An era for the liberal, Brooklynite, female-driven Lena Dunham universe has finally come to an end. Yes, after six seasons of the millennial take on "Sex and the City," last Sunday was when the final episode of "Girls" aired. And I know Lena Dunham and her show are not everyone's cup of tea in drama TV; however, I cannot help but watch and admire all that she has accomplished on her own, creating this iconic show when she was just 25. And with the series finale, she definitely was able to find closure amongst the "Girls" quad as well as open up a new chapter in Hannah Horvath's life.
But what did I think of season six as a whole? Honestly, the entirety of it felt a little distant from the "Girls" watching experience I have had with prior seasons. I think a lot of it has to do with tying up the loose ends for each character in the familiar episodic format Dunham usually sets for herself.
As I have discussed with a film professor at my school, we both view Lena's work in "Girls" as setting aside an idea from which the entire rest of the episode follows. And a lot of the time it is an idea completely separate from the show's straight paths for the characters' lives.
A lot of other shows do this as well, but I feel "Girls" is the most blatant about it. If you have seen "Girls," you'll remember Hannah's OCD episode, "The Panic in Central Park", and most recently, when Hannah went to meet with author Chuck Palmer in the "American Bitch" episode with Matthew Rhys (my favorite episode of the season). Even if it departs from the narrative of the four girls, Dunham still includes these different stories as essential anecdotes of each girl's character.
However, in trying to include all these small subsets of stories while also trying to finish up the main narratives of these four girls, I felt like the focus just got lost towards the end. It felt like she was just trying to give these characters an ending -- an ending of some kind because not all of their stories intertwined (because it's not that kind of narrative drama).
Like most seasons, I always appreciated the intellectual dialogue and ideas Lena presents in her work because she always finds a way to keep it relevant without bringing too much of her socio-political propaganda voice out. There was a lot of important questions to bring up, specifically with Lena's character Hannah and (spoiler alert) her newfound role as a mother.
However, the ending felt like it was a huge departure from the rest of the season. Season six could have ended with the penultimate episode which essentially concluded most of the girls' narratives. However, with the season finale titled "Latching" it opened up a new door for Hannah to go through -- one that she decides who she's taking with her in the process. I can't say I'm shocked for her to go against the grain with her unique ending since she got the green light from HBO from her prior work in her mumble core film "Tiny Furniture." But I am shocked that this specific ending was the ending intended for Hannah since her character led us to assume such a different outcome.
In terms of dramatic TV programming in this TV renaissance we're currently in, "Girls" will definitely be remembered as something completely different from shows such as "Mad Men," "Game of Thrones" and "Breaking Bad" who deliver a type of male driven patriarchy at its helm. It's shocking that there aren't many more like this, but "Girls" has always had a more liberal, egalitarian view at its helm where the male characters are more underlying factors that add layers to each of the girls.
I actually really enjoyed "Girls" for all of its run. Whenever I watched it, I always felt like I was becoming involved in Dunham's conversation that she started with each idea in every episode.
Ross Douthat from the New York Times had said in his article on "Girls" that the essence of the show was that "You do not have this alternative figured out," and I don't think that could be any more spot on. We're not all white, young, Jewish girls from Brooklyn finding our way in life right out of college just yet like Dunham. However, we all are just trying to find our way in this world one way or another, and this show captured what its like to experience all of these things that come at us on such a personal, honest level. That being said, I'm really going to miss it.
