"Girls" Season 4 premiere picks up right where Season 3 left off, with Hannah and co. each moving on to the Next Big Thing in their meandering, twenty-something lives.
As Adam presciently puts it in episode 1's opening scene, they're "taking the next step in a series of random steps." Before that happens, though, the girls of "Girls" must tie up loose ends - or, at least, haphazardly wrap them together.
Hannah, of everyone, is dealing with the biggest change: She's preparing to leave New York City to start classes at the Iowa Writers' Workshop - and in classic Hannah fashion, she wants everyone to acknowledge that fact. With Adam, in particular, Hannah repeatedly seeks reassurance that he'll miss her.
Unable or unwilling to express his emotions, however, Adam remains outwardly aloof. He avoids giving a proper goodbye on the morning of Hannah's move by pretending to be asleep, opting instead to look on from his apartment window, as she drives off.
Jessa's pain at losing Hannah may have been compounded by another loss earlier in episode 1, as Beedie - the artist with whom she shares a strong connection - is forced to leave New York City after their failed assisted-suicide attempt last season.
Unlike Jessa, Marnie characteristically does all things that a Best Friend should do - she writes Hannah a song, she provides words of encouragement, she sees her off. In short, she's the kind of girl who knows exactly what to say, and how to behave. But as her continued philandering with duet partner Desi shows, Marnie is the biggest, most hypocritical mess of them all.
Meanwhile, fresh grad Shoshanna seems to have shown the most growth, apologizing to Ray for trying to "manipulate" him into getting back together.
