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Allison Williams‘ Girls alter ego finished the second season back in March, happily reunited with ex-boyfriend Charlie (Christopher Abbott) — but just before production was set to begin on season three in April, Abbott exited the HBO show and left Williams’ planned arc up in the air.
But the actress believes that her onscreen counterpart’s sudden departure resulted in Marnie’s most authentic season yet.
“Of course it’s sad, you lose a member of the family, but in terms of the show, it turned out great,” Williams told The Hollywood Reporter at Marie Claire’s Power Women luncheon on Oct. 30. “What we have Marnie doing is very gratifying from a performance standpoint; it gave me a lot to do. But in a way, it’s almost more in line with the show’s brand to have what seemed like a beautiful love story happening, and then, of course it crumbles to the ground. Why would it survive? And Marnie wasn’t ready for that kind of a relationship, so it was going to crumble anyway.”
Abbott has said that no single moment made him choose to leave abruptly, but more of a gradual realization that he no longer related to the character Lena Dunham had created. He rebounded in September with a leading role in a play called Where We’re Born, a segment of Lucy Thurber‘s Hill Town Plays cycle staged at five theaters in New York.
Williams also admitted that their last scene together, though romantic at times, was altogether unsettling. “It was weird even in that tiny moment,” she said. ” ‘I want to watch you die’ is a very strange thing to say to someone. … So I think [his exit] is sort of poetic and wonderful. I’m sorry that it means he is no longer with us, but I wish him the best.”
Season three of Girls premieres Jan. 12 at 10 p.m. on HBO.
Twitter: @cashleelee
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