GIRLS – S5xEp07 – HELLO KITTY

This week Hannah’s insistence on bad-mouthing the other teachers to the students caught up with her when the principal called her in yet again, but rather than deal with it in a mature and rational way, Hannah did what Hannah does. After pulling a Sharon Stone from “Basic Instinct” by flashing her skirted goods, she later bragged to Fran about the move — naturally, she didn’t understand why her boyfriend would be upset about the whole thing, leading to yet another argument between the two.

The Episode is all shaped around a play the girls and boys are attending, Based on the murder of Kitty Genovese, the play is a spoof of those audience-participation plays in which the viewers turn into some ungodly hybrid of extra and editor as they move from room to room, seeing random snippets of scenes—and, in this case, pocketing candy from a bowl or talking loudly over dialogue since, as Marnie (Allison Williams) puts it, “It’s not like the actors are doing anything interesting.”

I can’t quite explain why, but the sight of “Joan,” one female “38 Neighbors” character, aggressively dancing at her sister “Ellen” with that pissed-off look on her face was completely hilarious. I think I watched it about five times. For me, it was the highlight of the installment, and maybe one of the funniest gags all season.

Just when we thought we’d finally gotten rid of Desi for good, the cat came back—and he brought with him some good news. With “Grey’s Anatomy” interested in using “Matter of Waiting” for an upcoming episode, the time has come for Marnie and him to tour the crap out of the song. Unfortunately for Desi, that meant working on rekindling his relationship to his ex, while for Marnie it was a professional thing. Obviously this will result in some massive explosions or a complete meltdown, but it’s good to know that Marnie’s basic oblivious nature hasn’t really changed that much since her revelations last week.

Hannah figures out what’s going on between her old friend and her former lover during the play, when she sees Jessa beaming at Adam from the balcony of an apartment across the courtyard, while Adam smokes moodily in a window, gazing at Jessa in what’s obviously not part of the script. Hannah is as hurt and angered by the realization as Jessa guessed she would be, her cheeks reddening and lips tightening as she looks back and forth from one to the other. After all that, the post-play encounter between Jessa and Hannah is surprisingly tame: just a cordial hello and an awkward wave. Hannah had plenty to say to Marnie about how she feels, though, so her uncharacteristic diffidence with Jessa is likely just a subterranean rumble signaling a coming eruption

“Hello Kitty” managed to make us really feel for Hannah. Despite the fact that we know her devastation over Adam and Jessa being together is technically irrational, we feel her pain when she breaks down while Fran is trying to coax a reconciliation out of her.

That moment really spoke volumes about both characters. Fran is the type of person who, after cooling off and spending a few hours apart, is fully capable of getting over their argument and moving on. Hannah, left on her own a few hours, has basically forgotten all about Fran and their argument, instead zeroing in on her new problem – Adam and Jessa.