To have a firm opinion on Girls is a fool’s errand. For better or for worse, Lena Dunham’s HBO series is rarely, if ever, consistent. While her program did see itself taking steps in the right direction — at least in terms of character development and maturity of late —with its episode in its fourth season, “Ask Me My Name,” Girls, unfortunately, decided to take those steps back.
It would be easy to blame this on how “Ask Me My Name” is yet another Hannah (Dunham)-centric episode. One should keep in mind, however, that “Sit-In” was as well and that may be the best episode of the season. It, therefore, has to be something deeper.
At its heart, Girls is only as good as its writing, and this season easily is the worst written of the four. It’s not trite quite yet, but there’s still a pretentious, over-eagerness notion throughout to how the characters talk and interact with one another. This week’s teleplay in particularly, written by Murray Miller & Jason Kim, feels like a fan-written episode than something Dunham would approve.
I have said before how Girls essentially became a wholeheartedly second-rate version of itself, and that’s still true. Dunham owns up to her program’s lack of originality and repetition, it seems, by combating a self-referential sense of humor and desire for characters to go in unique and unexpected directions. Both are noble, if often less than successful, but these obvious humor attempts only make the show more broad, no pun intended, and lack the nuanced pulse of the first two seasons.
Characters talk and act now like they’re caricatures of themselves, with Hannah the most obvious example of this. Whether it’s her unintentionally awkward banter with middle-school students during her spell as a substitute teacher or her fast-talking acts with her ex-boyfriend Adam’s (Adam Driver) new gal Mimi-Rose (Gillian Jacobs), Hannah seems almost like a parody of who she was in the first season. Other characters, meanwhile, like Elijah (Andrew Rannells) and newbie Ace (guest star Zachary Quinto) seem only good for snappy puns or to muddle in half-assed drama acts, i.e. Marnie (Allison Williams).
Whatever you thought of Hannah as a character initially, at least her actions were relatable and affable. She had a natural sense of humor about herself carried through sharp writing, and now it’s heartbreaking to see her grow in the wrong directions. Once more insecure than selfish, Hannah has become more overstated, self-obsessed and unconcerned with anyone’s feelings and problems but her own in this season and even some of the last. What ever happen to that likably down-to-Earth girl we enjoyed following in season one? She seems far away now.
Also, why does Girls now underutilize Jessa (Jemima Kirke) so much during these last two seasons? One of the most ferocious and funniest characters on the show, Jessa always seems on the sidelines now, dealing with relationship struggles her old self wouldn’t care about or helps other characters with their own problems. She’s better than this, and it’s weird to see her so underused, as Kirke is Dunham’s best friend in real-life.
Most disappointing about “Ask Me My Name,” however, is it’s a step down for Mimi-Rose. As established in last week’s “Close Up,” she’s easily one of Girls’ best new features. She’s smart, funny, independent and self-aware, truly the kind of feminist figure Dunham’s show tries so desperately to make. This week, however, she’s now a “manipulative” person who gives fake encouragements and spouts out lines meant to be pretentiously funny but are most often just too obvious and on-the-nose to be relatable or even enjoyed on a comedic level.
Worse of all, it appears Mimi-Rose may just be a temporary bridge for Adam and Hannah, making her little more than a placeholder character created for extra relationship tension. For one, the will-they, won’t-they stay-together interactions between Dunham and Driver’s characters have been way overplayed, and they also rarely create good drama, save for “Sit-In.” Two, this makes Mimi-Rose feel cheap, which is a disgrace for an actress as likable and charming as Jacobs. It’s obvious she won’t be on Girls for long, but why make her feel like a peg in other characters’ game? Make her feel like a person again, like she did last week.
Other complaints could be made here — from the flat, awkward direction from Tricia Brock this week to its incessant need to have characters say everything they learn rather than show it this season. But the main points already are made. Girls doesn’t need to be a great show, but it should still be a better one than it’s become in “Ask Me My Name.” If Dunham and her team are tired of these characters, then move on, but don’t drag this out if there’s no need to. If it’s time to end, then it’s time.
Image courtesy of Roger Wong/INFphoto.com