Jemima Kirke in a scene playing Jessa in HBO's "Girls" Season 5. (Photo : HBO)
"Girls" Season 5 so far has packed a balance between drama and comedy. To date, "The Panic In Central Park" is one of the most serious episodes the show has done so far but the comedic relief in "Hello Kitty" and "Homeward Bound," reminds us that the show at its core is a comedy with underlying emotional punches.
"Hello Kitty" started off with Hannah (Lena Dunham) pulling a "Basic Instinct" peepshow for the principal to get off the tricky situation. She narrates the incident to Fran (Jake Lacy) who is not amused. During the fight, they go to a play where Adam is performing.
The play called "38 Windows" supposedly tells the story of Kitty Genovese who was stabbed to death in her Queens apartment. The audience were invited into various rooms in the apartment where actors play the role of Kitty's neighbors who only had their heads out the window as they watch Kitty die.
On a personal note, Hannah is also dying inside as she picks up on Jessa (Jemima Kirke) and Adam's (Adam Sackler) love stares. The glaring theme of the play is societal apathy, that people are too self-involved to do the right thing for others. Yet by the end of the episode, the subtle look on Jessa and Hannah's face will make you sympathize in a seeming death of their friendship.
Meanwhile, Elijah (Andrew Rannells) is classing it up with Dill (Corey Stoll) as he learns more about Dill's suspicious generosity leading him more confused about their relationship.
"Homeward Bound" follows up the foreshadowed intention of Hannah to break up with Fran. As they go on a road trip to Upstate New York, Fran happily yaps about being with Hannah for the rest of the summer without having to deal with the school administrators and Hannah's needy friends as discomfort registers on Hannah's face. True enough, as they stop temporarily, Hannah seizes the situation to send a break-up text to Fran while she was in the bathroom.
Hilarity ensues as Hannah plays hide-and-seek with an exasperated Fran who resigns with a reasonable offer to take her back to the city. Hannah declines as and hitches a ride with Ray (Alex Karpovsky) that ended in Ray's truck stumbling beside the road when Hannah went down on him. She then hops into the car of a stranger named Hector (guest star Guillermo Diaz) to get back to the city.
During the course of the episode Hannah called Marnie (Alison Williams) who is preoccupied in the studio with Desi (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and is irate at Desi and his new girlfriend played by guest star Lisa Bonet. In a more emotional part of the episode, Hannah also called Jessa, who did not pick up initially until the second time where she confirms she knows about Jessa's ongoing relationship with Adam (Adam Driver).
Meanwhile, Adam finds out that her sister has been missing for 3 days. He finds out in a letter that he may be suicidal at the moment. As abandonment dawns on Laird (Jon Glaser), he asks Adam to take care of his child for a while. Jessa comes over to help as she receives Hannah's call confirming that she and Adam are together. Understandably, it bugs Jessa who Adam says that Hannah is the least of his priorities right now.
As the episode comes to a close, Hannah seems to be turning a new leaf as she learns that the stranger she's with relishes going to New York to start a new beginning. The scene is contrast to Shoshana's (Zosia Memet) discontent in her new job as she goes back to the New York.
Overall, "Hello Kitty" and "Homeward Bound" finds a way to elevate the emotional maturity of the show despite having some silly comedic moments and at the same time have its characters appear childish with a deeper motivation bubbling underneath.
"Girls" season 5 airs every Tuesday on HBO at 9:00 PM (eastern time).
Here is Lena Dunham's take on the Hannah and Fran break-up:
