After last night's incredibly sour premiere, it's hard to imagine how this show's characters could get any more unlikable. Not to fear - I'm sure Lena Dunham will prove me wrong in a matter of minutes! No "previously on" this week, I guess because this is an actual two-part episode rather than two episodes aired in the same week. Hannah wakes up Adam with coffee, because they have to go pick up Jessa from rehab. Understandably, he's quite reluctant, but she drags him out of bed anyway. Shoshana's invited along for the ride, and she and Hannah play obnoxious music until Adam smashes the radio with his fist. Opening titles. Hannah whines about how much this is cutting into her writing time. Adam thinks that Jessa's a liar and a phony and they're doing her no favors by taking her out of rehab (not knowing, of course, that she was unceremoniously expelled). This prompts Hannah to tell him how he has no idea what friendship really means, except women's friendships. Shoshana is inane. Adam quotes the Rolling Stones, and is then disgusted with himself. Jessa was in solitary for a while, but has broken out. She seeks comfort from the other British patient, who is basically her substitute dad. Shoshana asks Adam what his favorite utensil is, and is horrified that a) he never thought of it before and http://www.freejinger.org/uploads/emoticons/default_cool.png' alt='B)'> he chose a fork. Loopy woman. I kind of wish she would cross over with Mad Men and turn back into Peggy's friend Joyce, though the timeline would be a little hard to manage. Hannah orders a truckload of food (HA! Hannah's fat, everyone! Lena Dunham is so daring!) and heads to the bathroom to call Marnie. Having moved into her new place, with her mother's help, Marnie isn't doing so hot. She's also still moping about Charlie. When she realizes Hannah didn't tell her about Jessa being in rehab RIGHT AWAY, she flips out about lack of trust, etc, etc. It's amazing how the person you hate the most in this show changes with every scene. Marnie's mom wisely counsels them to work it out, then invites Hannah over to see "Marnie's new shitbox." Hannah babbles in the car about how this won't be great material for her book, Adam tries way too hard to be his nihilistic self, Shoshana is his opposite in every way. They hole up in a motel (even though Woodstock is like two hours from NYC, so I have no idea what universe they're in). Shoshana suggests they play Truth or Dare. Adam has never played it before, and is insanely curious. The girls explain it. Shoshana's not very good at it, though, like daring Adam to kiss Hannah. The game falls apart pretty quickly. They go to bed. The "extra person in the room" situation is discussed, and Shoshana awkwardly runs out rather than exploring her first three-way. Jessa has fallen asleep at the foot of her English friend's bed. He watches her over the top of his book. Hannah finds Shoshana by the vending machine, and assures her that "You can come back, we've finished." They discuss whether taking Jessa away from rehab is a good idea. Shoshana suggests that Jessa has no problems, as she doesn't want a job and gets to have tons of sex. Also, she made a nice profit off her divorce. Hannah can't even begin to tell her all that's wrong with that, but tries anyway. "She has a deep well of sadness inside her," she says, which is extremely accurate. She tells a heartbreaking story from college, of how Jessa can never be left alone. This leads to a discussion of Shoshana's graduation fears. Hannah dismisses her eagerness to reach the real world, pointing out that it sucks. Oh, I feel you there, honey. They keep driving - seriously, how long can they make this trip? - and eventually Hannah's endless chatter leads Adam to pull over and go for an impromptu hike in the woods. According to him, this is way more of real life than anything they usually experience. Shoshana's scared, Hannah is whiny. She stops about ten feet into the woods and refuses to budge. So Shoshana and Adam bond, or rather Shoshana spouts about how wonderful Adam is. He kind of grumbles through it. Hannah lies curled up in some leaves and listens to a Chicago radio station. And Google tells me that a Woodstock, Illinois exists, which makes so much more sense. Jessa has apparently been squatting at rehab in the English guy's room. He returns from group therapy in a rage. Naturally, she begs for the details. He bitches out the whole system for a while, then tells her he's glad she stayed long enough for "a chance to properly fuck". This upsets her, as she thought their connection was much more significant than just a hop into bed. He starts to push himself onto her, which she rejects quite forcefully. He then blames it on his stash running out. The friends arrive at "Sheltering Winds", which sounds rather oxymoronic if you ask me. Jessa is brought out and dumped into the custody of her "sister" Hannah. Immediately two lies are unraveled: Jessa got kicked out, and there is no waiver to sign before she leaves, which is what she told Hannah two days ago. Not only that, but the facility even offered to drive her to the airport. While Shoshana smokes with the other patients, Hannah bitches out Jessa for being an all-around terrible person. Jessa makes a few shitty apologies. I must say, I am digging her giant cross earrings though. They yell for a while, hug it out, and admit they missed each other. It's actually a really honest moment, and Dunham and Kirke pull it off well. Friendship back on. On the drive home, Adam offers to put Jessa in touch with meetings. She doesn't seem entirely dismissive of the idea, surprisingly. Hannah and Jessa snuggle up close. The car heads off down the road. End credits. Overall, it was an improvement on the last episode, balancing the darker moments with its famous brutal humor. What's more, the characters seemed to feel like people again, rather than just walking snark machines. Sure, part of the show's edge is its lack of fear, descending into some really painful moments, but this episode was a nice balm after a brutal premiere. Even so, it still feels like there's a long road ahead. FJ Discussion Thread