Issa, Check Your "Friends"

After a year and a half of impatiently waiting, Issa Rae has finally blessed us with season four of ‘Insecure’ when we need it most. Loosely based on her 2011 YouTube series and first released in October 2016, the HBO comedy-drama follows 30-something-year-old Issa Dee as she navigates love, life, and adulthood in south Los Angeles. Despite her refusal to give us hour-long episodes, Issa will have my undivided attention on Sunday nights for the next nine weeks. 

Filled with hysterical one-liners in the bedroom and cameos from Ray J and Paula Jai Parker, the first episode begins with a cold open, setting the tone with ‘A BOY IS A GUN*’ by Tyler the Creator and showing Issa on the phone saying, “Honestly, I don’t f*ck with Molly anymore.” But that was after the block party.

Four months before that, Molly and Issa are still besties indulging in #SelfCareSunday, rolling blunts, doing guided yoga, and listening to Mereba. Molly is hitting her stride with “Asian Bae” Andrew (Alexander Hodge), Issa has a new friend with benefits, and she’s launching a pre-block party mixer with her business partner Condola Hayes (Christina Elmore). In preparation for the event, Molly and Issa head to Opening Ceremony (#RIP), where Issa is “rotating her wardrobe,” aka returning outfits after wearing them.

When asked if Andrew could invite Nathan, Issa says no, indicating a major sign of growth. However, the episode reveals that it’s not Nathan who’ll be stifling her progress; it’s her closest friends. In this first episode titled ‘Lowkey Feelin’ Myself,’ Issa is forced to confront the fact that some relationships are either for a season or a reason. It’s time that she reevaluates her inner circle and leans into the one girl who has always been there for her: Kelli.

Issa (left) and Molly (right) at the mixer (photos by Merie Weismiller Wallace/Warner Media)

In Condola’s office, just one day before the mixer, Tiffany finally reveals that Condola is dating Issa’s ex-boyfriend Lawrence (Jay Ellis). Issa jumps to a fabricated panic flashback of the two having sex at Tiffany’s baby shower where they met, with Condola begging Lawrence to #PopTheTags. Once Tiffany saw something brewing, it was her responsibility as Issa’s trusted friend to be honest with her. She later asks Molly at the mixer, “Do you think she’s mad at me?” Now, if you have to ask...

Apart from her snarky “homegrown..but she’s trying” car comment, Molly undermines Issa’s spotlight at her event, turning it into an opportunity to whine about her issues. Under the guise of being “done fronting” and “realness,” Molly lingers after the mixer to tell Issa that she attracts messiness and should stop working with Condola since she’s dating Lawrence. Besides the fact that it’s asinine for you to suggest that your friend quit her job over a non-issue, Molly is the last person who should be doling out advice on messiness. 

In season two, Molly tricked herself into thinking she could handle an open relationship with her childhood friend Dro, a married man. In season three, she overstepped her boundaries and sent Nathan away from Issa’s doorstep without letting her know. In this season, Molly finally gets her first-ever non-problematic love interest, and she can barely communicate with him.

Molly’s go-getter, hustler attitude that once resonated with me has now evolved into bitterness. She’s that girl who can’t stand to see you succeed if 1) you’re not down-and-out and 2) she’s not the one propping you up. Issa is on the rise, cutting out distractions and focusing on what fuels her. Condola is spurring that growth with her connections and creative spirit, which leaves Molly feeling as if there’s no room for her — thus projecting her hurt onto Issa.

The one person who has never tried to thwart Issa’s success is Kelli, played by Natasha Rothwell. She’s pegged as the plus-size friend whose stereotypical role is to offer comic relief with her “take one for the team” sexual innuendos. Yet, she is the only one in the group who has her life together. Whether she’s helping Issa get her finances straight or doubling as a bartender, Kelli is always down for a good time and will ride for her friends no matter the cost.

Kelli is secure in herself, in what she wants for and from her girls, and knows how to communicate it. When Tiffany threw her baby shower last season, Kelli said openly that she felt excluded by her lack of involvement on the planning committee. Kelli is genuinely rooting for Issa’s success and doesn’t define that by her ability to micromanage Issa. I hope this chasm between the girls opens up the opportunity for a richer storyline for Kelli and a deeper bond between her and Issa Dee.