Marnie finally got her act together during the latest Girls episode on Sunday, March 27 — all thanks to her ex-fiancé, Charlie. Christopher Abbott made a surprising return to the HBO series for the first time since his abrupt departure in 2013.
Charlie made his way back into newlywed Marnie’s life (Allison Williams) when they bumped into each other on a New York City sidewalk. They made amends, chowed down at an Italian restaurant, danced at a bar and hooked up back at his apartment.
Charlie’s appearance helped Marnie forget about her shaky marriage with Desi Harperin (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) — at least for a while. Spoiler: She said goodbye to Charlie after finding out about his drug use and later told Desi she wanted a divorce.
As fans know, Abbott, 30, left the series before season 3 over a rumored feud with creator and star Lena Dunham. The actress addressed his absence on the show by having Charlie break off his engagement to Marnie.
Despite their supposed fight over creative differences, Dunham thanked Abbott for reprising his role after the show aired. “Season 1 babies in 2011. Thank you for coming back to play, Chris,” Dunham captioned a throwback Instagram photo of the two. “We love you #bros4lyfe.” (Girls was renewed for a sixth and final season in January.)
She also gave a shout-out to Williams, 27. “Been waiting for months to show you all @aw’s stunning work in tonight’s episode. One of the great privileges of my life has been watching Allison grow and stretch as an artist over the past five and a half years. She has given every ounce of herself to this character, operated with complete trust and vulnerability and taught me so much in the process—about Marnie and about myself,” Dunham wrote via Instagram. “Thank you so much for taking the (literal) dive, Al. You are, quite simply, my sister.”
