What I’m Watching: Girls

Girls: Season 6, Episode 2 “Hostage Situation” (B+)

I had expected that we were going to spend at least a few episodes with Hannah undercover at the surf club with her new semi-boyfriend Paul-Louis, a trip away for New York City comparable to the show’s several episodes that had her in Iowa in season four. Instead, she’s back right away and at the service of her best friend, Marnie in her latest instance of cyclical self-destruction. The two of them really have had a rocky road, and since that first great season two episode “Bad Friend,” it’s clear that both of them have made mistakes and done things that they wish they could take back. It took so little time for Marnie to go from being on a romantic secret getaway weekend with Desi (and Hannah in tow) to realizing that the man that she was still carrying on with was actually addicted – quite severely – to oxycodone and ready to go ballistic the second she suggested withholding it from him. Hannah came through for her in a big way, and she also had the chance to meet a true enigma in the form of Joy Bryant’s relaxed third-rail hippie Marlowe. The enduring strength of Hannah and Marnie’s friendship stands in stark contrast to that of Shoshanna and Jessa, since the newly blonde chatterbox finally stood up to her carefree British cousin and told her that she was tired of her ruining everything. The fact that Shoshanna’s friends were maddest at her for making them split a hotel room two ways instead of three was predictably petty, but it’s true that she hasn’t gone too far since that point. While Elijah was busy entertaining himself at the WEMUN event, he did show that he was a better friend to Shoshanna despite his inherent selfishness.