I remember the days past (namely, the days I spent at home in December watching season one of the show). During the first season, you kinda had to love the adorable naivete that Hannah brought to the table. She didn't know shit about jobs or about being tactful or about not wearing the awkward jumper outfits everywhere she went. For the first season, these behaviors were adorable and a large part of why I gravitated to the show.
Unfortunately, Hannah's character has to show some type of meaningful growth. I know far too many young "girls" that are doing more out there than kinda sorta figuring it out. Hannah can't let the other characters evolve while she stands still, wading in a pool of immaturity (or a pool of Cool Whip). She owes it to her viewers and to the overall well-being of the "Girls" story line to figure out how to make Hannah more complex, more responsible and more grounded in reality. The ability for Hannah to keep leaning on retorts about her thoughts on X, Y and Z as a child is wearing dangerously thin. She'll need to give us some degree of substance that I fear she won't be able to unpack while she continues getting weird with the shirtless, temperamental wonder Adam.
To be clear - I wasn't a huge fan of the season finale. But to be realistic - I'll most definitely be anxiously awaiting the arrival of season 3 to see if Lena can figure out a way to right the things that I perceive to be wrong with the way that season 2 shook out.
And in the spirit of not over thinking a show that wasn't made for me, I hereby promise to stop watching the show if my sweet, sweet Marnie actually ends up getting married or moving to California or doing something else that will jeopardize my ability be in love with her fictional and non-fictional manifestations.
PS - Does anyone have recommendations for other shows that I can watch? If not, this is gonna be a lonely wait for season 3...
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