GIRLS - Recap: Birthday Bitch

Episode 3 of Season 3 of GIRLS, “She Said OK,” introduced us to Adam’s (Adam Driver) sister, Caroline (Gaby Hoffman), whose eccentricity went absolutely unmatched, even by GIRLS’ standards. Caroline was only the first family member to make an impact this week. Hannah’s parents rolled into New York for the celebration, while Ray’s (Alex Karpovski) bond with his boss, the man who considers him a "bastard son," had him contemplating his future. Most importantly, we were gifted with the brief return of Tako (Roberta Colindrez) this week. I probably could have just introduced the recap with that, huh? Here is the Recap and Review of Season 3 Episode 3 of GIRLS, “She Said OK”! HBO "GIRLS"

I’m not aware of too many things. I know what I know, if you know what I mean.

That’s pretty much the stance I take every week as I sit here writing recaps for GIRLS. I think this show is best enjoyed when you allow yourself a laugh at your own expense while experiencing the attempts at evolution from Hannah (Lena Dunham), Marnie (Allison Williams), and the rest of our favorite Brooklynites. This week, Marnie threw herself into the planning of Hannah’s landmark twenty-fifth birthday bar bash. The show used this as an opportunity to wrangle in some beloved faces of GIRLS episodes past, like Tako and Laird (Jon Glaser). Perhaps the “Birthday Bitch” cap was enough of an attention grabber for Hannah, who surprisingly took a back seat with regard to the spotlight this week. It’s interesting to consider that Hannah, who is in so many ways predominantly defined by her wonky sense of self-worth, was mainly a bystander to the events of her own birthday.

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Marnie:  Marnie’s arc during Episode 3 opened with a scene that I rewound three times… an official music video cover of Edie Brickell & New Bohemians’ “What I Am.” The video, which was apparently paid for and produced by Charlie, is now live on YouTube, and without the password to her ex’s account, Marnie faced a barrage of hater commentary over the sorry auto-tuned attempt at making music. Still, this was an interesting lead-in to Marnie’s storyline this week, as she continues to perpetuate that which is plaguing her by refusing to hold herself accountable and to allow herself to grow up.

Nothing will ever top the performance from last season that took place in front of Charlie’s entire office, but her forced attempt to recreate a moment from the past, that time when she and Hannah performed a sad karaoke rendition of “Take Me Or Leave Me” from Rent, came very close. What’s interesting about Marnie is that she’s caught in a cycle. For a while, it seemed Hannah was more so stagnant in her career, relationship, and, essentially, her life, but Hannah's mental break has offered her a clean slate that has led to a decent start at substantial maturation. Marnie, on the other hand, repeated two offenses with one decision during Episode 3. After spending a good amount of time arguing on the phone with a representative from YouTube, begging the woman to remove the music video, Marnie proceeded to intentionally create another live version of that moment for herself in front of a crowd at Hannah’s birthday. Even more so, she recreated the aforementioned musical moment from last season that ended just as badly.

The characters of GIRLS are, of course, extreme examples of twenty-somethings who are “almost getting it kind of together,’ and many times detractors get frustrated with this because they’re supposedly intended to represent all young New Yorkers. That’s not the case. This a television show, and while the themes and people are realistic to a degree, what we’re essentially looking at is a group of people who deserve each other, whether you love them, hate them, or oscillate between the two. Having said that, I think there are always universal messages living in these extreme examples. For instance, with regard to Marnie’s plot this week, I think something that you do in your twenties is judge yourself incredibly harshly for something that seemed just fine in the past, even a certain something that perhaps occurred just a few months prior. I think something else that’s a pretty common occurrence is that idea of recreating a fond memory to fix the poor present circumstances. If you ever return home after attending college or simply moving away, everything is the same yet everything is different. Hannah played into Marnie’s plea for attention this week because Hannah has a significantly healthy ego when it comes to dodging embarrassment.

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Ray: As Ray continued to run the new Grumpy’s café, his boss made it increasingly clear that his own days on Earth are numbered. We don’t know exactly what is ailing Ray's boss, but the concept of having to man up and run a restaurant on his own is beginning to wear on Ray. Remember, Ray’s older than the rest of the characters, but it’s never easy to feel like your process of growing up is working on a timer. Ray feels like it’s only a matter of time before he’ll be forced to have everything together. In fact, he probably feels like that time has come and gone away with Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet) to a degree. Currently, he remains in a strange limbo.

Much of this is reflected in his failed relationship with Shoshanna, who had her first run in with her ex since the start of Season 3 tonight at Hannah’s birthday party. What started out as a casual conversation outside eventually unraveled into Ray’s decision to cut ties completely. He can’t be friends with Shoshanna. The same charms that enticed him to begin with are essentially the reason why she decided to leave him. Thus, even a polite conversation must feel like a twisting of the knife, mainly because any sort of Shoshanna-isms can only now act as a brutal reminder of what’s been lost and why he’s inadequate.

It’s really amazing that all three of you have accomplished so little in the four years since college.

The girls can deal with a line like that. Ray, at this point, cannot.

The symbolism of the DJ cutting off Ray’s request mid-song in order to play the request of Hannah’s editor, David (John Cameron Mitchell), was a great reflection of his current place in life. One minute you’re dating the girl of your dreams, the next, someone’s playing “Sexy And I Know It” in 2014, and your brain hurts. To top it off, Ray’s tirade over the situation eventually concluded with David clocking him, sending him crashing onto a nearby table. With Ray at his lowest point since this show began, how will he bounce back?

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Hannah and Adam: One thing that I noticed this week amidst Hannah’s continuous recognition of the fact that she had a massive meltdown as a result of her OCD is that GIRLS now has more of a reason to take this character wherever they’d like to without as much critical backlash or questioning. I realize that we don’t necessarily consistently or constantly view Hannah as someone with mental health issues, but they’re there. There’s a certain method to the madness that is Hannah Horvath as an individual who’s leading this cast of characters. That isn’t to say that all of Hannah’s oftentimes odd and shameless behavior over the course of the first two seasons is altogether excusable, of course, but it adds a sense of depth. It was interesting to watch Hannah cut Adam's hair this week, knowing very well that Adam couldn't care less what his hair looks like, and also recalling Hannah's moment with Jessa (Jemima Kirke) during Episode 2 in which she admitted to questioning her own haircut daily. Adam brings a sense of balance to Hannah's life. Perhaps her greater plot over the course of Season 3 will focus on finding that balance within herself having been inspired by Adam as opposed to entirely fulfilled by him. It's all still existing in shades of gray.

This was part of the reason why it was so interesting to watch Hannah interacting with Adam’s out-there sister during Episode 3. The woman showed up out of the blue after a bad breakup with her pet-obsessed boyfriend. Adam was adamant about refusing to allow Caroline to stay in the guest bedroom. This is, apparently, the kind of woman who’ll flush your goldfish down the toilet to set it free. Family is an interesting theme for GIRLS to tackle because so much of what makes these people entertaining and funny to watch is that they have inflated senses of entitlement. We’ve gotten acquainted with Hannah’s parents on several occasions, and we continued to do so this week. Adam’s relationship with his sister is different, though, in that there’s obviously a deeper history here that we’re unaware of, and family issues cut deep. Meaning, to Hannah it might have been a no-brainer to keep Adam’s troubled sister off the streets of Manhattan, and Adam’s unrequited rage and hatred might have seemed unfathomable, misguided, or unworthy. Perhaps in Adam, however, things have festered and seethed.

Caroline continued to grow increasingly twisted over the course of Episode 3. Our introduction was a wacky one, but by the time she was freak dancing all up on Ray, ending her quest for affection with a bite on his upper arm, we slowly began to crawl over to Adam’s dark side.

Episode 3 closed with Hannah receiving a beloved birthday gift from Adam, a necklace with one of his baby teeth attached. I think it’s also interesting to point out that Adam wasn’t sure whether or not the tooth was his or his sister’s as his mother kept this collection mixed.

It’s definitely my genetic material.

You are, essentially and intrinsically, a piece of your parents. In turn, so are your siblings. You’re literally cut from the same cloth. This is why familial issues tend to cause intensified emotions. Instead of sadness, you might feel depression. Instead of anger, you might feel rage. We've explored this most substantially with Jessa, who was way too silent this week, by the way! To close the recap, Hannah and Adam arrived home assuming they’d shaken his sister at the bar. While there were a few bumps in the road, Hannah’s twenty-fifth birthday went off without a hitch to her. That is, until she found Caroline, standing bottomless, in her bathroom. Adam’s sister shattered a glass in her hand before continuing to unravel before our eyes.

What are you doing?!

What are you doing?...

Hannah, like us, was nothing more than an audience member to begin with, but she did show the girl some compassion in the end. Of course, that didn’t stop Horvath from getting disappointed that Adam was no longer interested in birthday sex. This is Hannah, everybody. Brooklyn wasn’t built in a day.

What did you think of GIRLS Season 3 Episode 3, “She Said OK”? Will Marnie ever break out of her cycle, or are we in for another full season of this? Was Ray right to end his friendship with Shoshanna, or will they reconcile? Do you feel like Hannah is evolving as an individual, or do you feel like this is all a reflection of a stable relationship with Adam? Did Jessa say anything?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of GIRLS Season 3 Episode 3, “She Said OK”!