Few shows capture their moment in time as well as Girls did. Watching it now is like looking at the 2010s frozen in amber: technology, social media, fashion, music, and slang. It's one of the most vivid snapshots of millennial ennui and one of the most entertaining and frustrating shows of its decade. Although the narrative stumbled at times, the series more than compensated with hilarious dialogue and a willingness to go to dark, uncomfortable places.
The show is also impressive for engaging complexly with its characters and themes. Some of Lena Dunham's more recent projects can get a little didactic, but Girls is refreshingly open to interpretation. All the characters are drawn in shades of gray and no one is above mockery. For this reason, it deserves its place as a modern TV classic. These are the show's finest episodes, ranked.
Girls
TV-MAComedyFamilyRomance- Release Date
- April 15, 2012
- Cast
- Lena Dunham , Jemima Kirke , Adam Driver
- Main Genre
- Comedy
- Seasons
- 6
- Studio
- HBO
10 'Latching'
Season 6, Episode 10
"This is it, honey, and this is forever." The series finale sees Hannah (Lena Dunham), struggling with the challenges of motherhood. Her baby, Grover, refuses to latch, and Hannah is a tired, frazzled wreck. At first, it seems that even the support provided by Marnie (Allison Williams) and Loreen (Becky Anne Baker) isn't enough to get her through. It makes for one of the show's bleakest episodes - the opposite of fan service - and it was polarizing on release. While far from the show's most enjoyable hour, it's nevertheless an important one.
There are great moments, like Marnie's heart-to-heart with Loreen and Hannah's encounter with a runaway teenager. Hannah sides with the girl against her parents, until she learns that the brat is just upset because her mom wants her to do homework rather than see her boyfriend. It's a silly moment, but also one that signals Hannah's shift in the direction of parent rather than child. This is brought home by the closing shot, where we finally hear the sounds of Grover's latching over black as Hannah quietly sings.
9 'Two Plane Rides'
Season 3, Episode 12
"Can’t one thing ever be easy with you?" The conclusion to season three is chock-full of revelations and confrontations. Hannah discovers that Adam (Adam Driver)'s troubled sister, Caroline (Gaby Hoffmann), has been living with Laird (Jon Glaser) and is pregnant with his child. She also received an acceptance letter from the University of Iowa's esteemed writers' workshop. Meanwhile, Marnie confesses to Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet) that she slept with Ray (Alex Karpovsky).
It's a solid episode that neatly wraps up the season's main storylines while also setting up the tensions for season four. It also succeeds in making even the characters' happiest moments seem bittersweet and fraught with trouble. For example, Hannah's acceptance letter feels like a stroke of luck considering her recent setbacks, but it also poses obstacles for her relationship with Adam and a test for her self-image as a writer. Likewise, Marnie has a long-awaited romantic moment with Desi (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), but it only spells further trouble down the road. Be careful what you wish for.
8 'Japan'
Season 5, Episode 3
"I’m not doing this will-they-won't-they sh*t." In this one, Hannah freaks out after discovering nude pictures of her boyfriend Fran's (Jake Lacy) exes on his phone. By contrast, Jessa (Jemima Kirke) and Adam grow closer. But it's Shoshanna who has the most enjoyable scenes. She seems to be doing well in Japan and even has a budding flirtationship going on with colleague Yoshi (Hiro Mizushima). These premises all seem lighthearted, but Girls quickly mines them for darker content.
For example, Hannah's insecurity causes her to have a borderline breakdown. Shoshanna's emotional state is even more turbulent. She learns that she's lost her job and will have to return to the U.S., an unappealing prospect given her fading feelings for her "sort of boyfriend" back home. The show is casually cruel to its characters in "Japan", making for a contrast to the gorgeous cinematography, particularly of Shosh's adventures in Tokyo (including her eccentric, brightly-colored apartment).
7 'It's a Shame About Ray'
Season 2, Episode 4
"I'm a needle in the haystack, and you're just some dumb hipster who's munching my hay!" "It’s A Shame About Ray” unfolds during a single evening, marked by confessions and relationship drama. Hannah throws a dinner gathering at her place to mark the publication of her online article, but tensions arise when Audrey (Audrey Gelman), Charlie's (Christopher Abbott) new girlfriend, confronts Marnie about her feelings. Meanwhile, Jessa has a heated argument with Thomas-John's (Chris O'Dowd) parents, and Shoshanna and Ray share a surprisingly tender moment.
The dinner party is a great device for shedding light on unresolved issues while adding stakes to the ongoing storylines of the season. It forces the characters to come close to grasping what they need to do to progress, but they ultimately hesitate. The only one who makes a bold step forward, surprisingly, is Ray, who admits to Shoshanna that he's homeless and tells her he loves her. It's a rare moment of connection that stands in contrast to the isolation of the other, younger characters.
6 'What Will We Do This Time About Adam?'
Season 6, Episode 8
"I thought I could move on, but hearing about the baby made me realize we don't have any more time to waste." Season 6, Episode 8 is all about nostalgia and fantasy. The central story is the day Hannah and Adam spend together. It begins with Adam announcing that he wants to help Hannah raise the baby. They walk the city, talking, laughing, and reliving the past. In a lesser show's hands, they would have gotten together, happily ever after, but Girls only build up this illusion to immediately shatter it.
As night falls, Adam and Hannah both realize that the spark in their relationship has already faded, and they part ways. Finding himself locked out, Adam calls Jessa, who lets him into their apartment, while Hannah cries alone on her own, overwhelmed by the thought of facing single parenthood. It's a heartbreaking episode, masterful in its depiction of two lost people chasing after something that can't be regained.
5 'Beach House'
Season 3, Episode 7
"I thought that this would be a good opportunity to have fun together and prove to everyone via Instagram that we can still have fun as a group." In "Beach House", tensions simmer as the core group embarks on a weekend getaway. Hannah, Marnie, Jessa, and Shoshanna confront each other over their flaws and issues, leading to a bruisingly honest argument that's almost painful to watch.
The episode is deeply melancholy, with the characters finally saying out loud what they've all long suspected: that their friendships are unhealthy and have been holding them back. What takes the episode from good to great, though, is the morning after the fight, where the characters silently reconcile, tidying up the house and performing moves from their choreographed dance as they wait for a ride. Despite their individual trajectories diverging, the girls continue to cling to their fading group dynamic. They remain friends because, ultimately, they don't know who they are apart.
4 'Goodbye Tour'
Season 6, Episode 9
"We can't hang out together anymore because we cannot be in the same room without one of us making it completely and entirely about ourselves." "Goodbye Tour" is a companion piece to "Beach House" but without the reconciliation. Hannah receives a job offer outside the city. Seeking advice about her move, she goes to Shoshanna's apartment only to find the other girls celebrating Shosh's engagement, an event she wasn't even aware of. Marnie calls a group meeting in the bathroom, but it does not go well.
Although the group dynamic is at its lowest ebb here, individually, the characters are doing okay, perhaps because of their time apart. Hannah's preparing for a fresh start, Marnie is finally free of Desi, Jessa acknowledges her shortcomings, and Shoshanna seems to have found the partner she always wanted. In other words, the characters are maturing, despite all odds. They each have a future, though perhaps not with each other.
3 'I Love You Baby'
Season 5, Episode 10
"I will require a lot of emotional support and some minor logistical support." Like "Goodbye Tour", "I Love You Baby" is an episode about growth. Marnie prepares to go on tour with Desi while reaching out to Ray. Shoshanna lands a job, and Hannah has a victorious moment at the Moth Story Slam, sharing an honest tale that resonates with the audience. Finally, Jessa admits her guilt for hurting Hannah by getting together with Adam.
The episode may not be all that dramatic, but it's well-told and well-directed. The key scenes are linked together by the title song: Hermie (Colin Quinn) and Shoshanna dancing, then a montage of all the characters, and a shot of Hannah's fruit basket at Adam's apartment. It ends off with a confident shot of Hannah jogging across the Williamsburg Bridge. She looks openhearted and ready for the future, far more put together than the confused kid we met back in season one.
2 'American B***h'
Season 6, Episode 3
"Isn't that the crazy part? That so much of your life, your world, can be destroyed by something called 'Tumblr' without an 'e'?" Here, Hannah pays a visit to Chuck Palmer (Matthew Rhys), a renowned writer who requested to meet her after reading her article accusing him of coercing college students into sex. They engage in a lengthy and tense discussion about Chuck's behavior towards women and Hannah's writing. They even find some common ground. However, the encounter builds to a dark, uncomfortable moment that underscores all the themes raised before.
Rhys is phenomenal here, turning what could have been a stock character into a rich, complex figure. The writing is equally sophisticated, raising pertinent questions without providing easy answers. Hannah and Chuck discuss fame, wealth, artistic integrity, and the complexities of the digital age, steel-manning both sides of the argument. It makes for a rollercoaster of an episode, veering from genuine connection to queasy confusion.
1 'The Panic in Central Park'
Season 5, Episode 6
"You just don't remember me right." As with "American Bitch", "The Panic in Central Park" succeeds because it plays out mostly like a short story, this time centering on Marnie. After an argument with Desi, she seeks solace in a walk and unexpectedly runs into Charlie, her ex-boyfriend whom she hasn't seen in years. Charlie then leads her on a spontaneous journey through the city, revealing a new and adventurous side of himself. However, Marnie's hopes are shattered the next morning when she finds a discarded needle on his floor.
Marnie runs through dozens of emotions over the course of less than twenty-four hours and emerges on the other side a changed person. She arguably matures more in this episode than she did in the entire four-and-a-half seasons before this. She gets clarity about ending her relationship with Desi and starting anew. She accepts that her life won't be as glamorous as she dreamed of, at least for now. But these admissions allow her to move forward. At its best, Girls took TV tropes and reinvigorated them with a touch of distinctly millennial realism, and that's very much on display here.
Girls is available to stream on Max in the U.S.
