Two New People Are Coming to 'Girls'

If there's one thing we know for sure about Girls season four (other than the amazing news that Elijah is becoming a series regular), it's this: Hannah, through some means or another, is going to Iowa. During March's season three finale, viewers saw the Girls protagonist (Lena Dunham) excitedly receive an acceptance letter to the Iowa Writers Workshop, but only moments before, she had been fighting with Adam (Adam Driver) over their future together. At the time, it was uncertain whether or not Hannah would actually make the move to the Midwest, but now that Girls has cast Desiree Akhavan (above) and and Peter Mark Kendall as Iowa students, it's clear that Hannah's going to leave New York behind and pursue her dreams in Iowa — at least for a little while.

According to Deadline, Akhavan (Appropriate Behavior) and Kendall (The Leftovers) will be recurring cast members on the show's fourth season, playing fellow students in Hannah's prestigious writing program. No other information is known about their roles, but the fact that they're Iowa students is telling enough; Hannah, for all her back-and-forth, is going to be settled at Iowa long enough to get to know other people in her program. Earlier reports informed us that Girls was planning on shooting scenes in Iowa, but the casting of these actors guarantees Hannah's attendance at the program. In other words, it means that despite those photos of Hannah and Adam strolling through New York, the Girls protagonist will probably not be residing in her former city for much longer.

That is, unless she leaves early. Knowing Hannah, there's definitely a possibility that she'll go to Iowa, meet other writers, and get so insecure/jealous/immature that she'll immediately head back home. Hopefully, that won't be the case; Hannah's (apparent) decision to attend the workshop in the finale was a mature move that showed how much she'd grown over the course of the show. Even with their problems, her relationship with Adam had been familiar and comforting, and so leaving him would be a huge, scary step. Hannah's choice to do so, regardless, in order to pursue her dreams and further her career, marked a breakthrough in her independence and self-growth.

As for what the move to Iowa means for Hannah's relationship with Adam, anything's possible. Those New York photos showed the pair looking very couple-y, but for all we know, that could've been their final goodbye Hannah heads off to the airport, or maybe the result of a quick visit home. Or, perhaps, the duo made up from that fight in the finale and got back together for good, and are attempting a long-distance relationship; of all the Girls scenarios, this one seems the most unlikely, but with Hannah and Adam, you truly never know. It's possible, too that, like mentioned earlier, Hannah drops out of the program and goes back to New York and Adam, but let's hope we're wrong about that one. Hannah needs to go to Iowa, and all signs are pointing in the direction that she does. We all love Adam, but, whether purposefully or not, he shouldn't be what holds her back.

Image: HBO