'Girls,' Mimi-Rose, and the idea of befriending your ex's new girlfriend
Last night’s episode of Girls was one of the funniest and most relatable episodes this season. In it, Hannah becomes a high school substitute teacher and takes another teacher from the school to her ex-boyfriend’s (Adam) new girlfriend’s (Mimi Rose) art show.
Desi, Marnie’s crazed music partner and bedfellow, makes what might be an astute observation if Hannah’s ulterior motives weren’t so clear, “I think it’s beautiful that you’re here… not contributing to this pervasive, toxic culture of women in the arts just cutting each other down, maligning each other.”
This was clearly how Hannah rationalized her own attendance with herself.
Hannah had ulterior motives, though. She kept saying how much the art show was going to suck and obviously wanted to stalk Adam’s new love interest. After an extreme-yet-brief confrontation with Adam, her date (who seemed kind of perfect for her, actually) bailed. But Mimi-Rose, not shaken by Hannah’s obvious overstepping, asked to share a cab to an after party — without Adam.
What is both intriguing and grating about Mimi-Rose is that she forced the issue, even when she was in the power position. After all, there’s very little for her to gain by playing patty-cake with Hannah. But she asked to spend time with her. She asked her opinion on the art show (“I have nothing to criticize, it was Beyoncé to me”). She opened up about not being prepared enough for the show because she’s working on a book that wouldn’t be as good as Hannah’s (“I’m not a real writer, like you”). She tried so hard to forge a friendship where one had no explicable reason to exist.