Posted April 22, 2013

By RACHEL JANOSEC

HBO’s “Girls” is a uniquely realistic portrayal of life for young people in today’s society, which includes permanent recession and constant electronic communication use.

The four main characters from HBO’s series “Girls.”

The characters in the most recent season, season two, which just aired its finale a week ago, all engage in self-destructive behavior, just like young people do in reality.

The writing is humorous enough to make it entertaining so that the viewer just can’t turn away.

Seasons one and two prove to be different in a way that viewers can completely hate one season and love the other. But I laughed more in season two’s first hour then I did the entire first five episodes of season one.

In season two, it is clear that “Girls” has been upgraded to a fully functioning hilarious comedy television show. In season one, Lena Dunham, the show’s writer and director and leading role of Hannah, was still finding herself and wasn’t quite sure how to pull off making a successful show. Season two shows off her production skills and her true self much more.

The four main characters are best friends in their mid-20s living in Brooklyn fresh out of college and each character became much better defined in the second season. This left the overall feeling of the season much lighter and funnier, yet it also left the viewer feeling less connected and moved emotionally, even though the girls are so overly emotional.

One character that adds a lot to the second season is Andrew Rannells, who plays Elijah, Hannah’s ex-boyfriend from college, who returns back into Hannah’s life and admits to being gay. After a minor freak-out from Hannah, Elijah becomes her new roommate and stirs up a lot of laughter and drama between her and the other three girls, specifically when he sleeps with Marnie on Hannah’s couch.

Rannells is specifically great in the second season and brings a gay man’s perspective into the very crazy life of these four girls. It is funny to see the characters reactions to his rather gay comments and it shows that a girl always loves to have a gay best friend by her side, even in real life.

Another standout character, besides the four main girls, is Hannah’s crazily weird, on-again, off-again, very tall boyfriend, Adam. He pops in and out of Hannah’s life, yet he is the main reason why she is so sad and constantly questioning herself all the time.

One minute he is calling her name in the middle of the night standing romantically outside of her window the next he has a new girlfriend, and Hannah is calling 911 on him. It is all just a part of the weird and confusing nature of the show, but this is also why the viewers keep watching.

The other grasping aspect of “Girls” is how relatable it is to young women in America today. The characters are raw, impulsive, vulgar, ambitious and insecure as ever in the new season, just like any other girl in her 20s trying to find herself.

Never have I found this series to seem artificial or too planned. It is all real situations in which any girl this age can end up. It discusses all the hardships that girls of this age are going through today, but just takes a more realistic and rough approach.

Lena Dunham is not afraid to put her unflattering naked flawed body on screen episode after episode if it happens to tie in with the dialogue. Overall, the second season has improved and matured a great amount. “Girls” is an example of a television show that is hard to get into but also hard to not love.

One can look forward to an exasperating yet fascinating half hour of television each Sunday. This is the perfect way to describe the urban hipsters that make up “Girls.”

The Golden Globe nominated show offers advice for young women out of college who still don’t know what they want from life, love or a career. The show can get rather messy, slutty and strange but you can always count on Dunham to lead through each episode with humor and a break-up/make-up.

In the first episode of the season, it shows that its alright to just let loose and have fun sometimes as Hannah does cocaine and dances half-naked in a dirty nightclub on a weeknight. Her character was feeling locked up and bored and wanted to feel adventurous and forget about her worries for a while instead.

Hannah, in season two, shows a huge change from season one. In season two, she is comprehended as more of an “asshole” and more self-involved. She is more concerned about herself and her anxiety problems and her new book deal then she is with being a good friend, and this starts much of the show’s drama.

Each episode of “Girls” and the season as a whole goes by so quick that it is hard to remember the whirlwind of a show that just occurred. The show is easily forgettable, just as the season two finale was. The season ends almost in a full circle.

The girls all end up back with their same boyfriends, in a big city full of opportunities, still making the same mistakes and struggling through life as young 20-plus year olds. They are all seen still hurting and lashing out at one another until the bitter end, and nothing really changes at all. So — why does anyone watch this show again?

• “Girls” on HBO
• 9 p.m. Sunday nights
• Run time 30 minutes
• Producer, writer and director — Lena Dunham
• Major actors/actresses—Lena Dunham as Hannah Horvath, Allison Williams as Marnie Michaels, Jemima Kirke as Jessa Johansson, Zosia Mamet as Shosanna Shapiro, Adam Driver as Adam Sackler and Alex Karpovsky as Ray Ploshansky
• Comedy/Drama
• Season two finale aired last week
• Recorded repeats available on HBO demand
• HBO renewed series for a third season, no word on start date yet
• 7 out of 10 stars
• Rated PG-13