GIRLS - Season 3 In Review

Well, with the airing of Two Plane Rides, season three of GIRLS comes to an end, and i for one am sad to see it go. It appears that we will have to wait another ten months for any new GIRLS content, but that's the name of the game with HBO, the good news is that VEEP will be starting soon, so we have that to look forward to. This season of GIRLS has really been a high for the series, the show has managed to balance nudity and character development, and for once the nudity feels neither exploitative or unnecessary, and we finally get to know these characters as people.

The main focus of the season has been the relationship between Hannah and Adam, for once they seem to be in a good place, and their relationship is based on mutual respect. Interestingly the amount of sex in their relationship seems to be inversely proportional to how happy they are, in previous seasons Adam treats Hannah almost like an object, and he expects her to be available for sex at any time. Later on in the season the sex is almost non existent from the relationship, and this makes Hannah worried and scared about the state of their relationship. Interestingly, for Adam, he tells her that they don't have sex as much anymore because he actually cares about her, and he actually respects her as a person.

Sex is still almost omnipresent in the show, Marnie seems to have sex more than all the other characters, and although she is nude much less than Hannah, she is much more manipulative in the way she uses sex, sex is how she controls Ray and she the fact that she feels able to judge Hannah and the other characters is astounding. Marnie is easily the least likeable of the leads, she is manipulative and conniving, and she seems to have no respect for either her girlfriends, nor for any of the men in her life. Shoshanna and Jessa are by far the most underused characters this season, Shoshanna became slightly shrill and a little two dimensional. Jessa is also underused, however her storylines feel developed and realistic. Jessa goes through a lot this season, going to rehab and hitting bottom, Jessa is the only character who has a real moral compass, whe has strong opinions and views and she rarely deviates from them, what is interesting about Jessa is that her moral views is that they differ from 'classic' morality, and she has views that seem slightly amoral to the audience.

The season ends with Hannah and Shoshanna reaching real crossroads in their lives, and having to make real decisions about their futures. Jessa and Marnie essentially end up right back when they started, Marnie begins the season heartbroken, and she ends heartbroken. The fact that she feels this with two different men is a testament to the somewhat questionable choices she makes in her life. Jessa also ends up in exactly the same position, she stars the season as a drug addict, and she ends as a drug addict, the fact that these characters don't really change is a testament to how vacuous and naive these girls are. Despite everything they go through in the series, they never really learn from it, and the audience watches them make the same bad choices over and over again.

I give GIRLS huge credit for a fantastic third season, possibly the best season of the show yet, the show should be lauded for its ability to make the show's main characters truly unlikeable and unpleasant, and yet keeping them compelling. the show doesn't need to find a reason to make these characters even partly understandable or empathetical is risky and interesting, but the gamble pays off, and the characters become highly compelling, because of their flaws. I have high anticipation for the next season of this show, and i laud this season for it's frank portrayal of sex, relationships and female friendship. Rating: A-

It's made me want to find a hole in the world, in the shape of me, and just fill it up.