From left to right: Marnie, Jessa, Hannah and Shoshanna.

After three episodes of HBO’s new series Girls, we’re starting to learn what the characters are about and what the show has to offer. Reviews vary from unabashed praise to disgust. Here at Punching Pete Campbell, our writers each had a different reaction to the show.

1. In 10 words or less, how do you feel about Girls after three episodes?

BG: Growing on me.  Parts are terrific, but jury’s still out.

CW: Dislike the characters, dislike the storylines, haven’t yet abandoned.

MR: Love the writing, love the awkwardness, hate the dancing.

2. Which of the characters do you like or dislike?

BG: As alluded to above, I’m starting to like the show. I really am. But through three episodes, I CAN’T STAND HANNAH. She reminds me of the girl at parties who orders an obscure mixed drink, complains that it’s made incorrectly and then, inevitably, gets trashed and passes out. She can also be witty to a fault (although I approved of her “Sorry I passed you an STD but I enjoy your quirky web presence” crack).

I’m also not sold on Marnie. She reminds me of the Girls version of Lyla Garrity: really hot, really annoying. It’s only a matter of time before she cheats on her boyfriend (with Tim Riggins?) and makes him feel shitty about it. As a guy, I feel obligated to simultaneously want and hate her.

But that brings me to why I’m also optimistic about the show: Jessa and Shoshanna. Jessa is not only a babe, but wears see-through body-length clothing, eats string cheese and smokes pot with (potentially) unemployed hipster dads. Awesome. Jessa also drinks White Russians, which, by default, qualifies her as the ultimate dude.

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