Thoughts on HBO's Girls (Spoilers)

      I fell in love with season 1 of Girls. The pilot episode epitomized my life as a 20 something recent graduate struggling to find her way. The female characters were fully fleshed characters that made mistakes but weren't bad people. They all had goals and none of them solely focused on finding a boyfriend. They had a complicated yet loving friendship with each other. I found truth and universality in each episode. I found the show refreshing.

      Hannah Horvath began as an unpaid intern and was being financially supported by her parents. Marnie was no longer in love with her longterm boyfriend. Shoshana was a university student. And Jessa was a free spirit needing the support of her friends after accidentally getting pregnant. Season 1 was about sex and jobs, both places a battleground for trying to define yourself. Between Season 1 and Season 3 there has been a huge tonal shift. It's gone from a heavy dramedy to a straight drama. Gone are the light hearted moments and funny quips in the face of adversity, replaced with serious problems with even more serious consequences.

      I don't recognize these characters. All of these women have been vicious and downright mean and self centered in a way that doesn't seem redeemable. Their pursuits have been more focused on the men in their lives and the men keep taking their crap. I feel they have been irrevocably harmed and the show feels less and less grounded in reality. There's now been a coke episode, an assault, rehab, and other tried and true staples of a soap opera. Gone is the discussion of post collegiate life and replaced with much heavier issues. I value discussion, however this wasn't the show I originally signed up for.

      I don't need to be shocked by every episode. Instead I want to know how these people are paying their rent and how are they able to move so often. Why is no one calling them out on the stupid things they are doing? It feels less like a continuation of Tiny Furniture and more like a completely different project by the same creator.

      I don't blame Lena Dunham. This is her show and as an artist she can do what she chooses with
her art. I'm just disappointed because I thought this show would continue to be about the smaller embarrassing moments and less about grand sweeping gestures and fantasies coming true. If season 3 was how the show started, it would not have resonated with me as strongly.