Leslie Armstrong, Editor in Chief
Favourite character: Shoshanna
Girly, fast-talking, neurotic, bashful, sensitive. While Shoshanna comes off as annoying and vapid at first, we discover as the season progresses that her flaws are rooted in her self-esteem issues. Surrounded by “experienced” girls, she feels uncouth in comparison. One of her biggest insecurities is her virginity, further complicated when she finds out firsthand that men don’t like to have sex with virgins for fear of emotional attachment. Shoshanna is also flawed in that she tries so hard to please people that it consumes her and drives her mad, like when she feels terrible for showing up to a wedding in a white dress. In short, Shoshanna is a kind but tortured soul, and when she’s down, I’m down with her.
Favourite Season One moment:
When Jessa and Marnie are sitting on the couch talking about how weird Hannah’s boyfriend Adam is. Marnie sums up Adam’s filthy yet charming character, saying, “I walked into the bathroom the other day—I kid you not—he was sitting there, taking a shit and drinking milk at the same time.” Brilliant writing.
Predictions for Season Two:
Jessa will stay jaded and comfortable, Shoshanna will let Ray calm her down, and Hannah will quit fooling around and hunker down on her writing.
Alex Hum, Features Editor
Favourite character: Marnie
Marnie is organized and ambitious, and tries to look out for her less-put-together friends, which I can relate to. Marnie seems uptight, but only as a direct result of everyone around her being intolerably all over the place. Ultimately, she just wants the best for her friends and for Hannah, who she watches struggle to hold down a steady job. Of the group, she understands best that at the end of the day, there are bills to pay and that she and her friends need to work and find money. She is the one person, besides maybe Ray in his coffee shop, who knows what she is doing with herself.
Favourite Season One moment:
Ray chasing Shoshanna down the street, yelling, “I am your crack spirit guide!” Entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of her after she accidentally smokes crack, he chases her around for several blocks until finally Shoshanna, who isn’t wearing any pants at this point, kicks him down, then apologetically gives him a “non-sexual” groin massage.
Predictions for Season Two:
Hannah will find a steady job she loves that allows her to write, giving her some sense of control while she figures out what it means to be in a real relationship with Adam. Marnie will be single and romping about, while Jessa will pretend she’s happy being locked down in her sham-commitment.
Tamara Khandaker, Copy Editor
Favourite character: Adam
A misunderstood creature, Adam is an artist with a sweet soul, though he sometimes comes across as a jerk. He’s all at once gross and awesome, somewhere in-between repulsive and endearing. GQ calls him a “dick with a heart of gold.” As Hannah’s boyfriend, he makes her a better person, consistently calling her out on her bullshit and insecurities. We gradually learn he has a thoughtful side; he’s a writer and actor, working on a play. He delivers a monologue that suggests a lonely adolescence, and that he’s been on his own for a while. Though many find him arrogant and reckless, I think Adam is the most self-assured character on the show; he does what he wants because he knows who he is.
Favourite Season One moment:
Hannah, fed up with Adam’s ridiculous antics, knocks on his door and delivers one of the most honest bits of dialogue I’ve ever seen on TV. She doesn’t want to be his “girlfriend,” she says. She doesn’t want him to meet her friends, or hold her bags while she’s shopping. She just wants him to think she’s the most awesome person in the world, and to have sex with only her. In that moment, I get Hannah. I know most girls do too.
Predictions for Season Two:
When Jorma Taccone returns to Girls, Marnie will learn why it’s not fun to date an asshole. Hannah will stay single for a while, and find her stride in writing with a paying job.
Ernest Reid, Executive Editor (Online)
Favourite character: Hannah
Hannah is a terrible person with terrible taste in men. She’s selfish, indulgent, shallow. We all know her. When she complains about her old classmate lucking out as a writer when her boyfriend kills himself, it is so authentically douchey, I love it. That, compounded by her 20-something awkwardness, Hannah’s the closest thing on television to a female Larry David. I also think she’s the sexiest out of the four women. Unlike Marnie, for example, Hannah looks like she’d be fun to have sex with. That said, her inability to tell the pharmacist about her HPV was unethical and horrifying.
Favourite Season One moment:
After Hannah’s confrontation with her now gay ex-boyfriend Elijah breaks down, her attempts to get the last word in the fight are destroyed when Elijah says, “It was nice to see you. Your dad is gay.” My favourite fuck-you of the year.
Predictions for Season Two:
Record levels of piracy as HBO refuses to give Girls fans, and potential customers, a stand-alone digital subscription. Also, racial tokenism to critics of the first season and rage for Jorma Taccone’s character.
