Girls Unfurls

The second series of Girls begins with really strong episodes, but then it slowly and almost unnoticeably goes from being one of the best shows currently on TV to one that’s slightly painful to watch (and not in a good, cringe-comedy way). Hannah’s new roommate Elijah brings in a more traditional sitcom vibe but because of actor Andrew Rannells’ commitment to The New Normal, he does not stick around for long. Jemima Kirke’s pregnancy results in Jessa also appearing only sporadically and then disappearing completely, leaving behind nothing but a short note. While the writers cannot be blamed for those things, disappointingly the whole series seems kind of haphazardly put together.

The dreamlike episode ‘One Man’s Trash’ in particular is an indulgent and unnecessary addition, although I would have definitely enjoyed seeing it at an indie film festival. The writers seem to become fascinated and then bored with themes and storylines far too often to suggest extensive planning or editing. Hannah’s money troubles, so central a theme in the first series, are now completely ignored, despite her not having a roommate for most of the episodes. Her mental health issues, however, which admittedly there have been subtle hints to since series one, suddenly take over the whole show in the last couple of episodes. And because she is left to deal with them all alone, there aren’t many laughs involved.

Considering how central the theme of female friendship was in the first series, it is more than a little disappointing how little of it we see in the second one. Everyone drifts apart; everyone is a bad friend. The painful lack of any unity between the girls in the finale makes the Carrie Bradshaw-esque first (and only) sentence of Hannah’s e-book on her laptop screen all the more jarring: ‘A friendship between college girls is grander and more dramatic than any romance’.

The characters were never particularly likeable, but at least they started off as realistic. In the second series, however, they have become noticeably more selfish, entitled, and rarely made to suffer the consequences of their actions. While shows like Arrested Development can get away with unlikeable characters because of the humour (although their viewing figures disagreed), Girls is just not quite funny or self-aware enough anymore. When Shoshanna ends up being the most mature one of the group, you know you’re in trouble.
What is uncomfortable for such a feminist show is that instead of women being there for each other, it is the men, the (for a good reason) ex-boyfriends who end up rescuing Hannah and Marnie merely by showing up. The girls’ downward spirals are stopped only by having a male presence in their lives again.

The final scene is a spectacularly failed attempt at a grand romantic ending. Making Adam into a Shirtless Prince Charming is thoroughly misguided, especially considering his highly controversial behavior in a sex scene in the previous episode (to which no repercussions follow). The idea that Hannah, in her fragile mental state, needs a boyfriend is problematic enough. But to make that boyfriend Adam who started the series as a pathetic ex and who has his own serious issues, and then to set it to a powerful score slightly ruins the impression of the whole series. Voices on the Internet claim that it was co-author Judd Apatow who wrote that scene, which would explain why it seemed to instead belong at the end of a Hollywood film with far less messed up characters.

But it’s not all bad. The second series features some wonderful guest performances, a number of hilarious lines and a remarkable soundtrack. I just cannot help but judge it harshly after such an impressive first series. The Internet is still in love with dissecting every second of it, but sadly Girls just doesn’t seem deserving of all the hype it gets anymore.