Listen to Alex Hum, Leslie Armstrong, and Tamara Khandaker unpack the season 2 premiere.
For a recap of the show, keep reading.
A privileged foursome of girls and their guy friends work to maintain their pseudo-Bohemian lifestyle in New York City in HBO’s hit TV show Girls, written and directed by the 26-year-old Lena Dunham, who also stars as the main character, Hannah Horvath.
The show follows this realistically diverse and dysfunctional group of friends as each tries to find the balance between pursuing what they love and finding a way to pay the bills. All in their early 20s, the characters are still figuring out who they are, and we’re privy to their self-discovery, seeing everything from fights with best friends, to being cut off financially by parents, to all-too truthful, awkward sex scenes.
Girls is down-to-earth and honest. The characters’ everyday problems are complex and multidimensional, making the show stand out from others it has been compared to, like Sex and the City and 90210.
Season one starts as Hannah is cut off by her parents. An unpaid intern and aspiring writer used to having every expense covered, worrying about money isn’t a familiar concern to her. As the date to pay rent approaches, Hannah’s roommate and best friend Marnie pressures her to get real and find a job.
But their world-trotting friend Jessa is back in town, and offers Hannah some contrasting advice on how to deal with her parents. “Tell them you’re an artist,” she says, encouraging Hannah to continue demanding financial support. Jessa is beautiful, with a voluptuous body and flowing blonde locks, and seemingly worldly, having travelled and experienced life in a different way than the other three.
Jessa’s fast-talking, Sex-and-the-City-obsessed cousin Shoshanna is ready to follow Jessa wherever she goes, much like a little girl chasing after her big sister and her friends. Shoshanna is extremely caring and used to playing by the rules. Her admiration from Jessa stems from insecurities she has about herself. We eventually learn that she’s a virgin (her biggest “baggage,” she calls it).
Editors pick their favourite characters, their favourite season one moments, and make predictions on what season two will bring
Naturally, these four young ladies have respective male counterparts to make for a series of troubled romantic arcs that allow men to relate to and love the show as well.
Often shrouded in mystery, Adam, Hannah’s … something, is an independent asshole but is revealed to be strangely and unexpectedly wise. Towards the end of the season, we gain some insight into this character, and he becomes much more likeable. Adam also shows himself to be much more suited for Hannah than her ex-boyfriend, Elijah. Because since he and Hannah broke up, Elijah started, you know, dating men.
Charlie, Marnie’s boyfriend, is a geek in a band whose greatest fault is loving Marnie too much. He’s a sweet guy, but Marnie isn’t interested in sweet; when he asks her what her biggest fantasy would be, Marnie says it would be for him to act like a complete stranger. Charlie’s best friend Ray is known mostly as a supporting character and for comic relief, but expect to see more of him in season two as towards the end of season one, he starts to develop a thing for Shoshanna.
For the majority of the season, Jessa doesn’t have just one man in her life. Her romantic life takes a complete turn, however, at the end of the season as she makes an attempt to commit to something serious.
The first episode of season two of Girls aired on Sunday, January 13. Follow the show week to week with Excalibur, as we follow their careers, family lives, and hilarious sexual escapades.
Many of us, facing the same problems of identity and relationships have found kindred spirits in Hannah and the gang, and can also look to Girls for a laugh or two.
Keep an eye on Excalibur in print, but also look online for podcasts, updates, and reactions to the show as we follow Hannah around New York City.
By Alex Hum, Features Editor
