"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Thursday, February 20, 2020

The Book of Rannells: Girls: Season 6, Episode 6 – “Full Disclosure” (2017)


Not as good as the last one, but still pretty good.  I’m successfully able to talk about this one without spoilers on Hannah’s plot, although it’s certainly getting harder – not sure if I’ll make it to the end (light spoilers on Elijah’s storyline.)

Hannah starts letting more people in on what’s been happening with her, and everyone has an opinion about it.  Meanwhile, Adam’s been dogging her, trying to convince her to watch his movie – for what he presumes will be her own closure as well as for his own reassurance that he didn’t “lie” in telling their story.  In other news, Marnie struggles to get Desi through a couple of gigs, and a chance occurrence at work makes Elijah think it might be time to get serious about his dreams.

Given how, from what we’ve seen of Adam’s movie, it definitely looks like he revised himself quite a bit, it’s interesting that he’s so concerned with whether or not he told the truth.  It makes me wonder what he really thinks about the relationship, about Hannah, and about himself, that this is the “real” story he chose to tell.  I like that he wants so badly to know if Hannah remembers it the same way he does, but in typical Adam fashion, he pushes way too hard on it, and that’s before he joins everybody else in getting up in Hannah’s business.

As for Marnie, she tries to take charge in the middle of a difficult, aggravating situation, but in doing so, she manages to 1) fail to understand some very basic stuff about her music partner/ex-husband, 2) blame first Desi and then her mom for most everything that’s wrong in her life, and 3) accuse both of them of keeping her from being the person she needs to be to help others.  Oh yeah, and in an early scene with Hannah, she says, “I don’t want to top your news,” proceeds to attempt to do just that, and then says, “Sorry to top your news.”  That’s Marnie, all right!

Some good Elijah stuff this week.  First, he and Hannah clear the air after the events of the last episode.  I don’t exaggerate when I say that, every time something goes down between them, they make up over it pretty much the next time we see them in a scene together.  Now, back when Elijah was still a recurring character, it might’ve taken half a season or more for that scene to happen, but as soon as it does, they’re making their way back to one another in their trademark dysfunctional-but-endearing fashion.  We’ve really never seen an ongoing storyline in which Hannah and Elijah are actively mad at each other.  While I suppose it would be an interesting tack to take for change, I ultimately can’t fault their quick make-ups; they just seem to get each other in a way that no other two characters on the show quite do, so their reunions are always inevitable.  This one, as usual, is both hilarious and oddly sweet.

The episode also finds Elijah getting the kick in the pants he needs to get serious about wanting to be an actor.  A coworker at the clothing store he apparently now works at asks him to help her run lines for an audition, and Elijah gets way into it, freaking out some customers and impressing both his coworker and himself.  It’s fun to see Elijah reading the scene, a full-on dramatic role, because even though Elijah’s technically the one doing the acting, it’s a performance I’ve never seen Rannells get the chance to do before.  Plus, it’s made even neater by the brief interruptions of the “real” Elijah into the performance, especially the notes he has ready for his coworker.

Side note:  that coworker is played by Rannells’s other Hamilton hook-up this season:  Jasmine Cephas Jones, a.k.a. Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds.  Also, the scene opens on Elijah awesomely grousing, “Why the fuck do we stay open until 10 p.m.?  Anyone buying leather gloves after 6 is clearly a goddamn murderer.”  Perfect reading of a perfect line.

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