GIRLS SEASON 2 PREVIEW: ALL MY FRIENDS

In a recent interview, Girls executive producer Jenni Konner mentioned that before work on season two began, she sat down with Lena Dunham Judd Apatow to decide the fate of Hannah, Marnie, Jessa, Shoshanna and co. in the sophomore season of the polarizing HBO show. “We wanted to see what Hannah looked like getting what she wanted,” Konner said—which would be a strange predicament, indeed, and probably cause all sorts of fun existential madness. “We also get to spend a lot of quality time with characters whom we didn’t see as much in the last season,” she added. And, luckily, season two, which will premiere this Sunday, really does spread the love around—at least through the first four episodes. In particular, the boys of Girls really step it up—getting their own aptly named episode, “Boys,” which is devoted to the hijinks of Adam, Elijah, and Charlie. Here’s a recap of where we left off, and what else to expect in the upcoming season.

HANNAH Where we left her: Sitting on the beach in Coney Island, very early in the morning, very alone, missing her purse and her boyfriend Adam, who was in the hospital after getting hit by a truck, and who probably, most likely, almost certainly will not be her boyfriend after he gets out. She did, however, eat wedding cake. Where we find her: How else? In the nude, in coitus (with her new beau!), and dirty-talking her way through a metaphoric foreshadowing of her season two character arc between thrusts: “I wanted this so bad. Now I’m finally getting it. It’s about fucking time.”

MARNIE Where we left her: At Jessa’s mystery wedding, bubbly-drunk and desperately making out with Bobby Moynihan from SNL (who looked as surprised as she did) after an awkward run-in with star-crossed, love-of-her-life Charlie, who seems destined to be the Ross to her Rachel. Where we find her: Unemployed, making uncharacteristically rash decisions, and keeping boozy weekday lunch dates with her pinot grigio-swilling mother (played by Rita Wilson), who takes it upon herself to give her prim daughter guidance in the form of statements like, “Sometimes you just need a pair of rough hands on your body.”

Girls Season 2 teaser

JESSA Where we left her: Happily and unexpectedly betrothed! Unfortunately, it was to the creepiest finance bro on television, in what looked like a pretty perfect boho surprise wedding, one for which no one knew how to dress, so everyone ended up looking like they were going to prom. Where we find her: Still very aglow! She has not yet ditched her husband—who is essentially a stranger—but she does not yet know his address. The question, of course, is: Will they stay together long enough episodes for her even to bother?

SHOSHANNA Where we left her: In hysterics because she accidentally wore white to Jessa’s wedding. (It wasn’t your fault, Shosh. It was a surprise wedding.) Also, it bears mentioning, on the precipice of losing her virginity to Ray. Where we find her: Somewhere on the spectrum between not a girl, not yet a woman. In season two, Shoshanna—who has likely shown up 10 minutes early for every dinner party to which she has ever RSVP’d—will end up having to invent lame excuses for her tardiness, when the truth is she simply lost track of time while in bed. With a man. “We’re all adults here,” she is told. Well, no, not really.

Photo: Charles Eshelman/FilmMagic