Zeitgeisting TV: 'Girls' and 'Looking' : Episodes 6

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

This week, episodes 6 of the current seasons.

"Looking"

Jason St. Amand, National News Editor:

It's Halloween in the "Looking" universe and Patrick and Agust�n are throwing a party. And everyone is invited, including Richie and Brady, his new boyfriend, and Kevin. Although Kevin tells Patrick he won't be going and that he's thinking about moving back to Seattle because it's too hard for Kevin to be around Patrick.

Nevertheless, Patrick is determined to be a "fun gay" and have a spontaneous crazy time at his party! He even got a karaoke machine! But things quickly start to fall apart for Patrick. No one signed up to do karaoke, nobody (except Brady) gets his costume (he's Gordon Freeman from the popular "Half-Life" video game) and Patrick floats from one awkward convo to the next. The "Hey, you're Maleficent!" line was cringy but things only get worse.

Eddie brings a guy for Patrick but he's clearly uninterested because Richie and Brady are the perfect couple and he's drawn towards them. After he brushes off Eddie's friend for the second time, he joins a group conversation about PrEP -- Brady, who is on PrEP, had an article he wrote go viral. Patrick tries to out-smart Brady but he puts him in his place and Patrick comes off looking like a huge d-bag.

That's when Patrick resorts to drinking, and drinking and drinking. He once again sees Richie and Brady being perfect and decides to make a move on Eddie's friend, who calls him out saying, "I'm not your sloppy party seconds" or something then insults his playlist. To make matter worse, after he's rejected by Eddie's friend, Patrick runs into Kevin.

This sparks a full meltdown where Patrick makes an announcement via the karaoke machine and gives backhanded compliments to Dom, Agust�n and Eddie. As he's about to expose his relationship with Kevin (Kevin's partner Jon is at the party by the way) Dom and co. pull the microphone away from Patrick and carry him off.

This was one of the most cringy scenes in all of "Looking" but it was so enjoyable. Patrick is among the worst characters on "Looking." He's self-absorbed, lame, not fun, a wannabe and kind of a jerk. I was actually kind of happy when he lain with Dom at the end of the night and watched all the happy couples dance to "The Monster Mash."

Robert Nesti, National Arts and Entertainment Editor:

Poor Patrick. I guess I like him more than you; yes, he's self-absorbed, not much fun and kind of a jerk; but he's also completely lost and searching for an identity. Perhaps in all the wrong places and ways. That's why it was perfect that he'd choose to choose Gordon Freeman as the character he's impersonating for Halloween - a strong, silent alien fighter from the game "Half-Life," his heroic status is something that Patrick dreams he could attain (especially in his relationships with men), instead of the clumsy game player that he is.

Just his thinking that throwing a Halloween Party will make him a "fun gay" points to his lack of self-awareness. Part of what has made Patrick appealing thus far is his goofy nerdiness and emotional naivet�. His inability to figure out what he wants in relationships is easy to identify with; so his thinking that he can turn himself into a "fun gay" - someone with confidence and an ability to take charge of social situations - only sets the seeds for the disaster that follows.

That Patrick self-sabotages his party by inviting all the wrong people (Richie and Kevin in particular) only points to how out-of-touch he is with his emotions, which is expressed with his rant on the karaoke microphone ("It's my party, and I'm going to say what I want to say"). It was both cringe-worthy and impossible not to watch.

Interestingly, Dom and Agustin step in at a crucial moment when Patrick nearly exposes his not-so-secret relationship with Kevin; but the final moments, when boyfriend Jon observes Kevin and Patrick in an emotional discussion, may be the first step to Jon's learning of his partner's cheating. (We can only hope so.)

The party setting allowed for the characters to come together in one room in a seemingly light-hearted social situation but with plenty of underlying tensions between the attendees. Agust�n comes on strong with Eddie to spend the night, but Eddie remains coy; Doris freaks out about being coupled with Malik (who has fallen hard for her); and Richie appears very happy to be with his ginger, Brady (who's know-it-all attitude is immediately grating).

Chiefly, though, Patrick's outburst comes with the arrival of Kevin, whom he has obviously fallen in love, but can't deal with those feelings. He may be dressed up as a cool, silent hero that doesn't need anybody to have fun; but the reality is this ideal is just a front. Agust�n pretty much nails it when he tells Patrick that his "idea of a fun gay is a character with so little personality, he's basically nothing,"

I was also happy to see Patrick resting in Dom's arms because, well, to use a well-used clich�, that's what friends are for.

"Girls"

Jason St. Amand, National News Editor:

The biggest plot of this week's "Girls" episode, "Close-Up," revolved around Mimi-Rose and Adam, after she nonchalantly (and pretty robotically) tells him that she can't go running, or have or use a tampon for the next week, because she had an abortion the other day. This sparks Adam to flip his shit, because of the way she went about it -- not even telling him this opens up a big conversation, taking this further than the 2014 indie comedy hit "Obvious Child," and poses the question should a woman even let her partner know she's going to have an abortion.

It was an effective storyline that resolved itself by the end of the episode. I was sure Adam was done with MR but they have a weird conversation at the end of the episode where MR tells Adam she doesn't need Adam but she likes to come home to him. "Close-Up" really exposed MR as someone who is very binary, not taking other people's feelings and emotions into many of her decisions.

We also find Hannah living with Elija and coming to terms that she's not going to be the next Ernest Hemingway. She's decided that she wants to help people now. The same Hannah who, as Marnie points out, is so selfish she refuses to share a candy bar and keeps the only available fire extinguisher in her room. By the end of the episode, Hannah starts a new chapter as a substitute teacher, which could possibly work for her, propelling her from being an adult-baby to an adult-adult. Or it could go horribly wrong and backfire.

Meanwhile, Marnie and Desi are at odds at what kind of music they're actually making: Marnie thinks they're an in-love version of the Zooey Deschanel fronted band She & Him, while Desi, who continues to be the worst, thinks they're making folk rock with an indie edge...which is basically what She & Him is.

Shoshanna blows another interview but turns the experience into a date and plans on seeing Josh, a soup mogul. Then we have Ray, who takes up his complaint about the traffic in his neighborhood with his community board. But after a shit show where nothing gets done, we see Ray starting his plan to run for the board himself.

The most interesting thing about "Close-Up" is how much little time the girls spend with each other. Besides their lunch, where Hanna realizes she wants to teach, there is very little one-on-one time. Jessa is hardly in this episode, Hannah is attached at the hip with Elija, Sosh is off doing her job thing and Marnie is busy fucking and recording music. This show started off with a group of four tight-knit girls, and now it's four women doing their own thing who catch up with each other every other week. I can't say that I hate it.

Robert Nesti, National Arts and Entertainment Editor:

Here I was expecting the wounded Hannah and a guilt-ridden Adam to re-connect after their break-up last week; but I was confounded by Mimi-Rose, who is one of the more interesting characters to appear on the show.

Her glib announcement that she had an abortion caught me off-guard. It was her way of saying that she remains an independent person, in control of her body and had no plans to consult with anyone, even the man that likely impregnated her, as to having an abortion.

It is certainly a breakthrough for television. Abortions are usually portrayed with sensitivity and guilt (which is valid); but who is to say that the opposite side of the coin isn't plausible? That a woman can have an abortion without shame? That was also the message to "Obvious Child," but that film (also about a Brooklyn artist that finds herself with an unwanted pregnancy) handled it with much more humor and humanity than was done on "Girls." Is M-R's approach to the situation completely selfish or merely her way to control her own destiny in the most expedient way? What just does a pregnancy mean in a relationship?

The other plot lines paled by comparison, though it was a very funny moment when the bereft Hannah tearfully admonished Elija for eating her Captain Crunch. Sosh's disastrous interview as also very funny, though it felt like some outtake from "Sex and the City" - a cute meet-up. Isn't that the kind of comedy this show attempts to move away from?

For me Marnie is the most tiresome of the four, still I have empathy for her being in a relationship with the clueless Desi. It's not as if they make beautiful music together; and, aside from the sex, really don't relate. Their argument was pretty funny, but leaves you to wonder when she'll wake up and get out this dead-end personal and artistic partnership. The irony might be that they do become overnight sensations stuck in a miserable relationship.

I agree that the show has become less about how close-knit these four women are and more how they are playing catch-up every now and then, which is actually fine by me as well.

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