"Girls" Review/Recap: "Flo"

Maddy Chrichton ‘17 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

Is Girls turning into a British period drama?
Earlier this season, we faced the loss of Hannah Horvath’s (Lena Dunham) boss. In this week’s episode “Flo,” the second death of the season occurred as Hannah lost her grandmother.
Hannah takes center stage in this episode, as none of the other three main girls are showcased. However, some new ladies are introduced, giving us a glimpse at what Girls could be like in 40 years.
The show opens with Loreen Horvath (Becky Ann Baker) calling Hannah to let her know about the medical state of her grandmother, and telling her to get on the next train to come to the hospital. The talented June Squibb plays Hannah’s dying grandmother, who is lying in a hospital bed plagued with pneumonia and a high fever. Mrs. Horvath tells Hannah that she should tell her grandmother that she and Adam (Adam Driver) are engaged, just so she can die with happy news. Hannah is of course offended by this, wishing that her mother were more progressive than that.
Hannah is eventually reunited with her cousin Rebecca (Sarah Steele) whom she has never gotten along with. Rebecca is very snappy with her and rude to her, making it clear that she is incredibly busy and has to study because she goes to medical school. Then in a turn of events, Rebecca invites Hannah to get drinks, and the two make plans for later that night.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Horvath and her two sisters, Margot (Deirdre Lovejoy) and Sissy (Amy Morton) discuss who will get what when their mother passes away. It quickly turns into a heated argument about who will get their mother’s ring. They all have their ridiculous reasons as to why they should be the one who keeps the ring, but they cannot arrive at an agreement. Their fights puts the dynamic between sisters and friends in a funny light, even though the nature of their situation is very tragic.

Hannah calls Adam to tell him about her mother’s ridiculous proposal. Adam then starts a serious talk about whether or not they will ever end up getting married. He is not as open to the idea of marriage as Hannah is, and they are by no means on the same page. It is a conversation they have never had before, and they both seem like they do not really know what they want.
Rebecca and Hannah go to a bar together, and Rebecca is condescending to Hannah the entire time. The two live completely different lives–Hannah is a writer in a fairly stable relationship, while Rebecca thinks that writers are a silly breed of people and only has a boyfriend on Wednesdays. On the ride home, Rebecca texts while driving and they end up getting into an accident, adding to the emotional stress that their family is in.
The two both get a little banged up, and Adam rushes to the Hospital to make sure Hannah is okay, as the text she sent him only carried the words “car crash.” The stress of the car crash makes the three sisters start a fight in the middle of the hospital. Their yelling ranges from rants that have been pent up for decades, and back to the topic about who gets to keep what their mother leaves behind.
Hannah introduces Adam to her grandmother, and Adam tells her that they are set to be married in a year. This throws Hannah, her grandmother, and the audience off guard. But of course, leave it to Adam to do something endearing right when you think he’s being an annoying boyfriend.

Mrs. Horvath on the other hand, sees none of Adam’s charm and tells Hannah to keep her options open because she can do better. This obviously upsets Hannah, and she storms away from her mother.
The next day, Hannah’s grandmother reveals that she is feeling much better. Her appetite is back, she is much more talkative, and the nurse is very impressed with her progress. Seems like a happy ending for Hannah and her family after all, right? Wrong. Of course, with Hannah’s luck, the minute she gets off her train and is back in the city, she receives a call from Rebecca. Rebecca tells her that her grandmother has had a heart attack and passed away. Hannah turns right around, gets back on the train to the hospital, and the show closes.
Girls has been dealing with serious issues lately. This episode dealt with death in the family, and touched upon marriage. No matter what this show is talking about, it always paints the situation is a realistic light. All the characters were very honest, and nothing is too far from real life.
With any luck, next week’s episode will have these same themes, but include Marnie, Shoshanna and Jessa. This season they have been very overshadowed, and it is always fun to see what they are up to. They are all in pretty interesting points in their lives, namely Shoshanna, who is about to graduate college. After all, the name of the show in not “The Hannah Show,” it’s Girls, so it would be nice to see all of them.
Overall Episode Grade: B+