MIRROR, MIRROR
9:33 AM
“You will always be
fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you never had the courage to
commit.”
― Oscar Wilde, The
Picture of Dorian Gray
“Girls” was a
sensation from the day it started in 2012. The reasons were manifold – the
outrageous nudity, the harrowing realism of the customarily bypassed bits of
life on TV and the inescapable urgency of speaking from the mouths of the snowflake
millennials. As Lena Dunham’s Hannah declared in the first episode, “I don't
want to freak you out, but I think that I may be the voice of my generation. Or
at least, a voice of a generation.” And she undoubtedly is. But why?
The headstrong
confidence of an over-educated generation mixed with an aggravating sense of
egoism spurred by social media does not create the world’s most delightful
bunch of characters. Hannah, Marnie, Jessa and Shoshanna are not inspiring role
models but they are no villainous cautionary tales either. Their quest to find
a convenient balance between the strong clasp of capitalism and the more
ephemeral meaning of life is extremely relatable but also highlights the utter
futility of any such endeavours. Their negative personality traits are
heightened by their sense of perseverance and indifference in the face of
complications. Their sense of self is stronger than any of the shit that life
throws at them which makes them extremely likeable against all odds.
And then I say “shit”,
I mean of course different permutations of “the wrong type of latte” problems
when compared to hunger and all other kinds of true human sufferings. This is
the life of imaginary middle class Americans living in New York, a piece of
fiction based on the life experiences of a white female with supportive
parents. Thus, in many ways all the criticism towards “Girls” which has
encompassed the series throughout the years – whitewashing, questions about
rape, the probability of actually getting the jobs Hannah got - is irrelevant.
Why should a fictitious TV show replicate life? Why are we assuming it should
adhere to the same rules as our everyday lives? In the end of the day, it’s in
essence more “Golden Girls” than “Real World”. The fact that it has raised
these questions though shows that they have managed to hit a nerve, that
somehow the show unveils something about the way we live and think.
That does not mean
that the show did not have its problems. In what seemed like a conscious effort
to reject any notion of the character arc, the main characters refused to
develop or change throughout the series. While adding cute annoyance to some of
them like Hannah, it left poor Allison Willams’ Marnie simply unlikable and obnoxious
throughout several seasons. It also did not help with creating a flow and made
the stories at times episodic and punch-line driven rather than organically
stemming from each other.
For this reason, the
episodes which have really stood out throughout the seasons either concentrate on
one single character or zoom in on the friendship between the four main
characters. The one episode which is often mentioned as one of the remarkable
ones is “One Man’s Trash” which documents Hannah’s fling with Patrick Wilson’s dashing
Joshua. Made probably in a mid-season frenzy of keeping the production costs
down, these episodes which have restrictions on the number of characters and
shooting locations often turn out better than imagined as the writers have to
get creative (the same fate followed the Breaking Bad episode “The Fly”). The
viewers get to embrace every step of the development of their brief fling with
a beautiful annie-hallesque ending. Half an hour is quite a short period of
time so concentrating on one storyline often pays off.
Similar mechanics are
at work at “The Panic in Central Park” where Marnie reunites with his old
boyfriend, Christopher Abbott’s Charlie, for a night out. This episode gives
Marnie some much-needed emotional depth and provides a glimpse behind her thick
self-centric façade. One other success of this episode is definitely the
splendid and heart wrenching portrayal of Marnie and Desi’s broken relationship
– the cracks are so deep that you can almost feel their pain. The perfect pace
leads to a rude but needed awakening. It is an impeccable mix of excitement,
vulnerability and epiphany.
In addition to these
two, there have been another two unforgettable episodes which concentrate on
the fifth character in the film – the female friendship. Marnie, Hannah, Shosh
and Jessa are not ones to meet over white-tableclothed brunch to discuss shoes
and men, their relationship is more down-to-earth, filled with unanswered phone
calls, boring parties and let-downs. It’s a friendship with warts and all. The “Beach
House” and “Wedding Day” episodes are remarkable in the way they refuse to
glamorise female friendships. People are flimsy and unpredictable so the
perfect party or wedding is more improbable than it is likely so it is refreshing
to see illusions of perfection shattered in a non-preachy way.
And
then we come to the last season of “Girls”. The plot became entranced in the
scent of an ending. All of the sudden, the episodes had meaning, they had
drive. Finally, the character arcs could lead somewhere rather than flapping
aimlessly in the wind like yesterday’s laundry in the yard. They could finally
take the glimpses of truth which was always their greatest forte and make them
lead to something greater than the sum of their parts, make them last. And they
did with their unique panache, raging against ironing out the creases for the
short-lived satisfaction of the viewer. They were brave enough to shatter all
the pillars on which the series stood – the quirky “Mr Big” is out of the
picture and the friendship has been pronounced dead. All the questions have
been at least partly answered so what is there left to say? This is the perfect
blank slate for the final episode.
It is the end of the
world with “Girls” in it and I feel fine because I do not think the last
episode can disappoint. It has no obligations, no weight on its shoulders,
nothing to solve. “Girls” has boldly gone where no one else has and forced the
snowflake millennials to face up to what they all are – the children of their
time. While shaking up the stagnant cesspool of neat and prim portrayals of
women on TV, they’ve showed their viewers that it is alright to wear broken
dreams with pride.
Image referencies:
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