Birth Plot Summary:
In this week’s episode of Girls, Hannah (Lena Dunham) views the miracle of “maternal celebration” aka birth with friends, and some of the other Girls make some changes for the better.
This week’s episode, entitled ‘Birth,’ gives us a real view, and slightly extreme view, of Adam’s sister Caroline (Gaby Hoffmann) and the miracle of birth. The episode also gives ‘birth’ to some good ideas, as well.
While this season has been a series of up and downs, this episode finally gets it right by tying up all the loose ends, and finally getting back to the heart of what Girls really is all about. This episode shows just how far amazing writing, great character development, and outstanding performances from the main power players can take an episode.
This episode is beyond a doubt the Emmy contender of the season. One huge reason why I say this is because of Dunham’s writing, along with the help of regular series writers Jenni Konner and Judd Apatow. The writing was so funny, sweet, and heartbreaking at some times that I felt as if I was actually watching someone in labor and the whole episode may have just been a series of improvisations and in-the-moment dialogue. That’s just how good and realistic the writing is everything just flowed so perfectly and you can really tell that all the writers in this episode, in particular Dunham, really cared where the story was going and wanted to make it perfect.
With the writing as good as this, and performances make this episode an instant Emmy contender. The performances are eerily realistic and remarkable. In particular, the performances of Hoffmann, Dunham, and Adam Driver all deserve to not only be nominated for this episode, but should take home the little gold statue for their heartbreaking, yet equally hilarious performances this episode.
To say their performances are spellbinding, miraculous, incandescent, wonderful, out of this world good, etc., are all just saying the least of it.
These performances from these main power players are exceptional and deserve, and need, to be awarded for their efforts. The episode may not have worked without these performances due to the fact that they all bring and add their own special brand of acting craziness to the role. Driver brings a sense of realism to the show. His reactions are ones that everyone in the audience is thinking and is currently screaming at the screen as Driver does it for us. Dunham brings the heart of the show in every scene she is in, while also managing to show the growth and maturity of the season and for her character and others, and Hoffmann brings the comedy all the way.
Driver in particular really deserves an award for his performance. When he is once again paired with the marvelous Dunham, he just explodes on the screen, screaming common sense at his crazy, f—k the society, sister who is trying to get away from the “labor robots” at the hospital. This scene is so raw and heartfelt that you actually feel that his character may be a real persona, and his concern for his sister just oozes from the screen and makes for one hell of a performance, and possibly the performance of his career.
All in all, this episode is something special, something to marvel at for the next couple of months and say, “Well welcome back Girls.” With writing and performances like these, the show has nowhere else to go but up, and this critic for once is extremely excited to see what the show does next. With the maturity that was presented in this episode, and character growth that has never truly been seen before on this show, the series has finally returned to what it once was, and possibly in an even better place. For a season finale as spectacular as this, let’s just hope the show continues to “Birth” some fantastic ideas and just keeps on maturing. See ya at the Emmy’s, Girls!
Rating: 9 out of 10
all photos credit: hbo
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Laura Dengrove is the one of youngest members of the Pop-Break staff and is a critic for television/movies of all types on Pop-Break. She’s in her first year at college where she will be studying to obtain her bachelors degree at Rutgers University for Journalism/Public Relations. She was the editor for the Arts and Entertainment section of her school newspaper, runs her own blog (Pop Culture Darling), and interns for Design New Jersey. She also has an in-depth knowledge about all things True Blood and an avid Eric and Sookie shipper =============================================================================================================
