Well, after last week’s episode, “Hella Questions,” I was left with one question: Is Lawrence really a good guy? In the battle between #TeamIssa and #TeamLawrence, it’s easy to blame Issa for her obvious indiscretions, but Insecure isn’t afraid to point a finger at Lawrence, either. When women cheat, society tends to hold them to a higher standard of accountability while easily forgiving men who do the same thing. Issa has definitely faced the consequences of her actions, but this is the first time we’ve really seen Lawrence deal with any sort of reckoning when it comes to his mistakes.
Lawrence is a man who gets comfortable in patterns. He got too comfortable with Issa and lost her. He allowed himself to hit ”Family BBQ”-levels of comfort with Tasha because that felt more safe than being honest with her. But, Lawrence’s fuckboy tide has risen since he broke up with Issa and he acted out in the most immature way—ditching Tasha and cementing his descent into the land of trash dudes. Undoubtedly, Lawrence’s hoe phase will cause more broken hearts than Issa’s will, but hopefully he learns from it. This will probably lead to a redemption arc that brings him back to Issa, but I don’t think Lawrence learning basic relationship tenets will be enough to get Issa back.
So, let’s give it up for Tasha. She finally let herself see the light and accepted it with grace and a righteous callout. If it wasn’t clear from Lawrence sleeping with his ex and his disinterest in Shonda’s Thursday lineup, ditching Tasha’s big family picnic removed any doubt that there relationship was anything solid. Tasha was an unfortunate rebound, but it could’ve been worse. I almost thought she’d forgive Lawrence, but she’s a stronger character than that. She isn’t so desperate for a relationship that she needs to deal with Lawrence’s lies and she pinpoints his issue—he’s a fuck nigga who thinks he’s a good guy. Maybe now he’ll actually deal with his problems instead of blaming Issa.
Issa, on the other hand, has finally put her game plan together. She’s dedicating herself to her hoe phase and asks Molly to teach her how to hoe. Issa’s road back to hoe life feels incredibly realistic. Insecure perfectly captured the awkward sex moments that happen when you leave the safety of intimacy with a longterm partner. Issa’s sex scenes this episode are far from what we saw of Lawrence and Tasha. Issa isn’t trying to fool herself, she knows this is just about sex. Her downstairs neighbor has no misconception of what happened. So, even though Issa could do better when it comes to sex partners, it feels good to see the character embrace her sexuality and dedicate herself to moving on from her ex.
Then there’s Molly, who has maybe moved on way too far from her past self. I understand that Molly is focused on her career and being a strong single woman who carries a bookshelf by herself in heels, but maybe you’re doing everything wrong if that means rejecting Sterling K. Brown AND SZA tickets. Like, Molly, girl, love yourself. First season Molly would’ve been planning her wedding after that first date, but new Molly isn’t trying to lose focus. Yes, Molly can take care of herself, but Lionel genuinely seems great for her. Also, Sterling K. Brown is beyond amazing and we should all pray he’ll visit our screens again soon.
Of course, it’ll also be interesting to see if Molly makes her way back to therapy. Insecure has handled the difficulty of being a black woman seeking therapy incredibly well. Molly’s pushback is realistic to the skepticism that exists around therapy in the black community, but hopefully Issa’s encouragement keeps her motivated to actually stick with it. Therapy has opened up layers within the character that aren’t clear when the show only focuses on her dating life and career. I’m still incredibly interested to see what family issues Molly is dealing with since they’ve mentioned her brothers in these last two episodes.
Stray Observations
- Seriously. I am so mad at Molly for ditching Sterling K. Brown and his SZA tickets. That’s just so rude and wild.
- I love that Issa’s gangster neighbor watches Gossip Girl.
- YES, TASHA. It felt good to see her stand up for herself, but you know she would’ve taken Lawrence back if he had even tried to make up an excuse.
- Frieda needs to chill. I get her problem with the school and how their program is working out there, but they’re still helping kids in need.
- Lawrence, ugh. Just…UGH, LAWRENCE. As soon as he turned up to the function, I knew he wasn’t gonna make it.
- This week’s music: