“INSECURE” SEASON 4 EPISODE 3 RECAP: “LOWKEY THANKFUL”
This episode was so nostalgic to the energy of Rae’s web series Awkward Black Girl
The recent episode of Insecure was so hilarious and fun. It looks like both Issa (Issa Rae) and Molly (Yvonne Orji) are looking for any excuse to end their friendship because as predicted, they’re not willing to address their problems head on. But on another note, the use of music was amazing as usual. If you listened closely to the song choice at the end of the episode, you’d have gained a hint about how the storyline will progress.
This episode was so nostalgic to the energy of Rae’s web series Awkward Black Girl, seriously laugh out loud good but of course it started with a little bit of the tension that was left over from the previous episode. Issa and Molly went grocery shopping for Thanksgiving but they kept cutting each other off with harsh, unnecessary remarks. This time though Issa was actually ready and fought back with equally clever and hurtful comments instead of just accepting Molly’s judgment. It caused an uncomfortable strain that they planned, but failed to address. Also, Issa saw Condola ( Christina Elmore) and Lawrence (Jay Ellis ) at a restaurant and ducked out like only Issa can do, with an awkward performance. Then, Lawrence got mixed messages from work and instead of taking the initiative to address it, he decided to redirect his focus on Condola by inviting himself to her “friends-giving.” On the advice of Issa, Molly decided not to invite Andrew (Alexander Hodge) to her family dinner, then regretted it after her mother convinced her that a good partner wouldn’t be turned off by an invitation to meet her family so soon. Molly also decided to swallow her pride and make up with her dad. It was a lot.
In spite of all that happened, the interaction between Issa and her brother Ahmal (Jean Elie) was so heartwarming (we need more of this). Ahmal really helped her to realize how spiteful and stifling Molly is by modelling authenticity. It’s important to note that Issa tried hard to extend her dinner with him so that she could avoid Molly because realistically she could have texted Molly and explained the situation with her stepfather but decided to be withholding. She has one foot out of the door of their relationship and she’s really not looking to repair it to where it was before. That’s probably because of two reasons: she thinks their old dynamic was troubling and now, is simply looking for a superficial friendship so that she can have someone to hang it with from time to time, so basically a friendship in name only. Maybe that means we’ll see her interacting with Ahmal now and he might fill that friendship gap.
Conversely, Molly is still so desperate for a deep connection that she is forcing meaning into her new relationship with Andrew too early. The saying goes that relationships are work so she’s probably feeding into that old adage without carefully considering if the relationship would serve her well. I’d hoped that after learning of the pretences of her parent’s marriage, it would cause her to reflect on her chase for a replica relationship but she hasn’t been enlightened yet on how consuming and damaging it was on her love life. That’s why she’s settling for Andrew. Let’s be honest, Andrew is interested in Molly but he’s not nearly as engaged and invested in their connection as Molly is so, Issa was right about the Thanksgiving invitation. Molly is the only one who is always trying to have difficult conversations about getting affection, communication, and reassurance within her relationship with Andrew so at some point, this emotional imbalance will become tiring for both of them because she wants more than he’s willing to give. This is why Molly should carry her relationship with Issa with more care instead of taking it for granted given how she often suffers from loneliness.
The dynamic between Molly and Andrew is weird, but not nearly as weird as Lawrence’s dynamic with Condola. Was Condola’s drunk friend right? Is Lawrence just a rebound? If she is actually serious about him, it’s kind of weird that she wouldn’t invite him to her “friends-giving,” no?
Their situation is not the same as Molly and Andrew’s situation and here’s why: Condola gave the impression that she wanted something serious with Lawrence, especially when she made a show of acting like she was going to move past Lawrence and Issa’s shared history, even mentioning how happy she was that he wasn’t scared off by her divorcee status (does that sound like something someone would say if they were looking for something casual ?) She’s being evasive now, back tracking on her confessions and making Lawrence feel unsure about their status and it makes her look bad. But it’s wrong for Lawrence to look towards Issa whenever something goes wrong with his relationships. Typically when he does backtrack, Issa gets the parts of him she doesn’t like; the potential, transitionary side of him with a fickle job, lagging goals; the cash strapped Lawrence who doesn’t pay for lunch. So, the fact that he’s returning to his old/comfortable patterns might be a signal that his job is in jeopardy.
Still, even though Issa avoids her conflict with Molly, she is much more likeable and powerful in this episode. She handled the Lawrence and Condola lunch scene like a pro, albeit awkward, but smart because she knew that staying longer to have an awkward conversation would be punishing and cause an unnecessary riff with Condola. And again, the fact that Ahmal finally helped her to realize that her and Lawrence are mismatched might mean growth—or nah?
Here are the predictions for the next episode: still waiting on Molly to start something with her coworker but, perhaps Andrew and Molly will get into a fight over his lack of commitment? Obviously Molly and Issa will have a superficial argument that scratches the surface of their problems and become more estranged instead of fixing their issues. Lawrence will seek comfort in Issa and distance himself for Condola (maybe a kiss?) Condola will cause problems for Issa’s event once she finds out that Lawrence is revisiting a relationship with her. Thoughts?