I’ve been on the road so I didn’t have a chance to comment on the finale of Girls. First thing I want to report on is that every single meeting I have had during the run of the show no matter who it was with, no matter what their age, the show has come up. The question was — so, what do you think about Girls? I always immediately said — I love Girls. Many times I saw relief of people’s faces because they too like Girls and for some reason didn’t want to say so.

I watched the finale at my friend’s house late on Monday after a full day in LA on no sleep with a bad case of jet lag. Not the best way to watch a season finale. So I’ve watched it again.

But the last scene of show stuck with me and at my meeting throughout the week we all talked about the ending.

That ending. Oh boy. You watch your best friend move out and decide to get her groove on (cool kinky hair from Marnie) at the surprise wedding of the flakiest friend of the group. I see that marriage lasting just through the hiatus. And just when Hannah is starting to doubt Adam after wanting him more than he wanted her, he lays out his soul to her and then in the same moment tells her to fuck off.

So she’s alone, on the subway exhausted with a piece of cake. She falls asleep and winds up someplace at the end of the line with her purse gone. (Tell me any woman who rides the NY subway who hasn’t had this nightmare and I will show you a liar.) All she has is her cake.

Turns out she’s at Coney Island so she makes her way to the beach for sunrise. Then she eats her piece of cake with great passion. That cake is her only friend at that moment. She licks her fingers and makes sure to get every last drop because she is sitting by the beach, half awake, with no money to get home, no boyfriend, no job and a precarious relationship with her best friend. She’s all alone — except for the cake.

I have to hand it to Lena Dunham who also wrote and directed this episode. Her television debut this season has been one of the most exciting things that has happened in a while. Women don’t do all the different pieces that Dunham was able to accomplish like she has been doing this her whole life. I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Any thoughts on the ending? What would be your cake on the beach? Mine would either be a bagel or a pint of choclate fudge brownie ice cream.

Here are some other people’s thoughts of the ending

The “Girls” Finale and the Limits of Television (New Yorker)

Girls Watch: She Takes the Cake (Time)

HBO’s Girls season one finale: our favorite critics reflect (The Guardian)