“Broken as Fuck,” the final episode of “Insecure” season closed out with a bang. Literally. At the same time it spawned the Lawrence Hive, a crew of males on social media pumped to see Lawrence (Jay Ellis) exact his revenge on the no good, lying, scheming and cheating Issa (Issa Rae).
Good times continued to roll for Lawrence in the debut episode of season two, titled “Hella Great,” which opened with poor Issa sitting in a restaurant, fantasying that a blind date is long-gone Lawrence. Even in her rap freestyle, Issa is way down on her self, identifying herself as a liar, cheater, untrustworthy, and still pining for Lawrence.
Segue to Lawrence who is having fun banging Tasha (Dominique Perry), the most compliant of companions who aims only to please.”You hate it?” she meekly asks when Lawrence makes fun of her calling out “Zaddy” while they’re f*cking.
Like a mack, Lawrence pulls on his drawers and let’s it be known he’s out, responding with a confident chuckle when Tasha says she may or may not be around when he gets around to returning on Friday (after he tells her he coming by on Thursday won’t work).
Lawrence is riding high!
That is until he arrives “home” and we discover Lawrence actually is homeless, camped on a blow-up mattress in his boy, Chad’s (Neil Brad Jr.) living room. He also shows himself to be clueless, unaware that blowing up his mattress is disrupting his host’s attempt to watch TV.
“My bad,” he tells Chad, adding, “I saw some spots today. Give me a few weeks, I’ll be out.” Whatever he’s saying, it’s pretty clear Lawrence has no real plan to move in place and doesn’t even have an answer on the question of moving back in with Issa.
Even Lawrence’s new identity as “the man” crumbles when his friend tells him he’s impressed by how he’s handling Tasha, the way he “rolls in on Friday, smash all weekend, bounce out on Sunday, low maintenance, efficient, all upside.” Very different, Chad point outs, from his fiance on whom he spends tons of money.
Except, whoops, it’s not like that! Lawrence actually sort of likes Tasha and responds to his friend’s observation by taking her out to dinner (at the same time canceling plans to pick up mail from a plotting and planning Issa). “How’s that apartment search going?” Tasha sweetly inquires at dinner, ever helpful, offering her cousin’s password to a real estate site.
Nah, that’s okay, says Lawrence, his boy is helping him look (since when?) though side note, only because he’s being pressured by his fiance. And oh by the way, another reason he hasn’t found a place yet is ’cause moving is stressful and besides, he just hasn’t had the time! Which would be true except he moved out of Issa’s place in two seconds flat and appears to have nothing but time.
If you’re paying attention and aren’t delusional, it’s clear that shades of season one, baggy sweatpants Lawrence are creeping back to the surface. The Lawrence Hive doth protest (tew much!), claiming he’s in a place of transition, not sure what move he wants to make next! And besides, he lived for years in a committed relationship, putting up with Issa’s b.s., he’s finally enjoying his freedom. And moving is hard! Everybody knows that!
The episode finishes at Issa’s apartment, where the scene is queued with SZA’s “Love Galore,” which includes the oft-repeated query, “Why you bother me when you know you don’t want me?” Enter Lawrence, whose moves in the episode thus far seem to mimic that of jellyfish, moving whichever way the tide seems to be flowing that hour.
Lawrence and Issa end up fucking on the couch and he leaves her with a polite kiss on the cheek. Issa ends the episode with a smile, thinking the door has been open to a reconciliation, all of which will be upended in a future episode when she discovers the existence of Tasha aka @tashmoney289.
Another W (!) for Lawrence, claims the hive, not unlike a Kool-aid guzzling Trump supporter for whom bad news does not penetrate. But seriously? Is that before or after Lawrence heads home to his blow up mattress?
As showrunner Prentice Penny wonders in the post-show “Wine Down” analysis, “If Chad had to talk him into taking Tasha out and he never had that instinct to want to do it?” Whatever the Lawrence Hive answer to the question might be, it should be filed under E for excuse.
The fire in the apartment lasted longer than Lawrence did #InsecureHBO
— ♐☯️ (@itsyaboy_jay706) July 24, 2017
Episode One “Wine Down”
