Insecure - Hella Great - The Game of Nerds

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I’m so happy to have Insecure back I honestly rewrote this recap 12 times, I needed it to be perfect, to convey how much I love this show, and how much it means to see these women go through life and not shy away from addressing the systemic -isms that they face daily while not letting themselves be defined by just one thing. I also am in love with Issa Rae, Yvonne Orji, & Jay Ellis (duh) so every paragraph would veer into fawning territory, but I still do that even in this twelfth draft. Anyway y’all, let’s get into it & talk about the hella great Hella Great.

Last season ended with Issa & Molly’s friendship in a great place, while her relationship with Lawrence had imploded (she cheated, and he waltzed into Tasha’s arms). We come back a few months later. The friendship more solid than ever #Malibu, Molly’s in therapy, Issa is going on many ~terrible~ dates to get over her man, and Lawrence and Tasha are still doing it!

Molly 2.0 is super focused on her career and not trying to land her next husband every 3 seconds, we see her in therapy, refusing to talk about her wild brothers or any of her family members, which gives her more depth and gives us insight into her life aside from being Issa’s bff & a badass lawyer with killer style. It seems like her family will definitely come back into the picture later this season but for now, she’s having work drama. She gets a whiteman’s (White Josh from my other favourite show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend being adorably douchey) paycheck by accident and is flabbergasted by how much more than her she makes despite them working there exactly the same amount of time & her being a better lawyer. ~not so casual reminder than in America in 2017 Black Women make 60 cents to every whiteman’s dollar and it’s some bullshit.~

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Issa is trying to be a 2.0 version of herself, going on very repetitive dates with men from online dating sites, but she’s exhausted by all the questions and all the small talk and all the leading to nowhere, and tbh she really wants Lawrence back. Her life at work isn’t much better, the kids at the high-school she’s assigned to help with We Got Y’all are not here for this very helpful advice and do not care about any of the tools to succeed. They even fake being interested to distract her while their friends steal the snacks. To cope with all of this (and because she needs an excuse to see Lawrence when she gives him his mail and seem like she’s slaying life), Issa decides to throw a party. It’s great to see Kelli & Tiffany again, also getting to round out their characters, but it’s not long until shit gets out of hand, there’s a small fire in the apartment, and everyone runs out – no Lawrence in sight.

Speaking of the handsome devil, he decides to take Tasha to dinner that night, because his friends made him realize that all he does is fuck her from Friday to Sunday and then leave her for the week, never taking her out in public in the daytime. Being the supportive good listener that she is, over sushi, she gives Lawrence the confidence to show up at his old apartment and grab everything he’s left behind/get his mail.

That’s why he shows up at the most inopportune time (as men do) while Issa is cleaning in her underwear. He gets his mail, then gets his stuff out of the bathroom, then almost gets to the door before he assertively turns around, pulls Issa in for a raw and passionate kiss that leads to a quick f*cking on the couch and him taking off. Once he’s gone, Issa sits back down and smiles to herself, likely thinking this is the first step in getting her man back.