Recap: Girls 5.2 "Good Man"
To my surprise, this week’s episode of Girls was the most sensible and non-distracting episode I’ve seen in awhile: we actually had a chance to focus on and relate to the drama unfolding without being distracted by this or that character’s overreaction.
Elijah
Level: Jessica Simpson’s entire stint on Newlyweds.
Elijah is hands-down my favorite character on the show. He’s just the right cocktail of outrageous, down-to-earth and hilarious to bring what seems to be a breather to a show that’s so easy to drown in. His charming and slightly delusional ways are subtle enough to make me love him, but how long can that last? How long will it last now that he’s being potentially pursued by famous news anchor Dill Harcourt (Corey Stoll)? Only time will tell, but hopefully his charm doesn’t begin to work against him.
Ray
Level: Ashlee Simpson caught lip-syncing on SNL.
Ray finds a way to put his foot in his mouth quite often. He’s definitely still the most sane on this show – at least, currently – so it’s hard to really put him on-par with the others. All Ray wants is to be with the love of his life and own a successful coffee shop. We know his love, Marnie, is now off the table (at least for now), so we’re left to root for Ray and his coffee, which is now being threatened by a shop across the street called Helvetica. His intentions of asking the owners to give their customers coffee lids so they quit stealing his is noble, but he completely misfires when he calls a female employee sir. After an awkward scramble to save himself, he’s forced to leave with his tail between his legs. He’ll probably never go back to Helvetica again, but I hope he saves his career – something poor Ashlee Simpson has (still) failed to do.
Jessa & Adam
Level: Justin Timberlake exposing Janet Jackson’s nipple during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show.
The idea of Jessa and Adam being together makes sense: they struggle with some of the same demons, like their alcohol and drug issues; they are incredibly blunt; they are free spirits; and they see the world in such a unique way, it rarely lines up with anyone else, but that’s what makes them so perfect together. Much like Janet and Justin, it just makes sense for them to team up, right? But, unfortunately like Janet and Justin, when the their coupling gets around to Hannah and the you-know-what hits the fan, Jessa is going to take the brunt of the blame and anger from her friend, even though Adam was just as responsible. Sigh. Here’s to hoping Lena Dunham writes her character to be a little more forward-thinking and spreads the blame over both Jessa and Adam instead of presenting a “boys will be boys” attitude.
Fran & Hannah
Level: Michael Jackson naming his child Blanket.
I would bet good money Fran and Hannah’s relationship implodes now that Fran has moved in with Hannah due to his actually insane roommate losing it. If you recall, Fran was reluctant of being with Hannah at first because of how dramatic she is, so the idea of them spending every waking moment together – since teach at the same school, too – is not going to play well for Frannah. Much like Michael Jackson naming his child Blanket, it’s safe to assume some weird stuff is about to go down, like danging your infant over the railing of your fourth-floor balcony.