What I’m Watching: Insecure (Season Premiere)

Insecure: Season 5, Episode 1 “Reunited, Okay?!” (B+)

There’s something very meta about starting a final season premiere with a reunion where its characters return to a formative place in their lives to figure out how far (or not far) they’ve come. Things are still somewhat tense between Issa and Molly, but that wasn’t the focus of the episode, even if it’s sure to be a big part of this final season. I liked that everyone could tell who Issa couldn’t remember by the tone of her “hey!” and that they were quick to point that out to her. Her panel experience got off to a rocky start when she confessed that she had blown it with the logo because the panelist mispronounced the name of her company, and singing didn’t help. As always, the best part of this show is when Issa talks to herself in the mirror. Her younger self asking to see her teeth was a highlight, as were her questions about her career and Molly. The final moment with Lawrence was a return to the present, one that suggests that Issa wants to be in control of her life now. It wasn’t too surprising that Molly had a distinctly different memory of her relationship than the man she ran into at the reunion. Getting robbed by Cheyenne, who only wanted Molly’s shoes and not Issa’s, was a wild moment, as was the extent to which everyone believed that Kelli was for some reason dead, not featured in quite enough memorial montages or tributes to her liking.