‘Girls’ season 4, episode 8 review: An engagement and a disengagement

Sunday night’s new episode of “Girls” could have easily been titled “Parents,” since the most interesting story of the night actually revolved around Hannah’s father deciding that now was the time he wanted to come out as gay. We sensed that there was something with this man we weren’t quite getting on the show this season, given that he was distant and somewhat erratic. As for this specifically, we did not see this revelation coming.

After watching these two parents completely break down at a dinner party (in a way that did remind us of their child), the episode ended with Hannah’s mom telling her the truth, while she was trying to go on and on about whether or not she was too dramatic, a claim that was fired at her by one of her co-workers at school. (Hooray for Hannah actually staying at school longer than an episode!)

We really enjoyed seeing more of Hannah’s father, mostly because Jenni Konner and Lena Dunham showed a ton of ability in being able to write for this older generation of people in a way we did not really expect.

As for the rest of the episode, this had to be one of the better Shoshanna episodes in a while as she struggled with date etiquette, and also the right way to lend a helping hand to Ray. She also came to the realization that despite her education, she was no better than anyone else. This is a huge piece in her development as a person, and it should shape her the rest of the season.

Elsewhere, Marnie and Desi are … engaged? Ugh. We really just hope this collaboration ends soon, since it feels like he is emotionally manipulating her with a ring to forget about most of her problems. He knows how to rope her in, and play into her dreams of a happily ever after.

As a whole, this “Girls” episode was strong, and it showed us a number of dimensions even without including Adam. Sometimes, we find ourselves missing him more than we did here. Grade: B.

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