"Girls" Review/Recap: “I Saw You”

Maddie Crichton ’17 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

This week on Girls, drama and comedy combine to make an entertaining series of events.
The episode “I Saw You” opens with Hannah (Lena Dunham) and Adam (Adam Driver) having sex in her apartment, which confirms for us that despite the complications last week, the two are still together. Immediately after, Adam insists that he needs to go to Ray’s (Alex Karpovsky) to get his mind in the right zone, but Hannah feels that they need to talk about where their relationship is going now that he does not live with her. However, Adam cannot hear her over his new Broadway career and leaves for Ray’s anyway.
Hannah has never been one to just take no for an answer, so she goes to Ray’s in the middle of the night to surprise Adam. The two fight about whether they should be making decisions that are best for Adam’s career or their relationship, a classic struggle that all too many must face at one point.
Meanwhile, Marnie (Allison Williams) is working as an assistant at a twenty-four-year-old’s art gallery. Her job is dull and she gets left with all the busy work, but she does meet an accomplished photographer whose work is on display. She gives Marnie some inspiration and even a glimmer of hope.

She is also pursuing a career in music, and while her friends act supportive, they really find it to be a joke. Hannah and Elijah (Andrew Rannells) spend time making fun of her stage presence and complain about having to go to her open mic. The conversation topic swerves quickly, as it has nothing to do with either of them. Elijah begs Hannah to take him to her second interview with Patti LuPone, and after a few moments of arguing, she gives in.
As Marnie rehearses with her singing and songwriting partner Desi (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), we see that Marnie might view him as more than a partner. While their conversation remains mostly professional, there is some definite unspoken romantic tension between the two, even though Desi has a girlfriend.
Hannah and Elijah both enter the interview with Patti with two agendas. Hannah just wants two sentences, and Elijah wants some kind of story he can brag about for the rest of his life. In the end, Elijah ends up winning because Patti answers the door drunk, doesn’t give Hannah any answers, and talks about life and relationships the whole time. Again.
In a rare moment of Girls, the show focuses on the boys for a scene. Adam talks about how his situation with Hannah and his new job are going, and Ray talks about how he thinks it’s good for him to be single right now. He mentions that he had a brief thing with a girl whom the audience knows is Marnie. He does not explain this detail to Adam, though, so the Ray and Marnie relationship remains a secret.

Hannah has finally received a stable job as a writer. While it may not give her the full creative outlet she desires, it provides a steady and generous income, which should be good enough for her. But of course it isn’t, because the second something goes slightly well for Hannah, she has to ruin it for herself. She goes on a rant during a meeting and gets fired, but if you ask her, she’ll say she quit.
Marnie is having a moment with DB, and Jessa walks in saying she was in the neighborhood applying for jobs, so she thought she might stop by. Marnie makes it clear that she is unwelcome, but Jessa insists on staying and even gives her opinion of the photographs on display. This ends with DB offering Jessa a job Marnie would be perfectly qualified for, and Jessa accepts, leaving her friend green with envy.
At Marnie’s open mic, Hannah, Elijah and Shoshanna attend cheering on their friend, while making fun of her behind her back. Marnie tries to address the situation between her and Desi before heading on stage, but he tells her that she has fictionalized it and that she should really just focus on their performance. Once they grace the stage, they are actually quite good. This surprises the trio in the balcony, who thought Marnie would be a complete mess.

As everyone gives them their congratulations after the show, Marnie is introduced to Desi’s girlfriend. The two are nice to each other on the outside, but there is some clear competition going on. This prompts Marnie to leave early and head over to Ray’s apartment. He tries to tell her that he does not want to sleep with her, but temptation gets the best of him.
When Hannah and Adam head back to Ray’s apartment, they hear a noise coming from Ray’s bedroom. Adam is uninterested, but Hannah barges right into the bedroom to see Ray and Marnie. Everyone screams and the episode closes with Hannah slamming the door saying, “You will never judge me again.”
This episode finally starts to connect the plots of all the main characters together. And surprisingly enough, everyone’s mutual character is Marnie. Both Jessa and Ray gain their relevance because of her, and Shoshanna is present because of her newfound music career. Marnie is usually the most irritating character on the show, so it is nice to see her starting to piece her life together, and be the glue that brings the show to life.
The way the plots have intersected in the past couple episodes have been hilarious, and they reached an all time high with the ending of “I Saw You.” Hopefully the writers continue to use this formula, because it is working very well.
Overall Episode Grade: A