After two agonizing years of downtime (admittedly due to other projects — Issa Rae is a busy woman), the fourth season HBO's Insecure is finally upon us! We'll finally be reunited with our chaotic but relatable Black millennial faves, and really, the timing couldn't be better given the circumstances. Look at Issa, always coming through for the culture.
But two years is a really long time, and unless you've spent your days in self-isolation reliving the mis-adventures of Issa (Rae) and Molly (Yvonne Orji) by binge watching the past three seasons, it's possible that you don't even know where the the fourth chapter in this story will open up when the show returns this Sunday. To refresh your memory, here's what went down at the end of season three of Insecure.
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What Happened To Issa's Job On Insecure?
Our protagonist had a rough start in season 3. She had temporarily moved in with her old thing Daniel (Y'lan Noel) to save money, but the arrangement was far from ideal for obvious reasons. In addition to her home life being a mess, Issa was feeling frustrated with her dead-end job at nonprofit organization We Got Y'all; the work that the org was doing seemed ineffective and exploitative in Issa's eyes. What she really wanted to do combine her love for the nonprofit world with her love of music, and working at We Got Y'all couldn't make that happen. So Issa quit, making ends meet by driving Lyfts.
Issa realized that she had to make a sacrifice in order to make her dream come true. Funding her organization would require a steady stream of income, which only driving Lyfts couldn't provide. This in mind, Issa took up a job managing an apartment building (which also came with a free apartment of her very own!), and she began meticulously planning her neighborhood-wide block party.
What Happened To Molly On Insecure?
Molly is easily the most frustrating member of the crew, and in season three, her most annoying qualities really jumped out. Our resident workaholic threw herself into her new job at a Black law firm, where she quickly encountered a serious dilemma: you can't be the superstar Black attorney in the room when you're surrounded by other superstar Black attorneys. In her new workplace, Molly struggled to stand out organically, and she resorted to doing some pretty shady things to get ahead of her co-workers.
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Her love life was also unstable, thanks to the lowkey friends-with-benefits relationship she had with Dro (Sarunas J. Jackson). It was toxic to begin with — Dro definitely lied about being in an open marriage — but things between the pair grew sour as they pushed the boundaries of their connection. Ultimately, Molly cut things off, leaving her single and ready to mingle.
Well...kind of. Issa's situationship with Nathan introduced Molly to new romantic interest Andrew (Alexander Hodge). Unfortunately for him, and for us watching at home, Molly has always maintained a strict policy about only dating Black men. She pushed back against her feelings for Andrew, who is Asian, until realizing that her rules didn't matter more than her heart, and they tentatively decided to see where things could go. Finally, Molly does something right!
Why Did Lawrence Come Back To Insecure?
Because we needed him! Look, Lawrence (dimpled king Jay Ellis) has always been a contentious character on Insecure — no one can forget the Great Twitter War of 2016 after Issa cheated on him in the first season — but he is a key part of Issa's story. He's the person that made her realize that she wanted more out of life.
After teasing that he wouldn't return to the HBO show after the end of the second season, Lawrence did in fact show up again (thanks to the efforts of the Lawrence Hive), and he had a whole new outlook on life. The last we'd seen of him, Lawrence was trying to come to terms with the fact that he had caught an STD after an unprotected sex binge. New Lawrence was focusing on his work and looking for relationships of substance, and he didn't have to look further than the doors of a local church to find it. There, he met a beautiful young divorceé named Condola (Christina Elmore), and sparks flew between the pair.
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Unfortunately for Lawrence, his connection with Condola will also reconnect him to Issa; his new girlfriend is currently collaborating with his ex-girlfriend on her new project. Yikes.
What Happened With Ghost Bae On Insecure?
His name on the show isn't Ghost Bae, but after the sheisty way that he moved, does he really deserve rights? After a string of failed relationships, Issa was sure that Nathan (Kendrick Sampson) was the one — and so were we. But as it turned out, her mysterious new fling was actually the most complicated of Issa's beaus. After an eventful (read: insane) weekend at Coachella, Nathan actually had the nerve to disappear into thin air. No calls, no texts, nothing.
Naturally, Issa was distraught by the switch-up, so obsessed with finding out what possibly could have happened to Nathan that she even pulled up to his house. Sadly, there was nothing to show for all of her sleuthing. Nathan was just...gone. As one does after being curved out of nowhere, Issa decided to move on. She couldn't afford to spend her time thinking about Nathan anyway; she had a block party to plan.
But this ghost wasn't done haunting Issa just yet. Nathan showed up to her door with a hollow explanation for his disappearance: he had to go home to Houston to work out some personal stuff. He wanted a second chance (eye roll), but Issa wasn't sure. She needed time and space to think things over, closing the door on Nathan and on the third season.
Insecure is set to return this Sunday on HBO, and from the looks of the trailer, our girl is back and still rapping in the mirror. The latest installment in the beloved dramedy will see Issa and the gang pursuing their dreams, working out their relationships, and trying their damndest to live their best lives — all while doing the absolute fool. Relatable.
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