Here’s how Hannah ended up saying farewell to the Big Apple in Girls season 4 episode 1. HBO comedy-drama Girls broke the mold in many ways when it’s first season began airing back in 2012. While the Lena Dunham-helmed series generated its fair share of controversy, most notably in its lack of cast diversity, it’s arguably one of the more realistic shows about a group of twenty-somethings living in New York City – crappy apartments, crappy jobs, and crappy relationships included.
Over the course of Girls’ six seasons, New York became more than just a setting for the show; it was more like a character itself, in all its grit and glory. It came as quite a surprise, then, when it was revealed that Lena Dunham’s character Hannah Horvath was ditching Greenpoint, Brooklyn for Iowa where she’d been accepted into the Iowa Writers’ Workshop – a prestigious graduate program that would keep her in the Corn State for the next two years.
Girls season 4 episode 1 covered Hannah’s last couple of days in the Big Apple before she left for Iowa, and how her friends dealt with her impending departure. In a scene that deliberately mirrored the very first scene in Girls’ pilot episode, the season 4 premiere opened with Hannah having dinner with her parents – albeit this time Hannah’s parents were celebrating her success rather than informing her they were cutting her off financially. The message was simple; Hannah was finally growing up … at least a little bit.
Unfortunately, that new mature streak didn’t extend to Hannah’s relationship with her tortured artist boyfriend Adam (Adam Driver), as they both pussy-footed around how their future would look with Hannah stationed halfway across the country for the next two years. Elsewhere in the Girls season 4 premiere, Hannah got a more fiery reaction towards her Iowa move from Jessa (Jemima Kirke) who lashed out at her for leaving despite persuading Jessa to leave rehab and return to New York for good in season 3.
Girls season 4 episode 1 ended on a rather melancholy note with Hannah’s best pal Marnie (Allison Williams, Get Out) showing up with coffee the morning of her departure and the two sharing a tearful farewell. The same couldn’t really be said for Hannah and Adam who wimped out on saying goodbye to each other, leaving their relationship status up in the air. As Hannah hit the road and left New York City behind, the question was how long would she last in Iowa?
Next: Girls Season 6: Story Recap & Ending Explained
