It’s evident from the first scene in “Close Up” that Adam hasn’t been with someone like Mimi-Rose Howard before. He cooks her brunch in her expansive loft apartment, tucking her in as she sleeps that little bit longer than him. She’s successful, self-assured, independent and not needy in the slightest – in short, Mimi-Rose is the complete opposite of Hannah.
There’s been a shift in focus lately to the men of Girls. Ray and Adam have been dealt more screen time than characters like Jessa or Shoshanna, and I don’t mind that. We’ve seen these boys go from being whining, lazy children into responsible, mature men (for the most part). Take Ray Polshansky, for example. Three seasons ago he was a minimum-wage barista with an apathetic outlook on life.
Now, he’s the manager of a successful business and is taking an interest in politics (albeit very low-level politics). There was something strangely satisfying and uplifting watching him make his campaign flyer for the council board; Ray has become a successful and independent man in his own right, and it’s actually really heart-warming to watch.
Hannah and Elijah have moved back in to her Brooklyn apartment, and she’s back seeing her therapist (guest star Bob Balaban). They talk a bit about Mimi-Rose, and about Hannah’s time in Iowa, and Hannah comes to the realisation that she may be heading down the wrong career path.
She has decided that she wants to help people – she’s going to be a teacher. When she declares this at brunch with Jessa, Marnie, Shoshanna, and Elijah, the group is a bit incredulous. Hannah’s the most selfish person they know, and now she wants to help others? Jessa states the classic “If you can’t do, teach” line and Hannah agrees: she can’t do, and so she’ll teach. While Elijah’s passed out among a variety of snack food after a bender, Hannah’s putting on her Sunday best and heading into a private school with her resume, full of hope. While I’m sceptical of her getting a job in a school without any sort of teaching experience, this is Girls we’re talking about, so anything can happen.
Meanwhile, Shoshanna lost out on another job at instant soup company Madame Tinsley’s due to her blunt honesty, but she did score a date with the company’s owner, Scott (guest star Jason Ritter). She declares at brunch that her job hunt is over because she’s marrying Scott, and it’s Shoshanna, so you can never be sure if she’s joking or not.
Marnie and Desi are still making music together, but Marnie is coming to realise just what a relationship with Desi entails: mostly fights about their band’s musical direction and him spending the majority of his time working on his motorcycle. Marnie’s fed up with their fights over nothing, and admits at brunch that she wasn’t fully aware of what she was getting herself into with Desi. Jessa is in one scene, and remains criminally underdeveloped. She seems to be the only character that’s standing still this season, and I hope that changes as we head into the next six episodes.
Adam is dealt a shock when Mimi-Rose casually admits to him that she had an abortion, and that the baby was his. Adam flies into a rage and says that he doesn’t understand how she could do that without consulting him. Her reply? “You’re right. You don’t understand”. She made that decision about her body on her own, and she’s not going to apologise for it – and that’s a refreshing attitude to see portrayed on an international television show. Adam asks her if she needs him, and Mimi- Rose bluntly states that she does not. She wants him, pure and simple, but she most certainly doesn’t need him. Adam doesn’t know how to handle this woman who is so different from the other women in his life – Hannah and her friends, his sister Caroline – and it’s great to watch.
This episode had a little of a finale feeling about it – everyone (except Jessa) was either moving forward, or coming to some sort of positive realisation about their lives and their futures. Since this is not a finale, and it is Girls, that happiness is sure to come crashing down eventually, but the last few episodes have been really fantastic, and no matter what happens to these characters, I just hope that the quality of the show remains this high.
Review Score: FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Season 4 of Girls is screening weekly on Showcase, 7:30pm Mondays (express from the US)
———-
