What I’m Watching: Girls (Penultimate Episode)

Girls: Season 6, Episode 9 “Goodbye Tour” (B)

I’m not really sure what to make of this second-to-last episode. There was something very nostalgic about it, particularly in its closing moments where Hannah appeared to be singing, which was strange, and packing up her life at the same time as she was digesting what was around her at the party. While Hannah and Elijah cracked up at the idea of having made great friendships in New York City, I think that the character of the city, an idea explored in shows like “Sex and the City” before this, has been extremely influential in everything that this show is. I’d actually argue that the absence of the city has produced some of the better episodes of this show, one of which was set in another city halfway across the globe. What felt weird to me was that we’ve barely seen Shoshanna all season, relegated to matchmaking for Ray and seeing his relationship from the outside, and it feels like the audience was just as in the dark about her new engagement as Hannah was. Ray not being there was odd, and the fact that Marnie and Elijah would both go without telling Hannah didn’t really track, especially since Elijah literally spent the entire day with her. Marnie’s attempted friend meeting was entertaining, and it’s nice that Jessa and Hannah decided to make up. Where Hannah is going is only a theoretical bus ride away, and I’m pretty sure that she’s really going to like it there. Caroline attributing the city as the cause of much of her hysteria is likely telling, and I think Hannah is headed for some measure of happiness.