Girls, "Wedding Day"

There's a scene in the fifth season premiere of "Girls" which perfectly encapsulates the frustrations of this show.  Ray, who considers Hannah to be like a "little sister," is interrogating Fran on his intentions with her.  He soon begins a rant on how men mistreat women before landing on the real source of his discontentment: Marnie is about to marry the idiot Desi.  And Marnie is, according to Ray, "the love of my life."  Ray then learns from Desi's friend that Marnie is his eighth fiancee.

It's a nice little scene.  The camera placement is smart.  The acting is solid.  The writing is witty.  (Ray asks Fran if he just wants a "push in the bush.")  There's just one problem: the scene makes no sense.

Why does Ray care about Hannah?  We've never seen any reason for them to be particularly close.  (We haven't seen a reason for anyone to be close to Hannah, but that's another story.)  More importantly, how on earth is Marnie the love of Ray's life?  Ray's an angry wiseass.  Marnie's an empty-headed beauty queen stupid enough to marry Desi.  If Ray was 20, we'd forgive him for being fooled by Marnie's looks.  But Ray's pushing 40.  In any approximation of the real world, Ray would have realized that loving Marnie is a fool's errand.

This is par for the course on "Girls," a show that somehow manages to have good direction, writing, and acting while also being emotionally incoherent.  It's a gorgeous wedding cake with rotten eggs in the batter.

As always, the season premiere confounds in its characterization.  Why are Jessa and Adam hooking up, apart from the fact that the show needs more plot and it hasn't already happened?  Why is junkie Jessa suddenly the most responsible one of this group?  And the question hovering over this whole show: Why are these girls still together?  Someone like Marnie should have a flotilla of vapid but supportive girlfriends.  Instead, she's relying on Hannah, who she acknowledges hasn't connected with her in years, Shoshanna, who lives in Japan, and Jessa, who is her complete opposite.

Pondering these questions can lead to hyperventilation.  Better instead to focus on the great moments this show is somehow still capable of giving us.  Marnie, taking passive-aggressiveness to delicious new heights in ushering Fran out of the bridesmaids' area.  Ray, literally struggling to keep his head above water as he tries to impart life advice to Desi.  Hannah, in a pink parachute, awkwardly embracing Marnie, in horror movie makeup.  Marnie, putting her wedding dress on over her Spanx, using beauty on the outside to cover up the plain girl on the inside.