girls season 2

tv:  The first season of Girls, which aired last spring, was one of the most talked about shows on television at the time.  There was a ton of controversy surrounding the show.  Writer/creator/lead actress Lena Dunham came under fire for her portrayal of the the characters on the show as well as her willingness to do nude scenes(and a few other things).  There was also at times a sense that the show was not reaching its full potential.  In a lot of ways the show mirrored its characters in that way.  It was the story of four girls who are friends trying to find their way after college to the the stability of adulthood and what is like to not know what the next step is or how exactly to achieve.  The first season of Girls was thoroughly enjoyable as we watched the show evolve and try new things as Lena Dunham tried to find her voice and the voices of the characters.
The second season premiered last night and showed that things have definitely changed.  Dunham seems to now know what the show is.  The episode was smooth and funny and at times heartfelt and most of all portrayed a level of confidence in what the show is.
The episode began with a quick glimpse in on the lives of our main characters and where they are in their lives that reintroduces everyone perfectly.  We see Marnie getting the bad news that the art gallery she is working at is downsizing (a lovely euphemism for "you're fired") only to be told by her now former boss that she is super pretty and smart and that she'll land on her feet.  I need take a minute to comment on how that is one of the most interesting moments of the episode just because of the way that line is delivered.  It is said as if being super pretty supersedes Marnie's being smart because that is what is said first, something that young women probably get all the time - "oh you're pretty don't worry.  Life will be good."  But as we see with Marnie as the episode unfolds, things are not quite so good.  Luckily for her Dunham writes that as funny instead of sad.  OK enough of that.  Shoshanna is spreading herbs and incense while asking whoever it is that she is asking that Ray, one Girls best guys, be smote for ditching her after what we now know was a one night stand and not the beginning of a relationship.  And then we meet Hannah, on top of the new man in her life, played by Donald Glover who is an excellent addition to the cast after his work in Community 
As the episode progresses we see how Hannah's new relationship is complicated by her guilt over her boyfriend from last year, the sometimes loved but always interesting Adam, getting hit by a car while they were fighting.
While Dunham allowed the show to pick up plots that followed up on the questions that arose after the season one finale, the plot is almost secondary in what made this episode so enjoyable to watch.  It was more that confidence that I referred to.  It is hard to explain what exactly I mean by that, but there is just something that happens with certain shows when they find their voice and realize their capabilities. The episodes seem to have a certain swagger, within the quality and creativity, about them that says that everyone involved knows how good the show they are making is.  That was what watching Girls first episode back was like.  There was no more trying to figure things out.  There was no inconsistency in the way the story was told or the quality of the episodes.  It was just damn good, and in a way that one would expect to continue.  The story was both fun and heartfelt.  The humor was quicker in every possible way as I found myself laughing harder and more often this time around.  Those real life moments in the show that Dunham has been praised for being able to adapt to scrips were no longer just real but hysterical. 
And now its time to talk about the choice to bring back Andrew Rannells character Elijah, Hannah's gay ex-boyfriend, as her roommate replacing Marnie.  Rannells career has been a bit up and down in the past year or two.  He burst on to the scene as the lead in the musical The Book Of Mormon created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and instantly endeared himself to anyone who saw it.  Then he decided to do The New Normal, a show by Ryan Murphy that is on the long list of recent NBC failures.  His turn as Elijah, which was fun but really forgettable in the first season, is officially a highlight of the show as he storms the first episode back as yet another force set to create chaos in Hannah's life while bringing some of the episodes funniest moments.  As long as Rannell's cosmic awesomeness continues to be a part of the series, it appears that only good things can happen for everyone involved.
While the girls on the show still seem to be exactly that, making questionable decisions about the course of their lives as they think only of themselves while claiming that their actions are self-sacrificing, Girls has now officially grown into its adulthood.  The style and quality and confidence that shows that it knows who it is, showing that it can be a long term, stable part of someones life.  Fortunately for those of us who need a laugh from time to time, the characters are nowhere near there yet.