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| Photo: HBO |
"I feel like my whole life is on some tip-toe shit right now." So says Issa Dee in "Better-Like" the opener to our third journey through the romantic and professional misadventures of she and her best friend Molly. While her real-life namesake has had quite the glow up, Issa's light isn't shining much brighter from when we last saw her. She's living with friend/ex-member of her hotation Daniel rent free, but has to endure the headboard-busting racket of him banging other girls in the next room while she sleeps on the couch. That's when she's not picking up Lyft drivers who blow chunks in her backseat to earn extra coin.
Things are on E at work as well. After being pulled out of the field for segregating black and latino students last season, she's been busted down to making calls to schools who have dropped We Got Y'all. Frieda, who's been promoted to supervisor, is reluctant put in a good word for her with Joanne, for fear of losing her own position. Even when Issa tries bring up all the critical feedback about the program--tokenism in the organization, Eurocentric curriculum, mean white folks--to Joanne, all she's rewarded with is a tongue lashing. There's no place in her life right now where she feels confident, no space she can truly call her own, let alone feel comfortable enough to bust out a mirror freestyle. So it's no wonder when Daniel sends an aptly worded "heads up" text not to come home, she recruits Molly and tries to turn her car into a Party Lyft! Woot woot! Rest in peace Lawrence.
But I digress. Everything's all fun and Capri Suns until one rider had to go and spark a blunt. The other rider, Nathan, plays chivalrous and tosses said blunt out, which leads to a backseat brawl. Damn, at least he blessed Issa with that $50 tip. Daniel and Issa continue sliding to their own passive-aggressive two-step, until he asks her point blank why she showed up on his doorstep; as a female relative explains, Issa could've stayed anywhere, but she chose him. She lies initially, claiming it's because his place is close to work, but later admits she still has feelings for him. "I came here because I'd knew you'd be here for me. And I need somebody like that in my life right now," she says. Though, as she is quick to point out, Daniel is playing his own game by parading other women in front of her, someone he has a sexual history with. He responds with an "all right," and goes to bed, which in manspeak translates to "You said some true shit that hit me where I live. But I'm not about to cop to said shit right now, so imma catch you in the a.m." By the end of "Better-Like" they seem to reach a tenuous peace, but there's a time limit on Issa's couch surfing.
As for Molly, she's officially on her know better, do better shit. She's giving beach dick and Quentin the curve treatment, and demanding her new job give her the full benefits package. Blip, blam, bloop! But dusty ass Dro remains her kryptonite. Throughout the episode, she attempts to set boundaries--no dates, no spending the night, no post-coital pancakes--to bring more clarity to their situation, but, charming as he comes off, Dro blantantly refuses to respect them. He invites her out to dinner to celebrate her contract negotiations going well, and when she doesn't answer her phone, decides to use her key and let himself into her apartment. It finally takes Molly asking for her key back and throwing a little salt in her sugar for him to take the hint.
"You get to have me when you want on your terms...just because you and Candace get to do whatever and fuck whomever don't mean we all want our shit that messy!" Oop! Dro responds by snapping into full on "don't worry about what me and my wife do" mode before leaving. Molly is in the same boat as Issa, trying to navigate a longtime friendship now complicated by sex and the rom com feels. Except Molly has the extra fun burden (for her at least) of being entangled in an open marriage. She still can't accept this arrangement isn't enough for her, no matter how many rules she lays down. But at least the kitchen counter head was good.
Other Thoughts:
- Though I liked the Party Lyft scene--Issa and Molly encountering younger versions of themselves via the two girls they drove to club was a highlight--Issa's "I don't know what to do!" screams took me out of the action. I couldn't decide if she was genuinely afraid or screaming to get the guys to stop throwing hands. It just felt unnatural. It reminded me of Carrie's squirrel-induced squeals when she went to the country with Aiden. Like girl it's not that serious.
- While it'll be hard to top Due North, this season's show within the show Kev'yn, starring 90's icons Erica Alexander (does that woman age? Seriously) Bill Bellamy and Darryl M. Bell, may be up to the challenge.
- Judging from the previews, Joanne's defensive attitude won't only be directed at Issa. Other employees also appear to be questioning the direction of We Got Y'all. If that's the case, Joanne's tone deafness may give Issa the perfect opportunity to redeem herself.
- Saran wrap pants. Wrong....it's just wrong.
Those One Liners Tho'
- "They said I played good music and remind them of their auntie."
- "Oh y'all only got Fruit Frenzy? That's alright."
- Dro: "But we love pancakes." Molly: "Nigga."
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