What I’m Watching: Girls (Season Finale)

Girls: Season 3, Episode 12 “Two Plane Rides” (B+)

For a season that was an entirely uneven and didn’t really have a great episode, I’m pleased to report that this finale is in fact the strongest installment of the year. It’s a crucial episode for all involved, and includes some major turning points that are going to leave the characters in drastically different places when the show returns for season four. Hannah running into Caroline, who was living with Laird and pregnant with his baby, was a reminder that the world isn’t Hannah-centric even if the show is, and that supporting players get to have their own lives that might move remarkably fast too. Hannah getting into the Iowa grad program is completely random, but a sign that she might just be turning into an adult. That victory enabled her and Marnie to move right past their rift, while Marnie made the bad choice of deciding to tell Shoshanna that she was sleeping with Ray right after she found out that she wasn’t graduating because she failed a class. Surprisingly, Shoshanna didn’t yell at Ray but instead pleaded for him to take her back, which he doesn’t seem ready to do. Marnie giving Desi the guitar pick was monumentally inappropriate, and seeing Clementine in the same color dress and hairstyle at the bar was both crazy and hilarious. Jemma was off in her own world helping an old woman kill herself, and aside from saving her life, I’m not sure what the 911 call did other than wake her up to the fact that her own life is completely off track. Adam really was great in the play, and it’s a shame that he blames Hannah for what he feels was a bad performance, and now their relationship is in serious jeopardy. If only this entire season could have been as layered and productive.

Season grade: B-
Season MVP: Adam Driver as Adam