Let’s face it: Being annoying was practically a prerequisite for being a Girls character.
Yet it seems everyone is rewatching Lena Dunham’s hit HBO series. Millennials are using the show as a lens for looking back at our own early twenties. We’re seeing it all play out on-screen thinking, so what if that haircut was bad? Or, why didn’t anyone tell us New York wasn’t all it was cracked up to be? Or, were our boyfriends all that horrible?
The Girls universe is an education in early womanhood, a North Star in formulating opinions about that tumultuous period in young adulthood. At the time it aired, we all thought, “I am so NOT like these girls!” But looking back, I can confirm: We were all those girls at one time or another. You know the kind I mean. We were the selfish Hannah, the narcissistic Marnie, the aloof Jessa and the naive Shoshanna. Some of us could’ve even dabbled as a clingy Laird or an insufferable Mimi-Rose.
So, yes, they’re all still annoying, but they’re our kind of annoying.
In honor of the series’ cultural resurgence, I’ve decided to rank the most notable characters from least to most annoying. And know that if some random character who appeared in only one, or two, or maybe even three episodes is absent from this list, it doesn’t mean they weren’t irritating! It’s actually pretty obnoxious that their existence on the show was so short lived!
So check out the rankings below! Who do you think was the most annoying character on Girls? Let us know in the comments.
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Hermie
Image Credit: HBO screenshot If there was ever a case to be made for a non-annoying Girls character, it would be for Hermie (Colin Quinn), mostly because he wasn’t in enough episodes to really grind our gears. That being said, it was a little annoying of him to die on Ray, leaving him to fend for himself against Marnie and the hipster coffee shop.
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Elijah Krantz
Image Credit: HBO screenshot There’s just something so lovable about Elijah (Andrew Rannells), despite his occasional leanings toward subtle cruelty. While he had his fair share of annoying moments, he gave Hannah the emotional support when she most needed it. He ran himself ragged trying to track down Hannah’s missing (and extremely high) mother and offered to raise Hannah’s baby with her. I mean, he was a gem (mostly)!
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Adam Sackler
Image Credit: HBO screenshot If you think Adam Sackler (Adam Driver) was one of the worst TV boyfriends, you’re wrong! In fact, he was one of the best. Yes, he was flawed (any complex man is!), but Adam was full of charm, spirit and eccentric quirks. His most shining moment? Running to Hannah in the middle of the night during her OCD flare-up. Despite all of his best qualities, his behavior toward Natalia was vile and he does deserve to be penalized for that.
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Laird Schlesinger
Image Credit: HBO screenshot Here’s where things get dicey: Laird (Jon Glaser) was an annoying neighbor, but an all-around decent person. When he followed Hannah to make sure she was safe after a coke-fueled night out, it was both well-intentioned and a little bit weird. He, too, offered to raise Hannah’s baby with her, which, in his case, was also a little bit weird. He was an eccentric guy, but overall not too annoying!
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Ray Ploshanksy
Image Credit: HBO screenshot When viewers first met Ray (Alex Karpovsky), he was an insufferable POS who stole Hannah’s diary and exploited its contents for his own gain. But as the seasons wore on, Ray began to redeem himself. During his relationship with Shoshanna, he displayed the kind of tenderness and sensitivity we all want from a man. While he was funny and smart, he did have a tendency toward that specific kind of pretentious that only a 30-something coffee connoisseur possesses.
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David Pressler-Goings
Image Credit: HBO screenshot Hannah’s editor, David (James Cameron Mitchell), also didn’t last long on the series. His untimely death caused Hannah’s e-book to stall. While he was around he was a pretty forgiving person, but he was an annoying drunk. Also, come on, don’t you think he gassed up Hannah a little too much? Sorry, David!
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Mimi-Rose Howard
Image Credit: HBO screenshot Something about Mimi-Rose (Gillian Jacobs) was just off. She seemed cold and distant and, frankly, I can’t really remember why but I just didn’t like the woman!
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Loreen Horvath
Image Credit: HBO screenshot Though Loreen (Becky Ann Baker) loved her daughter, she rarely took Hannah seriously. Her response to Hannah’s pregnancy news? Eating too many marijuana-infused gummies and panicking about her own demise. In Loreen’s defense, she struggled to cope after her husband told her he was gay. She felt under-appreciated and unloved, which was a little bit annoying considering everyone’s efforts to make her happy.
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Tad Horvath
Image Credit: HBO screenshot Tad (Peter Scolari) doesn’t belong far from his Loreen. I actually loved Tad and I was happy to see him finally living the life he deserved when he left Loreen and started a relationship with Keith. Really my main qualm with Tad was when he called Hannah in hysterics because he left his wallet at Keith’s house (when they were just hooking up, before they were dating). I just really needed Tad to keep his daughter further away from his sex life.
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Thomas-John
Image Credit: HBO screenshot Any TV character working as a DJ/ venture-capitalist is not meant to be beloved, as was the case with Thomas-John (Chris O’Dowd). Still, as far as Girls husbands go, Thomas-John was pretty benign toward his wife, Jessa. He was irritable and irrationally sensitive, but she was hardly worse for wear because of it.
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Charlie Dattolo
Image Credit: HBO screenshot Early in the series, Charlie (Christopher Abbott) was a lovely guy who deserved better than his girlfriend, Marnie. Later on, he sold an app to a tech company (red flag!) and even later on he became a completely different person who lied and cheated and stole for a good time. I’m honestly not sure what to do with him, but he maintained a mid-level annoyingness throughout the series.
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Hannah Horvath
Image Credit: HBO screenshot Hannah (Lena Dunham) was pretty annoying, but like Carrie in Sex and the City, she was at least the most complex character of the main bunch. As annoying as she could be, she was equally funny, charming, witty and weird! And it was so easy to see ourselves in her. She perfectly encapsulated the contradictory nature of a young adult’s mind, feeling at once way too confident but somehow also extremely insecure. She was selfish and narcissistic, but in a sort of naive way, like maybe she’d grow out of it one day. I hope she did and is making it big as a writer somewhere.
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Fran Parker
Image Credit: HBO screenshot The girls of Girls really had a knack for picking out annoying boyfriends. Fran (Jake Lacey) was Hannah’s brief romantic partner and from the start we were suspicious. No one is that positive and good-natured. His love was the annoying, suffocating, overwhelming kind that made Hannah feel unable to end things until she found herself standing next to him outside a rest stop in pajamas somewhere upstate. Fran showed his true colors when he threw a tantrum while she dumped him and left her stranded on the side of the road.
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Dill Harcourt
Image Credit: HBO screenshot Dill, Dill, Dill. What to do with Dill (Corey Stoll). This man delivered one of TVs most chilling break ups. In Season 5, Episode 9, after Elijah professed his love for Dill, asking him: “Don’t you want to be with someone who sees you for you? Don’t you want a boyfriend-someone?” Dill coldly told him that, yes, he does want something serious, but he’s looking for someone special, not someone like Elijah. Rot in hell, Dill!
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Jessa Johansson
Image Credit: HBO screenshot Jessa had the potential to be a great friend. She saw people for who they really were, but often used people because she knew she could. She used Shoshanna for a place to stay, lied to Hannah about getting kicked out of rehab and randomly disappeared for extended periods of time. People often forget: You do not want to be friends with a Jessa. She’s the kind of person whose attention makes you feel special and desperate to please, but she’ll never be satisfied by your efforts. Plus, she dated Adam! Not cool!
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Caroline Sackler
Image Credit: HBO screenshot Caroline (Gaby Hoffman) was a kooky woman. While most of her behavior should earn her the top spot as the Most Annoying Girls Character, I’ve offered her some compassion given that she struggled with her mental health. I really think Caroline did the best she could with her relationships, and we saw glimpses into how fun and kind she could be. That being said, she still did a lot of annoying s–t, like, just being generally naked and weird in Adam’s apartment and disappearing from her family for weeks.
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Shoshanna Shapiro
Image Credit: HBO screenshot It pains me to say, for most of the series, Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet) was extremely annoying in the most traditional sense of the word: She talked way too fast and never, ever stopped. Also, what was with those buns? She could be a know-it-all and immature, but she did have a good heart. She was the only one of the four who seemed to grow out of her annoyingness as the series went on, so she earned some points for that.
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Booth Jonathan
Image Credit: HBO screenshot Booth Jonathan (Jorma Taccone) was insufferable. He was high off his own supply, walking around like he made art people actually cared about. Besides being completely full of himself, he fired an assistant for eating his ice cream and trapped Marnie in some kind of creepy art cage for hours. And what was with all those porcelain dolls in his bedroom? Talk about a bad art friend!
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Desi Harperin
Image Credit: HBO screenshot Desi made it on our list of TV’s worst boyfriends, so you knew he was a shoe-in for one of the most annoying characters on the show. He was immature and irrational. He completely love-bombed Marnie and then wouldn’t even look at her once they broke up. He screwed her over as a wife, roommate and bandmate. His struggles with addiction would have been heartbreaking if he wasn’t so villainous in the middle of it all.
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Marnie Michaels
Image Credit: HBO screenshot Marnie (Allison Williams) was the absolute worst character on the series. Don’t try to tell me otherwise. Like her husband, Marnie was shallow, lacking in self awareness and delusional. I am still not over the MANY times Marnie seized control of a room, forcing people to listen to her sing bad covers. Plus, she was disgustingly insensitive toward her boyfriend, Ray, while he was grieving Hermie’s death.
