- Frank talk about HPV and STDs
- Guys today are total dicks--at least the younger ones
- Yay, female masturbation
- Friends lift you up and make you laugh when everything sucks
She goes to visit Jessa, but instead finds Shoshana in her jammies, watching TV. When she tells her about her STD news, Shoshana claims that Jessa has at least two types of HPV, but not to worry--"All adventurous women do." Coming from a virgin, this straight talk is pretty incongruous, but it's also exactly what Hannah needs (and wants) to hear. Shoshana helps Hannah feel that she's not alone, and that's she's kind of cool. Nice.
Next, Hannah meets with Elijah, her ex, who she believes will want to sleep with her again (she has the impression that she broke his heart). Instead, Elijah tells her that he's gay, and after further questions, admits that he was always interested in men, even when they were together. I actually was impressed by how much Hannah's lip trembles as she listens to him talk about "Bo" his new "beau." When she finally gets around to telling him about HPV, he tells her that men cannot get tested for it (Adam's lying), and that he's offended that she thought he gave her the STD. I was simultaneously amazed and disgusted by both men's attitudes toward Hannah, as if she was to blame. Then I realized, oh yeah, many men seem to think that women are responsible for anything that happens during sex--contraception, STDS, pregnancy--you name it. According to Girls, these days, twenty-something men cannot be bothered.
They also appear to be completely willing to insult a woman's body, even if they intend it "jokingly" and Hannah claims that she's "over" any fat body issues. After sex, Adam jiggles Hannah's belly fat, stating that she could lose the weight if she wanted to do so. Then he insists that she grab his fat; he has none. Eye roll. When she sees Elijah, he immediately asks if she's lost weight, but then tells her that he loves how "soft" she is, "like a dumpling." Ugh. I realize now that I'm probably watching the wrong show if I actually want Girls to be aspirational. Expect rampant humiliation and mortification. This show does not think that nice guys are very interesting.
Finally, we get to see a couple of the characters working, at JOBS (even though they are hardly working). If Adam and Elijah seemed dickish, neither of them can hold up to the supreme hipster jerk, Booth Jonathan--an artist who is represented by the gallery in which Marnie works. At one of their openings, Marnie's boss tells Booth that he should sleep with Marnie, and then drunkenly stumbles off. Marnie shyly apologizes and says that she admires his work, only to have him rudely shoot her down. He tells her to try to "give less of a sh**." Later, the two find themselves chatting near the High Line, words full of innuendo and flirtation. Marnie's trying to act cool and nonchalant, but her Type A, good girl characteristics are still apparent. Not so, Booth Jonathan. When she tells him that he cannot kiss her, he invades her personal space and utters these lines: "The first time I f*** you I might scare you a little because I'm a man and I know how to do things." Really. Then he struts away, as if he just delivered the king of all come-ons.
I laughed out loud when I heard such a ridiculous line, but it resonated. I hate to say it, but when I lived in NYC, these types of guys were ubiquitous. They were full of themselves and seemingly out of reach, so if they expressed an interest in you, that felt special. Poor Marnie, dissatisfied with her sweet, loving boyfriend, rattled by her friends' STDs and pregnancies, always the responsible one, is ripe for an adventure. Instead, she has a run-in with Booth Jonathan, who probably chose that moniker. Left relatively unsatisfied by her encounter with him, Marnie rushes back to the opening, sequesters herself in the bathroom, and masturbates. Yay! This scene really changed the temperature of the show for me, and didn't require some snarky voiceover or dialogue to make it work. Self-pleasuring set the perfect tone.
My identification with Marnie is probably strongest since she does seem to be less of a dip*#@*, and she's gainfully employed. She would never blow-off her own abortion. She always makes sure that the rent is paid, on time. While Jessa may be "working" in a new position as a babysitter to a couple of precocious young girls, she seems to exhibit the same sabotage skills Hannah has toward employment (and employers). She dresses for work in a hot pink bra and panties, with a white, crocheted, see-through tunic dress draped over it. Shoshana, her roommate, thankfully tells her that her outfit will not fly. (Shoshana seems to be an excellent supporting character without a story of her own; hopefully, she'll shine brighter in future episodes). Heeding her advice, Jessa puts some kind of fuchsia shawl over the whole thing, so she doesn't look quite so inappropriately dressed.
The real jaw-dropping dialogue occurs when the "Dad," played by James Le Gros, arrives home. Since Mom was there when Jessa started her job, he comes as a bit of a surprise when he wakes her from sleeping on the couch. He asks how things went, and she proceeds to tell him that one of the girls tripped, and Jessa kicked her in the head when she didn't initially move, to make sure that she was okay, and was impressed by the girl's resilience. What's striking about this narrative, is that it's not clear whether Jessa is lying or not. When that bizarre story sails by without comment, and James recounts his evening with a friend's band, she blandly tells him that no one showed up because he has terrible taste in music. He stares at her for a moment, and I thought, "please fire her rude little ass," but instead he offers her pot. They get high and playfully needle each other, until one of the girls awakens. He offers to pay Jessa, but she's fine, and says that she'll just get the money tomorrow. So, not only is she not fired from this job, but she doesn't really even care about the money. Thankfully, there are no sexual hijinks (like Juno)--yet. I'm hoping that Girls avoids that cliched storyline. Still, the way these women deal (or do not deal) with present-day economic realities is unfathomable to me. Their casual indifference toward work makes them borderline despicable. Their privileged attitude is really hard to stomach. Heavy Sigh.
Despite everything before, the show ends on a rather exhilarating note. Sometimes, nothing feels better than to dance your frustrations away with your best friend. After all the humiliations and hurt feelings in this episode--hell, within the last two as well--seeing Hannah and Allison jamming in Hannah's bedroom and then sharing a loving hug felt like a genuine triumph. Finally, a moment to which many of us can relate, despite our differences in age, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, or economic bracket. Dancing can feel so good, and caring friendship, even better. Girls gets another chance based on the moments of warmth and poignancy that it displayed this week.
