After the first episode of Insecure, I was surprised by how much confidence Issa had. Yet, the name of the series made perfect sense to me after Oct. 16's episode, "Messy as F*ck," since Issa showed how truly insecure she is on Insecure. Knowing what a witty, funny, and strong personality she has with people like Molly, it was painful to watch her not stand up for herself at work. But that's how life works for a person who is insecure, you look back on your interactions with people and wonder why you didn't speak your mind. And though I wish that she said aloud the things she says in the mirror or thinks in her head, this hesitancy is true to who Issa is on Insecure — at least for now.
While she was busy avoiding her boyfriend Lawrence, Issa was feeling good about herself and her rap performance from the series premiere. She decided she could wing her assignment for her job at We Got Y'all, the well-meaning, but totally tone-deaf nonprofit organization that she works for. She mentioned in the first episode that she's perceived as "the token with all the answers" at her job, and though she can't necessarily relate to the kids in the underprivileged schools that We Got Y'all works with, her coworkers think she does because of her race.
When she got to work, strutting her stuff in Molly's business professional clothes, she soon found out how bad of an idea it was to not take her work assignment seriously — even if the people at her job are ridiculous (I'm looking at you, the very sweet and very naive Frieda). Anyone who has been underprepared for a school or work presentation could feel Issa's pain as she struggled to find her words and her coworkers found every flaw in her non-thought-out plan. While Issa may have deserved to be called out for not prepping, her coworkers really came down on her too hard and tried to take over her original idea and I wanted so badly to see the mirror pep talk version of Issa emerge at this work meeting.
Since Issa's voice is so intelligent and original, it was disheartening to watch her get disrespected at her job and not defend herself. She ended up coming up with a great plan for work, but I legitimately can't wait to see her come into her own and speak up for herself more as the series continues. Because as the first two episodes have proven, while it's totally relatable, Issa has no reason to feel Insecure.
Image: Anne Marie Fox/HBO
