The Epic Goodness of "Insecure" Season Two

Insecure Season Two made the summer hot and funny.

Last night, my mom texted," what are you getting into?"
I responded, "I'm just binge watching my favorite show."
"Buffy? Roswell?"
"No. I'm watching Insecure!"
"Insecure? What is that about?"

The relationship between Issa (Issa Rae) and Molly (Yvonne Orji) is a solid backbone of the whole show. It's very endearing that when either one of them has been driven to take a misstep, they edge each other from the ledge.

Yes, my teenage years were spent admiring vampire slayers and aliens. Back then, the pop culture was so good that ignoring the huge pink elephant in the room-- that WB shows and bedroom wall posters excluded black characters, black actors-- seemed easy to swallow. Insecure is a solid restoration project, a justified experience gifting those who rarely saw reflections of themselves on a weekly basis. These black women not only look like us, in deeper brown skin tones and varying hair textures, they are expressionistic, intelligent, funny, sharp, awkward, vulnerable, and desirable.

In the first season, Molly Carter searched for love in all the wrong places and Issa Dee tried to be a loyal girlfriend to Lawrence, her app creating boyfriend of five years (who definitely spent more time on the couch than anything else), but her old crush, music producer, Daniel, causes her to commit the ultimate relationship no-no.

Molly (Yvonne Orji) and her bilingual old neighbor Dro (Sarunus Jackson) catch up on things.....

Season two picks right up where we left off, going in hard core as Issa struggles to move on from a long-term relationship. Our hip hop heroine is juggling men (on some casual "hoe-tation"), letting horrific injustice slide at her job (which frictions up the Issa/Frieda relationship), and noticing gentrification of her apartment building and neighborhood (rent uphikes and all). Molly, on the other hand, seems less idyllic, abandoning shallow hookups for a while. She faces financial disparity at the law firm, her parents' marriage isn't what she deluded herself into believing, and her gorgeous old friend reveals shocking details about his marriage. Lawrence is trying to be a single man with boastful encouragement from Chad, his engaged homeboy. Lawrence winds up making questionable choices: mindless sex, "ghosting" woes, entering commitments he's not ready for, and being treated like the "cool black guy" that his young, white bosses are afraid to openly criticize.

"Hella Disrespectful" episode seven, featured an intense confrontation that had the exes facing each other for the first time since the tumultuous end of "Hella Great," episode one. Despite the hate fueled words exchanged,, Issa (Issa Rae) and Lawrence (Jay Ellis) had a flaring passion boiling between their insults.

There are laughs galore in this season. For starters, no one is ever going to look at eye patches the same way again. It's a nicely layered balance of comedy and drama, as infectiously entertaining as the creepy slave soap opera that everyone seems to watch-- guys included.

Squad goals: Molly (Yvonne Orji), Issa (Issa Rae), Tiffany (Amanda Seales), and Kelli (Natasha Rothwell) take a selfie pose at a Derrick Addams show, bringing contemporary art into the canvas.

The dynamic has shifted, granting imperative tidbits on Molly and Issa's other gal pals, boujie Tiffany and bluntly outspoken Kelli. Tiffany's marriage to Derek, like Molly's parents, appeared blissful and happy until she blabbered rather shocking news. Although it's unclear whether infidelity is involved, one thing is clear-- maybe the third season unleashes another chip in a seemingly perfect union. After all, the wandering eye has been an antagonizing obstacle in almost everyone's relationships. Meanwhile, hilarious Kelli, a constant relief, finds time to enjoy herself at the Kiss and Grind and the late-night food spot, which concludes in a very disturbing, albeit comically riveting moment.

Insecure has been receiving a modest amount of love on the award circuit. Black Reel nominated Jay Ellis recently won Best Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the NAACP Image Awards while triple-threat Issa Rae has been nominated six times in multiple categories as an actress, writer, and Entertainer of the Year. Rae has received BET, Golden Globe, MTV Movie + TV, Satellite, and Gold Derby nods as well as winning NAMIC and Black Reel Awards. Yvonne Orji has also garnered two consecutive NAACP nominations and a Black Reel nod. For two eight-episode seasons of creative, refreshingly candid stories, this HBO gem is utterly deserving of every honor Hollywood has to offer-- it's that damn good.

In Issa Rae's written "Hella Perspective," contains one of my favorite scenes. Issa (Issa Rae) faces one financial disaster after another and cannot make the maiden voyage to Morocco. So Molly (Yvonne) turns her apartment into a trip overseas, granting them costumes, food, and music. Cheers to that. 

This bonafide treat has been greenlighted for another season and hopefully more afterwards. The head bopping music (thank you, Raphael Siddiq), Issa's active imagination/mirror self talks, silly sister friends, and more cook beautifully together in this hot, simmering soup that is too tasty to pass up. Other pluses include women behind-the-scenes: Natasha Rothwell (Kelli) as executive story editor, Melina Matsoukas, Marta Cunningham, and Tina Mabry directing episodes, Rae, Regina Hicks, and Amy Aniobi writing, Ayanna James' dope clothing choices from endless pro-black message shirts/hoodies (bus bound Issa's "The FBI Killed Fred Hampton" sweatshirt was one of my favorites), funky denim, and stylish dresses, and Felicia Leatherwood giving endless hairstyle slayage to Rae.

"I'm rooting for everybody black," Rae had stated.

Insecure is worth applauding-- because it's a piece of reflective glass for everybody black. Although one can not the importance of Buffy and possibly Roswell, the fact remains that those shows were not showing an inclusive reality to escape into. They rarely shared positive images of ourselves. We didn't lead, let alone speak up enough. With Issa and all her crazy hot mess goodness, is the wonderful, thoughtful consideration for the audience, for the black women and black men who rally around these characters, who have formed an Issa Side and a Lawrence Hive, truly wanting what's best for all of them.

It's a show that reveals our flaws, our dreams, our beauty, and our undeniable strength.

And now my mom is eager to watch.