‘Insecure’ 4 Digs Deep, Stays Dope

“No job, no man.”To Issa Rae, returning to our screens as Issa Dee in ‘Insecure’ (2020), this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Instead, after feeling increasingly stifled at her mostly white workplace and running the gamut of LA’s dating scene, the situation comes with a little time for introspection.

Diving back into the vibrant, humorous and singular world of the black millennial in Los Angeles, we find our awkward but charismatic star transitioning. Girl is the new superintendent at her apartment complex, she’s driving for Lyft and occasionally booty calling a kinky TSA agent.

It’s a little messy, but so is life – and it’s about to get messier.

We know this because in the flash-forward that opens the season, Issa says she no longer associates with Molly.

If you’ve been watching since the jump, you know things must have gone terribly wrong, because Issa and Molly are goals. They’re black, 30-something, ride-or-die girlfriends who’ve been navigating love, relationships and work and looking hella fine while doing it for four seasons, so the revelation is startling.

It’s also how ‘Insecure’ grows into the kind of series in which we can appreciate various mirrors while finding ourselves being essentially dragged by a TV show.

In season four, we get what we’ve come to love about ‘Insecure’ – the incredible views of LA, the striking cinematography, and both Rae and Yvonne Orji being unapologetically stunning and ambitious dark-skinned black women.

But we also get some hard and heartwarming truths.

Career changes will show you flames. Friendships can be difficult, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth saving. There’s no shame in therapy, but you have got to be willing to work on yourself. Black men can talk about their mental health challenges and find comfort, not ridicule. Postpartum is real and women aren’t born with some instant and magical affinity for motherhood. Exes can come back, but that doesn’t mean they should stay.

Still starring Jay Ellis, Amanda Seales and a criminally underused Natasha Rothwell as Kelly Prenny, ‘Insecure’ peppers hilarious episodes at Coachella, with more serious scenes about casual, poolside racism and the hurt of watching your best friend through the window of your favourite restaurant and deciding to slink away.

In season four, ‘Insecure’ hurts, but it also heals.

In the way it shows young, determined black people striving, failing and trying again, but also at this moment in particular. Right now, the Los Angeles in the series doesn’t exist. The casual strolls to get salmon tacos, joining strangers at a paint-and-wine evening and even black community building via Inglewood block party are things of the recent past.

Watching ‘Insecure’ during the Covid-19 pandemic is bittersweet.

In the series, Issa, Molly, Lawrence, Kelly, Tiffany and even Christina Elmore’s Condola are just trying to lowkey live.

Out in Los Angeles’ real-life streets, their counterparts are just trying to survive the racism, micro-aggressions and the more sinister realities of black American life often hinted at in the series.

Stream ‘Insecure’ for a glimpse of the life and levity we all miss, and a cast of characters we can’t wait to meet again in season five.

‘Insecure’ (2020) is now streaming on Showmax.

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