S05.E10: Everything Gonna Be, Okay?!

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Quote

As she and her friends try to make time for each other no matter what, Issa looks back on all it took to get to where she is today.

Original air date 2021.12.26

And so the series ends . . . .

[ShellsandCheese]

The finale was a bit underwhelming. So happy for Molly and Kelli though. 

[aghst]

So a lot of time passes over the course of this season and in this finale, like over a year.  The characters are all at least 2-3 years older than the first episode of season 5.

Everything resolves, all the girls are "boo'ed up" in the end, as Tiffany says.

Nathan just steps out of the way, says the situation is toxic because he had one messy confrontation with Issa's ex?  OK, plot contrivance.

It takes a couple of attempts, over the course of a year or more, for Issa and Lawrence to re-connect.  They happened to be with other people at different times.  Finally, it appears she called him and invited him into her office -- he didn't just walk into the offices of The Blocc just randomly.

Again they kind of gloss over her getting over Nathan and then when Molly asks her what would she have said in response to what Lawrence said to her at that party, I guess we're suppose to get that it's always been Lawrence all along, that she felt the same as what he said to her.  You'd think Molly would know this anyways, being so close to Issa.

The girls get on with their lives, since they all have significant others.  That means while Molly and Issa will still talk on the phone, they're going to spend less time with each other, since they have SOs who command their time.

In the Wine Down, Issa Rae and Prentice Penny talk about the different endings they considered and the different men Issa might end up with, including a "random" character she meets not too long before the series finale.  They may not call it such but this is the typical Hollywood ending, everyone is happy, all the characters that the fans grew to love are in a good place.  They say that the ending was "earned" and that Issa never has a "final" sense of being secure, so she's not that different from the person we see from the beginning.

Sure, Issa and Lawrence have a lot of ups and downs, including infidelity and a child from another partner.  So it should be smooth sailing between the two?  Seems like it, a year after they reconnect in the office, they're living in some nice place with Issa now close to Lawrence's son and there isn't a hint of trouble in paradise or discord.

That last scene of her in the bathroom talking on the phone with Molly, who's in Greece, Issa is looking at the mirror.  I thought maybe there would be another funny convo with her alter ego one last time.  But no, there wasn't.  Does that mean she's happy and no longer insecure, even if that sense of being secure is never "final" as Issa Rae says?

Well we do see Issa taking a retrospective drive through the old neighborhood, including the apartment complex and she drives by the We Got Y'all office, where she seems young versions of herself and former coworkers.  So Issa has moved on up, in her career and her life.

Molly seems happily married too, at least as of her honeymoon.  She doesn't have a broken pussy like back in season 1.  She's had her pussy broken by her husband though.

 

 

 

 

[Amethyst]

Character wise, Molly showed the most growth.  She was practically the villain last year.  Molly and Taurean may have happened a little fast, but they made sense in the end.  It was nice to conclude Molly's story with her wedding, and to see how happy she was.  The tribute table for Carol was a nice touch.  Didn't like Molly's dress, though.  The pattern, anyway.

The conversation between Molly and Issa had me in tears.  Yvonne said that Prentice turned the camera off and just told her to talk to Issa, without being in character.  So some of that conversation was really between the actresses.  Best part of the finale.

Issa's story was like a see-saw.  On one hand, I loved seeing the progress she made from being a lowly employee at We Got Y'all to owning her own business.  And her new career includes a new car, new home, and she earned it.  The drive home said it all.  But romantically, what was that?  It took Carol's death for Issa to reach out to Lawrence and still nothing happened.  We all knew the Issa/Nathan relationship was in the toilet, so it was just more pointless stuff.  Then again, they botched Nathan's characterization anyway.  So Issa and Lawrence are finally together in the end, but we don't get any big show, like a wedding or a proposal.  I know Issa was wearing a ring, but after all we've seen from them, I wanted more than that.

Tiffany is such a non-entity, but I feel for her.  No matter what, she seems to be unhappy in her life.  Whether it's Denver, her child being left out/ostracized, or still having problems with Derek, something is always standing in the way of her happiness. 

Loved Kelli finding a great guy and having a baby.  I wish they would have done more with her, the "preguntas" stuff really didn't go anywhere.

[DearEvette]

Will probably post more after a re-watch, but I found it interesting how very referential this was to the very first episode of S1.

We started with Issa staring in her mirror after having a rather sad birthday, mainly because of Lawrence's lack of employment depression.  

And now this episode is largely a series of birthdays, some better than others -- only to end with Issa staring at her mirror ready to embark on what appears to be the first birthday she will spend with Lawrence since that sad, disappointing one.  Only this one looks to be more promising.

[Rowan]

I’ll miss this one.

It’s so crazy that every Sunday night I still feel like I have somehow discovered a wonderful little secret show on HBO. It’s in its 5th season for fuck’s sake. I’m ridiculous. 
 

Issa and Molly forever. 

[Marley]

I mean I guess I liked it but also was kind of underwhelmed. Not shocked with Issa and Lawrence ending up together. Kind of seemed like a waste spending all that time on Nathan. 

Did Tiffany move back? It seemed like she did when Kelli was telling them she was pregnant. Talking about raising their kids together. Who knows.

I did like the talk Molly and Issa had at her wedding.

I don’t know just not sure how I feel about the endings but at least they are all happy.

 

[qtpye]

It was a happy ending for all of the crew.

It was not the most creative way to go out but I am glad that all the characters are in a good place and have shown some real growth.

[Winston Wolfe]

6 hours ago, aghst said:

So a lot of time passes over the course of this season and in this finale, like over a year.  The characters are all at least 2-3 years older than the first episode of season 5.

If Issa Rae has one flaw as a show runner/film maker, it's a less-than-fulfilling use of time jumps. I understand how it might have been necessary since we didn't get a 2-hour series finale, but there's so much we didn't see that might have been interesting. A massive time-jump really took me out of Issa's second movie (Love Birds) as well. Still, I'm thrilled that everyone got a Happy Ending, except for Tiffany, who as another poster pointed out, never really seemed content with anything.

[Lois Sandborne]

Well the kind of viewer I am means my favorite part was the long drive home through the city, past Thug Yoda and his daughter at the Dunes, and Frieda and Sarah at We Got Y'all.

They put a lot of work into showing Issa that Issa could be happy together with Lawrence and baby Jah. Letting Nathan drop the "messy" bomb on her (and let me quickly move away from how hypocritical it was for him to say that because I'm just glad to finally see him go) contrasted with her saying much the same to Lawrence in the premiere. They gave her some time to be alone and to successfully date around, and to realize that she really wanted Lawrence and he wanted her. Shoving all of that in one episode with Molly getting married and her mother dying, and Kelli having a baby, etc. made the whole thing feel rushed and less than satisfying, but I was ready to be less than satisfied.

This show made a habit in the last little while of eliding conversations and scenes that I would've liked to see, so I enjoyed the scene between Issa and Molly at the wedding talking about their friendship. And I really liked the long look into the mirror without Mirror Issa popping up, and the idea that Real Issa is at least now secure with making choices and taking action.

Last week someone called this season low-effort, and that still feels right to me. Insecure built up a lot of goodwill over its run, and without that I wouldn't be feeling as warm and sentimental about the ending they served. But I'm happy they gave us what they did.

Also eagle-eyed viewers on reddit pointed out that Issa is wearing an engagement ring in the last couple scenes, so there's that.

[Evie]

I liked the finale while also feeling less than satisfied with it and the season as a whole. Tiffany and Kelli never got much focus so that was nothing new but even Molly seemed to get less focus this year. I'm okay with her ending up with Taurean, but I don't feel like I know what they are like as a couple. Not the way I knew what Molly and Andrew were like or even Molly and Dro. 

They spent too much time on Issa and Nathan this season,but I get that Issa was trying to force things with Nathan because she didn't feel confident about making things work with Lawrence. I just wish they could have shown that another way. 

I did love the Molly/Issa scene and the drive through LA. I liked  the use of birthdays even though the time jumps were confusing and rushed, leaving me with a lot of unanswered questions. 

 

[Empress1]

1 hour ago, Lois Sandborne said:

Thug Yoda and his daughter at the Dunes

I loved this. I wanted Issa to wave. Him popping up in her Lyft was a favorite moment.

8 hours ago, Amethyst said:

Tiffany is such a non-entity, but I feel for her.  No matter what, she seems to be unhappy in her life.  Whether it's Denver, her child being left out/ostracized, or still having problems with Derek, something is always standing in the way of her happiness. 

And Tiffany is the one who “has it all.” Nice cute husband who seems to love her, child, career (until she moved). No one is exempt from struggle. 

Molly’s first birthday without her mom hit me. All those firsts in the face of loss really hurt. It re-emphasizes the finality of the loss.

”Bye, Nanceford.” I don’t think they quite did him justice.

1 hour ago, Lois Sandborne said:

Also eagle-eyed viewers on reddit pointed out that Issa is wearing an engagement ring in the last couple scenes, so there's that.

She also asked Molly if “this” (honeymoon) was what she had to look forward to, so Issa and Lawrence are definitely engaged.

So how old are they at the finale? 35? Issa was 29 in the pilot.

Edited December 27, 2021 by Empress1

[Sheenieb]

1 hour ago, Lois Sandborne said:

This show made a habit in the last little while of eliding conversations and scenes that I would've liked to see, so I enjoyed the scene between Issa and Molly at the wedding talking about their friendship.

Yes, that was the highlight of the episode and my favorite scene. While it was nice to see the friends all honor the commitment of getting together for each other's birthdays, and everyone else but Tiffany got a happy ending, it was an OK finale for an OK season.

Molly's mother's death was unnecessary, and the set up after it was strange. Molly gets the call, reacts to the news, and then the next scene is Issa trying to get a hold of Molly to check in on her, and then her call to Lawrence. No funeral or follow-up. I wasn't even sure how much time passed.

While I wrote that I found Carol's death unnecessary, I guess it circled back to what Molly said about being intentional with the people you love. She was celebrating her birthday with her mother the year before and now Carol's gone.

1 hour ago, Lois Sandborne said:

Also eagle-eyed viewers on reddit pointed out that Issa is wearing an engagement ring in the last couple scenes, so there's that.

If she is engaged to Lawrence, I don't get why Issa & CO. would leave out an engagement scene. They've spent so many episodes on her waffling between Nathan and Lawrence, and since her relationship with Nathan was awkward, it was no surprise that she got back together with Lawrence. They're better suited. But I caught how once again Lawrence let his passivity get in the way. He made this big to-do at the party about loving Issa, almost fought Nathan, and then...nothing. He texted an apology, but if this is the woman you love so much, why not call and ask to meet up because they didn't get to have the conversation he wanted. If she said no, then OK, but there was no follow through until months? a year? later.

I did like the drive at the end with the callbacks to season 1 and Issa reflecting on how far she has grown professionally and personally.

[laprin]

10 hours ago, ShellsandCheese said:

The finale was a bit underwhelming. So happy for Molly and Kelli though. 

I found this entire season a bit underwhelming. 

[Joimiaroxeu]

Weird to see Kelli acting kind of demure with her very tall new man.

5Gs, like the cell phone. 🥳

And then Kelli slapped Ahmal's drink out if his hand. Never change, Kelli. 🤗

Whoa, Nasir was FOINE! (Apparently some fans are calling him Daniel-adjacent, lol.)

Kelli asking more preguntas and ending up pregnant. That was a bit of a swerve to me.

Ugh, Issa. Lawrence? He doesn't deserve you. He's the "by default" choice.

Loved the bridesmaids dresses at Molly's wedding. And I actually started happy crying for her.

Also noticed the engagement ring Issa was wearing at the end. KMN.

Nah, I'm glad for Issa Dee if she's finally in the place where she wants to be with the person she wants to be with.

It's been a ride. Thanks, Issa Rae. See you at your next joint.

[DearEvette]

1 hour ago, laprin said:

I found this entire season a bit underwhelming. 

I also found the season underwhelming.  But I actually liked the finale.  It felt like a good ending for the crew which is what you want a series finale to be.

As much as I didn't want Issa to end up with either Lawrence or Nathan, I am ok with Lawrence.  And in retrospect is was inevitable, imo.  The season was telegraphing it hard.  And like I said in my earlier post, it  felt full circle from the premiere.

1 hour ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

And then Kelli slapped Ahmal's drink out if his hand. Never change, Kelli. 🤗

According to Natasha Rothwell, that was not scripted.  Nor was his response.  Also I loved how Issa didn't miss a beat and clinked his non-existent glass in her toast.  LOL.

10 hours ago, Amethyst said:

The conversation between Molly and Issa had me in tears.  Yvonne said that Prentice turned the camera off and just told her to talk to Issa, without being in character.  So some of that conversation was really between the actresses.  Best part of the finale.

Yes.  I also loved this.  Molly's wedding and everybody dancing to Tony! Toni! Toné!'s Feel Good was a nice feel good moment.  

Also I know there is a lot of question about Tiffany, but I headwank that by the time of Molly's wedding, she was back on an even keel. She was pregnant again and looked happy.  I really wish we had gotten a better sense of how much time had passed though.  By the end, Jah looked about, what 5? 6 at the most.  But Tiffany's birthday in Denver SImone looked about 3 and it seems like a long time for Tiffany to be unhappy.  She just doesn't strike me as the type, she is an Alpha (not just AKA) female who would definitely conquer a social structure.

1 hour ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Whoa, Nasir was FOINE! (Apparently some fans are calling him Daniel-adjacent, lol.)

Yup.  Oooh, I think I literally sat up when he came in screen.  I did think it was Daniel at first, but he had a different cast to his dark skin tone and his hair was a different texture and that smile....  He was a prettier version of Daniel.  I giggled that he even trended on twitter.  He was on screen for like a hot second and managed to trend.  As did Thug Yoda!  I was so happy to see him show up!!

[Racj82]

I didn't really expect anything here. We are coming to the end of journey here. Not the characters. Their lives go on. This is just where we get off.

I'm fine with happy endings. In this moment, they are happy. Doesn't mean trouble won't come.

Issa and Lawrence were always going to circle back together as long as they were in each other's orbit. Nathan only had a chance because Lawrence moved away. As soon as he moved back, Nathan/Issa was fucked.

I don't have a problem with the season or the finale. This ain't game of thrones. It was never going to be this huge season. Also, they did most of the dramatic work last season. All the characters had already grown. Mostly for the better. The last season was more about the final pieces coming together.

[Empress1]

Prentice Penny, the show runner, said they wanted to show Black women having it all, and for that alone I’m grateful. We deserve it.

[RoadFullOfPromise]

1 hour ago, DearEvette said:

But Tiffany's birthday in Denver SImone looked about 3 and it seems like a long time for Tiffany to be unhappy.  She just doesn't strike me as the type, she is an Alpha (not just AKA) female who would definitely conquer a social structure.

Well, as she noted about Simone’s school, Denver is an overwhelmingly white city, so sadly it’s probably realistic that there were things she couldn’t overcome socially no matter how hard she tried. And she noted that her in-laws were mostly enamored with Simone and were kind of meh about her, so maybe another baby is not only awesome for her and Derek (since they seem to love being parents and are good at it) but for feeling like she belongs more in his family.

[Hera]

As a single episode, I enjoyed the finale. In the context of the whole season, I wondered why did what they did for the nine previous episodes—why spend so long on Issa's angst around dating Nathan if they're going to end it in such an unsatisfying way and she's going to end up with Lawrence? Why show us Molly dealing with the immediate aftermath of her mother's stroke, but not the immediate aftermath of her death? Why cram all of Kelli's major life milestones (career move, finding a partner, having a kid) into the very last episode?

I'm glad they decided to let everyone have a happy ending, and I liked the framing of checking in on everyone on each of the four friends' birthdays; I just wish the pacing had been steadier throughout the season.

[Empress1]

Some people on social media are saying that Issa settled for Lawrence - that she’s living his life instead of hers. I disagree. What y’all think?

[LaJefaza]

15 hours ago, aghst said:

Nathan just steps out of the way, says the situation is toxic because he had one messy confrontation with Issa's ex?

Nathan knew, just like we all did, that he was just a placeholder. He knew she was forcing that "I love you" earlier and trying to force him to say it back because it was the 'right' thing to do. She was settling for him because he happened to be there at that time. There was never any passion between them. And then when she instantly said "ok" and got out of the car after the tussle with Lawrence, when Nathan said he wanted to step back, and she walked off without arguing, he knew that he was right all along that it just wasn't that deep for her. She didn't even attempt to fight him on it, because I think she was finally acknowledging the truth, that Nathan was just there so she wouldn't be single. Glad they didn't make it all the way to marriage with a placeholder relationship. It lasted way too long as it was.

Man I don't care what anyone says: Molly and Issa are the REAL soulmates on this show. Not saying they don't love their partners, of course they do...but the way Issa's whole spirit lit up when Molly called her at the end (from her honeymoon?!) was proof for me. Nobody else ever got her to light up like that in the entirety of the show's run. Her whole face just glowed when her girl called her. There's more than one type of soulmate out there. 

[After7Only]

32 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

Some people on social media are saying that Issa settled for Lawrence - that she’s living his life instead of hers. I disagree. What y’all think?

I don’t think she settled at all.   She started and built her business before she got back with Lawrence.   He also matured and got his career life together while they were apart.   Together they are building what looked to be a very nice life together, rather than living his life.    Yes they do have Lawrence’s child to consider but I don’t think that is a burden to Issa living her life.  
 

Edited December 27, 2021 by After7Only

[aghst]

18 minutes ago, LaJefaza said:

Nathan knew, just like we all did, that he was just a placeholder. He knew she was forcing that "I love you" earlier and trying to force him to say it back because it was the 'right' thing to do. She was settling for him because he happened to be there at that time. There was never any passion between them. And then when she instantly said "ok" and got out of the car after the tussle with Lawrence, when Nathan said he wanted to step back, and she walked off without arguing, he knew that he was right all along that it just wasn't that deep for her. She didn't even attempt to fight him on it, because I think she was finally acknowledging the truth, that Nathan was just there so she wouldn't be single. Glad they didn't make it all the way to marriage with a placeholder relationship. It lasted way too long as it was.

I think they were trying to imply that Nathan wasn't going to persevere or work to make the relationship work because of his condition.

Like he flipped immediately, they were good until that party.

He said it was toxic for him implying that he just couldn't deal, not that he didn't want to deal with it.  Issa didn't respond to Lawrence declaring his love at all, so Nathan didn't have a reason, at least from that confrontation, to doubt Issa.

So they could say Issa tried, really tried but Nathan bailed on her, she didn't bail on him.

Because Nathan is so fragile and it would be heartless if Issa was just biding her time with him until Lawrence came around.

It's really quite offensive if you think about it, because they're making sure Issa isn't at fault in the slightest.

[Hera]

33 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

Some people on social media are saying that Issa settled for Lawrence - that she’s living his life instead of hers. I disagree. What y’all think?

I agree with everything @After7Only said, and want to add that I don't really see how she could be accused of living his life instead of hers based on what we were shown. She clearly still had her career and friends, which exist outside of Lawrence. Yeah, his kid was there, but that's part of being with someone who has kids. It would be unpleasant and out of character for Issa to be an evil stepmother cliché. And anyway, the show made it clear that they were going to have a babysitter so that Lawrence could take her out for her birthday, so you can't even accuse Lawrence of insisting that their shared life must revolve around Elijah.

[tennisgurl]

I have generally found this season to be rather halfhearted, but I liked the finale. I am glad that everyone ended things on a positive note and that they showed growth, especially Issa and Molly. I always suspected she would end up with Lawrence, it always came back to him for Issa. I loved the call back's to season one, with Issa looking at all her old places of work, and how the show started with Issa having a sad birthday talking with her reflection and ends with her having a nice birthday without needing her reflection. If her reflection is the personification of her self doubt and insecurity, then its lack of appearance at the end is a really good sign for Issa. As much as she has struggled with self esteem, she really was the only one who doubted her. And Kelli. 

This season was probably one of the weakest, but even a weaker season of Insecure is pretty good. I am going to miss this show and its characters a whole lot.

Edited December 29, 2021 by tennisgurl

[Bluesky]

I was hoping she ended up with Nathan.   Otherwise I liked the ending. 

[PrincessPurrsALot]

1 hour ago, Empress1 said:

Some people on social media are saying that Issa settled for Lawrence - that she’s living his life instead of hers. I disagree. What y’all think?

I don't think she's living his life, but I still am not enthralled by them ending up together.  I see how the show got there though.  Both Issa and Lawrence have matured and built their own lives and careers.  They are both more confident now and taking charge of their lives (at least, I assume Lawrence is; we've seen this more clearly with Issa).  I do still wonder what happens with them if things get difficult for either of them.  We haven't seen them be great at supporting each other.  However, Issa has been shown to be very supportive of her friends, especially Molly.  And Lawrence stepped up for Condola and Elijah.  So, the characters will go on, hopefully happily, but in the moment that the show ends things seem good all around. 

[qtpye]

12 hours ago, Winston Wolfe said:

If Issa Rae has one flaw as a show runner/film maker, it's a less-than-fulfilling use of time jumps. I understand how it might have been necessary since we didn't get a 2-hour series finale, but there's so much we didn't see that might have been interesting. A massive time-jump really took me out of Issa's second movie (Love Birds) as well. Still, I'm thrilled that everyone got a Happy Ending, except for Tiffany, who as another poster pointed out, never really seemed content with anything.

Shallow moments.

Tiffany would be happier if she gave up those bubble skirts. They ain't giving what she thinks they are giving.

However, Issa was serving up the LEWKS in this episode. She looked gorgeous at Molly's wedding and the final scene.

Did anyone notice Lawrence's LA apartment was not near as nice as his San Francisco apartment?

9 hours ago, laprin said:

I found this entire season a bit underwhelming. 

 

7 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Prentice Penny, the show runner, said they wanted to show Black women having it all, and for that alone I’m grateful. We deserve it.

I am giving a giant AMEN to black women having it all. It does not always have to be about the struggle.

That being said, this season was the weakest season so far.

I did love the show overall.

My constructive criticism would be that I sometimes wish we focused less on Issa and Molly's drama and got to spend more time with Tiffany and Kelli.

I wonder if Tiffany was originally supposed to have a bigger part but Amanda S's drama messed that up? I have to say I was not really impressed with her depression storyline. It turned out more to be a moment for Derek to shine and we really did not learn anything with her. I do not know if that was the fault of the writing or her acting (or both).

However, I LOVE me some Kelli (sorry about all the capital words in this post). I wish that they had done more with her than make her the comic relief.

I am here for a Kelli spinoff. 

 

Edited December 28, 2021 by qtpye

[RoadFullOfPromise]

11 minutes ago, qtpye said:

I am here for a Kelli spinoff. 

I would watch entire series of Kelli and Ahmal antagonizing each other. I love it.

[qtpye]

3 minutes ago, RoadFullOfPromise said:

I would watch entire series of Kelli and Ahmal antagonizing each other. I love it.

With a touch of Chad for good measure.

Edited to add-Maybe Thug Yoda could be their neighbor?

Edited December 27, 2021 by qtpye

[Adgirl]

And just like that Insecure ends it's kinda like gentrification hahaha jkjkjk 

 

[aghst]

9 minutes ago, Adgirl said:

And just like that Insecure ends it's kinda like gentrification hahaha jkjkjk 

 

Don't think that's unrealistic at all.

Is one of the thing which is better about Lawrence for Issa the second time is that he now has a good career and is getting paid?

 

[Rowan]

I’ll add my two cents on the Lawrence/Nathan situation. Not gonna lie, while I always thought Nanceford was extremely attractive, I always had a soft spot for Lawrence. But I honestly thought Issa Rae wouldn’t let Issa Dee end up with Lawrence. 
 

I also felt like she loved them both, but she made a choice to move ahead with Nathan. And I didn’t think it was fair that he bailed ‘cause her ex made a semi-public play for her. She can’t control that. 
She didn’t reciprocate in that moment, either. 
 

I don’t have the first clue what it’s like to struggle with a serious mental health issue, so I won’t act like I have any insight, but I felt like there were a couple of things at play in the scene in his car. Like maybe he felt like his doubts would take him to a place he didn’t want to go. So, he needed to step back, so, ok, but then he also seemed kinda dismayed she didn’t seem inclined to beg his ass to come in. I just didn’t like it, I guess. 
 

I’ve been a stepmom for 22 years. Granted the circumstances were less painful than Issa’s situation, but it’s not without its own rewards. You figure it out as you go. 

[Empress1]

47 minutes ago, aghst said:

Is one of the thing which is better about Lawrence for Issa the second time is that he now has a good career and is getting paid?

He's a tech guy. They make good money. I've always assumed that once he got his new tech job that ended his Best Buy stint, he stayed employed and kept climbing, and at the end of the show it's what, six years since his unemployment? Plenty of time to rebuild - we saw how he was living in SF. I got the impression that Lawrence was working somewhere, got laid off (he was getting unemployment so he had to have been working somewhere before), and his depression about it escalated to the point where he was fucking up his interviews (in the pilot, he said he'd had an interview that he bombed) and lost motivation, so he stayed unemployed. Once he was back on his feet, he stayed there - the show didn't mention him being unemployed again. Like, the reason behind his unemployment was depression, not that he didn't have any marketable skills. 

Also, judging from that Lexus Issa was driving, she's doing well on her own! I guess her credit score came up. (The scene with her in Kelli's office is one of my favorites. They did a Lids callback to it last episode and I was so happy.)

4 minutes ago, Rowan said:

I also felt like she loved them both, but she made a choice to move ahead with Nathan. And I didn’t think it was fair that he bailed ‘cause her ex made a semi-public play for her. She can’t control that. 

See, I never thought she loved ol' Nanceford. I thought that "that's why I love you" was a casual thing that just slipped out, and she didn't actually mean she was in love with him. I did, however, think that Nathan was in love with her - when he said he'd always loved her, I bought that. He always seemed more into her than she did, and I remember when she said she'd gotten back with Lawrence, he said that affected him more than he expected. I think he was insecure (heh) where Lawrence was concerned since he knew he'd lost Issa (even though they weren't technically together) to Lawrence before.

I think she and Nathan could have worked for a while; they were good for each other. He encouraged her when she was doing the first block party, and she encouraged him to own the shop. I think they were good friends, but I can see why Nathan wouldn't want to be friends with her after all this back and forth.

WHEW, Kendrick's Houston drawl was so fucking sexy. I will miss that.

[RoadFullOfPromise]

1 hour ago, Empress1 said:

See, I never thought she loved ol' Nanceford. I thought that "that's why I love you" was a casual thing that just slipped out, and she didn't actually mean she was in love with him. I did, however, think that Nathan was in love with her - when he said he'd always loved her, I bought that. He always seemed more into her than she did, and I remember when she said she'd gotten back with Lawrence, he said that affected him more than he expected. I think he was insecure (heh) where Lawrence was concerned since he knew he'd lost Issa (even though they weren't technically together) to Lawrence before.

I agree completely - she loved the idea of Nanceford (or really, the idea of a relationship) more than she actually loved him romantically. I was really hoping she would pull a Kelly Taylor “I choose me,” and while I am not totally stoked that she chose Lawrence in the end, it at least made sense that they were both different from where they’d been right after Jah was born.

[Rowan]

1 hour ago, RoadFullOfPromise said:

I agree completely - she loved the idea of Nanceford (or really, the idea of a relationship) more than she actually loved him romantically. I was really hoping she would pull a Kelly Taylor “I choose me,” and while I am not totally stoked that she chose Lawrence in the end, it at least made sense that they were both different from where they’d been right after Jah was born.

I do wonder if Issa the writer really came around to the idea of Issa/Lawrence as endgame on her own or if she was feeling the pressure of fan expectations.  

[Irlandesa]

11 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Prentice Penny, the show runner, said they wanted to show Black women having it all, and for that alone I’m grateful. We deserve it.

I think that's great.  Although I wish they didn't have Kelli getting pregnant.  Molly wants kids.  Issa, I believe, wants kids.  Tiffany has a kid (and another on the way).  I just wish this show didn't choose the kid route with her because for those who don't want kids, having it all can be not having a kid.

8 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Some people on social media are saying that Issa settled for Lawrence - that she’s living his life instead of hers. I disagree. What y’all think?

Nope.  She still has a full life.  I wonder if this comes from a place where she "gave in" on being a stepmom. But she had a speech when reconciling with Lawrence that explained why she made that decision and it aligns with my opinion about why she walked away in the first episode of the season.  And the reason she walked isn't because they weren't compatible.  Or not getting along.  It was because of the baby and the complications that was going to present. 

She walked away because she was afraid of it not working out not because it wasn't actually working out.  She got to a place where she decided that she's not going to avoid going after what she wants in a relationship or her professional life out of fear that it might not work.

I liked the finale but I the season might have been better with each episode covering a birthday rather than doing them all in the finale.

 

 

 

[Racj82]

I can't lie. I laughed so hard when Tiffany was trying to find out how Keli and her man met. When Keli kept giggling instead of answering and she was like where is Keli? That got me. Like I don't have time for this crap.

[LuvMyShows]

Everybody be sure to watch "Insecure: The End", HBO's one-hour behind-the-scenes look at making "Insecure".  Really interesting to find out about Issa Rae's commitment to black communities and artists for filming.  Also funny to hear Jay Ellis discuss his tryout situation for Lawrence vs Daniel.

20 hours ago, Rowan said:

I do wonder if Issa the writer really came around to the idea of Issa/Lawrence as endgame on her own or if she was feeling the pressure of fan expectations.  

...or if she is just saying that it wasn't always the endgame, but it really was.

[DearEvette]

4 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

Everybody be sure to watch "Insecure: The End", HBO's one-hour behind-the-scenes look at making "Insecure".  Really interesting to find out about Issa Rae's commitment to black communities and artists for filming.  Also funny to hear Jay Ellis discuss his tryout situation for Lawrence vs Daniel.

Yes.  I loved watching that.  It was so good.  Very interesting to hear about the creative process, how everyone got their roles, and yes, even Jay Ellis was NOT a fan of Season 1 Lawrence.  LOL.  And everyone from the cast to the crew all seem like a functional, working group of people who were invested in creating something good.

 

[aghst]

Lawrence's role was unsettled.

In season 2 or 3, he was barely on and the actor actually said he didn't know what was going on.

Maybe they sensed that the character was popular so they brought him back.

[Marley]

I never liked Lawrence. He always seemed like such a sad sack jerk lol. I guess I’m glad the characters are happy but I’m not that happy Issa ended up back with Lawrence. Kind of seemed like she settled for familiarity.

I was unimpressed with Kelli getting prego too. This happens lots on shows in the finales. The women who never wanted kids are happy that they are suddenly knocked up. Happened in Big Bang theory too and it always annoys me. That’s not how life works.

[buttersister]

Quote

She walked away because she was afraid of it not working out not because it wasn't actually working out.  She got to a place where she decided that she's not going to avoid going after what she wants in a relationship or her professional life out of fear that it might not work.

Agree. She had to “believe it could/would work” applied to many things.

[aghst]

I can see why she would go for the familiar.

The girls joked about birthday dick and random dick.

But they're kind of getting old for casual sex and one night stands.

It's believable that she'd be looking for something serious again at her stage in life.

They didn't have time to establish another beau this season, someone whom viewers can see why Issa got serious about.

 

 

[Marley]

They would’ve had time if they didn’t waste so much on Nathan when they never planned on letting them be together. I liked Nathan but obviously they didn’t want him and Issa to end up together. It seemed like they did but then they kept pushing Lawrence back into our face.

Old? Lol ok 33 year old Issa better get her walker out. Like damn. This is why ppl settle. This old shit.

[Kirsty]

I agree with all the comments that it was a weak but enjoyable season. I'd have liked if the show could slow down some of the plotty developments, but I guess there were a lot of story threads to tie up before it ended. The pacing was an issue this season.

I loved the ending Molly got. I liked how awkward Taurean is and I liked them together, even if we didn't see much of it.

I didn't find Nathan stepping back to be out of character. I can believe that he wanted out of the messy shit because its not good for him, or that it was too much too soon for him and he was in over his head, or maybe he didn't trust what he and Issa had for good reason. I just don't know if it was supposed to be a healthy choice for him (to admit that it wasn't good for him), or if he was running away as he always has, bailing when the going gets tough. Like maybe the show was playing into Nathan's character flaw? In any case, Kendrick Sampson is ridiculously attractive.

Over the seasons I had hoped that the Lawrence character would be jettisoned. But given that he was still getting his own episodes in the final season, his reunion with Issa was inevitable. I wasn't excited about it.

Good show over five seasons, I really enjoyed it, great perspective on that stage in life, and I loved the soundtrack and the look of LA. I'll continue to recommend it to people.

Edited January 2, 2022 by Kirsty

[Zaffy]

Issa, Lawrence (and Nathan). Meh. Big MEH.
I never liked Lawrence and Issa relationship, they never convinced me about their big love, so the whole "now we are together, now we are not, now we finally are"  thing consumed way too much time of the plot and for me ended up being frustratingly boring.
I am from Greece, never visited USA. This was overall a very interesting series,  dunno how much close was to black LA community reality, but I really enjoyed watching a show about it. 

[smartymarty]

On 1/29/2022 at 6:11 PM, Zaffy said:

I never liked Lawrence and Issa relationship, they never convinced me about their big love

When they got back together, that's when I started really shipping them, because they had so much ease with each other, and fun. Fun! They joked and laughed all the time. Remember Lawrence walking away and Issa wondering what just happened, and then he turned around and was "gotcha"? They just worked so well together. In contrast, while Issa and Nathan had a comfort level, their relationship seemed kind of dull. Like a relationship of convenience. I'm glad Issa ended up with Lawrence, even if it felt rushed in the finale.

The one thing I would have liked in the finale, to make me really think their relationship was solid, was a view of Condola dropping Jah off, with her and Issa okay with each other. But at least they had Lawrence say that the babysitter was coming soon, so we knew that his relationship with Issa wasn't going to be dominated completely by his son. (Which it shouldn't be anyway, since he's sharing custody. They of course would have other times that Jah would be with Condola.)

Looooved Molly's wedding dress. Agree that I wish we knew more about Taurean. But okay. As for Tiffany and Kelly, as others have said, Issa and Molly were the most important relationship, so I'm okay not knowing more about where they landed.