Girls Recap: “Full Disclosure” – Season 6 Episode 6
By Emily Scott
This week’s episode of Girls features The Michaels Sisters, Jasmine Cephas Jones selling gloves, an intense interaction between Hannah and Jessa, and scenes from Adam’s awful movie.
This week on Girls, we see each of the characters looking toward their futures. And we see pretty much everyone deciding to change the course of their futures in different ways. Let’s dig in.
Hannah
The episode opens on Hannah telling Marnie the news that she’s pregnant. And Marnie is actually incredibly supportive (especially surprising considering her recent behavior). But the one thing Marnie won’t abide is Hannah’s central question throughout the episode; should she tell Paul-Louis about the baby? Hannah insists that she shouldn’t, but she encounters considerable opposition.
Episode 58 (season 6, episode 6), debut 3/19/17: Lena Dunham, Adam Driver.
photo: Mark Schafer
Even Adam tells her she can’t just not tell him. That’s right – Adam and Hannah have a one-on-one interaction, for the first time in who-knows-how-long. Adam is hounding Hannah, trying to get her to watch his movie. She is being hostile and ignoring him, but he is persistent. He says he needs to know if he did it right. He wants to have told their story according to how she feels, too. He thinks if she watches it, she might get over their relationship. She insists that she is over it, and to prove it, she tells him she’s pregnant.
It’s a meaningful moment, watching Adam watch Hannah run away from him. In the past, she never would have done it. Hannah spent many months trying to work up the strength to leave Adam when he didn’t treat her well. And now that she wants nothing to do with him, he lingers.
For Hannah, it’s a different moment. She ends up watching his movie, which opens on an embarrassingly graphic sex scene. But the post-coital scene is moving, at least for Hannah. Adam is telling the Hannah character that he sees her as perfect and didn’t want to break her. The Hannah character is telling him that she’s very not perfect. He gazes after her as she gets out of the bed. It’s a simplistic representation of the beginnings of their relationship, but it’s an honest one. At least, that’s what it seems to Hannah. Hannah, in that moment, and Adam earlier, seem to reach the same conclusion: there’s something there still. They aren’t done with each other yet.
Episode 58 (season 6, episode 6), debut 3/19/17: Allison Williams.
photo: Mark Schafer
Marnie
Marnie’s future is totally up in the air, a fact that is emphasized by Desi turning up to a gig completely high, leaving her in the lurch. The gig happens to be for her mom’s friend, so Marnie ends up singing. Backed up by her mom. Calling them The Michaels Sisters.
While the ensuing shots of Desi lead us to believe that he is out of Marnie’s life for good, it’s Marnie’s face that resonates. The band was once her dream. Singing was once her dream. But now, she says it’s just stressful. Not having a steady job, trying to deal with Desi’s mood and sobriety swings. It’s both too much and not enough. She’s not being fulfilled by it. She’s just being wrecked.
I’m not loving Marnie right now. She’s being pretty terrible to pretty much everyone. But I think she’s starting to realize one good thing – it’s time to find a new dream.
Jessa
Yes. This was the episode for the long-overdue Hannah and Jessa confrontation. Jessa appears at Hannah’s apartment, having heard the news of the pregnancy from Adam. She is hurt that Hannah didn’t tell her, but Hannah, appropriately, wonders why she expected her to.
This interaction was incredibly interesting, because it was so familiar. We all have friends like Jessa, don’t we? The ones who expect us to eventually be okay, no matter what they do to hurt us? The ones who act as if they have no responsibility to their friends, and then think time will heal the wounds? I know I have those friends. Well, had. It looks like their friendship is in the past tense for Hannah as well. Jessa is appalled that Hannah would just cut her off, pretending that their friendship never existed. But in truth, what friendship did they really have, if Jessa thought being with Adam would be more important?
If I acknowledge my own bias, I may be too hard on Jessa for personal reasons. I’m sure it’s clear that, when this happened to me, I was the Hannah. And Hannah has, of course, acted immaturely about their relationship in the past. But moving on doesn’t mean forgetting. As any girl who has had this happen to her knows, it wasn’t about the boy. It’s never about the boy. It’s about your friend knowing how badly her actions would hurt you, and doing it anyway. And honestly, more power to Hannah. Why be friends with someone who would do that to you, when you could have loving people in your life instead? As Jessa says, Hannah can’t “erase” their friendship. But she can put a stop to it. And I kind of think she should.
Next: Girls Recap: “Gummies” – Season 6, Episode 5
Best Girl: Hannah, for making what is probably the right choice and trying to contact Paul-Louis.
Most Improved: Marnie, for coming to terms with her need to please men (and for keeping the narcissism minimal this episode).
Best Line: “On the spectrum of human beings, you basically have your shit together.” – Marnie, to Hannah, re: her impending baby