“Oh my God!” may be the only appropriate expression to tie up this very strange installment of the controversial HBO comedy series…
The third episode of Girls is one that left this viewer perplexed, disturbed, and even more enthralled in the lives of these young women attempting to get themselves together…and failing miserably. “Bad Friend” goes about highlighting several main characters who all happen to be absolutely horrible best friends. Such horrible friends, that I, for the first time watching this series am truly disgusted in their ridiculous behavior. Yet, oddly enough, that disgust does something to complicate the viewing experience which is like nothing else that anyone has seen on television in a long while. This episode is dangerous, which seems like an insanely over dramatic and loaded statement, but it really isn’t, once you really delve into what’s happening on screen. It’s sad, depressing, insane, often funny, harsh, and a multitude of other adjectives. And for that, it’s actually really great. Maybe not “enjoyable” but, I think…important. If not frequently shocking.
Hannah gets hired! Well, not really. She is in the “business” of freelancing after an awkward interview at Jazzhate.com. Apparently, this freelancing site is all about first experience articles, which is a very bad idea for someone who just got her ex-boyfriend arrested and broke up with someone because he gave her constructive criticism on one of her whimsical essays. It’s kind of a brilliant and interesting way to exploit young writers and Hannah’s frequent ignorance. I mean she doesn’t even catch the quip at her expense about her not “looking that fancy”, plus it takes her a good minute to get the “Where the Magic Happens” joke as well. The new experience that Hannah takes the helm on is trying cocaine. You’d think after Hannah’s last spill with drugs i.e. the whole opium debacle in the pilot episode last season, she’d know better and just go for a threesome, but no. This entire storyline is just a smidge ridiculous, but somehow it works in a way that doesn’t take us out of the rest of the episode. The last thing Hannah needs is to be put on a path of potentially gross influences, and yet this installment is packed full of them, and they only pull Hannah into a few crazy ridiculous experiences and the destruction of two of her closest friendships. Getting out of her comfort zone and “finding the magic” also leads to parties, drugs, and a gross hook-up.
In acquiring the cocaine needed for this journey of exploration, Hannah finds herself finally coming face to face with one of her apartment neighbors, named Laird, who just so happens to be an ex-junkie. As informed by Hannah’s best friend and ex-roommate, Marnie, he would be the ideal person to go to for Hannah’s first experience article. And as Shoshanna infers, all junkies hang out by the mailboxes. The scene in which Hannah meets Laird is an odd one that sticks out for a few reasons (one reason of which I won’t really get into now) mostly because of the awkward train the gets rolling here and is continuous throughout the remainder of the episode. Laird apparently has some kind of a crush on Hannah and thinks her sudden visit may be the first spark in what could be a supposed relationship. The two apartment neighbors awkwardly edge around the whole reason Hannah is there, from conversing about Laird’s turtle to Wi-Fi network names (Hannah’s is currently “MuffinsAreTasty”, although Laird liked her old one which was inexplicably titled, “MadameOvaries”). Even though Laird is clean now, (a fact that shocks Hannah as she insists that he doesn’t look like he is, which is the probably one of the most inconsiderate things she’s said so far this season) the ex-junkie agrees to help Hannah out in her new experience and gets her some coke…
Once the cocaine is acquired, Hannah and Elijah dig in. One of the things that is interesting about these two characters is that they are both still attempting to keep up the facade that they are great roommates for one another, when in reality, they’re just bad influences, especially in this episode. The entire time Hannah and Elijah are in the apartment together taking bumps of coke, they aren’t really doing much of anything significant. Elijah simply eggs on some of Hannah’s most despicable attributes, in vice-versa. But I will say, these two oblivious children do know how to have fun, even if that fun is powdered in cocaine and childishness. Writing on walls and such. These two characters are trying on a new persona, in fact, they attempt to try on several new personas, still trying hard (but not too hard) to find the adult in themselves. Hannah wants to be able to write a check without looking at the carbon copy. Elijah wants to raise show dogs. Clearly, this is not the way to assimilate into adulthood, high as kites and fumbling around their tiny apartment seeing which future fits best, down to the most minute detail of adulthood. If writing a check correctly marked the final transition into becoming an adult, we’d all be in trouble, and not for the reasons that you think. Hannah and Elijah are still hanging onto these middle school ideas of being mature and responsible individuals. It’s all so easy when they finally quit trying and go out partying, which is them at their best.
Hitting the town, loaded up on cocaine, the two twenty-something ignoramuses find themselves at a raving club hosted by AndrewAndrew (a pair of real life D.J.‘s who live as a joint persona, kind of like Hannah and Elijah in this moment). The dance club scenes here are some of the most entertaining and joyous moments Hannah and Elijah enjoy together, in which Hannah trades her awful floral shirt with her dance partner, and ends up wearing a mesh tank top. It helps that Hannah has no bra on under it all. It’s a fun, awkward, comedic moment as the two roommates dance it up to Eve’s “Tambourine” and get coked up once more (from a public toilet seat) before raving to Icona Pop’s very appropriate single, “I Love It”. These guys are sweaty, filthy young animals, nipples displayed to the world and drugged up. And there’s nothing wrong with that until Hannah and Elijah’s fun moves into personal territory and the reveal of Marnie and Elijah’s momentary sexual encounter. Hannah’s reaction is over dramatic, as we knew it would be. Hannah and Marnie's relationship at this point is rather competitive and petty, so this reveal just adds insult to injury. Hannah gets heated and responds like an angry eight year old shrieking, “I hate you” in the whiniest voice she can muster up. The roommates’ time of trying on different personas together and having fun is immediately over. Elijah doesn’t react to Hannah’s reaction with any maturity either. In fact, it’s all downhill from there.
During a run to the pharmacy, Hannah and Elijah continue to argue, not as adults, but as self-interested teenagers who don’t really see each other’s perspectives mostly because they choose not to. Their “perfect roommates” façade is dismantled. Hannah even tries to react sexually at some point, still feeling as though she has some entitlement to Elijah since he was once her beau in college before his sexual identity crisis. Thing is, Elijah is still in the midst of finding himself. And while he and Marnie ought not have hooked up, Hannah is still being extremely selfish in the situation. Laird shows up, as Hannah’s guardian angel, anxiety ridden for his crush. While Hannah might only be enjoying cocaine this one night, Laird realizes that the drug is a consistent spectrum for some and that someone as young and ignorant to consequence as Hannah might incidentally become a constant user if she‘s not careful. Yet Hannah and Elijah aren’t too concerned with the anxiety they’ve caused Laird, but are only interested in doing more drugs, even at the price of tempting an ex-junkie. Elijah even takes some heroin and insists he might try it out later. It’s quite despicable. And it doesn’t help that Hannah once again uses Laird before the night is over, by sleeping with him and intending to get a story out of it. Is nothing sacred? Dare I ask…
Marnie’s storyline this installment is the one that is quite off-putting. The young woman is working her new “pretty person job” all gussied up in her new “slutty von Trapp” uniform and tending to old businessmen who grope at her and ask her to fetch bottles of liquor. Compared to her last job, this is a fall, no matter how optimistic Marnie intends to be about it, she can’t escape that truth. Unfortunately, the art world catches up to her when Booth Jonathan (Jorma Taccone) shows up and whisks her off her feet. This is the kind of thing a girl like Marnie would dream of; being whisked off her feet by a handsome prince, taken from a sub-par job that can only be described as “depressing” and brought to his palace. However, that fairytale dream turns into a nightmare when the handsome prince’s palace is full of twisted art and other oddities. Booth clearly has some dark childhood creepiness going on in his artwork and it's incredibly disturbing, but interesting. However, to our surprise a down-and-low Marnie enjoys the experience of being locked in Booth’s latest, most twisted art project that is essentially a claustrophobic closet full of TVs blaring scenes of famine, decay, violence, babies crying and Duncan Sheik’s “Barely Breathing”. It’s definitely one of the more disturbing things the show has done to one of its characters and yet it manages to be slightly humorous as Marnie emerges out of the display, shaken and informs Booth of what he wanted to hear from her in the start: “You’re so f***ing talented!” And they have sex…
Contrary to Booth’s boasting about his sexual prowess last season, there is nearly nothing amazing about his sex performance here. The sex is gross, degrading, weird, and just plain terrible as Booth Jonathan asks Marnie to “describe the doll” he has displayed near his bed. It’s depressing as Marnie responds with a plain and simple "sassy", and Booth corrects her by insisting that she's "sad". It doesn't help that he asks her if she's on birth control while they're in the middle of it all. After this cringe-worthy sex scene is over and done with, Marnie can’t help but find it all a thrilling and humorous ride. It’s when you know that this beautiful young woman has falling into a personal arena of self-destruction. Marnie is taken aback by how Booth talks to her and Booth is taken aback by how she talks to him. There is a dangerous attraction there. Marnie has involved herself with this pseudo-intellectual artist pervert that seems to take a shine to taking advantage sad young women who haven’t quite found their way yet. And she’s gleeful about it, which is evident when she texts Hannah back informing her that she has finally scored Booth Jonathan, which is a petty move, but not much pettier than Hannah’s sarcastic excitement about it. Also, Booth Jonathan’s comment about passionate young people giving up on something once they have to struggle for it is painfully spot on, no matter how laden in sarcasm and sleaze it is.
When Hannah finally makes it to Booth’s place, with Laird and Elijah (who compares Booth’s giant apartment to a bank) it is only to confront her about the latest betrayal Marnie has done to her. This confrontation is a hot mess doused in cocaine and sweat and tears. You can’t help but laugh a little as Hannah shrieks her feelings of betrayal to Marnie in a mesh tank top that’s displaying her nipples to the world. Hannah labels Marnie the bad friend, when in fact, this entire episode goes about showing us that each of these young people; Hannah, Marnie and Elijah, are all rather terrible friends who need to do a good bit a maturing before they can even assume the ranks of being an “okay friend”. That said, Marnie is devastated by Hannah’s hard-hitting words and in Hannah’s cocaine-laden confidence to express her feelings (still quite like an annoyed teenager), she goes about dumping Elijah as her roommate and leaves with Laird. I’m assuming this is Andrew Rannells' last episode, as he must return to duty on his show, The New Normal. While I can’t say I loved his character, Elijah has been an interesting addition to the series this season, and he will be missed! Now lets just hope Hannah doesn’t go about getting a new roommate from Laird and compromising his sobriety any more than his dignity. Who will be Hannah’s new roommate now? I'm very curious to see how Hannah and Marnie will come back together as friends after this big betrayal and confrontation...
There was very little Jessa and Shoshanna this week; however, Shoshanna is still getting use to Ray’s television schedule, as the guy has an affinity for watching old episodes of Ally McBeal during late hours in the night. All the while Jessa continues her marriage to Thomas John, which I look forward to seeing a lot more of in next week’s episode!
The third episode of Girls is one that totally takes the viewer off guard. That could be a really good thing or a vaguely bad thing. It’s up to the viewer to decide. For me, this installment mixes up the running storylines and relationships between these self-interested twenty-something best friends and does something strange with them. Strange, yet involving, in a dirty, cocaine-y, grimy sort of way. The episode is a bit disjointed in tone and the cocaine storyline is ridiculous, but other than that it totally works, and Lena Dunham’s controversial series continues a so far stellar sophomore run on HBO. It’s like watching a train wreck that you know won’t really end well. Dangerous, yet daringly entertaining. It gets you out of your comfort zone. But then again, that’s where all the magic happens, right? “Bad Friend” gets 4 out of 5 stars! In other news, Girls just got picked up for a 12 episode third season. So...yay!
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© Patrick Broadnax 2013
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