For a show that has reveled in the misadventures of youth, Girls cast a pretty accurate picture of the responsibilities of new motherhood in its finale Sunday night.The final episode, Latching, centers around Hannahs attempt to get her baby (in classic Girls-ian fashion, named Grover) to latch on so that she can breastfeed.The episode takes place five months after Grovers birth, and Marnie and Hannah have both moved to the country to take care of the baby. Despite having spent his first six weeks breastfeeding, Grover now refuses to take the breast and Hannah is pumping constantly to bottle-feed him.There are a million other ways that such ideals lead women to believe they're not doing motherhood 'right.' Sometimes theres something ' the chemistry, the fit, its just off, the doctor tells Hannah, exacerbating her fears that her baby hates her. Ever-dedicated to appearances, rule-loving Marnie upholds the sanctimonious ideal of motherhood, as she reads to Hannah from parenting books and says things like,Theres a reason they call breast milk liquid gold.Girls chose breastfeeding, but there are a million other ways that such ideals lead women to believe theyre not doing motherhood right.In many cases, there is literally no way to do it right, which is why even the most self-assured woman can fall victim to fears that shes somehow failing at being a mother. Hannahs also trying to come to terms with her new identity, wondering if shes supposed to lug around her breast pump all day at her new teaching job and asks what shes supposed to do if theres a student [she] wants to fuck. Girls relationship with nudity comes full-circle, as Hannahs breasts are shown just as casually as they have been for the last six seasons 'only this time, in the sexless context of breastfeeding.Hannah is struggling to keep it together. I cant do anything, she explains frantically to Marnie as the baby cries. Im still bleeding from my vagina!, she yells at her mother during a long litany about the physical indignities of new motherhood.In a moment every parent can relate to, Hannah looks at her baby while whispering: Youre being just a little bit of an asshole.During the Inside This Episode feature that follows the show, Executive Producer Judd Apatow says, We started talking about postpartum depression and her mental health issues coming up again. Ultimately, the episode is about the ways that being a new mother drives you crazy, a perspective that feels less authentically explored than it should be by now.Everyone whose life has been changed by parenthood can relate to the difficulty of transitioning to the extreme sacrifice and selflessness it requires. This, along with Hannahs concerns about what kind of man shes capable of raising,made me wish the show had more seasons to portrayparenting as realistically as it did the experiences of a certain type of young single woman.In a way, both the pilot episode of Girls, when Hannahs parents cut her off financially, and the finale are about accepting responsibility that would be easier evaded.Hannah has been particularly selfish throughout the run of Girls, but everyone whose life has been changed by parenthood can relate to the difficulty of transitioning to the extreme sacrifice and selflessness it requires.As Hannahs mother reminds her, becoming a parent isnt a choice you can take back. It isnt a temp job. Its forever.Ultimately, Latching ends with a close-up of Hannahs peaceful face as her baby finally accepts her breast and she hums a song she hates over the closing credits,leaving us with the sense that Hannah is maybe going to be able to leave her narcissism behind after all.Its all about trying to reconcile that anxious, addled, selfish person with the fact that someone else needs her now, Dunham told The New York Times.That pretty much sums it up. For parenthood, and for Girls. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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