Girls: A Character Ranking

Girls ended Sunday after a six year run as one of the most divisive and think-piece heavy series of its time. It's an imperfect and often misunderstood series. I loved a lot of things about it, but mostly, I liked how well-drawn the character were. They weren't meant as a representative swath of millennials. They were a very specific and deeply flawed collection of people. Given that, I figure the best way for me to look back on this series is my own ranking of the main characters from who I liked the most to the least.

(I picked ten main and recurring characters based on a fuzzy calculus that I didn't put enough thought into to explain now)

Hannah
I'm sorry, but if Hannah isn't your pick, I don't know why you stuck with this show. Every other character could disappear for several episodes at a time. Only Hannah was always there. She is perhaps the most frustrating character in a series known frustrating characters. From the very first episode, with her "voice of my generation" proclamation, she annoyed people. I enjoyed how unlikable she could be. Lena Dunham built Hannah with warts and all but never turned on the character. Hannah also gets bonus points because Dunham created the series and I give out bonus points however the hell I want.

Adam
He is a raw nerve of a character who managed to be the romantic male lead for several seasons. That shouldn't work. You'll notice that I gave a lot of credit to characters who won me over throughout the series run as opposed to always being likable and Adam is chief among those. I thought he was a douche bag early on and by the end of the first season, they completely upended my perception of him. From then on, it was like watching Pinocchio figure out how to be a real boy. The man has demons but he tries to figure them out. It didn't work all the time, but it was always interesting to see him try. And yes, he gets bonus points because Adam Driver is in a lot of movies that I really like (The Force Awakens, Inside Llewyn Davis).

Elijah
Another character I didn't care for early on. In those last two seasons, when Andrew Rannells was a lot more available, he became the heart of his own show within the show. More than a little of this high ranking is because he was so delightful in "The Bounce", trying out for White Men Can't Jump: The Musical.

Shoshanna
Zosia Mamet was the least utilized part of the central quartet. The final season even made an afterthought or her falling out with the group (which made thematic sense). When Mamet was used though, she was great. Remember when she did crack? Oh, Shosh.

Marnie
Where Hannah fully admitted to her flaws and tried to wear them like badges of honor, Marnie refused to admit that she was a mess and that made her very, very unlikable a lot of the times. But then, you get something like "The Panic in Central Park" or her in the series finale and you realize that she's the friend you've had for too long to ever get rid of. She has to lose some points though for all the damn singing.

Ray
Ray is the character I could most see myself wanting to spend a day with. His pessimistic vibe jibes with me, even though a whole day of it would get old. The show never knew what to do with Alex Karpovsky for more than an episode or two. He'd probably be higher on my list if he had spent more time with Shosh and less with Marnie.

Jessa
Her specific branch of chaos didn't work for me. She had some great, complex stuff to do pretty often. Just as often though, it seemed like the show was trying to make a point about how destructive she could be. Of the main four, she spend the most time without it being clear that the show had any idea what to do with her. But when she was good, she was damn good.

Loreen Horvath
Of Hannah's parents, Loreen is the one who had no choice in her late-life upending. It's pretty tragic following her after her marriage falls apart. While she gets a few moments that show that she will make it through this, the show is too interested in wallowing with her late. And, early on, she doesn't have as much to do.

Tad Horvath
I respect the direction they took his character, but his side of the split with Loreen was treated much more comically and had less meat to it.

Desi
He was in too many episodes to not include him. He's a mess though, and the less said about him, the better. Ebon Moss-Bachrach sure could get a laugh from being pathetic though.