What I’m Watching: Girls (Season Premiere)

Girls: Season 5, Episode 1 “Wedding Day” (B+)

I had all but forgotten about this show and wasn’t particularly excited to watch it because I remembered my waning enthusiasm over the past two or so seasons. This premiere, however, was a true delight, spending plenty of time checking in with its characters and in no particular rush to get anywhere, which was great. The best part of the episode, to me, was Fran. I’ve been a fan of Jake Lacy since “Better With You” and haven’t loved the roles he’s gotten since. Yet he completely nailed every moment of this episode, from being dumbfounded and offended that Desi didn’t remember him even though the two of them went for a bike ride to being warned about his intentions by Ray to telling Hannah that she couldn’t relay Desi’s eight-engagement past to Marnie. The interaction between Adam and Fran was also fun, and it’s both intriguing and worrisome to see that Adam and Jessa are acting somewhat on their mutual attraction, something which will surely infuriate Hannah. Though she was on her own planet as usual, Shoshanna was fairly loyal to Marnie while no one was paying much attention to her, or offering poor words of comfort like about how rain is good for fertility. Bebe didn’t turn out too well, and it was nice to see the four friends and Marnie’s monster mother bond and get back on track when they had to rescue the disaster that was their makeup. I’m genuinely looking forward to this season, which is a real treat.