"Insecure" Broken as Fuck (TV Episode 2016) Poster

(TV Series)

(2016)

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9/10
The season ends with one of Issa's relationships saved! Can you guess which one?
Amari-Sali28 November 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Review (with Spoilers)

Topic 1: Trying to Reconcile with Molly (Molly, Tiffany, Kelli, and Issa)

With Molly learning it isn't just Issa who sees her as someone who can't keep a man, and with Kelli and Tiffany making a joke out of it, it seems Molly learns to appreciate Issa. Especially since she turns the tables on Kelli and Tiffany and reminds them they aren't so damn perfect themselves.

Commentary

See, that is friendship right there. When it comes to critiquing, for a lack of a better term, Molly's ways, Issa did so in private. She did it knowing she was possibly stepping on a landmine but didn't make a joke out of Molly's ways. That is, as opposed to Tiffany and Kelli who made her life and actions a joke. Which, considering they both knew she was fighting with Issa and there was something going on, you'd think they would have been tip toeing around things.

With that said, I love how Issa shut them both down and reminded them they are throwing stones while living in a glass house. Kelli has arrested development, and is low-key ratchet, making her becoming a regular next season exciting. As for Tiffany, with all her airs and graces, Issa reminding her she can't fart without her man's say so was hilarious. Making you wonder, especially after her fight with Molly in the last episode, how venomous is Issa's tongue if she genuinely doesn't like you and doesn't want you in her space?

Topic 2: The Lawrence Situation (Lawrence & Issa)

It has been 3 days and Lawrence hasn't returned Issa's calls so she shows up at his jobs. This is unwelcomed and with his buddy Chad, he decides to proceed in moving on. He begins at a strip club but with being reminded he is a nice guy, and the prices for sex, he just ends up at Tasha's house wearing her out. Meanwhile, Issa rushes home from Kelli's birthday weekend celebration thinking she'll find Lawrence there. All she finds though is an empty closet and his stuff gone.

Thankfully, though, she and Molly have healed their relationship so she has someone to comfort her.

Commentary

I would have been so mad at Lawrence if he just got back with Issa. As he noted, she pushed him to be a better man and despite his come up she still cheated on him. But there are multiple lessons in this situation. 1. Don't change for someone else cause it doesn't guarantee they will remain loyal if you meet their wishes, requirements, or whatever they call them. 2. There is always someone waiting for you to slip up. Tasha, in a way like Daniel, was on the sidelines waiting for her turn, her chance to prove she is better than what was currently being committed to. Now, was she heartbroken when Lawrence told her, originally, nothing was going to happen? Yeah, but I think with her, and Daniel maybe too, you can see that desire for friendship as much as things which go beyond what friends do.

But the question becomes, where will things go from here? Insecure, thus far, hasn't fallen into a sad and predictable nature. Will the writers make Issa and Lawrence endgame and just have Tasha be a rebound? I can't picture that, if only because Lawrence, to me anyway, seems like the relationship type. So I can't imagine him trying to make Tasha just friends with benefits. Especially since she, so it seems, possesses all the qualities Lawrence wanted but Issa didn't give him.

That aside, what is next for Issa's personal life? Her dating seems likely, especially so Molly can say something like, "You were talking all that *bleep* but you see it isn't that easy out here is it?" But will she maybe have a ho phase? Can Issa just be free to be freaky or is she, like Lawrence, the relationship type? As of now, especially with Kelli becoming a regular, I foresee lots of awkward dating, Kelli talking about how hard it is to be big and dating, Molly arguing how hard it is to be dark and skinny, and Issa bringing in her own two cents for girls like her who are shy, introverted perhaps, and awkward – while being Black. Thus bringing arguments and perspectives definitely needed.
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Season 1: Trying a bit too hard at times, but does have a good heart to it
bob the moo26 August 2017
Clearly HBO have confidence in this show, as I see the second season was started in a slot following Game of Thrones – which had the potential to give the show a great boost in viewers. What it did for me was to make me decide to watch the first season; I had heard good things about it, but a couple of things put me off. Firstly it does sit in a genre/form which I don't often engage with. Secondly it was likened to Sex and the City – which for fans of that is a good thing, but I never took to that show either. Finally, there were a lot of positive reviews which highlighted how good it was that these 'voices' were being heard on such a show – by which they mean it is a non-race-as-an-issue show which is created by and focuses on African Americans. While this is a true statement to make regarding Insecure, it also made me worry that the positive reviews were at least in part motivated by the desire to support and be seen to support the show for this reason. Whatever, I decided to try it.

My experience was that many of my doubts were justified, although I still enjoyed the show – even if it was touch and go at one point. To speak of the good; Issa is convincingly a person – in the comedic, in the fantasy, in the sexual, and in the emotional – she is very real and engaging, with warmth, flaws, good intentions and so on. The show is best when it gives her the material and space to be this way. Same is true of Molly, albeit she has a tighter focus as a character that limits how much it is true. Ditto Lawrence. Outside of these, the characters do feel a bit broadly written, and mostly these characters are supporting and/or involved in broader moments within the show.

In these broader moments, it does feel like the show is trying too hard. I guess part of this is me being outside of the worlds of people turning 30, dating, and African-Americans living in LA; but there does seem to be a lot of material that felt broad to the point of being a cliché or stereotype. The show also feels like it is working hard to be hip, cool, loud, and fun – almost like it is buying permission to be vulnerable, quiet, or reflective (the aspects I liked the most). Around the middle of the season these aspects were close to making me think to stop watching, but Issa kept me there, and rewarded that. I still wasn't totally sold on it, but it had enough in it as a show, with its energy and voice, that I will return for the second season.

Will be interesting to see how it does there – and what aspects it pushes to the fore and what impact that has. Hopefully it can do as good or better with the characters since this is what held me.
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