In this week’s Girls Hannah got her first paycheck from her advertorial job at GQ and much to Hannah’s surprise the taxes have been taken out and it is correct. What she earns in a week is more than her rent so like any rational person Hannah goes out and buys a dress that looks terrific on her – this might be the best attire Hannah has ever worn on the show – and struts down the street relaxed and happy. This is the kind of outfit where yes, you do go into the store and leave wearing it (see also Broad City last week). When the end of season 2 went full rom-com there were cries of derision and this is probably the most rom-comy Girls has been since that moment and it feels just right.
The dress is part of the MCQ Alexander McQueen range and it’s the perfect kind of statement for a first payday. Hannah is no longer wallowing in misery because her writing job isn’t what she thought it would be and this is a huge relief. Hannah’s bratty reaction to having a paid writing job that isn’t memoir related is one aspect of “Free Snacks” I found disheartening and I’m glad she’s moved on from this moment. This is the Hannah Horvath that I want to see; the one who rolls her eyes at folksy guitar singing (which sorry Hannah, I echo Elijah’s “I hate myself for loving him”), lets her friend cry on her even though they won’t say why they’re upset and gets excited about her boyfriend’s new acting gig on Broadway. The Hannah who walks down the street looking as relaxed as this.
Yes there are still two four more episodes for everything to get fucked up again (12 episodes instead of the previous 10) and Jessa falling off the wagon is surely going to play a big part. After the big argument in “Beach House” a weight has been lifted off this friendship group, or they’re just pretending it didn’t happen and things are going to be even worse than before. Regardless this second half of the season has been funnier and more enjoyable on the whole and this new dress moment feels earned. It is worth noting the Hannah shopping high moves to a montage of an increasingly bored Jessa (accompanied by Lily Allen’s “L8 CMMR“) followed by the return of Richard E. Grant as Jasper. Jasper releases Jessa from the monotony of her day with one of the many substances she hasn’t taken all season.
Is this moment for Hannah going to be temporary or have we reached a point where she has got her shit together?
TV Ate My Wardrobe 
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