Girls returns to HBO for its sixth and final season on Sunday, Feb. 12, which means that by mid-April, it'll all be over. It's been a wild, sometimes groundbreaking, sometimes problematic, but always well-soundtracked ride, and if Season 6 manages to build off the momentum of a gorgeously put together Season 5, then these last 10 episodes will be something to savor. But before we look to the future, it's important to recap everything that happened in Girls season 5 to help get you in the mood for what's to come, which hopefully includes steady-paying jobs for all.
From the sneak peeks of next season, it looks like Hannah is setting up her writing career (for real this time), Marnie is successfully juggling her husband and her side-piece (consensually, from the looks of it), Jessa and Adam are trying to make it work, and Shoshanna is reconciling her career ambitions with a personality type that might not exactly fit the mold. There definitely seems to be some growth from last year, when Hannah was trying her hand at teaching, Marnie rushed into marriage, Jessa betrayed her best friend for a guy, and Shoshanna got crushed at her dream job. But here's a brief rundown of everything that down in Season 5 — the good, the bad, and the messy.
Marnie Got Married
The season opened with a completely contrived Pinterest wedding for Marnie and Desi, which got petty and unraveled quickly before getting back on track with a heartfelt ceremony. Unfortunately, wedded bliss wasn't in the cards, and Desi's impulsive, intense nature wound up being too much for structure-loving Marnie. She ran into her ex-boyfriend Charlie and they spent a whole day together before she discovered he was a heroin addict. The encounter did motivate her to break things off with Desi, though. They decided to remain artistic collaborators, since their music was taking off, and they even got a track on Grey's Anatomy. How easily Marnie will be able to manage Desi's emotions in the future remains to be seen.
Hannah & Fran Broke Up
Well, first they moved in together, and Hannah got upset when she learned that Fran keeps nudes of his old girlfriends. Then, there was a totally inappropriate incident at work where Hannah lashed out at her boss by flashing him, which deeply upset Fran. They tried to make the best of it with a summer getaway, but wound up breaking up at a rest stop on the drive up. This somehow led to Hannah almost hooking up with Ray, but luckily, a car accident halted that. Needless to say, Hannah and Fran are over.
Jessa & Adam Got Together
One of the stickier plot points of Season 5 was Jessa and Adam's burgeoning relationship. They tried their best to fight it, but really, how long can meeting up for mutual masturbation go on before you give up and decide to call it a relationship? They tried to hide it from Hannah, but Jessa's somewhat involuntary impulse to push her away at every turn was sort of a dead giveaway. Hannah figured it out and was briefly crushed before she decided to give them her blessing with a fruit basket. But as she was dropping it off, she overheard them arguing about how Jessa will never forgive Adam for driving a wedge between her and Hannah.
Shoshanna Took A Job In Tokyo
After being faced with the decision to accept a job in Tokyo (with a boss played by Aidy Bryant!) or work at her boyfriend's startup, Shoshanna decided to relocate to Japan. On the surface, she was the happiest she's ever been, but she was also deeply, deeply lonely. When she ended up getting "managed out" of her job (i.e., let go), Shoshanna returned to New York and realized Tokyo was never really the dream. She spontaneously decided to help Ray and Hermie rebrand Ray's failing café. Ray, however, decided to run for city councilman, leaving Shosh and Hermie as a surprisingly effective team.
Elijah Started Dating Dill Harcourt
Dill Harcourt is sort of an Anderson Cooper-inspired, famous, handsome, news anchor, with whom Elijah hit it off with in one of the most meaningfully connected relationships of his life. Unfortunately, Elijah soon realized that Dill has a bunch of lovers whom he has no interest in giving up, and decided to give Dill an ultimatum: they give it a real, monogamous shot, or else Dill doesn't deserve him. Sadly, things didn't go Elijah's way and he got dumped.
Hannah & Her Mom Go On A Women's Retreat
While it wasn't exactly an enjoyable vacation, Loreen used the time to decide to stay married to Tad, even though he's gay, because they have a great partnership. Hannah almost had sex with a woman for the first time in a sauna, but the steam got to her head and she wound up bailing. It served as one of the nails in the coffin of her relationship with Fran.
Hannah Performed In The Moth Story Slam
The season ended on a hopeful note, after Hannah mercifully quit her disastrous teaching job (which was kind of funny to watch, but also an obviously terrible fit for her). Elijah and Loreen helped her get into The Moth Story Slam, where she won over the audience with a short story she told. The success of the evening seemed to be enough to reinvigorate her to pursue her writing career.
While the path to the finale likely won't be easy, hopefully the girls get to end on a satisfying, peaceful note. We'll find out soon enough.
