Girls Season 6 Episode 8 Review: What Will We Do This Time About Adam?

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It's safe to say that Girls Season 6 Episode 8 is one of my favorites out of the series' entire six-year run.

Unlike many other installments, the three separate plots of "What Will We Do This Time About Adam?" wove together perfectly, and I was equally invested in each of them. The lack of Marnie certainly didn't hurt things either.

Ray Gets a Boost - Girls

The biggest development, as indicated by the title, was Adam's spur of the moment decision to break up with Jessa and reunite with Hannah. Say what now?

It was a drastic decision and seemingly out of left field – Adam was completely, 100% into Jessa for all of Girls Season 5 and had, by all appearances, forgotten all about Hannah. But looking at the show's most recent installments, it's not actually as random as it appears.

The biggest indicators, of course, would be all of the many times that Adam has brought up his love of babies. Clearly, Adam very much wants to be a dad – it makes sense that Hannah's single parent pregnancy would instigate this desire in him.

Also, filming Full Disclosure, the movie he and Jessa made about their torrid love triangle, it's clear that he must've felt nostalgic for what he and Hannah once had. 

That much was made clear when Adam and Jessa argued over the point of certain emotionally raw and loving scenes between Adam and his Hannah-character on Girls Season 6 Episode 5.

For the first time, then, Jessa had to confront the fact that Adam's relationship with Hannah was real – which, I'm guessing, is why she didn't completely freak the eff out when Adam made his big announcement about breaking up with her to pursue a life with Hannah in the opening scene of the latest installment. It was somewhat expected.

The moment when Hannah told Adam that she was pregnant on Girls Season 6 Episode 6 was also a definite hint that this information changed something for Adam.

But regardless of whether or not this big move made sense in context for their characters, it felt truly real on an instinctual, human level. I'm guessing this will be a polarizing installment of the show, but personally, Hannah and Adam's day-long fall back into their old relationship – only older, wiser, more mature – was lovely and devastating.

Now, I was never a particular fan of the Hannah/Adam pairing. When they broke up, it was one of the most reasonable, rational, and realistic depictions of a relationship ending that I've ever seen on TV. Hannah refusing to reunite with Adam on Girls Season 4 Episode 10 will go down as one of the show's best, rawest scenes.

Baby On Board - Girls

But Hannah and Adam have years of history between them. The way they fell back together so easily made so much sense and was realistic. Anyone who has ever briefly reunited with an ex can understand that initial, joyous rush.

Adam: I want to raise your child with you. I miss you and I miss being with you. And I thought I could move on, but hearing about the baby made me realize we don't have any more time to waste. Let me show you who I've become. I want to be there for you as you become a mother. I want to watch you blossom and love this baby more than anyone has ever loved a living thing. I don't want to be away from you any longer.
Hannah: I'm so confused.

Best declaration of love ever, or best declaration of love ever?

For these two, it was even more intense because there was the idea of raising a baby and having a family together in the mix. That's some serious shit.

Again, many may have hated how rushed and over the top it all was, but I personally loved how quickly Hannah went from "WTF is going on" after hearing Adam's declaration to having sex and buying baby products with him.

It was equal parts hilarious, sweet, and pure fantasy. Even as it was happening, it was clear that everything was moving far too fast for it to be real and for it to last.

The first flicker that something was wrong came about when Hannah completely zoned out and stared at the picture of a baby and mom on a product while Adam was talking. Something was going through her head that wasn't yet clear.

The diner scene, the final moment between Hannah and Adam (perhaps for the rest of the series), was where it all fell apart.

Devastating is the only way to describe their re-breakup. They moved swiftly from talking about getting a home together, joining a food co-op, and even getting married to awkwardly going their separate ways. And not even a word was spoken between them.

All it took was Hannah's quivering lip giving way to tears, sparking off Adam's crying, for the two to both realize that what they once had was gone. Or if not gone, at least that it wouldn't work for them anymore.

I love the idea that there wasn't some sudden, epic argument or that anything bad happened between them.

That's just the point – nothing was bad, no one did anything wrong. It just didn't work anymore. They don't fit together. For a day, they played house, but by that night they realized that's all that it was.

Jessa, meanwhile, tried to maintain her composure, shrugging off Adam breaking it off with her (in the most traumatic way possible, no less) to his face.

Jessa: You've gotta do what you've gotta do. I'm not a zookeeper.
Adam: Come the fuck on, there's something else in there. Will you just say it? Spit in my face. Punch me. What? Just do it.
Jessa: Why would I do that? You haven't done anything wrong.

On the inside, of course, she was breaking apart. And it was heartbreaking to see.

Jessa went through all the motions of an erratic, pseudo-unhinged person going through an unexpected and emotionally devastating breakup.

First, she hilariously tried to switch her cable package ("elite channels"?!). Then, she scared poor Laird's baby. Finally, she found a random man at a bar and had bathroom sex with him in an effort to dull her pain.

As mentioned by the show's creators during the Inside the Episode post-show clip, this Jessa scene was a mirror image of her actions on Girls Season 1 Episode 2, when she had sex with the guy in a bar bathroom after confirming she wasn't pregnant.

Then, it was fun and sexy and free. Now, it's distressing and depressing.

It was no surprise that Jessa took Adam back with a small smile and absolutely zero hesitation when he showed up at her door that night.

But I can't possibly imagine how this won't weigh heavily on their relationship or give Jessa serious doubts. I mean, what happened would be massively disturbing to any woman in her right mind, and not something they'd easily get over.

Jemima Kirke's acting was incredible. Despite the fact that Jessa has been far less than sympathetic for a while now, she really made me feel for the character's deep pain and abandonment. So while her taking Adam back doesn't quite logically make sense, it does make sense for Jessa as a character.

The final thread of this installment followed Ray, Shoshanna, and (surprisingly) Shosh's old boss, Abigail.

Abigail, you'll recall, is the boss (played by Aidy Bryant) who visited Shosh in Japan and fired her on Girls Season 5 Episode 3, eventually forcing Shosh to have to move back to the states.

A Perfect Fit - Girls

While I was sad that their bonding ended up pushing Shosh to the wayside (and eventually out of this installment completely), I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Ray and Abigail's connection.

The scene where sweet, friendly Abigail taught Ray how to approach old people for the purposes of continuing Hermie's oral history project was so adorable.

That it ended on a first kiss, mid-carousel ride? Even more adorable.

Aidy Bryant was great in this role. Abigail and Ray may have initially seemed like a poor match, but someone like her (the complete counterpoint to someone self-involved like Marnie or someone completely neurotic like Shoshanna) ended up being exactly what he needs.

Is it weird that I'm already rooting for those two? So much for a Shosh/Ray reunion.

Also, this installment gave us Ray's single best line, ever:

Ray: My favorite show growing up was this obscure Russian cartoon about a tiny cup of borscht that had no father. The catchphrase was "Papa would be so hungry." Shaped me as a child.
Shoshanna: That explains so much.

Stray thoughts:

  • I've seen others speculating that Jessa throwing up shortly after Adam's departure – in the midst of attempting to order "elite channels" – means that Jessa herself is pregnant. I didn't think that at all. I myself am a person who has been so deeply upset in the past that I've spontaneously puked out of thin (non-pregnant) air, so my thinking's that it was just a visceral stress reaction.
  • Despite the fact that it all ended so sadly, there were a number of absolutely lovely Hannah-Adam moments rolled into this installment. Hannah's confessions about her parenting fears and Adam's easy reassurance was a great one, as was Adam talking to Hannah's belly as she stroked his hair.
  • As usual, Lena Dunham and Adam Driver have phenomenal chemistry together.
  • Everything about Laird's offer to help Hannah raise her baby was so random but also so perfect and funny. He did have a crush on her for a long while after all.
  • Elijah-ism of the Day:

Well, honey, of course you don’t feel good. It’s 127 degrees in here and we are poor, you've got a parasite growing inside you, and we’re probably both going to die of heatstroke at any minute. Oh god, we're going to die like those old people in Queens on NY1! I'm too pretty to go to a cooling station.

Elijah

What did you think of "What Will We Do This Time About Adam"? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below, and remember that you can watch Girls online here at TV Fanatic anytime to relive the show's final season.

What Will We Do This Time About Adam? Review

Editor Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
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Rating: 3.6 / 5.0 (44 Votes)

Caralynn Lippo is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.

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Girls Season 6 Episode 8 Quotes

Jessa: You've gotta do what you've gotta do. I'm not a zookeeper.
Adam: Come the fuck on, there's something else in there. Will you just say it? Spit in my face. Punch me. What? Just do it.
Jessa: Why would I do that? You haven't done anything wrong.

Would you object greatly if I kissed you?

Ray [to Abigail]