Review: Girls, S1, E5 – “Hannah’s Diary”

Air date: Sunday, May 6, 2012, 10:30/9:30c on HBO

Rating: ★★★★★

Would you ever snoop in someone’s diary or send naked pictures of yourself to an uncommitted sex partner? These actions have consequences and this week’s Girls explores this.

Hannah (Lena Dunham) gets a “dick pic” from Adam (Adam Driver) she wasn’t supposed to get. WTF flashes in my mind as if I could see the letters displayed on a Jumbotron. When Marnie (Allison Williams) urges Hannah not to ask Adam about it, I nod in agreement. Two seconds later, Hannah sexts Adam back and I want to slap her. Why, Hannah, why? “You is kind, you is smart, you is important” …. Oh wait, that’s a line from The Help but heck, the message applies here too. I’ve seen too many women friends suffer from the same syndrome as Hannah: not knowing their self-worth or how to uphold their value.

From there on, things don’t slow down for Hannah.  She finally gets a paying job that comes with a catch: a touchy feely married boss who enjoys practicing his Reiki skills on his female employees.  Although I’m not familiar with the Japanese stress reduction method, I’m skeptical about any massage technique that involves the direct fondling of breasts, and I’m glad Hannah is as distrustful as I am.

Jessa (Jemima Kirke) is a babysitter described as having “the face of Bridget Bardot and Rihanna’s ass.”

Jessa (Jemima Kirke) also experiences troubles adjusting to her new job. “You know the weirdest part of having a job?” Jessa asks her sweet, ingénue cousin Soshanna (Zosia Mamet). “You have to be there every day, even in the days you don’t feel like it.”

Um, did Jessa figure all that out by herself?  Her honesty surprised me when she admits to losing the kids she was supposed to watch while trying to unionize the neighborhood sitters. As I hear Jessa being described as having “the face of Bridget Bardot and Rihanna’s ass,” I’m certain she’ll step into inappropriate territory with the couple who employs her.

If work is a drag, still being a 20-something virgin appears to be worse! Soshanna fails to close the deal yet again with a horny former junior camp counselor.  As I struggle to find a nice way to use the words “harsh” and “cold shower” in the same sentence without being brutal, it’s a safe bet Soshanna will take out her sexual frustrations on someone soon.

Back in Hannah and Marnie’s apartment, Charlie (Christopher Abbott) enlists his friend Ray (Alex Karpovsky) to surprise Marnie with a song and more as he’s worried her “adjustment to adult life” has had her on edge for a while. It’s pitiful to see a tool like Ray recognize Marnie doesn’t need a man who thinks of a vibrator as “a shared tool,” or wants to make her a coffee table Restoration store style. He knows she wants a man who’ll show her who’s boss. Since the girls aren’t around, Ray sees Hannah’s room as fertile ground for a scavenger hunt. As uncomfortable as Charlie is in invading Hannah’s privacy, he wrestles Ray for her diary when he notices something has creeped Ray out. It’s good to get confirmation that Charlie isn’t stupid but choses to be oblivious to his relationship problems.

Marnie (Allison Williams) will be unpleasantly surprised by her boyfriend.

In the meantime, Hannah receives an unflattering eyebrow make over and half decent advice from her co-workers who point out how disrespectful Adam is to her. The dramatic advice and the fact Adam hasn’t responded to her naked photo propels Hannah into action, only to be welcomed to Adam’s suave ways: “Jesus Christ, what the fuck is up with the eyebrows?”

Hannah goes on a rant about how hurt her feelings are and the negative consequences their involvement has had on her, and I continuously shake my head. First off, does Adam even own a shirt? It doesn’t matter how wise beyond her years a girl can be or what generation she’s from, one fact remains constant: a woman can only flush a guy out of her system when she’s really ready for the big adios.  Hannah’s visit isn’t about demanding respect from Adam but wanting a reaction from him. Hope desperately oozed out of her voice, wishing Adam would reciprocate her feelings. This is where I had to stop watching for a few seconds—I can’t stand when a woman (in fiction or real life) compromises her dignity for a questionable man. Don’t get me wrong, I value risk taking but I hope Hannah’s move yields dividends and not more STDs for her.

The episode comes to a close with Ray and Charlie on stage as the duo “Questionable Goods,” while a post-sex rosy glowing Hannah is beaming so much, she doesn’t flinch even an eyelash when Charlie introduces his next song as “Hannah’s Diary.”  And I loved seeing how Charlie grows some balls and proves able to cross to the dark side.  On the positive side, Hannah’s observations about the state of Marnie’s relationship with Charlie are poignant and sad but beautiful. She’s a gifted writer, indeed, and she’ll need significant eloquence to sort out the mess her diary has created. The Echo-Friendly’s “Same Mistakes” serves as a beautiful backdrop to the ending scene: just as the lyrics describe, the girls struggle with their mistakes as they contemplate whether it’s time to grow up.

Tune in to Girls on Sundays at 10:30/9:30c on HBO. For more on the show, visit www.hbo.com/girls/index.html.

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