Jessa’s first dinner with Thomas-John’s parents goes less than perfectly.
Sometimes being in your early twenties and having relatively minimal responsibilities can be fun and exciting, like when you get to go on a massive coke binge and dance all night to write about it for a job. But sometimes it can be scary and confusing trying to navigate the uncharted waters of adulthood and all that comes along with it, such as meeting your new husband’s conservative family or dealing with your ex-boyfriend’s sassy new girlfriend (who also makes artisanal mustard!). The most recent episode of Girls, “It’s a Shame About Ray”, shows the main characters dealing with a variety of emotional issues that have been building throughout the season (some more productively than others).
“It’s a Shame About Ray” offers something drastically different than the previous episode, which focused on the lighthearted ridiculousness that exists for the young in Brooklyn. Instead, the episode centers on the dramatic action that took place in one evening. The characters are confronted head-on with many of their own flaws, from Hannah’s blind selfishness to Marnie’s loss of direction in life to Jessa’s destructive free-spirit lifestyle to Shoshanna’s naivety. Girls might not always be the most realistic show on television, but this episode was a fine example of the writers’ and actors’ ability to capture the complexity of human emotion and interaction. And as we saw at the end of the episode, even if everything is bad, you can still hang out with your friend in a bathtub while she sings old Oasis songs.
Hannah: In the beginning of the episode, we get a glimpse of the aftermath of Elijah and Hannah’s falling out after the discovery of Elijah and Marnie’s brief tryst. Hannah is forcing Elijah to move out, but gets to keep everything in their apartment because his rich ex-boyfriend paid for it (Hannah later quips that she “made out well” in her “divorce” from Elijah). To celebrate getting her article published and Elijah’s move out, she throws a dinner party because she believes it’s a mature, grown up event to host. Unfortunately, Hannah isn’t acting like much of an adult (not to mention her inability to cook noodles). She causes a rift between Marnie and Charlie’s new girlfriend, Audrey, after inviting them both to her party and then failing to speak up for Marnie, who is supposed to be her best friend. She also accidentally instigates a disagreement between Ray and Shoshanna after Ray reveals that he’s essentially homeless due to Hannah’s prodding about where he lives. But as we’ve seen in the past, Hannah isn’t all bad — she eventually sticks up for Marnie to Charlie and takes care of Jessa when she appears at her apartment later in the evening.
Marnie: Marnie hasn’t had it easy this season — she lost her job in the first episode, and is still dealing with the repercussions of her break up with long-term boyfriend Charlie. All that she has going for her is a job that pays (never mind all the judgment she has to suffer for it) and an affair with a famous artist (who also locked her in a bizarre video torture chamber). When she arrives to the dinner party, she does her best to act civil towards Audrey but lashes out when Audrey confronts her and calls her a “psychotic Stepford.” On Hannah’s roof, she echoes to Charlie what thousands of other post-grads are feeling — she has literally no direction in life right now and wishes she had someone to tell her what the next few years of her life will be like because she has no idea. Charlie attempts to comfort her by kissing her, where she reveals she’s seeing Booth Jonathan and their relationship is once again temporarily ruined.
Jessa: We haven’t seen much of Jessa this season after her spontaneous marriage to Thomas-John at the end of last season. Despite her claims of marital bliss, the couple’s relationship is swiftly undermined after their first meeting with Thomas-John’s parents at a steakhouse. We learn more about Jessa’s past over the dinner — she had a heroin addiction in college and can’t go to Spain because she’s avoiding someone there — and have to watch her awkwardly struggle to keep up as her mother-in-law suggests that she married Thomas-John for his money. After dinner, they engage in a heated argument where Thomas-John confronts Jessa for her tendency to live life for the experience, not caring what or who she ruins or destroys in her path. There is some accuracy to his words, which isn’t lost on Jessa, but Thomas-John is still a huge jerk, so she punches him and gets out of there.
Shoshanna: It seems as if Ray and Shoshanna are the only two major characters enjoying each other’s company, but they have to deal with the first bump in their relationship when it’s revealed that Ray is essentially living with Shoshanna. At first, this reflects poorly on Ray, as it looks as if he’s taking advantage of Shoshanna — who is having a difficult time wrapping her head around the idea she’s living with a man and didn’t even know it. But in a fantastic scene taking place at the Bedford subway stop, he reveals his frustration with his own failure and they both express genuine love for each other. If anyone can make it, hopefully these two stay together.
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