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S04.E04: Cubbies


Tara Ariano

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Shoshanna spends a day with Ray after another disappointing job interview; and Marnie and Desi's creative and romantic differences may be irreconcilable. Meanwhile, in Iowa, Hannah's classmates are miffed by a missive she left in their cubbies.
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Of course Hannah gives up on Iowa and returns home --- to bump into Adam's whore.  I felt such an emotional reaction when we found out that Britta was not just a rando friend but a girlfriend, but I guess they need to write him off for Star Wars.

Edited by CofCinci
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I've watched every episode and this is the first time I actually wanted to punch Hannah in the face. I find myself annoyed with Dunham, which is maybe an old sensation for many of you, but it's new for me. Although I do still admire how she willingly makes herself look so terrible. The conversation between Hannah and her dad was kind of amazing. As was the "apology" discussion.

Marnie and Desi's music is hilariously awful. “Well, you did it. You made a song.”

And Ray screaming at the honkers in the road was my favourite part. And I love the word "cubbie."

Edited by Pogojoco
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How long was Hannah gone? It seems out of character for Adam to hAve replaced Hannah. And weren't they still talking while she was in Iowa?

 

 

That's exactly what I thought after the last scene. Hannah couldn't have been gone much longer than a month, and in that time Adam not only finds a new girlfriend, but has her move in with him? I thought it was out of character for him to be deceptive - it would have been a lot more believable if he'd sent her a curt text to end the relationship. And I thought despite his misgivings about the long distance relationship he really loved Hannah.

 

I wonder if Hannah will reconsider her decision to quit Iowa now that she no longer has a home or a boyfriend in NYC. Surely she'll now have plenty to write about.

 

Desi is such a pathetic piece of shit. I can't believe Marnie let him go down on her after he admitted that Clementine dumped him and not vice versa (i.e. he would have never left her if she hadn't left him). How is that in any way a turn-on?

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Marnie is so delusional....how far she has fallen. The fact she thinks going forward w/Desi knowing now that she has seen how pathetic he is. She gets what she deserves.

I loved the girls ragging on her song. Shosh was right...it was a shit song that u only like after u are forced to hear it a billion times.

As for Hannah I hope she runs back to school.

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This is just me in my head, but I feel like Lena Dunham's insecurities play out in the show... if she is having an issue with the actor, she ruins their character.  There was the actor from Season 1 that she fired, and now Adam Driver is becoming a big star, she makes him dump her unceremoniously and out of character.  Although his character has always been inconsistent... I still have trouble when I remember how he raped that girl.

 

I've always thought that Jessa could be a breakout character, but always seems boring and listless... because Lena gives her no good storylines.  Lena doesn't want to be upstaged.

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I liked the writers' workshop so I'm bummed they're dumping it so soon, but it makes sense, not just for Hannah's character but to make the show less fragmented. The other Girls doesn't get much at all to do.

Marnie storyline in itself is a disaster and dreadfully boring when there's a scene with just her and the guy but everyone's reaction to her music is hilarious. So I'm conflicted.

I hope Jessa gets something to do soon.

Edited by joelene
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I hope Jessa gets something to do soon.

Me too.

Speaking of Jessa, shouldn't she know that Adam was stepping out since they're recovery group besties. Guess she didn't want to break group confidentiality.

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I liked the writers' workshop so I'm bummed they're dumping it so soon, but it makes sense, not just for Hannah's character but to make the show less fragmented. The other Girls doesn't get much at all to do.

 

 

I liked the writer's workshop because the other students said things to Hannah that I tend to think during the show.  It was finally the point in these series when Hannah was clearly and critically judged on her writing AND her behavior.  The only way she could escape (which is her fall back behavior) is to leave the program and essentially admit that she'd not really a serious writer.  It seems like her father, her enabler, has known that she's not really a writer for some time, otherwise he might have been a teeny bit surprised during dinner.  It was odd, however, that Hannah's mother rather than her father was the one to have previously shown the same behaviors.  Dad seems more flighty, but then again, maybe that's why Mom is firmer about calling out Hannah's B.S. than Dad is.  She been through that stuff herself.  So, what does the rest of the season or series hold for Hannah?  Does she spin her wheels, trying to convince herself and others that's she's "street" writer?  What street would that be?  The one on which her parents live and from which they mail her checks?  Or does she try to figure out what she IS rather than a writer (after a long and massively humiliating stretch of self destructive behavior, of course)?

 

I was actually glad to see Adam had a new girlfriend, although the speed at which the relationship moved was a wee bit fast.  He's cleaned up, living under decent conditions, and seems much more stable, all things he didn't or couldn't have with Hannah.

 

I was also glad that Shosh and Jessa didn't fall all over themselves praising Marni's music.  Those songs are ok, the kind of thing you can hear from singers or duets in coffee shops all across the country.  Marni looked like she was kind of seeing through Desi's baloney until he went south.  Among the idiots on this show, she's second only to Hannah.

 

Speaking of Shosh, I think NYU should sue this show for defamation.  Shosh has a math degree from NYU and she behaves like that during an interview?  She sits in the offices of a multinational management consulting company and can only think about her appearance, then rags on the appearance of the interviewer?   I don't believe that she could have ever been a math major, either.  Why work your way through a tough major like that, then interview for Ann Taylor and a management consulting company?   That makes no sense at all.  If you have a degree in math, why not mentioning it during an interview?  This whole arc is completely ridiculous. 

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Shoshana's interview was very entertaining. But she acts more like a high school student than a recent college grad.

That short-sleeved sweater Hannah wore, with the bizarre colors? Turquoise, rust, yellow, I think? I'm a hoarder, but even I would have thrown that out.

The make-up artist needs to give Desi some eyebrows.

Why was one of the students in the Workshop going camping with his fraternity brothers? Do grad students still spend a lot of time with their frat brothers?

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There was such a weird vibe in the scenes with Hannah and her dad, especially the last one.  I felt like he was wanting to tell her something - like he's dying or he and the mom are getting divorced.  There just seemed to be more going on with him than trying to help Hannah see she needed to leave Iowa.

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I truly enjoyed Shoshanna getting read by the interviewer. Mainly because those are the things I'm thinking about her while I'm watching the show. Also thought it was hilarious that the interviewer was reluctant at first, but then after the crack about the necklace, she was INTO it - "Now let's talk about how you answered the first analysis question." I had to watch that scene a few times.

 

Marnie's new boyfriend has a face that looks like it belongs in an asscrack.

 

Hannah really is kind of a waste of skin, isn't she? After being accepted into this prestigious program, she gives it a try for maybe five minutes before she bails on it, without considering the fact that she took a slot in the program that someone else would have killed for, or the cost of the program, or the cost to her parents to continue to support her life in NYC. How does she ever plan to be self-sufficient? Strange Japanese porn?

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Hannah couldn't have been gone much longer than a month, and in that time Adam not only finds a new girlfriend, but has her move in with him?

I guess it's possible that Britta has moved in with him, but it could also be that she had just spent the night. I mean, yes she's a new girlfriend, but I wouldn't yet say that she's living with him.

 

There was such a weird vibe in the scenes with Hannah and her dad, especially the last one.  I felt like he was wanting to tell her something - like he's dying or he and the mom are getting divorced.  There just seemed to be more going on with him than trying to help Hannah see she needed to leave Iowa.

 

I got that weird feeling too. He was so teary-eyed. Even when he said goodbye and walked away, he was hesitating. I'm sure there's something going on.

 

For "Scene in a Bathroom..." etc., did I only imagine Hannah reading while using the toilet?

What's odd about that? Many people read while on the toilet.

 

I'm finally tiring of the show. I'm tiring of the characters. I know they're "girls" in need to growing up, but I want to see some change. Hannah not learning anything about her behavior and attitude is aggravating. I did enjoy the other students pointing out that her apology letter was not an apology. I always enjoy seeing her father.

 

Shosh also is a bore to me. And Marnie. 

 

I'll stick with the show, but I wish the characters could grow.

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"After being accepted into this prestigious program, she gives it a try for maybe five minutes before she bails on it, without considering the fact that she took a slot in the program that someone else would have killed for, or the cost of the program, or the cost to her parents to continue to support her life in NYC."

Sorry...quote function not working.

I was wondering if she is paying for everything with student loans? Her dad telling her to give up was such enabling bad advice, particularly if they cosigned on any of those loans.

The Adam girlfriend thing felt very strange and out of character. Also, it was interesting to see Adam looking clean and the apartment looked great.

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There was such a weird vibe in the scenes with Hannah and her dad, especially the last one.  I felt like he was wanting to tell her something - like he's dying or he and the mom are getting divorced.  There just seemed to be more going on with him than trying to help Hannah see she needed to leave Iowa.

 

 

I got that weird feeling too. He was so teary-eyed. Even when he said goodbye and walked away, he was hesitating. I'm sure there's something going on.

 

I got that impression as well, if this was any other show I would figure he would be hit by a car while crossing the street as he left her.  I also wondered w/the context he talked about Hannah's mother that they were having issues and possibly separating.  He always gave Hannah more leeway than her mother, and they are footing the bill for this venture in grad school, are they not?  His advice about basically living life to the fullest and giving up on grad school could also be his way of trying to tell her he is sick, but she is so damn oblivious in her own world she can't see past her nose.

 

So is Hannah going to bitch out Marnie, Jessa, and Shosh next week for not keeping her up to date about Adam and his proclivities?  I could totally see Jessa just saying off hand that she knew about the new girlfriend all along.  Why is Jessa a character on this show, I really don't get why they keep her around seeing as she is given nothing to do.  

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There was such a weird vibe in the scenes with Hannah and her dad, especially the last one.  I felt like he was wanting to tell her something - like he's dying or he and the mom are getting divorced.  There just seemed to be more going on with him than trying to help Hannah see she needed to leave Iowa.

ITA.  At first I thought he was just upset that he couldn't give her more definitive advice (men, and especially fathers who love their daughters, are nothing if not problem solvers), but there seemed to be a lot he wouldn't or couldn't say, and he's never seemed to be that tentative in his one-on-one interactions with Hannah. 

 

For "Scene in a Bathroom..." etc., did I only imagine Hannah reading while using the toilet?

As someone who has (as time requires) read on the toilet all his life, and in doing so evolved with technology (from books to laptops to Kindles; okay, TMI. Sorry.) the fact that she was doing that barely registered with me.

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Many of my friends keep small libraries near the toilet; seemed not remotely odd to me to take something in to read over and think about.

 

To the person who complained that you don't "swing by" Iowa on your way to Minneapolis: having driven a great deal in the midwestern US myself, sometimes you do. If you're going from Michigan to Minneapolis and want to see your daughter on the way, it's plausible, though granted, it's not the most efficient route (I'd go via Chicago and across Wisconsin, myself). My impression, like others, was that he wanted to tell her something and bailed. I'm going to think that it's not that he wanted to come out as transgendered. Divorce from her mother seemed the most likely to me.  Or possibly that her mother split with all the family money and neither he nor Hannah has anything to live on now. I think the fact that the geographical detour didn't register with self-absorbed Manhattanite Hannah is another indicator that he had something he wanted to say: you *would* make that trip to impart important, distressing news that you wanted to deliver face to face. And we don't know how long he had before his conference (assuming there was one and not just some woman he was moving in with) began. Or, of course, it's just a stupid error by writers who can't look at a map. I'd like to think it's not that.

 

ETA: The whole thing about having to do what's right for you without worrying about the effect on other people is totally what someone who's abruptly left his wife (or thinking of it) would say.

Edited by maraleia
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Jessa definitely knew about Adam's new girlfriend. Terrible friend that she is, she told him she thought it was "cute" that he was so into the new girl. She has zero loyalty to Hannah, but that's not surprising. 

 

I too thought the dad was trying to tell Hannah something at dinner. In Season 1, Elijah did allude to Hannah's dad being gay or giving him a "vibe" or something, so I thought they were headed in that direction.  

 

Did Hannah just leave Elijah in her apartment? With all her furniture?

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Many of my friends keep small libraries near the toilet; seemed not remotely odd to me to take something in to read over and think about.

 

I think the previous commenter was referencing the recap in which the writer said there were no scenes of people in the bathroom this episode. Clearly there was such a scene and the recapper missed it. That is all. 

 

As for Hannah's dad, he absolutely has something to tell her.  I really hope they don't go the gay or divorce route with him, but an illness might snap Hannah out of her self-absorbed ways. I know I matured a great deal when I had to deal with a very ill parent.

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I liked the writers' workshop so I'm bummed they're dumping it so soon, but it makes sense, not just for Hannah's character but to make the show less fragmented. The other Girls doesn't get much at all to do.

 

I, too, liked writers' workshop and am praying that after a few days in NY Hannah will at least give it another try. 

 

Adam's girlfriend looked very perturbed. Do we think he never told her he'd actually not broken it off completely with Hannah?

 

I also would like to see more of Jessa. She may limit her filming because she's got two children, which sucks for us.

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The reason people are mentioning the bathroom thing is because the recap does a checklist of Girls tropes, one of which is, A character performs an actual bathroom function in a bathroom" and the recap indicated that had NOT taken place. I came here to post that same item -- that yes, Hannah was on the toilet in this episode!

 

Marnie didn't surprise me but I was disappointed. I keep waiting for her to take a big step forward.

 

Same for Hannah. What an opportunity this program is. I would love to have seen her figure out how to succeed in that environment. Her classmates are full of shit too, but in the end I bet she could have learned to produce great work within the Iowa framework. That's part of growing up -- you may think a certain structure or discipline is bullshit, but you force yourself to conform and succeed. Then when you've got that discipline down, you use what works for you and discard the rest.

 

Ray looks like a rabbit.

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I think the previous commenter was referencing the recap in which the writer said there were no scenes of people in the bathroom this episode. Clearly there was such a scene and the recapper missed it. That is all. 

I see. I don't read the recaps.

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Isn't The Mayo clinic in Minniapolis? My guess is the Dad is dying and drove to Iowa to tell Hannah, but nobody gets to exist around Hannah, but Hannah so they talked about how unhappy she is. Which is probably what they always talk about because Hannah can't deal with anything more stressful than a warm bath.

In any case: that didn't take long.

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I thought they were setting Shosh up to be a personal shopper (I read too many of the Shopoholic books). Loved her convincing Ray to get that $70 t shirt.

Was that a rag & bone store?  It looked like their tag on the (ugly) t-shirt.  And why does Hannah have the ugliest sweaters, is that a hipster thing?

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Last season he did have something going on, doctor wise. Anyone remember? I just remember it was after Hannahs both editor died and she met with other editors who wanted to publish her but then her Dad called and was all, "I had a small medical procedure done" and he tried to explain it but then Hannah started to talk about her new book deal and then when she found out from her Dad that she couldn't get a new book deal for a few years she just flipped out and started yelling. We never found out what his procedure was. 

 

I remember that too and it felt then like something was being left open.  Who knows, it could also be something along the lines of a gender issue.  Didn't some character (Elijah maybe?) make some comment about her father in an episode during an earlier season? 

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I don't really know why but I actually really liked this episode. Shoshanna wake up call  was nice, Hannah being called on her non apology letter was good, Marnie's storyline is so pathetic but I find it very realistic. She saw Dezi's bull and as another poster said better than me: "Marnie knows it's a mistake but she's letting herself make a bad decision. How many of us have done the same. I think it makes her more relatable."

 

 And I think I was so worried about the possibility of Adam and Jessa that I was relieved that he had a girlfriend. But yeah, it seemed too early. And I'm wondering: "Also, isn't Hannah's apartment still Hannah's?"

 

My guess is Hannah's dad is having an affair and thinking about leaving Hannah's mom.

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Jessa definitely knew about Adam's new girlfriend. Terrible friend that she is, she told him she thought it was "cute" that he was so into the new girl. She has zero loyalty to Hannah, but that's not surprising. 

 

I too thought the dad was trying to tell Hannah something at dinner. In Season 1, Elijah did allude to Hannah's dad being gay or giving him a "vibe" or something, so I thought they were headed in that direction.  

 

Did Hannah just leave Elijah in her apartment? With all her furniture?

Does anyone else think Elijah is the one who's been stealing her bike?

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Last season he did have something going on, doctor wise. Anyone remember? I just remember it was after Hannahs both editor died and she met with other editors who wanted to publish her but then her Dad called and was all, "I had a small medical procedure done" and he tried to explain it but then Hannah started to talk about her new book deal and then when she found out from her Dad that she couldn't get a new book deal for a few years she just flipped out and started yelling. We never found out what his procedure was. 

 

I hated this episode. Also, isn't Hannah's apartment still Hannah's? I don't know how I feel about Adam bringing a new girlfriend around. That's messed up. Also, yes, Jessa sucks. I'm sorry.  I used to think she was kind of funny, but she's really not much of anything but a bad friend.

Yes, that scene happened with her father. It played as cancer to me at the time.

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Yes, in his introductory scene on the show, Elijah flat-out told Hannah that her father was gay, only a couple of minutes after confirming that he was -- and so no, he wasn't interested in getting back together with her...The remark about her father was Elijah's parting shot when things turned ugly.  And yes, last year Hannah's father tried to tell her about his own recent medical procedure, but Hannah blew right past in her tirade about losing her e-book deal.  By the death of someone she knew.  

 

Isn't The Mayo clinic in Minneapolis?

 

Nearby, and good call.  I think Hannah's father may be regretting the life he no longer has the chance to change, or lead.  He couldn't have looked sadder than when he told her, "That was a joke, Banana."  The same slightly resentful, much more regretful manner he had on the phone with Hannah when she ignored what he was trying to express.  But then something kinder and resigned.  "You'll know when you know.  Y'know?"   He knows.

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Last season he did have something going on, doctor wise. Anyone remember? I just remember it was after Hannahs both editor died and she met with other editors who wanted to publish her but then her Dad called and was all, "I had a small medical procedure done" and he tried to explain it but then Hannah started to talk about her new book deal and then when she found out from her Dad that she couldn't get a new book deal for a few years she just flipped out and started yelling. We never found out what his procedure was.

 

I recall that.  Maybe her dad does have something serious going on.  Though I hope he doesn't because Hannah would just make it about her, and I don't know if I could stand her being that self-centered in the wake of something really bad going on with a parent.     

 

 

I truly enjoyed Shoshanna getting read by the interviewer. Mainly because those are the things I'm thinking about her while I'm watching the show. Also thought it was hilarious that the interviewer was reluctant at first, but then after the crack about the necklace, she was INTO it - "Now let's talk about how you answered the first analysis question." I had to watch that scene a few times.

 

That was my favorite moment.  Shoshanna desperately needed someone to point out just how awful she really was during those interviews, and I loved that the interviewer got into it. 

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Calling it: Hannah s Dad has Cancer, and Hannah will use it in her writing and finally score some success.

 

Sad that we`re losing the workshop students, but its good that everyone's in the same place again. I still cant believe that Adam would pull that kind of move. He can be a class A dick, but not so much lately, besides, its not really his style. I feel like, if he was screwing another girl, he would have told Hannah, or something. 

 

Favorite scene by far was Jessa and Shosh telling Marnie that her song was the kind of song that "they play it a million times, then your forced to love it". I totally know what they are talking about. That whole scene cracked me up so much. 

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What can I say, I dig Marnie. She was entitled to more feedback tha that from her friends on something she cared about that much. Shosh was glib, Jessa said nothing at all. And Marnie was right to shut Shosh down with "they have the jobs" when Shosh whined about people having the right to judge her.

Shosh was like a 12 year old. Seriously, even Shosh isn't dumb enough to talk seriously about a woman struggling with curly hair. It's as if Lena didn't know how to write a bad interview without going idiotic, notice the camera cut Way when the shit got real and they were going to talk about real things.

It makes more sense for hannah not to have formally quit yet, but if she did, I'm a bit I pressed, as someone who almost never has the guts to quit anything and tends to stay in things much too long as a result.

Only on TV do people move on to new partners within weeks. But adam kinda had one foot out the door, so, I'd buy it,

ETA: I thnk Marnie totally knows Desi got dumped or was about to and she's back up but hey, sec is good and it's right there and why not, would not be surprised if she dumps him soon though. If he had even been smart enough to lie and say he couldn't take her pain, she'd have willingly believed him. But his grief over clementine tells her that he's really still in love with Clem, and only there because he can be. It's like a husband who leaves his wife... Less are he goes back to her. She's seeing him in a new light, even though she's using him for sex in that moment. I think since Rays talk, she's not in love with him anymore.

Edited by lucindabelle
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But his grief over clementine tells her that he's really still in love with Clem, and only there because he can be.

 

 

Or because he has nowhere else to go? I had the impression that he'd been living with Clem and she'd been supporting him, conveniently traveling a lot for her job so he had ample opportunity to screw around. THAT's why he was never going to leave her, not because he was in love. The only person a man like Desi can be in love with is himself. The crying was just theatrics.

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Something's definitely up with dad and I think Hannah is gonna pull it out, every once in a while she shocks us. Like when she was avoiding going to see grandma because grandma was going to die and then in the end she showed up for the right reasons. 

 

I thought someone was going to approach Shosh in the store and offer her a job and she would be amaze balls at it. And do they both want to get back together?

 

Definitely Marnie should have empowered herself right there. 

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Me too.

Speaking of Jessa, shouldn't she know that Adam was stepping out since they're recovery group besties. Guess she didn't want to break group confidentiality.

She did know.  She mentioned something to him about it when they were coming out of AA before the arrest.  It was very much in passing and I suspect a lot of people didn't catch it.  It was something about how often he is seeing her.

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There was such a weird vibe in the scenes with Hannah and her dad, especially the last one.  I felt like he was wanting to tell her something - like he's dying or he and the mom are getting divorced.  There just seemed to be more going on with him than trying to help Hannah see she needed to leave Iowa.

I seem to recall that last year he was getting some tests or having some procedure. The mom was trying to tell Hannah but she was so self absorbed she wasn't really listening.

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