The premiere episode of the fifth and final season of Insecure definitely brought on some tough inquiries about life and relationships. The emotional 28-minute episode served like a rhapsodic dissertation on real life for millennials.
Spoiler (but not too much), Issa, Molly, Kelli, Tiff, and her husband Derek, link up at a Stanford University 10-year alumni reunion. At this stage, Molly is still trying to figure out the awkward friendship dynamic she has with Issa. Kelli is taken aback by the disregard of the alumni association when she is declared deceased throughout the event programs and on the memoriam tribute. Tiff seems to be on autopilot, with nothing going terribly wrong for her at the moment.
Back in Issa’s world, the work-in-progress character feels accomplished when she is enlisted to be a panelist in honor of her entrepreneurial ventures as CEO of “The Blocc,” a curated, community-focused event company that speaks to the culture. The accomplished feeling starts to dissipate, however. Issa begins to ponder about her current life’s path after the moderator asks her a few questions that she doesn’t have clear answers to — something that Molly is starting to sense. Is Issa making the right career choice? Is she truly happy about her love life? Does her existence even matters?
During a pivotal moment of the episode, Issa revisits younger Issa via her reflection in the mirror. Young Issa proceeds to inquire about current-day Issa’s progress in life to which she discovers that many of her goals, such as getting abs and meeting T-Pain, were not reached.
After everything that Issa has been through, it appears that she still feels lost (or so it seems). Although she plays it cordial with Molly, there is certainly something slow-brewing between the two best friends. Yet, Issa won’t just spill the tea and reveal her true feelings. Maybe silence is her choice of violence. But, when it comes to Lawrence, who picks her up from the airport after her “life-changing” event, she has strong words. Just not that many.
The premiere episode covers all the bases. There’s even a hilarious incident when the friends run into an old college friend with nothing wholesome on the brain that sets them up to be robbed. The experience stirs up a nostalgically bonding moment between Molly and Issa. But, it also loudly proclaims an underlying theme that “ain’t sh– changed.”
As characters of Insecure gracefully develop from the early stages of adulting to full-on grown woman status, it’s equally gratifying and bittersweet to see the evolution of the four women. To know that time is not timeless and at some point we all have to grow up — at least externally to impress others and to stay in tune with societal expectations — is depressingly heavy for those who are still looking for fulfillment and happiness in their 30s and beyond. And in some cases, the search is never-ending.
Issa offers a glimmer of hope, though. The fact that she’s following through with her dreams even with the path ahead of her being quite foggy, topped with her being real with herself regarding her relationship with Lawrence, are two steps into a personal journey of her shedding others’ expectations of her. With only seven more episodes to go, let’s hope that she will find ultimate Issa. The one that aligns life with purpose while providing value to others, a life cliche that some accomplish, while others die trying to attain.
