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‘Girls’ Review: Adam and Hannah Play Out A Fantasy As Jessa’s Nightmare Comes True

In Season 6, Episode 8, "What Will We Do This Time About Adam," Hannah finds unexpected support as she faces motherhood alone.
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Mark Schafer/HBO

LAST WEEK’S REVIEW: A Baby Daddy Surfaces While Another Character Grows Up

Love Her or Hate Her

Now that Hannah is past the point of no return in her pregnancy, things have started getting real. And so as she contemplated what kind of an effect Paul-Louis’s absence will have on her little boy or girl, she approached very understandable freak-out territory. Suddenly she appreciated all of the little things having a capable partner might bring to the table, like there being someone to fix the air conditioning and help her pick out baby necessities. Even just having a person there as an emotional support to bounce thoughts and feelings off of is a huge thing for a pregnant woman, and the best Hannah has at this point is Elijah — who was quick to bring up abortion as soon as Hannah started voicing her thoughts.

So when Adam suddenly decided he wanted to try things with Hannah again and help her to raise the baby, you could forgive Hannah for entertaining the thought. She and Adam were certainly toxic together, but at the same time the idea of playing house was a nice escape, at least for a little while. It’s why she kept hugging Adam like a security blanket. But as we know, eventually we all need to let our security blankets go.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Or is that one step back, two steps forward? Because, following a pretty memorable and idyllic day, just when you thought Hannah would settle down with Adam after all and attempt this co-parenting thing, “Girls” gave us that diner scene. When Adam casually brought up marriage as a logical next step, both parties seemed to understand what a terrible idea this really was. As Hannah struggled to find the words but came up empty, we all knew it was over — for real this time. And thus Hannah continues to prove that maybe she won’t be the worst mother in the world, after all.

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Something to Cringe About

Oh Laird. We were happy to see you and all, but no. Your purpose in life is not to help Hannah raise her baby. Please focus on Sample.

Something Else to Cringe About

We’re always tripped up by Hannah and Elijah’s openness with each other, like how they’ll use the bathroom and shower at the same time, or lounge around practically naked and comment on each other’s underwear and nipples. Anyone who actually has a friendship like that, please raise your hand? Because we just find it weird.

READ MORE: ‘Girls’ Star Andrew Rannells Has Some Tips on Auditioning With Balls and ‘Smash’ Songs

Bar Babe

It’s hard to know whether Jessa and Adam deserve each other or are actually punished with each other, but either way witnessing Adam breaking up with Jessa so that he could explore things with Hannah was pretty brutal. For her part, Jessa handled the entire situation in front of Adam admirably and played it cool. But as soon as he left she inevitably freaked out and wound up puking… whether from stress or from her own potential pregnancy is yet to be determined.

Naturally, Jessa went on to do what Jessa knows best, and headed to the bar to pick up some random dude. Kudos to her for staying sober through all that pain, but the subsequent bathroom scene in which she cried, “I don’t want you” was heartbreaking. It’s unclear whether she was referring to that aforementioned potential pregnancy, the stranger she was fornicating with or voicing Adam’s perceived thoughts in leaving. It may have been a combination of those. Whatever the case, there are some pretty deep issues there and those words are open to various interpretations.

Homecoming

That heartbreaking scene turned into a pretty big payoff moment at least, when Adam did come home to Jessa. The smile on her face as she said she’d buzz him up was everything; considering all that Jessa gave up in order to be with Adam, she obviously has some pretty deep feelings for the guy.

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“Chill”

Speaking of reunions, just when it looked as though Ray and Shoshanna might finally be back on the track to a reunion, life threw them an unexpected curveball in the form of Abigail, a.k.a. returning guest star Aidy Bryant. Shosh’s former boss showed up just as Shoshanna and Ray were fighting about air quotes and chilling, and immediately piqued Ray’s interest.

Obviously this didn’t jive well with Shoshanna, who didn’t exactly love Abigail in the first place. Add in the fact that suddenly Ray was into her, and that’s got to stir up quite a few conflicted feelings about an ex.

READ MORE: Judd Apatow TV: How ‘Girls,’ ‘Crashing’ and ‘Love’ Mix His Comedy DNA with Other People’s Stories

However, it was cool watching Abigail push Ray out of his comfort zone as they interviewed Brooklyn residents about the neighborhood, leading us all to believe that perhaps there’s more to this awkward couple than first meets the eye. Sorry, Shosh. We hope you have a nice view of them from your ugly apartment.

And The “Awkward First Kiss” Award Goes To…

Want to know why we don’t see more people making out on merry-go-rounds? It’s because those horses are never at the same height. And also maybe because of germs. Anyhow, watching Ray and Abigail trying to get their smooch on was an exercise in uneven lip-locking, but a comical one at least. Given the heaviness of the rest of the episode it was a much-needed, lighter offering that helped to ease some of the tension.

Preparing For the End

Now that a failed reunion with Adam is out of the way, Hannah can finally carry on with her life and we’ll all be a little better for it. With only two episodes to go, it seems like Lena Dunham will complete her series with her character flying solo, which really does feel on par with Dunham’s brand. It’s whether the rest of the characters will get proper endings that remains to be seen. One could argue that Marnie’s newfound self-awareness, Jessa getting the guy and Shosh’s great new career are endings of sorts, but they somehow feel quick and hollow. The point is there’s a lot of story left to cover, and not a whole lot of time left to do it.

Then again, one can always hope for a “Girls” movie.

Grade: A

Next Week: Hannah reaches out to her friends, but has trouble locating Marnie.

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