‘Insecure’: Growth, Okay?! - BLACK WITH NO CHASER

The BLOCC is Hot

Episode two opens one year after the trip to Stanford University. The BLOCC has taken off and Issa is in Entrepreneur mode setting up events such as a book signing for The Vanishing Half, a gathering for Nathan’s barbershop, and a presentation to woo a local company’s backing for Crenshawn’s, played by Kofi Siriboe (whew, chile), fashion extravaganza. Molly, whose hair has been cut into low natural, is focusing on self-actualization, meditating, and taking on more responsibilities at work. The two have worked their relationship back to real best friend status. They are planning dinner dates and movie nights, and Molly even finds herself sleeping over at Issa’s. Issa gave the girl her own pillow. The friendship looks super solid. Hopefully this is not a setup.

Family Planning and Family Pressure

Molly is pressuring her parents to take estate planning seriously, but Molly’s mom is more interested in setting her up with Herbert, the organist from the church. Molly’s mom know she wrong, y’all. She spreads a thick layer of “mom guilt” on Molly in the hopes of speeding up the process of dating, marriage, and grandchildren. It was such a familiar song that many women have heard more than once. I’m glad mine stopped asking. Molly reassures her mom that she’s focusing on herself, but that doesn’t necessarily discourage her mother’s behavior. Molly and her mother later apologize to each other for being pushy and they come to an understanding. Molly’s mom is still campaigning for Herbert, though. SMH.

Well, That Backfired.

Meanwhile, NBW loves Issa’s presentation for Crenshawn’s potential involvement in the big show. However, they are unsure that he’s up for the demands of such an important event. They want Issa to pursue the show with more well-known artists, but she knows deep down that Crenshawn is up for the challenge. Molly encourages Issa to go over the head of the guy with whom she’s been working. She tries, only to end up in a breakfast meeting with both him and his boss. She saves face and sells the idea of Crenshawn being the artist they need. In order to put their full support behind the show, they ask Issa to make some changes. When Issa shares those changes with Crenshawn, he is hesitant. He feels corporate vultures are trying to whitewash his show to make it more palatable for the masses (read massuhs). Issa assures him that this is the shot he’s been waiting for and a little compromise is to be expected.

Molly tries to refresh her dating profile and realizes she was a little harsh in her expectations. As she attempts to update the answers to the question prompts, she reflects on her past requirements and behaviors. She’s not proud of who she’s been and she comes to some stark realizations about herself that we’ve been seeing all along. Boy, when you become aware of your shortcomings, it can hit you like a ton of bricks. We later see Molly meeting up with a guy for date after the show.

Sell Out or Nah?

The day of the show, Crenshawn decides to move forward with the original format. Issa calls him unprofessional, which fuels a big argument and a heated exchange that is embarrassing to Issa and damaging to the budding professional relationship she has developed with him. Crenshawn calls Issa a sell out, which she finds hurtful. He moves forward with the original format, leaving her to figure out how this will affect her standing with NBW.

All’s Well That Ends Well

Drummers, low-rider bicycles, and bomb fashion blows the minds of the audience and the representative from NBW. While Issa believes he’s uncomfortable and hating the show, he’s actually uber impressed. He finds Issa to let her know not only did he enjoy the show, but that NBW will be looking forward to working with her again in the near future and providing more funding to back the projects she chooses. While it’s good news for Issa, the relationship with Crenshawn seems to be irretrievably broken. They exchange a knowing look after the show, but don’t speak to one another while others congratulate him on the success of the show.

The Meltdown

Even though the show was a success, Issa is in a funk. That’s the worst when things work out well, but you still don’t have peace about it. Anyway, she texts Nathan to come over so she can vent. He encourages her to see the bright side of how things played out. He attempts to leave, but she asks him to stay. As they lay in bed, Issa thanks him for his support and tells him she feels better. Things start to get steamy and just as it’s about to go down, Issa bursts into tears. She apologizes for being emotional and tells him she thought she was ready. We know that she’s grieving the second death of her relationship with Lawrence, but Nathan isn’t really clear about what’s going on. He is gracious, nonetheless, and holds her as she cries herself to sleep. She awakes to the sound of the door closing and an empty bed. Their timing just can’t seem to get right.

The Playlist

Nothing irks me more than hearing a dope track and not being able to find out the name of the song or the artist. I know there are apps such as SoundHound that can assist, but you can’t always catch them in time. Shows like Love Is, Run the World, The Chi, and of course Insecure, always put us on to new music, so here you’ll find the latest bops from each episode.