Preface When the pay-TV service Home Box Office debuted on a stormy night in the fall of 1972, its future hardly looked promising…or even assured. On the service’s opening night, HBO had less than 400 subscribers on a single cable system in Pennsylvania. They were treated to a hockey game and a two-year-old movie that …
The fifth season of HBO’s Girls aired its two-part finale this past weekend, and rather than feeling like a show that had run its course, it demonstrated a renewed creative potential. Although Girls has remained a reliably interesting show for its duration, the last two seasons suffered from an occasional lack of direction. It wasn’t …
Sound on Sight’s list of the best episodes of the year so far continues with entries from Fortitude and Daredevil.
With “Home Birth”, Lena Dunham and the rest of the Girls team end what has been a strong, but somewhat disjointed season in peak form, delivering a fantastic season ender that could have easily, and satisfyingly, served as a series finale. The episode is creative, moving and laugh out loud rewind-the-DVR-repeatedly-and-belly-laugh-each-time funny (more on Ray later). Even better, it services all of its main characters, putting them in moments of crisis and forcing them to make what could easily become life-altering decisions, all while feeling natural to the characters’ journeys.
It’s been a tough year for Hannah. After her disheartening experience in Iowa, she returns home to a boyfriend who’s moved on and now, her father comes out of the closet, throwing doubt on her childhood and the one stable relationship in her life, that of her parents. While it’s likely Hannah doth protest too much, her repeated claims that she’s fine and her assertion that her father’s sexuality has nothing to do with her are pleasant surprises. Her therapist (Bob Balaban) was right- Hannah’s handling the changes in her life with shocking maturity.
After the intense and draining “Sit-In”, in “Close-Up”, Girls chooses to continue the narrative not with Hannah, but Adam, following him and Mimi-Rose through their typical morning routine. It’s a good move—viewers already know what Hannah looks like post-breakup, but Mimi-Rose and the person Adam’s become with her are new entities and it’s exciting to see their dynamic explored. As Jessa has said, Adam is lighter here than he has been recently, energetic and optimistic in a way he hasn’t consistently been with Hannah since getting his Broadway break in season three. It’s nice to see, despite how short-lived it is. Gillian Jacobs is a strong addition to the cast as Mimi-Rose, making her entertainingly similar to Hannah in her self-centeredness while diametrically opposed in the way that manifests itself. Mimi-Rose’s revelation that she’s had an abortion without consulting Adam is harsh, making her feel utterly cold and lacking in empathy, but this is countered by her lovely sentiment that she may not need Adam, but she wants him, and to her, that’s far more meaningful. Adam has ricocheted from one end of the spectrum to the other and it will be interesting to see how he handles the emotional whiplash.
Hannah and Adam’s relationship has been a staple of Girls. Even when they’ve been broken up or dating other people, their connection has defined much of their individual journeys. Given its significance, “Sit-In” wisely devotes its entire runtime to the dissolution of the pairing, following Hannah through a very long day as she tries to process and accept that Adam’s moved on. Just as much importance is put on the audience’s reaction, with writers Paul Simms and Max Brockman holding viewers’ hands throughout, easing Hannah and everyone watching at home through an unexpected and potentially painful transition. On the whole, they’re successful, though with Marnie and Hannah’s late-episode conversation, the subtext becomes text in the show’s most glaring and least successful meta scene yet. It’s the end of an era on Girls, or so the writers would have us believe, and “Sit-In” is a wonderfully elegiac and fitting goodbye to what has been one of the series’ most significant relationships.
Well that was quick. After only three episodes, Hannah is out of Iowa and back in New York and while the end of “Cubbies” promises plenty of knotty, interesting developments to come, it’s hard not to be disappointed. Girls coped very well with Hannah’s lack of proximity to the group. In the age of Skype, there’s no reason she couldn’t have stayed in close communication with the entire New York crew while exploring her surroundings a bit more and coming to grips with herself in this new context. Most of Hannah’s peers at the Writers’ Workshop remain undeveloped and it’s unlikely any of them will return any time soon. In Iowa, Hannah is surrounded by fellow writers who can challenge her and force her to reevaluate and either commit to or adjust their artistic and personal choices. Unfortunately, Hannah retreats from this challenge and, after a lovely dinner with her Dad, makes another substantial life choice without consulting Adam.
With Hannah’s goodbyes out of the way, “Triggering” opens where many expected the season premiere to begin: Hannah, New York City girl, is in Iowa, and she can’t believe the rent. This episode focuses almost entirely on Hannah’s transition to life at the University of Iowa, surrounded by open green space and her artistic peers. Hannah’s on board with the former, for now, but she’s much less certain about the latter. This is the first time she’s been forced to engage with fellow writers about her personal work, writers who are at roughly the same place in their lives and careers that she is; it’s a lot harder to dismiss their criticisms than those she’s faced thus far.
In many ways a direct continuation of its strong third season, Girls’ season four premiere picks up shortly after the events of last year’s finale, with Hannah preparing to leave for the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Marnie continuing her musical and romantic partnership with guitarist Desi, Jessa newly unemployed, and Shoshanna freshly graduated. This is a change of pace for the series, which has previously taken advantage of the season breaks to jump its characters forward in time, with significant developments occurring offscreen (the start of Hannah’s relationship with Sandy, Jessa checking herself into rehab, Charlie leaving Marnie). Fun as it may have been to jump right into Hannah’s fish-out-of-water adventure in Iowa, it’s nice to get one more episode with the leads together, reestablishing their bonds before they’re tested.
There are plenty of interesting new series to be on the lookout for, but many TV fans will be most excited about the return of some of television’s best offerings. Here are Chief TV Editor Kate Kulzick and Managing TV Editor Deepayan Sengupta’s picks for the most exciting (currently scheduled) midseason returns of 2015. Banshee …
2014 has been yet another fantastic year for television, one that continued the nichification of the medium, with highly specific and underrepresented voices breaking through in every genre. There was a comedy explosion, particularly on cable, with dozens of new series presenting confident first seasons and several returning shows reaching new heights. The dramas didn’t disappoint either, with visionary creators bringing new life to familiar settings and taking greater risks with their returning series, deepening their worlds. Throughout the year, directors and cinematographers brought lush visuals, composers pushed the auditory envelope, and an astonishing number of actors gave fantastic, memorable performances. More than a few shows delivered spectacle on a weekly basis, while others went small, deriving incredible power out of stillness and self-reflection. Some series swept the audience up, week in and week out, and others built subtly, only showing their hand in their season’s final episodes. There truly was too much great television this year for any one person to see it all (95 separate series were nominated by our contributors!), so limiting the discussion to 10 or even 20 series would be ridiculous. Instead, here is Sound on Sight’s list of the 30 best series of what has been another wonderful year for television.
2014 has been yet another fantastic year for television, one that continued the nichification of the medium, with highly specific and underrepresented voices breaking through in every genre. There was a comedy explosion, particularly on cable, with dozens of new series presenting confident first seasons and several returning shows reaching new heights. The dramas didn’t disappoint either, with visionary creators bringing new life to familiar settings and taking greater risks with their returning series, deepening their worlds. Throughout the year, directors and cinematographers brought lush visuals, composers pushed the auditory envelope, and an astonishing number of actors gave fantastic, memorable performances. More than a few shows delivered spectacle on a weekly basis, while others went small, deriving incredible power out of stillness and self-reflection. Some series swept the audience up, week in and week out, and others built subtly, only showing their hand in their season’s final episodes. There truly was too much great television this year for any one person to see it all (95 separate series were nominated by our contributors!), so limiting the discussion to 10 or even 20 series would be ridiculous. Instead, here is Sound on Sight’s list of the 30 best series of what has been another wonderful year for television.
2014 has been yet another fantastic year for television, one that continued the nichification of the medium, with highly specific and underrepresented voices breaking through in every genre. There was a comedy explosion, particularly on cable, with dozens of new series presenting confident first seasons and several returning shows reaching new heights. The dramas didn’t …
Part 2 of our listing of the best television episodes of the year to date looks at individuals outings of shows such as Bob’s Burgers and Fargo.
HBO’s Game of Thrones is king, leading the 66th Annual Emmy Nominations with 19 in total, including for Outstanding Drama, Outstanding Lead Actor Lena Headey and Supporting Actor Peter Dinklage. Breaking Bad‘s final season is also heading out on a swan song, earning a grand total of 16 nominations, including nods for Outstanding Drama, Outstanding …
Girls, Season 3, Episode 12: “Two Plane Rides” Written and Directed by Lena Dunham Airs at 10 PM EST on HBO In “Two Plane Rides”, Lena Dunham manages to capitalize on last week’s big reveal where Hannah (Lena Dunham) finds out that Marnie (Allison Williams) and Ray (Alex Karpovsky) have been sleeping together for most …
In “I Saw You”, the penultimate episode of Girls Season 3, writers Lena Dunham and Paul Simms manage to balance plot and characterization for Girls’ ensemble cast while commenting on the show’s overall themes. The episodes sheds light on the characters’ strength and weaknesses and exposes and accentuates the tension in their relationships. Adam (Adam Driver) is growing apart from Hannah (Lena Dunham) as his play gets closer to premiere and begins to bond with Ray (Alex Karpovsky). Marnie (Allison Williams) gets to meet one of her art heroes, the photographer Beadie (Louise Lasser) while preparing for a big open mic night with Adam’s cast-mate Desi (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). Director Jesse Peretz uses timely scene transitions to show how the different “girls” rise and fall. “I Saw You” does a great job balancing the various characters’ plot lines while still having room for keen observations about them and several funny moment.
Girls Season 3, Episode 10: “Role-Play” Written by Lena Dunham and Judd Apatow Directed by Jesse Peretz Airs Sundays at 10 PM on HBO All the tension building up from Adam (Adam Driver) getting a part in a Broadway play to Hannah’s (Lena Dunham) mom’s offhanded comment about “keeping the job, not the guy” last week …
Girls Season 3, Episode 9: “Flo” Written by Bruce Eric Kaplan Directed by Richard Shepard Airs Sundays at 10 PM on HBO In “Flo”, Bruce Eric Kaplan ditches the entire main and supporting cast, except for Hannah (Lena Dunham) and Adam (Adam Driver), and decides to show her, her mother (Becky Ann Baker), aunts, and cousin …
Girls Season 3, Episode 8: “Incidentals” Written by Lena Dunham and Sarah Heyward Directed by Richard Shepard Airs Sundays at 10 PM on HBO With the exception of the storyline involving his sister, Adam (Adam Driver) has been on the margins of Girls Season Three. Much of the focus has been on Hannah’s (Lena Dunham) writing career …
Girls, Season 3, Episode 7: “Beach House” Written by Jenni Konner, Lena Dunham, and Judd Apatow Directed by Jesse Peretz Airs Sundays at 10 PM on HBO Girls continues its focus on character relationships by taking a break from its ongoing plot to show Hannah (Lena Dunham), Marnie (Allison Williams), Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet), and Jessa’s (Jemima …
Girls Season 3: Episode 6 – “Free Snacks” Written by Paul Simms Directed by Jamie Babbit Airs Sundays at 10 PM on HBO In “Free Snacks”, Girls gets to flex its comedy muscles, and writer Paul Simms sticks hilarious words in the mouths of Hannah (Lena Dunham) and Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet). But he also crafts those two …