<i>Girls</i> Crashes Back to Earth
As the HBO show approaches its series finale, it’s deftly exploring the limits of fantasy in storytelling.
Of the five previous season finales of , the least satisfying have been the episodes that have surrendered earnestly to fantasy. Like Hannah, deep in the clutches of her OCD, being “saved” by Adam at the end of season two, or the flash-forward to her walking in the snow with Fran at the end of season four. Both moments felt like attempts to draw neat lines under characters who were anything but. They were codas that were both unearned and unconvincing, given that viewers knew Hannah would return in future episodes and skewer her superficial
