Girls' Alex Karpovsky Discusses That Hookup No One Saw Coming

[Warning: This story contains major spoilers from Saturday's episode of Girls. Read at your own risk!]

What the eff just happened?!

After asking Ray (Alex Karpovsky) to drop some serious honesty bombs on her during this week's Girls, Marnie (Allison Williams) wrapped her legs around the coffee shop manager and soon the pair was getting it on. Not "making love." Not the passionless routine Ray had with Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet) — this was straight f---ing. Who knew Ray had it in him?

TVGuide.com spoke to Alex Karpovsky about the shocking hookup and what's next for Ray and Marnie.

PHOTOS: Everybody's posing nude!

How did you initially react to learning Ray and Marnie were going to hook up?
Alex Karpovsky: Well, I wasn't greeted with the news that 'Ray and Marnie were going to hook up.' It kind of arrived as, she's in this place, he's in this place, she comes over to ask advice and, in her own way, get a little perspective on her situation. So when it was introduced to me that way I kind of understood. It was interesting and exciting and it was a very sort of perverse form of two people needing, depending and also sort of expressing their hatred towards one another in a very physical sense.

So what draws them together is their hatred of each other and themselves?
Karpovsky: Well, I think it's textured. I think they've known each other for several years. I think there's a lot of layers there. But I think that self-hatred and mutual hatred are definitely big ingredients, but he does respect her in an odd way. ... So I feel like they have this long-standing relationship and a part of it is not just hatred, but also there's kind of a little bit of admiration and a little bit of respect, too, on both sides. I think she kind of respects his honesty, as well.

Because of this honesty, do you think their relationship has potential to be a major learning experience for both of them?
Karpovsky: Definitely. I think that when you're really open with a person, you're not obsessed with trying to impress the person. There's no real tangible possibility of you dating this person. I think it can be very liberating. And it can be very much a speedway to self-discovery and sharing with someone else. It's ripe with very intense, immediate potential.

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It's sounds like Ray and Marnie are in very similar places right now.
Karpovsky: I think the similarity I see is they're both kind of adrift. There's existential disorientation that both of them feel. Marnie's is a little bit more acute in the middle of Season 3 than Ray's is.

Does Ray see serious relationship potential with Marnie?
Karpovsky: Ray has discovered a door in their relationship that he never knew even existed. I think he wants to go through it. I think he's curious and intrigued by what's behind that door, but I also think he proceeds with tremendous caution and reservation. But there's definitely a curiosity. He wants to see what this is, how far it can go, and on top of it all he's very attracted to her, which is something that cannot be denied.

Is Marnie equally open to exploring a relationship?
Karpovsky: I don't know. I'd think you'd have to ask Marnie. I think she respects a certain side of Ray, maybe something to do with his honesty, his perceptiveness, his conviction, but it's really drowned out by a lot of things which she likely doesn't like very much about Ray. So I guess my answer would be, what does she decide to focus on at any given point in time?

What was it like shooting the sex scenes with Allison?
Karpovsky:  I think if it were Season 1 it would have been awkward, but I think we've all done a handful of sex scenes by now ... so it gets very not awkward very quickly. You know, this is my body. This is what it looks like. You kind of just get over it and move on.

Who do you hope Ray ends up with: Marnie or Shoshanna?
Karpovsky: That is a tough question. He likes and hates both of them in such heroic amounts. I don't know. I think it depends where he is. Ray is kind of a changing guy. He gets his stuff together then kind of lets himself go and back and forth. I think it depends on where he is. I know in a very fundamental and unexpected way he has so much in common with Shoshanna. I would even hesitate to say he has more in common with her than he does with Marnie. So I think the possibility of him having a longstanding thing with Shoshanna is a little more tangible, at least in my eyes.

 

Girls airs Sundays at 10/9c on HBO. What do you think of Ray and Marnie together?