Girls - Season 2 Episode 3 - Recap and Review - Bad Friend

We knew it would have to happen eventually. Girls revisited the infamous "Good Friend vs. Bad Friend" debate tonight during an episode appropriately titled “Bad Friend”. This is season 2, though, so it wouldn’t be enough for Hannah (Lena Dunham) and Marnie (Allison Williams) to hash things out within the safety of their old apartment.  Hannah would have to snort some coke, and Marnie would have to find herself confined within the walls of Booth Jonathan’s (Jorma Taccone) wacky art house home.

Both Shoshanna (Zasia Mamet) and Jessa (Jemima Kirke) only popped their heads in for a moment towards the start of the episode, while Jessa ran a makeshift flea market from her stoop. Okay, I think it’s safe to say that we know Jessa’s storyline for season 2. Her “fulfillment” has blown her head to epic proportions, huh? Maybe I’m being unfair, considering the fact that we’ve barely seen during the first three episodes, but newly deflowered Shoshanna came off as much more adult than recently married Jessa during “Bad Friend”. It is not okay to stay up all night watching reruns of Ally McBeal. Sorry, Ray!

HBO "Girls"

Marnie: We got to see Marnie hard at work as a sexed-up hostess for skeev older dudes this week. After bumping into Booth, the con artist of an artist who predicted their sexcapades last season, she was quick to bail on the “pretty-person” job she was so excited to land on the prior episode. I guess the gin-soaked “glamour” wore off quickly, huh? Booth charmed Marnie into running over to his place; an abandoned office building turned makeshift studio. Booth’s artistic pieces were bizarre, hilarious, and fascinating all at once.

How about that television funhouse tower of video decay that seemed to be powered by Duncan Sheik’s “Barely Breathing”? Poor Duncan Sheik had to bare the grungy burdening weight of the entire 90s decade on his shoulders.

HBO "Girls"

I also appreciated Marnie’s attempt at playing along while the two were actually having sex after all of the artistic-interpretation foreplay. Booth made her stare at a doll and interpret its feelings.

Marnie: “She feels… sassy?”

Hannah: Hannah landed a high-paying freelance gig for a website, I believe, was called JazzHate.com. Think Sex and the City on coke, because that’s what the tasks at hand would call for. Hannah would have to experience the bottom of the barrel; threesomes booked on craigslist or, say, doing loads of cocaine, then she'd write articles covering her time. Marnie tipped Hannah off to a junky in their building, Laird (Jon Glaser), who Hannah, hilarious in her awkwardness, would then proceed to attempt to score drugs from. Two problems; Laird assumed she’d wanted sex, and Laird was clean. Still, his crush on Hannah pressured him to score for her, and he did.

Hannah: “I’m so sorry! You didn’t look clean!”

This is where the real fun began. Hannah and Elijah (Andrew Rannells) decided to start their coke binge around 4pm, allowing for the sharing of dreams to lead into a night of ridiculous sweaty debauchery. The hilarity was truly indescribable and should be witnessed in visual motion via a viewing of the actual episode, as opposed to the reading of a recap. I'll say, Elijah's dream of owning a show dog ended up scribed above Hannah's bed in sharpie. Eventually, the two made their way down to the subway and off to a rave thrown by iPod DJ duo, Andrew Andrew. Hannah also revealed her melancholy dream of sleeping with herself after watching the self-made identical twins play their set.

Inevitably, Elijah and Hannah got into a bonding session of snorting some more blow off of a disgusting toilet seat at the rave. The conversation turned from their mutual love for one another to the confession that Elijah had sex with Marnie. Aren't they using the term "sex" a little loosely? I mean, he attempted to have real sex, but ended up flaccid, like, immediately. I guess it was merely the attempt itself that mattered, because Hannah, Elijah, and Laird, who the two picked up at the corner drugstore, made their way over to Booth's studio to confront Marnie. The sight of that crew through Booth's door's window was ridiculous, and Marnie was rightfully mortified. I mean, Hannah had traded shirts with the king of the ravers and ended up with nothing but a yellow net on top!

Hannah: It's a Wednesday night, baby, and I'm alive!

Marnie attempted to apologize, but Hannah wasn't having any of it. That was too "boring" for her, as a writer, I'm assuming. Instead, Hannah revived the old brawl that ended their relationship as roomies; "Good Friend vs. Bad Friend" 2.0! This time, though, Marnie womaned up and owned her mistake, showing a little maturity versus her righteous stance of faux-perfection from last season. Hannah berated Marnie for lying to her face, but admitted to still wanting to be friends so long as they were both aware of who was indeed the "bad" one. Unfortunately, she gave Elijah notice that he would need to move out. To Hannah, he'd ruined her article with the dropping of his bomb. In reality, he actually hand delivered an article actually worth the $200 she was offered. Elijah was much funnier this season, but knowing his time was expiring due to Andrew Rannell's commitment on The New Normal, I guess this was as good of a way as any to eliminate the character for now.

The episode closed with a sweaty and coked-out Hannah coming on to Laird outside of his apartment door. For a while Hannah merely pecked at his lips, until she gave him the go-ahead to kiss back. This episode reminded me of Shoshanna's Bushwick craccident!

Because you know you were going to search for it anyway:

You're welcome.

What did you all think of Girls season 2 episode 3, "Bad Friend"? Will Hannah find a new roommate, or struggle to live alone for our viewing pleasure? Are you needing more Jessa this season? Are you enjoying watching a struggling Marnie as opposed to last season's more "together" Marnie?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Girls season 2 episode 3, "Bad Friend"!