10 Greatest TV Bottle Episodes
7. Girls - One Man’s Trash
Lena Dunham’s divisive comedy drama managed to be especially divisive in its season two bottle episode “One Man’s Trash”. Co-starring Fargo’s Patrick Wilson, the loose plot sees lead character Hannah shack up with a rich older man for a weekend tryst and a voyage of self discovery.
The show’s dissenters dismissed this as self obsessed, an episode written by and for Dunham to hog the limelight. But the episode actually intricately skewers the character of Hannah, bursts her protective bubble of Brooklyn hipness and digs into the heart of what she really wants out of life.
Girls expertly rode a bittersweet line throughout its run - these characters are supposed to be making the most of their youth, having the time of their lives, but instead they’re stuck in bad relationships, apartments, and jobs. Patrick Wilson’s wealthy doctor lives in the lap of luxury - it’s a way of life Hannah turns her nose up at, but secretly envies, too.
The actors’ chemistry is impressive even if the meet-cute of it all is a little unlikely. Those who had already written off Girls were never going to enjoy it, but for fans, it was one of the series’ highlights thus far.