Fans of Insecure have been waiting for the show’s return since the first season ended last November. And tonight, after months of waiting, Insecure returns with season two.
In “Broken as Fuck,” viewers were left with Issa Dee (Issa Rae) who had to pick up the pieces of her broken relationship after her boyfriend Lawrence Walker (Jay Ellis) moved out of their apartment they shared in Inglewood, California. Earlier in the episode, Lawrence expressed interest in making things work, but suddenly changed his mind and left her. Viewers (or should we say #LawrenceHive) reacted in a huge way when they saw him getting it in with the bank teller Tasha (Dominique Perry), who has been flirty with him all season long.
In the teaser for season 2, Issa is diving into single life pretty reluctantly with some help of her friend Molly (Yvonne Orji) while Lawrence seems to be reflecting on different aspects of their relationship. In tonight’s season premiere titled "Hella Great" (warning: some spoilers ahead), Lawrence is still "casually" seeing Tasha, but is having trouble finding a new apartment. So he is staying at a friend's house for the time being to continue avoiding Issa.
Issa is trying to focus on dating and her career to get over Lawrence, but is having a difficult time. There are a few opportunities in the episode where she wants to see him, and she makes attempts to connect with him again by saying she has his mail. But Lawrence doesn't take the bait, continuing to curve her by going out on dates with Tasha to move on.
One night, she hosts a "wine down" with some friends at her apartment. Taking Molly's advice, who said men usually want their exes back if they're doing well, Issa wants to show Lawrence that she isn't broken, asking him to come by again to pick up his mail. Eventually, Molly realizes Issa's elaborate plan and flips the script on her by turning their kickback into a party and inviting some cute guys from downstairs.
After a fire breaks out because some of the guests were getting too rowdy, the party ends. A few scenes later, Lawrence does end up coming to the apartment to see Issa. From there, we are left with a lot of questions going into season 2: What happens now that Issa and Lawrence have reunited (briefly)? Is Molly falling victim to a wage gap at her law firm? Can Issa take anymore of these bad dates?
If you’re like many others who watched live on Sunday night, you had a lot of emotions. And these fan reactions (including some live-tweets from the creator herself) were some of our favorites.
"Dick on E, Bank Account on E, Life on E" is a mood. #INSECUREHBO
Issa's rap at the date had me rolling!! 😂😂 & Molly's new bob is full of denial. #Insecure
That rap on the first date was my life 😂😂😂 #Insecure
Zaaaaaaddy?! Seems like some good horizontal polka right thurr #InsecureHBO #Insecure
Pressure bust pipes 😩 #insecure
Awwww... you didnt have to remove the 2nd pillow Issa. Being so dramatic. #Insecure #InsecureHBO
Whooooooo, All 👏🏾These 👏🏾Scrumptious 👏🏾Black 👏🏾Men👏🏾 on #Insecure is a sin #InsecureHBO pic.twitter.com/QXPcFJBw5F
I looooove Issa's shady brother. #InsecureHBO
Molly better tackle the fucking wage gap! #insecure
I'm about to bonnect 😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣 #insecure
Omg this gansta dancing 😩😂 #insecure why did they almost burn down the damn apt
I feel like she's going to feel extremely lonely after this. The uncertainty. Giving in like that. Meh. #InsecureHBO #Insecure
That was way to fast BYE LAWRENCE 😂😂😂#insecure
If Issa Rae is to be believed, the second season of Insecure will feature even more of her influence than the show had in its first season. During a recent sit-down with Complex as part of our latest cover story, Rae admitted she'd only gotten more control of the show after the success of the first season, because she had so little previous experience in traditional television.
"We definitely had more of a say and we had more of a sense of what we needed," she said. "Television was new to me, so the entire dynamics of the crew, even to hire, I was like, 'There are so many damn people here.'"
One area where she did flex creative control—and will continue to in year two—is on the music front. Insecure drew widespread praise for its music selection in the first season, and the show's music supervisor insisted Rae and executive producer Melina Matsoukas were integral in the show's audio component.
"Issa drives a lot of those decisions, but Melina is very vocal and integral too," Kier Lehman told Complex. "She has very strong ideas and concepts for how she imagines the scene to play, and sometimes they don’t agree and we’ll have conversations about why certain things work versus other options. It’s a very involved process, more than most of the projects I’ve worked on."
Will the second season of Insecure live up to the hype and promise of its inaugural season? It's too early to tell. But with the way season one closed, there's a lot of hope for the show moving forward. Through just eight episodes, Issa Rae and the rest of her crew have proven capable of weaving humor with nuanced romantic and platonic relationships, and that sort of writing and execution will always have a place in the pop culture pantheon.
Related: Issa Rae Talks 'Insecure' Season 2
