Image: Via HBO.Girls is closing up shop for the season and we might actually be seeing some character growth this time around. For example: As "Love Stories"— part one of the two-part finale — kicks off, Hannah and Fran are back in the Brooklyn apartment, still doing the breakup dance. Hannah is placid, just trying to get him to leave her apartment with his stuff, while Fran has worked himself into a major lather, furious that Hannah won't even consider working things out.
But what's fascinating about this little spat is that Hannah isn't just listening to her gut: She's being logical about life and love — and the fact that she and Fran aren't a good fit. He seems to think that they should work it out just because it is, theoretically, possible. But rather than getting swept into that kind of thinking, Hannah sticks to her guns, realizing that they definitely don't belong together.
That's not the only revelation Hannah is having, either: Later that day, she heads to work to gather her things. Classes are still out for the summer, so there are no kids around, but she runs into Principal Toby and informs him that she's officially quitting. He seems to think this is the right move — and not just because of how inappropriate she's been during her teaching tenure: He informs Hannah that her joie de vivre is actually pretty inspiring and that he hopes she finds what she's looking for. Hannah apologizes for the pussy-flash incident; he accepts; and she leaves the school, presumably forever.
Once she's out of the door, though, Hannah gets a little melancholy, realizing that — for the first time in a while — she's without commitments, which is also to say that she's without anything to tether herself to and without direction. While this is running through her brain, she runs into an old college friend, Tallie (Jenny Slate), who has, thus far, accomplished the kind of life that Hannah once hoped to have herself: She's a prolific, well-known writer and essayist. Tallie has just returned from a writer's retreat and at first, it's hard to tell if she's going to be unbearable. Hannah gets roped into hanging out, since she admits she has nothing else to do, and they head off to lunch.
Image: Via HBO.While Fran and Hannah were putting the final nails in their relationship coffin early that morning, Marnie was having a little catharsis of her own, which manifested as an orgasm while she was having a "love" dream about Ray. She tells Elijah on a walk later that in the dream, Ray had really long hair and she was brushing it. She woke up and wished it were real, which makes her think that maybe, there's still something unresolved between the two of them.
Elijah is having his own relationship ish: After Dill showed up at his apartment, drunk, they never talked about their fight or the aftermath. But Elijah is determined to prove to Dill that he should want to be in a monogamous relationship, so he marches into Dill's newsroom and demands that they have a conversation about their status. But the heartfelt, you-deserve-someone-who-likes-you-for-you talk backfires: Dill realizes that Elijah is right. He does want a boyfriend — just someone who is "less aimless," he explains, adding that it also might be good to date someone who is taller and his own age. Elijah is heartbroken.
Image: Via HBO.Back in Brooklyn, Marnie meets up with Desi for a few minutes to talk about the next steps with their music. They have exactly eight minutes to chat before his girlfriend (Lisa Bonet) comes to grab him — that's the amount of "conflict-free" time she has allotted Desi to deal with his now ex-wife. Marnie doesn't seem hurt so much as annoyed, and is concerned about what it's going to do to their musical relationship.
At lunch with Tallie, Hannah gets confessional about everything that's gone on in the last couple of years: She explains that she's quit writing, that the love of her life (so far) is going out with her former best friend, and that she just has no idea what she's doing these days. Tallie is super nurturing and empathetic about it. When the women leave the restaurant, Tallie spots a bike that has been left unlocked and eggs Hannah on to take it — which, ultimately, she does. Together, they go for a long ride in Brooklyn, laughing and letting the wind blow in their hair.
They arrive back at Hannah's apartment and decide to smoke a joint and keep the hangout going. Ultimately, Tallie ends up confesses that all the fame and accolades have turned her into the kind of person who Googles herself daily and that she feels paralyzed by her success. It's like a light goes on for Hannah when she realizes that she's been envious of someone who has their own struggles — that everyone has them and that success is its own cross to bear. Stoned, the gals have their own little dance party, working out their stress by grooving to Beyoncé.
Later, when they emerge from the apartment, they run into Jessa and Adam, who are headed into Caroline and Laird's place with groceries. When Tallie sees them and realizes what's going on, she just starts giggling, which makes Hannah laugh; Adam and Jessa are confused at first and then stomp into the downstairs apartment, leaving Hannah and Tallie doubled-over on the stairs, taking in the absurdity that has become mid-20s life.
Oh, and Shosh? She's had a busy day, too, stopping by Ray's and then playing private detective when she sees how empty his coffeeshop is and decides to help. She stakes out the hip café across the street and realizes something: If Ray's place is going to succeed, it needs a new marketing angle. It needs to be the anti-hipster coffee spot for people who actually have jobs.
Image: Via HBO.It's just crazy enough to maybe work — but it's definitely not the most insane turn of events in the episode: Marnie, unable to get the dream out of her head, arrives at Ray's apartment that evening. She tells him that even though she thinks she's supposed to be alone, she also thinks that she's supposed to be with him. She tells him that she wants to brush his hair and they end up kissing. Marnie confesses that she thinks she belongs with Ray. Turns out: He suspects the same thing.
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