Marnie & Peter Pan Are Basically The Same Person

Something that keeps a lot of people from falling in love with HBO's Girls is the fact that the main cast is made up of some pretty unlikeable characters, but that's the exact reason I love the show. Hannah, Marnie, Shoshanna, and Jessa are all painfully human... even if that makes the show a little uncomfortable to watch sometimes. And when the conversation turns to how unsympathetic the characters can be, Marnie Michaels — who, for all her faults, is one of my favorite characters on TV — always seem to get the brunt of the criticism. In fact, not even Allison Williams is a huge fan of Marnie.

That's a shame, though, because it's pretty easy to draw a comparison between a story Williams told in a recent interview with Allure and something Marnie would totally do. In the cover story, Williams reveals that the most offensive thing anybody ever said to her was a time when she cut her hair short and the boy she had a crush on told her she'd "lost her aura." This offends me, and I'm not even involved. But Williams continued, "It was before extensions were everywhere, and I just had to muscle through it."

Does this mean a teenage Williams would've gotten extensions to make a boy happy? Because Marnie Michaels totally would. And while we're talking about short haircuts? As it turns out, Williams' newest character, Peter Pan, just so happens to have a lot in common with Marnie, too.

They're both self absorbed

Don't get me wrong — there are a lot of positive things to be said for both Marnie and Peter, but this isn't one of them. Peter, in all his immaturity, acts mostly in his best interests, regardless of anyone else's, and Marnie's often guilty of the same thing. Why does Peter like the stories Wendy tells again? Oh, right, because she tells stories about him. Marnie often acts first and thinks later, like that time she slept with Elijah. Any other girl would usually think, "Hey, I'm about to do something with my best friend's gay ex-boyfriend that will most likely hurt her feelings," and stop what they're doing. But Marnie just plugs on.

Neither of them are great at being grown-ups

In Season 1, Marnie rocked the adult thing. She was responsible, she had an awesome job, and she had her life together. But everything fell apart when she lost her job at the art gallery, and ever since, she's become very insecure and seems to have forgotten who she was back then. Not that I blame her — getting laid off is hard, and your twenties are the time for self discovery. But if Peter approached her with an invite to Neverland, this Marnie would probably take it, where I could see the old Marnie turning it down and asking Peter if he planned to get a full time job so he'd have insurance.

And Peter? Well, he just refuses to grow up period. If only we all could have done the same.

Peter Pan would totally make an embarrassing YouTube video

If YouTube was around in the '50s when the Disney adaptation of Peter Pan was made, he would have wholeheartedly believed that he could become a singing internet sensation. Even the lyrics of Marnie's song seem to describe Peter. It's perfect and completely cringeworthy all at the same time.

You like them both the more you get to know them

The more Girls I watch, the more I see bits of myself and the people I love in Marnie, and that makes me love her more. She might not be what a lot of people consider to be a good person, but I think she's doing okay. Am I a bad person because I can understand the decisions she makes? The same thing goes for Peter Pan. He's selfish and I'm glad he's not my kid, but who can't identify with the feeling of never wanting to grow up?

Images: HBO, Giphy (3)