My Love/Hate Relationship With HBO's 'Girls'

I can’t stop thinking about this last episode of GIRLS, the Season 2 finale in which everyone ends up happy. Adam rescues Hannah. Charlie takes back a crazy Marnie. Shoshana finds a new hot blonde to enjoy. And, of course, Jessa is off “living it up, wearing a crop top.” It reminds me of how I felt when I first listened to One Direction music with my little cousin. I can’t stop thinking, is this the message we want to send?

I’ve been reading the #GIRLS tweets, and @HuffPostTV asked a good question. “Is Adam the ‘Big’ of #Girls?” And if so, do we need another love story like Carrie and Big? And @greerwilliams1 tweeted, “The finale of Girls made me sad...the moral of the Season was that they needed men to rescue them, and no longer rescued each other?”

I have enjoyed watching the show since it began, but I guess I haven’t had strong feelings about the content until tonight. And I’m trying to sort out why I’m so bothered by this. Perhaps I’m hoping for a realistic portrayal of relationships, and I don’t see that here. And if this is realistic, should we be portraying these kinds of dysfunction? Does it glamorize the craziness, as critics have said Teen Mom glamorizes teen pregnancy? 

I always thought it was highly unlikely that Big would ever come around for Carrie in Sex and the City. And thanks to the show, how many women are now waiting for their Mr. Big to come around? I actually liked that Big left Carrie at the altar, because that seemed realistic to me for their characters. 

I think it is just as unlikely that Adam would rescue Hannah at the same time that Charlie saves Marnie from her crazy self, at the same time that Shoshana finds happiness, too.  Unlikely. Moreover, the message we’re getting from Hannah is that you can be mean to your boyfriend and he’ll still love you, and he’ll make a grand gesture to show you that love. Almost the same story for Marnie. Shoshana cheated on Ray, and he still wanted to stick around. Wouldn’t it be more likely that these guys would leave these crazy bitches? Yes, much more likely, in my opinion.

All I can say is: Well played Ms. Dunham. You’ve got us talking. You’ve got us feeling. You’ve got us wanting Season 3. Well played.

@RebeccaAMarquis is the author of How to Be a Good Boyfriend: 34 ways to keep her from getting annoying, jealous, or crazy, and offers dating humor and advice on her new Facebook page: facebook.com/RebeccaAMarquis.