‘Insecure’ recap: Life comes at Issa fast; Molly doubles down on forbidden fruit

Season 2, Episode 6 | “Hella BLOWS” | Aug. 27

Whoever came up with the title “Hella Blows” for this episode deserves all the awards. More on that shortly.

Lawrence didn’t have a great last episode. He’s stalking Issa on social media. He knows Daniel’s back in the picture. Derek told him about himself. He sees Issa living her life, and he’s this close to blocking Issa on social media while getting drunk in his house by himself. With his personal life on the ropes, his professional life has to at least provide some sort of balance, right? Wrong. Misery loves company.

We see Lawrence presumably killing his presentation for the app he’s been working on for the better part of two years. Yes, the same app that Lawrence was working on in season one when he was in between gigs, not yet in between Issa and Tasha, and not yet the real-world cult hero he’s become. The presentation, on the surface, seems to go well. His colleagues seem interested, saying how much they loved it. And they didn’t have any questions.

That right there should have been a red flag for Lawrence. Really? They didn’t have one question about this app? That was a dead giveaway: They not only didn’t care about the presentation, they don’t value Lawrence’s work, period. Perhaps so desperate for a win of some sort, Lawrence ignores his co-worker Aparna (Jasmine Kaur) when she lets him know he was getting played. It wasn’t until a second conversation that Lawrence really began to see what Aparna was talking about. He’s black. She’s a woman of color. In the tech industry, that’s already playing behind the eight ball.

Yet, somehow, Lawrence had the most tame storyline in the episode. Because Molly, our favorite Los Angeles lawyer not named Johnnie Cochran, feels she played her hand too much by sleeping with longtime friend (who just happens to be married) Dro. Her intention: to lay all her cards on the table and say it was a moment of passion, and that she was weak. You know, all the stuff you tell yourself before you absolutely lie down with that same person again. That’s exactly what happens with Molly. The only difference is, this time she’s more invested.

Molly doesn’t totally understand the open marriage concept, but she’s here now, and it’s gonna go wherever it’s going to go. Whatever’s blossoming between the two seems to be evolving, and the two end up in a hotel room, with Molly in a bubble bath and Dro sitting on the edge beside her … until Dro has to dip because Candice is back in town now and she’s locked herself out.

It’s that moment right then when Molly realizes, What did I get myself into? I’m not going to lie to you either, America. I still believe this open marriage angle Dro’s been preaching is just game that’s apparently working on Molly to the point she’s willing to go into hotel rooms with this dude as if they didn’t just smash in her place a week ago. Dro’s having his cake and eating it too. The flavor of said cake happens to be Molly.

And now we get to Issa. Oh, Issa, Issa, Issa. Where does one even begin to unload Issa’s drama from last night? On second thought, maybe “unload” wasn’t the greatest word choice ever. Anyway, let’s start from the beginning.

Issa, like Lawrence, absolutely sucks at her hoe phase. The commandment Issa failed to understand about having a roster is that you still have to manage the roster. Eddy (the neighbor) played her to the left when she popped up unannounced. Daniel hit her with the “three dots” text, then disappeared. (Well played, by the way, Daniel. Well played.) And her new dude, Nico, wasn’t with all the heavy advances she threw on him at her apartment. Issa wanted an emergency you-know-what in a glass. Nico actually cares for her beyond the sexual component. So when he turned her down, opting instead to go to the restaurant he had in mind, that bond was over quicker than a Mike Tyson fight in the ’80s. Issa finally sees what we all see — there’s no rotation in her “hoetation.” Life comes at you fast.

Anyway, this leads to the crux of the entire episode, and the scenes that had social media amped on a thousand last night. Issa, Molly, Kelli and Tiffany all attend a sex workshop. The topic of oral sex arises. (There are all type of puns in here that I’m not trying to make, but the opportunities are so fertile right now. See what I mean?) They all laugh at the thought of performing oral sex with a condom after being asked to sign up for a “how-to” class. Keep this in mind. We’re going to come right back to this.

From there, the convo between the quartet of ladies dives into who likes doing it, who doesn’t like doing it, and who isn’t necessarily opposed to doing it but it’s not their favorite activity in the world. Issa, of course, is vehemently opposed to doing it. (Like, what, sis? It’s 2017. We’re all grown here. When we were kids, we did childish things. But we’re adults now … and, well, adults adult. And this is very adult-laden, Issa!) Sorry, I keep getting sidetracked. It’s this convo that begins to spark Issa’s brain, which leads her over to Daniel’s house. One thing leads to another, and the next thing you know they’re going at it.

Issa, the progressive that she is, decides to switch the game up. She tells him to sit back and let her take the reins, and he gladly obliges. What happens next could be the funniest, wildest and most discussed scene yet in Insecure. Even more than Lawrence’s double dip into the milk of magnesia two episodes ago.

Daniel warns Issa: Hey, look. Any moment now this is about to get messy. Make your next move your best move. Issa ignores Daniel’s warning and his body clues, and the next thing we know Issa’s got pink eye. But it’s her reaction that’s most trippy. She acted as if Daniel committed a sin. He didn’t. In fact, she did her job and did it admirably. Her yelling at him leads to Daniel giving the funniest quote of the season — and one I can’t type here for HR reasons. But I’ve got questions that need answers.

1. What did Issa realistically think would happen in this situation?
2. Does she not know in the heat of battle you either have to dodge like Neo in The Matrix or fully commit and really get the party cracking? Boss up.
3. Seriously, did she and Lawrence never do this in their five years together? This can’t be her first rodeo.
4. Did they not go over this exact scenario in the class?

Next week’s episode should be popping, in particular the dinner scene. I’m having trouble envisioning how it tops this one, though.

Bonus: Shout-out to Issa for the fire OutKast T-shirt. The fashion in this season has been nothing short of flames.

Double Bonus: Miguel’s new song with Travis Scott, “Sky Walker,” makes an appearance in this episode. Cue the hype for a new Miguel album. And I’m leading the charge.

Triple Bonus: It’s going to take $5,500 to fix Issa’s car? Nudes sure are expensive these days.