I'm still thinking about this, and maybe we do need more shows like this: Shows that present failure. Arguments with friends, the inability to pay bills, jealousy, not getting the job, going to a great party and not having fun - situations that aren't neatly wrapped up at the end of an episode. Characters that aren't "either/or", but rather "both/and". Sex that isn't just wonderful, consensual and full of chemistry and soft-movie-lighting, but portrayed as vengeful, or degrading, or possibly rape, and the self-doubt and uncertainty that goes with that. Showing that doing unpleasant and unlikable things has consequences - but not always - and that tolerating people being unpleasant toward you, refusing to do hard work and settling for less also has consequences.

However, I think that this show will always make me uncomfortable. I wish we had more shows about experiences of poor people, or people of colour, or solo parents on welfare, or people with disabilities, or immigrants, but I also think that there are a lot of debt-ridden white people out there with disappointed dreams and overpriced data plans who can probably relate to this show. Good for them. Lena Dunham, however, is not such a person - she's the child of two rich artists, who was sent to a private liberal arts college, and has had the privilege of being able to attend therapy for her OCD since she was seven years old. There's something very unsettling about seeing her use her connections to launch her career (even if that career is sustained with hard work), and then see her squirm out of having any sort of accountability around issues of class, race and privilege. It seems a bit odd to me because so much of her work is obviously self-referential, but the way she has opened up the scope for her show (using upper-middle class people instead of outrageously wealthy people who don't run the risk of being cut off) in a way that seems to water down the issues instead of presenting new or different ones. Is it an artist's duty to get on their soapbox? Perhaps not, but a wasted opportunity is still a pity, especially if it can be argued that the art one is producing is not even entertaining or beautiful.

So, sure. It's not Friends, but this show is at the very least, thought provoking.