Girls brings a road trip, heartbreak, and those scenes you only expect to see on the HBO hit. Read our full recap to catch up on the first two episodes of season 3 below!
The return of Girls brings with it a sense of predictability and a balance of refreshing character developments. Not only do viewers gain a grounding in the lives of the four leading ladies, but Adam leaves his own stamp.
Episode 1: ‘Females Only’
The opening episode of season three passes by quickly giving everyone a chance to become situated. Hannah and Adam are living out their domestically blissful lives together, Shoshanna is working through her senior year taking on the work load, and the bunk beds of various co-eds. Meanwhile, Marnie is sleeping on her mom’s couch and commuting to Ray’s coffee shop everyday via NJ Transit.
At the Hannah’s taco dinner party, Hannah’s life is laid out before her. One friend who seemingly has it together, another is a devastated mess, while her partner trudges along keeping up and even providing a few moments of guiding light for Marnie. Hannah’s big news though is worthy of an episode itself. Her book chapters are hitting the right crowds, her therapy is going well, and she appears to have a grip on her life. Going forward it will be interesting to see Hannah balance her friends, whom she admittedly says she loves, but hates, and her career.
Meanwhile, in a land tucked far far away, Jessa rips through her support group’s emotional baggage and uses it against them turning her stint at a rehab facility into a failed mission. There is one young woman in the group that Jessa bonds with in an unconventional way that ultimately leads to her removal from the group. With no one else to turn to, Jessa calls up Hannah for one more favor.
Episode 2: ‘Truth or Dare’
Hannah, Shosh, and Adam rent a car and head to upstate New York to bring Jessa back from rehab. Hannah is distracted by the overwhelming need to find meaning in the mundane of everyday life. On the road Hannah begins to become frustrated when the road trip proves to be nothing more than just a drive up north. Sometimes looking for something to follow up a precedent set in another place, proves to be harder than living in the moment.
Stopping off for breakfast, Shosh buys a chair for the journey in place of souvenir. At a hotel pitstop, the ladies try to teach Adam the art of truth or dare, but it proves to be fruitless. Hannah finds Shosh in the hall, after being cast away so that Adam can perform his nightly ritual on Hannah. Shosh is not entirely sure that picking up Jessa is the best thing for her right now. Giving into her call may set her back, but at the same time, Hannah is excited to have her back in her life. Sometimes it comes down to a game time decision.
On the road the next morning, Adam pulls over to give Hannah a chance to find something to write about. Adam and Shosh take off into the woods for a quick height where Shosh discovers that although Adam’s life may seem empty, being Hannah’s best friend and significant other is the best thing in his life. Hannah, meanwhile, lies in the leaves finally taking in the of the bliss of saying no for the first time.
Jessa finds a friend in another patient of the rehab facility, but the elusive man with the accent follows the same path as her past. The welcoming arms that kept her in a safe place, push her away as soon as his smuggled drugs run out and he takes advantage of her trust. Luckily, Hannah shows up, posing as her sister to take her home. Unfortunately, after coming down from her suitor upstairs, Jessa must face her own deceit when it is revealed that she could have left at anytime without a cosigner.
Hannah and Jessa have a heart-to-heart about where their friendship needs to go in order to work for the both of them. At the heart of it all, they need each other and bailing is no longer an option. Hannah takes Jessa back and it is a moment in the car that further proves Adam is a changed man for Hannah when he offers to take Jessa to meetings whenever she feels that she needs one.
Watch Girls season 3, episode 3, “She Said OK,” Sunday, January 19 at 10 p.m. ET on HBO
You can catch up on Girls with an HBO Go account online!