Zeitgeisting TV: 'Girls' and 'Looking' : Episodes 4

EDGE editors Jason St. Amand and Robert Nesti comment on this week's episodes of HBO's "Girls" and "Looking."

This week, episodes 4 of the current season.

Girls

Robert Nesti, National Arts and Entertainment Editor:

What's funny about writing about episodes of HBO's Sunday night block of relationship comedies is how they can dovetail with each other. One of the plot memes on Cubbies (on Girls) dealt with Marnie's tortured relationship with Desi, which is both personal and professional and fucked up; while on "Looking Down the Road" (on "Looking"), things came to a head with Patrick's also fucked up affair with boss Kevin, who is already-serious-relationshiped.

First to "Girls." And to Hannah's Iowa meme. It was always apparent this shark-out-of-water would leave Iowa; it was always a question of when. After her deadly attack on her fellow writers at a drunken frat party on the last episode, her departure seemed imminent; so it only became a question of how she was going to do it. Typically she did it in her usual passive/aggressive manner; writing an apology to her fellow writers for her bad behavior, then blaming them for her writer's block because they're so critical of her.

Of course, the class meeting doesn't go as she thought it would as they react like spoiled academics and Hannah playing her urban street-cred card. I loved it when she accused them of "workshopping each other's emotions" when one student criticized Hannah's grammar; and it was perfect that the group's leader, a kindly African-American professor, would nudge Hannah into realizing she just doesn't fit in. Being prickly doesn't fit into this academic world.

But things got dicey when she got back to Brooklyn and is greeted by Mimi-Rose (Gillian Jacobs from "Community"), who is Adam's new girlfriend (or so it seems.) Add to it her missing couch and TV and Hannah is thrust into a trauma that will only escalate her sense of displacement. The closing shot of Hannah really hurt; but can we consider this betrayal? After all, just a few weeks ago Hannah blithely advised a weeping fellow student at a frat party that you have to give your partner space in long-distance relationships; so why shouldn't Adam have a girlfriend? Have her words come back to bite her in a most emotionally devastating way?

What's funny about Marnie's predicament is that she did the mature thing by breaking it off with Desi on the last episode with hopes of maintaining their relationship as a burgeoning musical duo. But even that proved fraught with issues: how can you write songs about relationships with the guy you just broke off the relationship with? Desi, who borders on caricature of a D-list 30-ish indie songwriter, reacted with hysterics to current girlfriend Clemintine's supposed infidelity. This led him t to came clean about Marnie in retaliation, which only made Marnie an accessory after the fact. Let's hope that Marnie dumps his skinny ass and attempts to make it on her own as a musician. But in all likelihood she'll fall for his pathetic, sad puppy line. Perhaps it will take Jessa to give her a reality check of just who holds the power in this romantic triangle.

Shoshanna is also at a crossroads. Her job search is futile as a horrible experience with a professional recruiter shows. She does maintain some dignity: "People always think I'm not going to fit in at first, but I always do - I always fit in, just very subtly." But her confidence is shaken, as she tells Jessa and Marnie when they meet for cocktails: "I just don't understand why nobody tells you how bad it's going to be in the real world," she says to them. That she would turn to Ray, in his own kind of urban hell involving horns beeping outside his apartment, is no surprise. She finally gets to express how she wants to be friends with him as they shop for t-shirts.

The scene epitomized what is so funny about the show: sharp satire on the habits of Millennials as they move through the difficult emotional terrains that make up their lives. In the episode Hannah describes the class she wants to escape as "a minefield where anything I do or say can be misconstrued," but it also applies to the lives of these characters. The episode wasn't as funny as the previous ones this season (especially the last one), but did yield a classic mantra: a t-shirt reveals who you are to the world.

Jason St. Amand, National News Editor:

Yes, it was only a matter of time before Hannah self-destructed her way out of the Iowa program: She's having a lousy time (she is unmotivated, thinking about Adam, homesick and nobody likes her). And the passive-aggressive letter she left in the cubbies was the perfect way to go about it because, no matter what the response came from the other students, it would have resulted in Hannah ejecting herself.

If her classmates accepted her "apology" letter, and admitted to blocking her creativity, then she has an out to say she can't continue. But obviously this does not happen and the students react negatively, sparking Hannah to chuck a piece of paper at one of them, and pretty much tell her to screw off. Perfect, right?! Not really because Hannah's teacher tells her she shouldn't leave and she'd have to do something pretty drastic to get kicked out of the program. But she later re-thinks her goals as a writer and decides to peace out of Iowa and return to NYC.

But yes, that entire scene was fantastic, top-notch "Girls" writing and acting.

Let me just say "Mimi-Rose" is the perfect name for Adam's new girlfriend. It was a great cliff-hanging ending to "Cubbies." As for your question, I'm sure it was rhetorical but I will answer it anyway: No, it's not betrayal - but Adam is devoid of Hannah's emotions and feelings, and common sense, he can't even make a phone call to her and say he's done.

Desi is one of the most despicable characters on "Girls." Let's be real: Clementine totally broke up with him and I loved Marnie's reaction to Desi's gross crying session. You could see the wheels turning in her head, reevaluating Desi as a person: her new boyfriend, who is only her boyfriend because he was dumped, is a no good cheater. But as you said, I wouldn't be surprised at all if she decides to give the relationship a go.

Yes, Sosh is getting a dose of real life. I really liked that cocktail scene, especially Jessa's bitchy response to Marnie's song, "Well, you made a song."

While I enjoyed this episode, it was knocked down a peg or two because of Ray, which is weird because he is easily one of my favorite characters on "Girls." But his fighting with the noise and traffic was dumb and annoying. It wasn't fun to watch and at times, kind of cringe-worthy.

Looking

Robert Nesti, National Arts and Entertainment Editor:

Looking Down the Road began where the last episode left off: the morning after Patrick and Kevin spend a night together at Patrick's apartment. After joking about the Fatty English Breakfast that Kevin prepares. (Patrick remembers being a fat kid called "Fatrick"), the two get into a serious discussion about Kevin's relationship with his boyfriend Jon. Kevin (a hunky, shirtless Russell Tovey) talks about how "pretty fucking shitty" he feels, but he will make sure that things will sort themselves out. But will they?

What's different about this relationship is that is solely about the relationships the protagonists are in. In addition to Patrick and Kevin, there's the growing one between Agustin and his new bear friend Eddie, and the cautious one between Dom and Lynn. Add to this Patrick meeting up with Richie where the both confess that they are in new relationships and you have an episode fraught with the emotional currents these characters are in.

During that meeting Patrick confesses he's seeing Kevin, to which Richie asks him if he's being a homewrecker. The expression on Patrick's face is surprise, but you can tell it also hits him hard; and that Richie is seeing a new boyfriend, a cute ginger named Brady, only exacerbates his fragile emotions.

But Dom turns out to be most vulnerable this week. Things with Lynn aren't turning out to be how he wants them. Lynn can offer him hot sex (a three-way with a hunky third in a hot tub), but no emotional commitment. He's spent in that department, still holding onto his twenty-odd-year relationship with his dead ex-Brian. "What I had with Brian, I won't have with anyone else. Even if I wanted to. Too much life," Lynn says, setting up a boundary that Dom can't deal with.

Patrick's boundaries are also crossed when he sees Kevin and Jon out in public. He confronts Kevin about their furtive relationship and gets a commitment from him that he'll come clean with Jon. "You don't need to ask me, because that life you are building for us? I am too," Kevin tearfully tells Patrick on the roof in what is the emotional-fraught moment of the season thus far.

In contrast to these two plotlines, Agustin and Eddie provide hope and a kind-of comic relief. Eddie is such a great addition to the cast - caustic, self-assured and definitely his own person, he is a life-force that may be the best thing for Agustin, who is still recovering from his break-up and his self-doubt as an artist.

The episode climaxed with a night out at Esta Noche, the club where Ritchie was once the bouncer. There is comedy when Eddie calls Brady, Ritchie's new beau, "a gay Jimmy Olsen" (he writes for a local SF newspaper). But the episode ends on a tenuous note with Dom leaving with Doris, obviously shaken by his latest encounter with Lynn and his crisis about his dreams of opening a restaurant. Early in the episode, he pooh-poohed Doris's suggestion to use Kickstarter to raise the money for his take-out chicken place, but as he leaves Esta Noche in distress he agrees to do it. "I need this, Dor. Fuck. I don't have anything else."

Capping the episode is Kevin's arrival in the bar. "I was there... I was about to tell him...," he confesses to Patrick about his not speaking to Jon. Kevin attempts to use his vulnerability and sexual appeal to calm Patrick, but he walks away, down the street wiping away tears. Ironically the camera pulls back and an affectionate couple walking behind him blocks him from view.

This episode, directed by Ryan Fleck and written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, bordered on the melodramatic, but also had a nuance and real insight. Like with this episode of "Girls," you want to see where it goes next.

Jason St. Amand, National News Editor:

I didn't love "Looking Down the Road" but it moved the season along to the next episode.

I still find almost everyone on this show annoying, except for Dom's sister, Doris. Patrick is "confused" about his relationship with his involved boss Kevin, but he knows the real answer and knows what he needs to do. It's like he just wants everyone's take on it, in hopes someone says, "It's going to be A-OK Patty!" But when he talks to know-it-all Richie, he shames him into calling him a homewrecker. Though I was engaged when during that rooftop confrontation after Patrick sees Kevin and Jon in public. But Kevin is just so full of it and I feel like that frustrated friend who sees everything laid out on the table and doesn't understand why my friend can't see the facts.

I think Dom's relationship with Lynn was the most interesting. I can handle Dom more than the others, but are we really to surprised that his open relationship isn't working (let's flashback to Season One when Agustin's relationship imploded)? Yes, it appears Lynn doesn't want to let Dom into his world, unless Dom is really, really willing to try. I'm sure he is, and that's what makes this plot line the most interesting in "Looking."

Agreed: Eddie is great and he's right for Agustin. I can't wait to see how things develop (even though Agustin is the worst).

The closing club scene was great. (It was funny for me on a personal level because I'm pretty sure Brady is the "Looking" version of me.) It looked nice and felt like a real club (I know that's a weird thing to comment on) and everyone was acting how they would be in a real club. Anyway, was anyone surprised when Kevin confessed he couldn't go through with breaking it off with Jon? No. Are we supposed to feel for Patrick? I hope not.

I think we both agree "Looking Down the Road" wasn't a standout but it moved things along nicely. Next week's episode should be a doozey.

This story is part of our special report: "Zeitgeisting TV". Want to read more? Here's the full list.