GIRLS - Premiere Recap: Enjoy Your Urine-Soaked Life
GIRLS returned tonight with a Season 3 Premiere that set a lighter tone following a Season 2 finale that had us reeling in mental anguish right alongside Hannah Horvath. What’s your favorite utensil?
Sometimes I find myself chastising these people through my television screen because there are some aspects of their lives in which they just never seem to learn or grow, yet there I was once again, attempting to copy down every one-liner these girls cranked out, guilty as charged. After writing down half the script, I remembered that this method doesn’t really work for GIRLS recaps. There’s nothing less funny than telling someone something funny that someone else said, especially if that person just witnessed the actual joke being cracked but the actual clown. Shoshanna is a walking, talking one-liner. Instead, I’ll do my best to break down the Season 3 premiere plot points while adding a bit of insight along the way.
We officially have a GIRLS tradition! Season 3 Episode 1 opened with Hannah and Adam spooning in bed. The couple seems to have reached a happy place following the unraveling of Hannah by the close of Season 2. Adam helps her take her meds and keep her on track. Meanwhile, the man with a complete lack of attachment to human society now has a strange new anchor in his committed relationship. He’s forced to interact with other people, face the music in new ways, and to even go as far as to own up to the fact that he simply ditched his last girlfriend, Natalia (Shiri Appleby). The true opening scene in which Natalia and her girlfriend completely ripped into Adam at Ray’s (Alex Karpovsky) new coffee shop needed to be viewed for the full experience, but by the time they’d adequately ripped through Adam the “donkey,” Natalia and her friend had fired off a barrage of insults that was comprised of everything from the fact that Hannah and Adam would most likely end up killing their own baby to wishing the couple a happy “urine-soaked life.”You’re not gonna get any milk outta those tits!We’re not paying the check!
It doesn’t matter if you’re “almost getting it kind of together” or if you seem to have all of your sh*t sorted out, does it? It’s still all about free food and looking better.
By the way, I just went to Google for the exact Season 2 poster slogan, and check out suggestion number two:
If you have to ask, you already have your answer.
Hannah’s writing career is also back on track at this point. She’s beginning to post articles through the same publisher whose deadline potentially caused her mental breakdown last season, but he’s been forgiving, all things considered. It’s interesting to see this new "post-haircut" Hannah. She’s succeeding, which brings about a whole new kind of comical entertainment for us because most of her girlfriends are not. Shoshanna has enjoyed a casual college sex life, but that’s not a super exciting career. That's not "adult." It’s easy for Hannah to be happy for her friends when she’s “winning” at life. There is some part of Hannah that is elated that, for once, all of her friends are characteristically on different pages, yet she’s the one who seems to be the farthest ahead.
The plus side to Christopher Abbott flying the coop that is “happily whatever after” is that Marnie partially spent the first half of this Season 3 Premiere trapped at home with her abusively entertaining mother (Rita Wilson). Marnie Marie, that is truly a gift of a name. Her mother has no compassion for the situation regarding Charlie because she’s become so numb to this type of behavior having suffered through these situations herself countless times prior. For the record, Marnie was moving into her own “sh*tbox” apartment by the end of Episode 2.
HBO "GIRLS"
Much of Episode 1 focused on Hannah and Adam hosting a dinner party for her friends. Adam, who openly voiced his distaste for Hannah’s girlfriends and the dramas of their daily lives, was forced to stick it out because that's what boyfriends do. It’s funny to watch Shoshanna and Adam interact because they’re essentially opposites. Shoshanna is a direct representation of commercial society, and Adam is the antithesis of commerciality. Sometimes, Shoshanna’s words fire right through him like nothing but air. Other times, when Adam engages her, it makes for some of the best TV. More on that later, but Adam’s strength at the dinner party seemed to be consoling Marnie. After Hannah’s beau let it slip that he’d bumped into Charlie, Marnie tumbled down the slippery slope of singledom she’d been propped atop for the entire episode. Rather than simply squashing her sobbing in his typical blunt fashion, Adam decided to offer some sagely advice garnered from his own awful experiences in dating. A connection only seems like a connection until you meet a true connection. It’s kind of a difficult concept to grasp, until you find a person with whom you share that special sort of chemistry, like the bond between Adam and Hannah, that trumps the supposed "love" from a past relationship. Has Marnie ever dated anyone other than Charlie? This is a clever means in which to write out this character for good. Marnie’s largest problem has been that she relies on Charlie to fulfill her as an individual knowing very well that he was never enough for her. Now he’s gone, and she has no excuse. She has to discover herself. Maybe then she’ll meet a guy that puts the feelings she had for Charlie to shame.
The first part of the Season 3 Premiere, "Females Only," closed with Adam requesting three months off from impressing Hannah’s friends any further. Unfortunately, Jessa phoned in from an unknown number with a request that would lead to the road trip portion of the premiere, Episode 2, "Truth or Dare."
HBO "GIRLS"
Jessa did appear during Episode 1, of course, but I saved that portion of the recap for now because much of Episode 2 focused entirely on Jessa. We craved Jessa following Season 2. Jemima Kirke is a gem when Jessa is at her best or worst. She’s an infectious actress to watch. Jessa cut a deal with her grandmother, who agreed to help her sustain her lifestyle if she first completed a sixty-day rehab treatment for her well-hidden heroin addiction. Jessa, true to form, bucked the entire ordeal. She wasted no time alienating those participating in her group session by trivializing all of their histories and personal vices in favor of ignoring her own. Granted, GIRLS did place Jessa with a very kooky cast of characters in rehab; however, we’ve never seen her act so shamelessly selfish and that’s saying something. Still, it’s important to remember where Jessa was just before committing herself to the rehab program; visiting her absent father.
I was happy to see Orange is the New Black star Danielle Brooks guest-starring as Laura, the woman Jessa purposely outed as a lesbian based off of a particular puffy vest, only to find a coffee thrown smack in her face. It totally made sense that by the time Jessa had come to her senses and felt somewhat remorseful, she’d take advantage of the situation by luring Laura into her first encounter with girl-on-girl action via some oral. By the time the pair was caught, Jessa had racked up enough violations to be evicted, and she promptly was. Thus, we had the premise of Episode 2, “Truth or Dare”! Hannah, Adam, and Shoshanna road-tripped up to Woodstock to “rescue” Jessa from rehab.
On the journey to Jessa, Adam continued peppering Season 3 with more of his infinite simple wisdom. Do girls live in a “vortex of guilt and jealousy” when it comes to their relationships with their girlfriends? Obviously, that’s a sweeping generalization, but I’m assuming Adam was talking about this very specific group of New York twenty-something ladies. Shoshanna and Hannah were feeding into Jessa’s continuous self-harming behavior in the name of friendship.
HBO "GIRLS"
HBO "GIRLS"
Also, the conversation between Shoshanna and Adam at the diner pit stop was a great example of what was previously referred to.What’s your favorite utensil?Typical Shoshanna, yet Adam played right into it. Not so much to humor her. This was a legit conversation, even if he left it baffled beyond belief. It’s funny that Ray finds Shoshanna’s personality so infatuating, yet Adam just can’t even begin to fathom it.
HBO "GIRLS"
The two had another moment while Hannah sat out from a hiking trip. Shoshanna’s critical comments that Adam is perfect for the endless pit of neediness that is Hannah because Adam has no responsibilities and is an illegitimate person could have offended anyone else, as most people are susceptible to emotional damage caused by others. Adam… not so much. What if Adam had a best friend to distract him? Hannah is his best friend. Just like that, Shoshanna was reduced to tears, and Adam simply continued to walk.
While the trio continued their trip to the rehab facility, Jessa carried on with her strange relationship with a much older man. This relationship was plutonic but laced with sexual energy. This is Jessa’s forte, of course, but I think what is most important to point out here is that this man was essentially exactly what she’d want from a father figure. Imagine and older, male version of Jessa. That’s probably something that many lost twenty-somethings want; a parent that is way more like himself or herself when they’re at their best as opposed to a parent who’s disappointing, disenchanted, or seemingly incapable. I feel like this kind of an idea was solidified by the fact that Jessa refused to actually sleep with this man when he finally attempted to make a desperate move. Maybe it was simply that he was jonesing for pills and wearing the lamest of pajamas at the time, but I think there was sort of a symbolism there, too. Jessa was trapped. She wouldn’t let herself have what she emotionally craved, and, at the same time, she absolutely should not have slept with that man. There was no winning.
Yes, Episode 2 featured a significantly hilarious scene in which the girls attempted to teach Adam how to play Truth or Dare in a hotel room, but the most important part of the hotel scenes was definitely the conversation between Hannah and Shoshanna in the hallway over Jessa. It’s interesting that Shoshanna is usually the voice of reason on GIRLS, but she too is flawed. She represented here much of what is wrong with society regarding the true nature of one’s mental or emotional state and what this translates to in one's public persona. She completely neglected to realize the inner turmoil of her cousin, instead harping on the superficial. Jessa is gorgeous, easy, and not dead, so she’s bound to be a movie star because she can handle drugs. Hannah, on the other hand, has become privy to hole inside of Jessa through their years of friendship, recalling a time when Jessa suffered a kidney infection due to over-partying. Was it Jessa or Hannah who inevitably ended up sobbing? Eh, Hannah’s a storyteller. It doesn't matter. The point was made, at least to us.
As it turned out, Jessa didn’t actually need someone to legally sign her out. She was free to leave of her own volition at any time, but she needed a lift back to New York. Needless to say, Adam was infuriated, but Hannah’s own rage and disappointment that centered on Jessa’s absence during her time of tremendous need quickly subsided and was replaced with a genuine sense of relief. Jessa is back in her life. Will she leave again even though she promised never to do so? Absolutely! But that’s not what Hannah needs. Hannah is someone who simply needs to hear, “yes,” and for all of her own shortcomings, she is a truly forgiving human being. That’s her greatest asset and worst fault. Sometimes she’s forgiving to the point of hurting or disrespecting herself, as we’ve witnessed with Adam in the past.
To end the recap, Episode 2 of the Season 3 Premiere closed with the drive home. Adam offered to accompany Jessa to meetings if she ever needed a buddy.
What did you think of the Season 3 Premiere of GIRLS, Episodes 1 and 2, “Females Only” and “Truth or Dare”? Do you like the tone set for Season 3? Are you happy that Hannah is starting things off in a positive place this season? Do you like the way GIRLS has written out Charlie? Are you looking forward to exploring Adam? All things considered, do you still sympathize with Jessa?
Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of the Season 3 Premiere of GIRLS, Episodes 1 and 2, “Females Only” and “Truth or Dare”!