13.8 billion years ago, the Big Bang gave rise to the entire universe. Nothing had come close to the significance of this event, not until a 25-year-old Lena Dunham dropped her hit TV show Girls on HBO 14 years ago, which changed – and continues to change – the lives of 20-somethings everywhere. 

Hitting our screens in 2012, the comedy-drama depicted the lives of four deeply entitled, insecure and hilarious young women who have just entered the real world after finishing college. Hannah (Dunham), Marnie (Alison Williams), Jessa (Jemima Kirke) and Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet) are best friends who, as we learn over the course of six seasons, have deeply complicated relationships with each other. One of the incredibly refreshing things about Girls is that the young women of the show were not necessarily figures to aspire to, like their Sex and the City counterparts – instead, we constantly see them at their worst. And through their brutally honest depictions, we see ourselves. This is why the show has aged so well and found a whole new generation of fans.

In honour of its 14th anniversary, we are looking back at some of the most generation-defining moments from the hit show. There are so many scenes to pick from, but here are a few of our favourites.

“YOUR DAD IS GAY”

Hannah and Elijah have the most chaotic and romantic relationship that I’ve ever seen on TV. We were first introduced to them in season one, episode three, through this iconic scene where Hannah learns that Elijah is gay, while she is attempting to confront him about potentially giving her HPV. It ends in a fight where Elijah tells Hannah her father is gay (which we learn later in the show is true).   

MARNIE’S HUMILIATION RITUALS

Marnie is one of the most embarrassing characters in Girls, and that’s saying something. In an attempt to get her ex-boyfriend Charlie back, in episode nine of season two, she performs a humiliation ritual by turning up at his app launch party and singing an acoustic cover of “Stronger” by Kanye West. See also: her cover of “What I Am”, complete with toe-curling music video, from season three. 

HANNAH’S OCD MELTDOWN

The final episode of Girls season two sees Hannah in the throes of an OCD spiral as she attempts to write an entire book in a single day. It leaves her in a pit of self-destruction, culminating in her cutting off her hair – one of the most brutally honest on-screen depictions of the condition in recent memory. In her moment of need, her good friend and neighbour Laird Schlesinger was there to remind her that her illness did not, in fact, make her lose weight; instead, she still looks like her beautiful, voluptuous self. Right on, Laird.

SHOSHANA’S OUTBURST 

A fan favourite of the Dazed team is Shoshanna’s drunken outburst in season three, episode seven. I once had a friend who would say the worst things she thought about our friendship group when she was drunk. She was a nightmare – but I guess every friendship needs one of those.

 HANNAH FINDS OUT ABOUT JESSA AND ADAM

My heart was racing out of my chest when I first watched this episode from season five, episode seven. In the midst of trying to break up with her boyfriend, Fran (played by Jake Lacy), the episode ends with Hannah discovering that Jessa is falling in love with the former love of her life. As with most of the best writing on Girls, the power here lies in what’s not said. See also: Hannah’s MOTH club speech about jealousy in the season finale.

THE PANIC IN CENTRAL PARK

“The Panic In Central Park”, in season 5 of Girls, is one of the most romantic and heartbreaking episodes in television history. Having Charlie (Christopher Abbott) return to the show, following an alleged fallout with Dunham, created a truly special and unforgettable episode, which marked a definitive end to his relationship with Marnie.

“GOOD SOUP”

After a deeply romantic, insane and delirious courtship, Hannah and Adam finally realise by season six that their relationship simply won’t work. The realisation dawns on them slowly in this scene, and we watch as they both begin to well up, bringing their long love affair to a close without – in classic Dunham style – ever directly putting it into words.