As Molly’s therapist would say, there was a lot to “unpack” in the Season 2 premiere of HBO’s stellar dramedy, Insecure: Issa’s uncertain-at-best future with Lawrence, the significance (or lack thereof) of his hookup with… Wait! Hold up! Molly actually got a therapist?!? Indeed she did, and her approach to counseling was, as a Season 1 episode title might have called it, funny as f—. Read on for all the deets…
FOOD FOR THOUGHT| When “Hella Great” began, we were misled to believe that Issa and Lawrence were not only having dinner together but moving past her betrayal with her “Achilles’ d—,” Daniel. Alas, no. She was actually going on so many unsatisfying-slash-disastrous dates with new men that, ultimately, she imagined herself launching into a rap about how she was “dead inside” and they should all just “run away.” And who could blame her? As she told Molly on a hike — and any singleton would likely agree — it was exhausting being “cute and careful and witty and charming” all the time. But really, she was doing fine, she insisted. Though she didn’t want Lawrence back, she wished he didn’t hate her so much that he wouldn’t even pick up his mail.
As for Molly, therapy was going amazingly well. By which I mean not that any therapy was actually occurring but that she told her analyst that everything in her life was amazing. It wasn’t, of course; she simply wasn’t ready, she told Issa, for her latest shrink to get all up in her business. At least this one was black. The ones she’d tried that weren’t had wasted whole sessions learning what “woke” meant and trying to “unpack” the issues surrounding her use of the N-word. On the plus side, at least Molly seemed determined to stop going through men like they were Tic Tacs. In spite of the fact that one day she’d “looked up and my d— meter was all the way on E,” she totally ignored the smokin’-hot jogger who checked her out.
BOOTY REGIMEN| Meanwhile, Chad noted that temporary roommate Lawrence had worked out a brilliant system with Tasha: He’d go see her every Friday, mash all weekend, then roll back every Sunday. Lawrence, natch, didn’t love the implication that he was just using Tasha for sex. But, since he never took her out, it certainly seemed like it was true. (At least the sex was good — he even got a jolly out of it when she called him “Daddy with a Z” during a sesh.) Whether he still had feelings for his ex, she definitely still had feelings for him. When not trying (in vain, so in vain) to interest the high schoolers of East 41st Street in what We Got Y’all had to offer, she rejoiced upon receiving a jury-duty summons for Lawrence in the mail — now he’d have to come by, she reasoned.
As if we hadn’t already guessed that Issa had been not just a little but a lot lying (at least to herself) when she’d insisted she didn’t want Lawrence back, she then seized on something Molly’d said earlier: A guy always wants you when he thinks you’re doing well. So, without filling in her BFF on her motive, Issa suggested they throw a wine-down, like back when they used to watch I Love New York and drink Moscato. Only this time, Issa said, they should make it a plus-one party. By the end of the night, it would be “boom — unions everywhere.” Next, she texted Lawrence telling him that he could pick up his jury-duty summons at the exact time it would appear she was doing her absolute best.
PARTY HARDLY| After accidentally getting a peek at a white male colleague’s paycheck — and realizing how much less she was pocketing for her hard work — Molly might at last have hit upon an issue that she wouldn’t be able to resist “unpacking” in therapy. If nothing else, it gave her a topic for discussion at the wine-down. Before the first cork was popped, Issa rehearsed what she’d say when Lawrence showed up at the door — options ranging from offering him her “jury booty” to telling him he hadn’t changed, “but I have — I’m not a cheater anymore.” Unfortunately, when she thought it was him knocking, he was… actually showing up at Tasha’s to take her on a date. When finally Lawrence texted Issa to let her know he couldn’t make it, she fessed up to Molly (who’d begun to get suspicious, anyway, when her pal’s plus-one was her brother, Jamal).
Since Issa’s evening was already ruined, she let a plastered Kelli invite in random passersby, resulting in the party getting so wild that a fire broke out. Later, when even bringing snacks to East 41st Street High didn’t attract interested students — at least not students interested in more than stealing the snacks and running — Issa, clearly talking about her relationship with Lawrence as much as anything, sighed, “Frieda, sometimes you just have to know when to give up.” So, of course, that was the night that Lawrence came knocking, picking up not only his mail but his leftover belongings — and pulling her into a kiss that turned into the world’s quickest lovemaking session! When it was over, he hit the bathroom, said just three words (“I gotta go”), kissed her on the cheek and left!
So, what did you think of the Season 2 premiere? Are you hoping Issa and Lawrence will work it out? Grade the episode in the poll below, then hit the comments.
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