We're on episode 3 and this has been the best episode of the season thus far. From the writing, to the perfect music placement, cinematography, styling and characters development - not a beat was missed.
The block party is this season's anchor. Every event and opening episode is a countdown to Issa's baby, creating a feeling of excitement but also one of premonition. The opening scene with Condola and Lawrence stands in sharp contrast to the times we saw Issa and Lawrence wake up together. It makes Issa's later verbiage 'I got the n*gga with potential, the work in progress. I feel like she's keeping all the benefits of his time with me' ring even louder in our ears. Despite Condola having the final IOS version of Lawrence, he's not without flaws or defects and we see these as he badgers her after the thanksgiving dinner.
Condola is convinced that they wouldn't have broken up, had Issa not cheated. This is complex mainly because Issa and Lawrence were clashing so much. But if Lawrence sliding in the DMs is a sign that they get back together, it'll be incredibly predictable and very lazy writing.
By and large, Insecure has centred around the romantic relationships that Issa and Molly - albeit very unsuccessfully - dabble in. But this season we're focusing on the real love story - the relationship between Molly and Issa.
The writers seem to be gearing us up for the most hurtful heartbreak of the season. Despite the longevity of their friendship, Molly and Issa aren't always honest with each other. Their true feelings come to light in the form of shade and jabs. Take the supermarket scene, it was scathing to say the least but for once, the ladies were being truly honest.
This episode was the first in a long time in which we revisited Molly's family structure. Her need for perfectionism has been shattered and she's still struggling to forgive her Dad for his infidelity. Molly's deep-seated insecurities have been a recurring theme but now we're seeing how they manifest in how critical she is of Issa, Asian Bar but most importantly herself. Molly's character flaws are somewhat triggering for us reviewers. Her need to control and make everything perfect results in total destruction.
Despite the heaviness this episode brought characters like Chad, Kelli and Issa's brother lifted the weight. Chad is just hilarious. His one-liners and quips leave you laughing even several scenes later. Kelli has always been the light of the show. Although this episode we saw more of her story than we've ever seen as we found out she had a crazy extended family. But it makes me wonder why Kelli's character appears and then disappears. I for one, want to know a lot more about her.
The scene between Issa and her brother was beautiful. Though he was speaking about his family initially not accepting him for his sexuality, it wasn't ladened with as much sadness and anger as we've seen in other shows. There were merely tinges of hurt but the love that Issa has for him seems to covers all his pain.
The season thus far has been brilliant. We're seeing how history can push relationships together or pull them apart. Lawrence and Issa's history is enough for them to be pushed back together, but Molly and Issa's history isn't enough to hold their friendship as they grow apart.
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