Emma: At the end of last episode, we saw all of the girls sort of hit rock bottom -- this episode, we got at least a bit of resolution.
Lori F.: So let's start with ... Marnie?
FOR LOVE OR MONEY?
Emma: Marnie is having better sex than she ever has on this show.
Lori L.: But it's good because Charlie has been "practicing."
Lori F.: Right, and he's more confident.
Margaret: It's still not great for her though because she can't relax.
Emma: Marnie is never NOT neurotic.
Lori L.: Charlie seems so much sexier than he used to because of his newfound confidence.
Margaret: Agree. I think Marnie was liking sex with him more mostly because the power dynamic has changed. She used to hate how passive and accommodating he was in bed.
Emma: Oh absolutely! I think that she enjoys not having to control everything all the time.
Lori L.: Right. Now he's taking the lead. But what about the brunch scene?
Emma: It seemed sort of presumptuous to me that she would assume they were seriously dating without talking to him about it.
Lori L.: Am I the only person who thinks that this IS about his money? And not about true love?
Lori F.: No, you are not the only one. Money and prestige.
Lori L.: Who says, "We're settled down. We're old fogies now."
Lori F.: I think he has real feelings toward her, and she doesn't toward him.
Lori L.: Agree.
Lori F.: He's just fitting the image of who she should be with now. Also, the fact that she immediately has to clarify that it's NOT about money says something.
Emma: I think she does love him, but she wants to be with him more out of comfort than because of that love. Her life feels so out of control, and he is something that she can feel good about.
Margaret: I agree -- I think she loves him, or thinks she does, but her main yearning is for the stability he offers, which is and isn't about money.
Lori L.: It's kind of amazing that he still carries a torch for her. What is that about?
Margaret: I think we're supposed to believe that he's just always loved her and always will, but I really thought he was over her during the last few episodes.
Emma: I also think that when someone says everything you've wanted to hear for a year, it's hard to say no.
Margaret: I agree with that, Emma, but I still didn't find it believable. I thought Charlie was going to say, "You're right. You are crazy. I can't deal with this anymore."
Lori F.: Also, again, I am stunned by her lack of social awareness. Yelling across the restaurant at him? She just can't control herself. "So, you really don't want to date me?"
Emma: Yeah, that was nuts.
Lori L.: And yet he followed her out!
Margaret: I didn't believe he'd do that either.
Lori L.: I want to understand what he loves about her, and I just don't.
Emma: I think it's more about comfort than anything.
Lori F.: When they were professing their love to each other, I was thinking of how different I felt when Ray and Shosh did that (despite the outcome of that).
Emma: Yeah, it felt much less genuine.
Lori F.: I felt no emotion because it felt so dumb that they would be together.
Emma: They shouldn't be. Their relationship ended for a reason.
Margaret: There was no reason for it to resume.
Lori L.: None.
Emma: Marnie needs time to figure herself out -- outside of a boyfriend.
Lori F.: Also! "I want to have your little brown babies." WHAT?
Lori L.: What was THAT? I don't even get it.
Emma: Yeah... that speech sort of reminded me of the speeches Hannah's given... but so much less endearing. It was just weird. "I want to watch you die."
Lori F.: Me too, Emma. It was like when Hannah made a speech to Adam, but Hannah's was good and made sense.
Margaret: I felt like Marnie heard those lines in a rom-com and is repeating them.
Emma: Exactly!
Lori L.: His lines were very rom-comish too: "I love you.
Maybe I'm an idiot for it, but I always have. Everything good that I try and do, I do it because of you. And I try and get away but I just keep coming back. That's because I love you." Blech.
Margaret: Both of them sounded like they were following a script.
Lori F.: And then later we see them walking around on a fancy date, just like she would want.
Lori L.: All dressed up and smiling? All wrapped up in a bow?
Margaret: They've become a stock photo.
Emma: "Pretty girl and rich boyfriend." Ugh.
Lori L.: It's like you can see them 10, 20 years in the future going to charity balls.
Margaret: The whole scene I was waiting for Marnie to wake up from a dream. It was like a wish-fulfillment fantasy.
Emma: I'm hoping that all of this gets twisted on its head next season.
Lori L.: Oh, it will.
Margaret: Agree. So then Marnie goes to check on Hannah, finally. It annoyed me that only after she was back together with Charlie did she go see if her best friend is alive.
Emma: Right, it felt like she just wanted to tell Hannah that they were back together.
Lori L.: That's why she went, I'm sure -- under the guise of seeing how Hannah was doing.
Emma: It was really sad to me that they hadn't seen each other in so long. That friendship is so strained right now.
Lori L.: As well as Hannah and Jessa's of course.
Lori F.: I was feeling bad for Marnie earlier in the season, a little, but now she's back to being annoying.
Lori L.: I feel nothing for her. Should we move on?
"YOU HATE EVERYTHING!"
Margaret: So Shosh STILL didn't confess
Emma: Can we talk about that sex scene first? We hadn't seen a sex scene between Shosh and Ray since he took her virginity, and this was so awful. She was wearing a sweatshirt.
Lori L.: So realistic though.
Margaret: I think we've seen worse. And sex is sometimes had in a sweatshirt. Just saying.
Emma: I'm not arguing that, but I thought it was a funny, Shosh-like touch. And made it just a bit less sexy.
Lori L.: "Can you just get out of me?" I don't know any woman who hasn't thought or said that at some point in her 20s....
Margaret: I don't think many actually say it. I liked that Shosh did.
Lori L.: Me too.
Emma: Same. She wasn't into it and she expressed that.
Lori L.: I loved how she just came out and said, "You have no ambition and it's wearing on me." People are never that honest but should be.
Emma: I agree.
Margaret: Yet she didn't confess, so she is not entirely honest (though still more honest than everyone else on the show).
Emma: She didn't, but I'm still not sure what it would have accomplished.
Margaret: That's what I'm debating.
Emma: I don't think she broke up with him BECAUSE she made out with a doorman. She would have ended the relationship anyway.
Margaret: I agree.
Lori F.: Here's the thing with their breakup: I thought her reasons for why they shouldn't be together were absolutely right. But I felt like it made him 100 percent the bad guy, and she isn't blameless.
Emma: I agree that she's not blameless.
Lori F.: I thought she was really insightful in her explanation. It was just incomplete.
Margaret: As came out in her "you hate everything" speech, the real problem is not even his lack of ambition. It's his entire outlook. "I can't be surrounded by your negativity while I'm trying to grow into a fully-formed human"
Lori L.: That was a fantastic speech. She knows who she is and who she is NOT -- a "Dark Soul."
Emma: "I can't be the only thing you like."
Margaret: So true.
Lori F.: That was a great line.
Lori L.: She's too young for this "darkness."
Emma: Also I appreciated the "There's nobody else especially not an adult male blonde. You know me better than that," line.
Margaret: "So maybe you just have to go change and then we can be in love at another time."
Lori F.: Except then later we see her with a male blonde.
Lori F. Also: "Sometimes I love you the way that I feel sorry for a monkey."
Lori L.: The whole monologue was amazing.
Lori L.: Wait -- we need to discuss COLIN QUINN!
Lori F.: So now we know one more detail about Ray: He was going for a Ph.D. in Latin Studies at some point...
Lori L.: Perfect.
Emma: Loved that they dropped in that little detail.
Margaret: I loved the croissant purse.
Emma: Perfection!
Lori F.: I love how he thinks Ray needs to support her so she can have "purses shaped like different bread products."
Lori F.: Also, it felt right that even as Ray was asking Colin Quinn for help, he was telling him he didn't want to be like him.
Margaret: I felt the same way. Which proves that Ray does have some ambition, it's just not the amount Shosh wants or expects.
Emma: But the bottom line is that the relationship needed to end. They do love each other, but it wasn't working. And I think it was good of Shosh to recognize that and end it.
Lori F.: Shosh should be doing exactly what we see her doing later. Going to bars and making out with guys and having fun. She's in college! I just felt for Ray -- because we saw him trying to make it better and he really cares about her.
Emma: I loved when Shosh yelled at Ray that he needed to go into therapy.
Margaret: He needs it.
Lori L.: Badly.
Emma: So badly.
Lori L.: It's kind of amazing that he hasn't had it.
Margaret: I agree, I was a little surprised.
Emma: Well... we know that he desperately wants to feel more masculine. And I think therapy is often seen as un-masculine.
Margaret: And he does need to learn how to enjoy SOMEthing. On that note, should we move on to Adam and Natalia?
THE CAGED BEAST
Margaret: I did not expect to see Natalia again.
Emma: I was going to say the same thing. I was surprised she stayed with him.
Lori F.: Do we think she just realized he screwed up and forgave him?
Emma: I think that Natalia forgave him. I think that she just decided to give him another chance. But she was really direct with him in bed this time. "No, I can like your cock and not be a whore. Do you understand?"
Margaret: That was amazing.
Lori L.: I loved that way she didn't just go along with his porny language and stopped him and said, Hey, this may turn you on dude, but not me.
Margaret: It's almost like she stuck around to teach him how it should be done, how you are and are not supposed to treat a woman.
Emma: I thought she was such a badass this episode. I really respect Natalia.
Lori L.: She was great. I loved the sex scenes this week. It was all about what women need/want/don't want.
Margaret: And Adam did hear what Natalia wanted and complied, but he wasn't into it.
Lori L.: When he did it HER way, he seemed uninterested.
Emma: He was trying, but he wasn't enjoying it.
Lori F.: I was surprised that she came back because he was so incredibly scary last episode. I would think she would be concerned about moving forward. I realize what happened was a big mistake, but she still doesn't know him that well.
Margaret: And we saw Adam act out physically even more this week, perhaps in part due to sexual frustration.
Emma: I didn't think that it was sexual -- I read it more as confusion. He doesn't really know how to be with his new girlfriend, it feels forced, he's been having a lot of emotional turmoil and who knows whether he's gone back to AA?
Lori L.: He doesn't have coping skills.
Margaret: But he also couldn't be as forceful as he wanted to be in bed this week, and then there he is, tearing up in his apartment like a caged beast. I thought it was a combination of sexual and other frustration.
Emma: It's like he doesn't know how to express his emotions without a physical manifestation of them.
Lori F.: That's a good point, Emma.
Lori L.: That's very male -- but not typically Brooklyn male.
Margaret: Right, Ray is the Brooklyn male in this bunch.
Emma: Before we get to the end of Adam's story, should we double back to Hannah?
"YOU'RE THE FUTURE, I GUESS"
Margaret: So she's hit rock bottom. This is so much worse than falling asleep on the subway, getting your purse stolen and having to eat cake for breakfast.
Emma: That ringing sound was incredibly painful at the beginning.
Lori F.: And the looking up health questions on some WebMD-ish site.
Lori L.: And the questions kept coming and kept getting weirder.
Margaret: "How does your body know not to stop breathing?"
Lori F.: "At what age does your body start melting down?"
Emma: Her OCD seemed to be manifesting in a twisted hypochondria.
Lori L.: So we were really seeing her descent into mental illness here.
Emma: Which made sense given the end of the last episode. Last week we saw her rupture her eardrums, and this episode she hasn't even changed her clothing since.
Margaret: Oh, I didn't notice that, but true.
Lori L.: And she cut her hair.
Emma: That was horrifying. I think she didn't know what to do after her editor called.
Margaret: The story she gave the editor did not sound believable, even though it was roughly true.
Emma: No, it sounded very "a dog ate my homework"-esque.
Lori L.: It sounded insane. I've missed plenty of deadlines, but I've never said it was because of an inner-ear issue.
Lori F.: Yet I really don't like that editor. "I have a lot at stake with you. I care about you." No, you don't.
Emma: He's kind of a prick. Also, his "You're the future, I guess," line was a good twist on "I'm the voice of a generation."
Margaret: Excellent point. And yes, a huge prick.
Lori L.: You do not care about her. You care about her writing something that makes you look good and clever for discovering her.
Emma: Right.
Lori F.: And don't forget that last week he told her he didn't finish her pages because he didn't want to. Jerk.
"YOU MAKE MY HEART STOP EVERY THREE HOURS"
Lori L.: The call with her dad was heartbreaking. It was all he could do not to wire her the money right then and there.
Lori F.: But he was less sympathetic and more skeptical than I would have thought. I was surprised at how much he resisted helping her.
Margaret: Me too. I love him so much though.
Lori L.: " "Why don't we get back on the phone and we can confab about that. She is really much better at this stuff. She's a medical hobbyist."
Lori L.: He wants to rescue her so badly but knows that he can't because a) it's not good for her and b) his wife would club him.
Emma: I love him too. But it sort of seemed like the wrong time to stand up to Hannah.
Lori F.: This is a health issue, not a desire to figure out who she is.
Margaret: It was so tragic that this had to be the moment he stood strong.
Emma: "How can I be manipulating you if I don't know I'm being manipulative?"
Lori F.: I did love that she said she used to diagnose herself using Louisa May Alcott.
Emma: Yes!
Lori L.: Hahaha.
Margaret: That was one of my favorite moments.
Lori F.: Ray isn't the only one who needs "Little Women."
Emma: The whole conversation was both heartbreaking and hilarious.
Lori L.: I don't think he really knew how desperate and sick she was... all he could hear was that she needed to be bailed out with money.
Emma: Yeah, I think if he had been physically with her he would have been able to tell how desperate she really was.
Lori L.: Also, he said, "You make my heart stop every three hours."
Lori F.: That was such a good line. I bet it rang true for a lot of parents. I think I'm just surprised by his reaction because they've seen her go through it before. It's not like she's making this up.
Margaret: But she doesn't explicitly tell him that the OCD is acting up. She can't because she doesn't want it to be true and because she evidently hasn't been taking her medicine.
Emma: But she gets very defensive when he asks about it. "Of course I'm taking my pills! I'm not crazy!"
Lori L.: But he really shouldn't take her word for it.
Margaret: I think that's absolutely true.
THE GRANDEST RELATIONSHIP
Margaret: So, Marnie comes to visit, now that her life's going great.
Emma: And Hannah hides from her, which is incredibly sad.
Margaret: I agree. It really showed how much their relationship has deteriorated.
Emma: Hannah can't face Marnie yet. She doesn't want to face anyone. But I did find it super interesting that her book is still about friendship, even though her editor asked for it to be about sex. "A friendship between college girls is grander and more dramatic than any relationship."
Lori L.: That doesn't mean that it's not about sex too.
Emma: That's true. But I appreciated that she was focusing on friendship.
Margaret: I think it's mainly about friendship.
Emma: That's the story she wants to tell.
Lori F.: And what's on her mind right now while she's feeling alone.
Margaret: I thought that moment and the whole idea of Hannah writing this book is about telling women's stories. Not the story of the girl(s) getting the guy(s) or vice versa, but about the relationships between women.
Emma: Exactly. Why then did this episode focus so much on the guy-girl relationships? And leave the female friendships so strained?
Margaret: Good question.
Emma: I thought that contrast was VERY noticeable.
Lori L.: Because that will make for a more interesting book!
Margaret: But two of those relationships are over, and I think Marnie and Charlie will be over again before too long.
Emma: I agree. I thought that the line on Hannah's computer was beautiful and had a lot of truth in it. But it seemed to scare Marnie off.
Margaret: Or piss her off.
Lori L.: I thought it made her feel warm and good. It was poignant.
Emma: You think it made her feel good? I thought it made her sad and want to leave.
Lori F.: I thought it made her sad about the state of their relationship.
Margaret: I thought it maybe made her feel guilty
Emma: Maybe all of the above.
Lori F.: Wait, question: Marnie says she hasn't heard from Hannah in days. How could it really be days? Have they talked and Hannah kept quiet about the OCD? I can't imagine Hannah has called anyone.
Emma: They've probably texted.
Margaret: I sort of thought they were on a break, exhausted from the tension and distance between them
Lori F.: Me too.
Margaret: I figured Marnie called it days when it had been weeks.
Emma: They could have had some contact, but it probably wasn't meaningful or in person.
CUTTING IT OFF
Lori F.: Perhaps. So ... Laird?
Lori L.: I love Laird.
Margaret: I too love Laird, but I would NOT let him cut my hair.
Emma: SAME.
Lori F.: So first of all, she tries to cut her own hair like, I think, Carey Mulligan.
Emma: Cutting your own hair is always a bad idea I think.
Lori F.: The haircut may explain Lena's short hair, though.
Lori L.: I loved that Laird was honest with Hannah.
Emma: He called Hannah out, and it was sort of amazing.
Margaret: Yes, has anyone called her out that explicitly?
Lori L.: My favorite line: "It's a pretty dark scene inside your head."
Emma: "You are the most self-involved, presumptuous person I have ever met, ever. I had feelings for you, sure, until I realized how rotten your insides are."
Margaret: I loved when she told him, I didn't think about you as a person." At least she was honest.
Lori F.: But before that she made it like he was going to make a pass at her like he did before. Which he did not.
Lori L.: That was so troubling.
Emma: Terrible.
Lori L.: Showed how much she's lost it.
Emma: She deserved to be called out for that. And I appreciated that she apologized. Her apology felt honest.
Margaret: See, I thought that was normal Hannah making an appearance.
Emma: Yeah, it seemed like normal self-centered, outrageous-comments Hannah.
Margaret: It made me feel like she's not completely gone.
Lori L.: I thought it was so deluded.
Emma: It absolutely was! But she says deluded things all the time.
Lori L.: Right, but this was SO off. I thought it suggested deeper delusion than usual.
Margaret: Like her statement that she was getting frail.
Lori F.: Yes, and he told her she was still voluptuous.
Emma: I think she just wanted Laird to make her feel good about herself.
Margaret: I was glad when Hannah called Jessa and finally said what's going on for her, just summarized the whole thing.
Emma: And you really felt how deserted Hannah feels.
Lori F.: Yes, and it makes sense that she really needs Jessa right now.
Emma: Right -- Jessa is the one she NEEDS to talk to.
Lori F.: And that she's pissed that she's gone.
Emma: Which makes complete sense.
Lori L.: That was an amazing voice mail.
Emma: Jessa just peaced out and literally left Hannah
Margaret: Also, where is Jessa?
Emma: I was really surprised she didn't come back.
Margaret: For the finale? I thought she would have too.
Emma: I thought she was going to walk into Hannah's messy apartment and discover her having a meltdown at some point. Instead she's just still off on her soul-searching adventures "probably wearing a crop top."
Margaret: I thought this episode was in part about Hannah learning to ask for help.
Lori L.: And learning that she's alienated a lot of people.
Emma: Yes! She admitted that she had driven everyone around her away.
Lori L.: And so when she needs help, they're not all there to save her
Margaret: Except Adam, apparently.
Lori L.: Right.
Emma: I liked that Hannah tried Jessa first. And it was only when she couldn't reach her that she turned to Adam.
Margaret: I know recognizing her OCD and running over to her apartment is supposed to be heroic of him, but I did not like this ending.
AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER?
Lori F.: OK, so a few things: 1) So Hannah apparently opened up to him about OCD? And he really got it. 2) It was interesting how Adam went from villain to hero in one episode.
Emma: Yeah, I was sort of surprised that he knew she had struggled with OCD.
Lori L.: Really? He's had his share of issues -- I can totally see her confiding in him.
Margaret: Me too.
Emma: It made sense to me once I thought about it.
Margaret: She'll confide in anyone.
Lori F.: But not about this. I don't think she opens up to just anyone about this.
Emma: Not at all. It's unclear whether Marnie knows the full extent of it.
Lori F.: And it just felt like he really knew the history and the complications of it. Which makes me think their relationship was even deeper than I realized.
Lori L.: And he is kind of the only person who COULD understand her situation. He's an addict. He too has hit rock bottom.
Emma: Exactly -- that's what I meant.
Margaret: But I did not like this ending
Emma: It gave a better perspective to how intense their relationship had been. I felt VERY torn about the ending.
Margaret: I feel like Hannah has wanted rescue for a while, and instead of rescuing herself, the show has Adam do it.
Emma: Yeah, that was my issue with it too.
Margaret: He calls her kid and holds her like a baby at the end.
Lori L.: I absolutely see your point.
Margaret: After breaking the door down. There was something Stanley Kowalski about it. At the end, after he's possibly raped Blanche, he picks up Stella and carries her into the house, and she takes him back.
Lori L.: I did not like the image of him literally sweeping her off her feet and saving her.
Emma: It felt very stereotypical: Love saves everything.
Margaret: Especially on top of the Marnie-Charlie business.
Lori L.: But I wonder if this also has to do with Adam's need to redeem himself after last week. To see himself as not just a predator but as a savior, a mensch.
Lori F.: Or Lena's need to redeem the character
Margaret: I can see that
Emma: It made sense to me in the sense that he does really love Hannah. It didn't seem out of character that he would run shirtless to help her, playing the masculine hero.
Lori L.: But it's interesting that Lena enacted it with so much symbolism.
Margaret: I also think that Adam and Hannah make more sense together than they do with anyone on the show.
Emma: Right! The symbolism was what threw me.
Lori L.: I mean he could have come in to the apartment without breaking down the door and just gotten into bed and snuggled with her.
Emma: I agree with you completely, Lori L.
Margaret: Adam's not a great snuggler.
Lori L.: Instead, he breaks down the door and sweeps her up and presses her against his buff, bare, sweaty torso!
Emma: It felt very fairy-tale/rom-com ending. Which is odd for "Girls."
Margaret: It was very strange to me
Lori F.: I have to say, though, that I liked last episode better. It made me think more. In this episode, I felt like I knew what she wanted me to think.
Emma: And none of the women were together.
Lori L.: Right, so what is she getting at here?
Emma: They were all with men.
Margaret: Right. We can assume Jessa is with some dude wherever she is. Because dudes love her.
Emma: Do you think we're supposed to feel sort of weird about it? Or were we supposed to take it at face value?
Margaret: I think we're supposed to think it's weird. I think Lena's going to turn it around next season
Emma: I agree. Especially because of that line about friendship.
Lori L.: But there are probably plenty of viewers who are not overthinking it like we are
Emma: True.
Lori L.: Who just see it as a season finale with a dramatic ending.
Lori F.: So what do we think happens to Adam and Hannah next season? Where does it go from here?
Emma: Well, I hope it goes back to focusing on the relationships between the women. Because those feel pretty broken still. Marnie has thrown herself into a man and Hannah has been saved by a man and Shosh is stopping her neuroses with a blonde man.I think Hannah needed Adam's help in this episode -- but ultimately she will have to save herself.
Lori L.: Oh, Emma, that neuroses will never be "stopped."
Emma: Very true. ATTEMPTING to stop them.
Margaret: Calming, temporarily
Lori F.: Of all of them, I am the least worried about Shosh.
Emma: Definitely.
Margaret: She's been freed, and she actually did free herself
Lori L.: Oh yeah, she's going to be fine.
Emma: Yeah, she's being 21. She'll be fine.
Margaret: She should write a book responding to the "ladies" book. What happens to Ray now?
Emma: He becomes [insert fancy title for manager here] at Grumpy's in Brooklyn Heights and sulks a lot?
Lori L.: "Brooklyn Heights is classy"
Margaret: And Jessa will blow back into town just the way Marnie loves and Hannah will write her book and be with Adam?
Emma: Will Hannah actually write her book? Wasn't she supposed to send her editor pages that day?
Lori L.: Yeah, the next season will start with Hannah being served papers.
Margaret: So much to look forward to.
Emma: So glad "Girls" got renewed for a third season.
Lori L.: Do we know when it's starting up again?
Lori F.: Not yet.
Margaret: I hope it's soon. I look forward to our next confab.
Lori F.: I will buy you all bread-shaped handbags to celebrate the return.
Lori L.: And Cool Whip?
Emma: Just please don't bring me Q-tips.
Margaret: The end.
Read HuffPost Women's Previous "Girls" Gchats:
SEASON 2
Episode 9: The Darkest Yet
Episode 8: Who's Counting?
Episode 7: Where Jessas Come From
Episode 6: "Like A Man"
Episode 5: "I Want All The Things"
Episode 4: "We're Adults Here"
Episode 3: Where the Magic Happens
Episode 2: Sad Little Glowworm
Episode 1: "Are We Okay?"
SEASON 1
Episode 10: Surprise!
Episode 9: You Are The Wound
Episode 8: Pissed And Sad
Episode 7: The Best Party Ever
Episode 6: You Can Always Go Home Again
Episode 5: "Are You F-ing Kidding Me?"
Episode 3: Are We Hearing Ourselves?
Episode 2: Self-Sabotage Hurts The Way It's Supposed To
Episode 1: Unimpressed -- When We Were Cheering
RELATED ON HUFFPOST WOMEN:
QUIZ: Are These Quotes About "Sex and the City" Or "Girls"?
