Hella Ridiculous: ‘Insecure’ Season 2 Power Rankings

Round two for everyone’s favorite HBO drama was filled with way more downs than ups

Season 2 of Insecure is over and I couldn’t be happier about it. An impromptu poll on my Twitter timeline found it to an overall enjoyable season but I, for one, wasn’t pleased for most of it.

After Season 1, I was expecting something a bit tighter in narrative and character development. I found Molly, Issa, Lawrence, and crew mostly likable, albeit flawed. For most of Season 2, I hated everyone.

With that said, the final two episodes, “Hella Disrespectful” and “Hella Perspective,” were callbacks to the quality that made Season 1 so damn good. There were great scenes including closure for Issa and Lawrence, the reigniting of Molly and Issa’s friendship, and the return of Chad.

Those episodes had clear arcs and did a lot to fix some of the lingering issues for the show’s characters. I originally had no plans to watch Season 3. With how Season 2 ended though, I’m looking forward to how thrilled, and angry, these characters will make me when the show returns next year.

So, enough talk. Let’s get into these rankings.

Ed. note: For reference, take a look back at Season 1’s rankings right here.

1. Kelli (S1 ranking, 8th)

In a show where I felt most of the characters were trending in a downward direction, Kelli went the opposite way. Viewers saw a brand new, less desperate, and more health conscious Kelli really take life by the balls.

Last season, I didn’t like how she was the fat friend who was always begging for sex. This season, she got a man who finger pops her under the table. That’s real love.

The only thing that puzzled me about Kelli was her viewpoint on oral sex. Not that I’m one to police people’s sexual boundaries, but it feels strange to hear a woman who had an orgasm with a near stranger at a dinner table, talk about fellatio the way she did. I guess everybody has to draw a line somewhere, but when a restaurant sees your “cum” face, that seems like a very strange sexual boundary.

In any event, I enjoyed her performance throughout the season and I’m glad to see how she’s almost completely different from the woman viewers met last year.

2. Chad (S1 ranking, 10th)

While most people decided to face off with #TeamIssa versus #TeamLawrence, I found myself firmly on #TeamChad. As Lawrence’s closest partner, Chad is the perfect ride or die homie exemplified by letting Lawrence stay at the crib when he was down on his luck.

He was also the first person to tell Lawrence he was taking advantage of Tasha. His comment about Lawrence making love to Tasha all weekend and not even taking her out during the week is exactly the kind of observation all men need out of their homeboys.

Chad still gives shit advice, though. I almost choked on my whiskey when he told Lawrence that Aparna didn’t need any male friends because she didn’t need any “extra dicks” around. There’s also the juice scene, where he later remarks to Lawrence “does she always look like that?” after Issa shows up unannounced.

Chad sucked last season, but this season, his character was by far one of the most enjoyable to watch.

3. Quentin

Lil Rel’s star is rising. After his excellent silver screen showing in Get Out and his lovable character Bobby on The Carmichael Show, Rel shows up on Insecure as the high-powered Chicago attorney Quentin. Although he ended the season getting ridden to oblivion on the law firm’s couch, it’s clear that things with Molly either aren’t happening or about to get more complicated.

As a character, he’s what I thought Tasha was to Lawrence last season: Someone who is capable of excelling as a romantic interest of the person he’s attracted to, but it’s probably not going to end well for him.

However, he’s a scene-stealer and his trademark wit and humor was on full display the more fans got to know him. Here’s to hoping he doesn’t end up calling Molly a fuck nigga in Season 3.

4. Dro

There’s still so much about Dro we don’t know. Is he really in an open relationship? Does his wife know he’s fucking on Molly the way he is? Is Dro in love with Molly? Does any of this really matter?

While the questions linger about Dro’s relationship, make no mistake about it, son is winning at life. His wife, Candice, is fine. His girlfriend, Molly, is fine. He’s giving Molly dick whenever the mood strikes him and he’s not suffering any consequences for his actions. Dro rearranged Molly’s wig at a dinner for their close friends and told her to hang back so it wouldn’t look like they were just playing “find the orgasm” in the nearest bathroom. That’s gangsta.

I can’t tell if Candice knows about Molly and the meeting between both women seemed really tense for two people who “know” they’re sharing the same man. What was made clear at the end of the season, however, is that whatever Dro and Molly have isn’t stopping anytime soon. That could spell big trouble for Dro if he’s living a lie and for Molly if she’s truly interested in Quentin.

I like that Insecure has broached the idea of non-monogamous relationships. It seems that open relationships, or, as my homie who lives that life refers to it as, “consensual non-monogamy, have become more mainstream within the last few years. And while I don’t think it’s the responsibility of the show to bear the brunt of getting it right, I hope they’ll do it justice if they’re walking down this path.

5. Derek (S1 ranking, 9th with Tiffany)

This is the part of the list where it all goes downhill. Derek ranks fifth because everybody beneath him, including his wife, is far worse than he is. Mr. Dubois did have one shining moment, though, in his talk with Lawrence.

After Lawrence was wilding out regarding Issa and openly wondered if Issa was cheating on him all along, Derek dropped an anvil on Lawrence’s head. To be fair, Chad talked about Lawrence’s sordid relationship with Tasha, which should’ve been the first clue. Tasha called Lawrence “a fuck nigga who thinks he’s a good dude,” which should’ve been the second clue. But Derek was the one who delivered the killshot.

Derek told Lawrence although Issa cheated on him the failure of the relationship wasn’t completely her fault. “Honestly, this ain’t all on Issa,” Derek explained. “You spent two years unemployed. Not doing shit. Letting your woman take care of you. You kinda left the door open. […] I can see why she’d be attracted to a guy who’s out there making things happen.” It was truly the first time anyone told Lawrence about himself in a way that was direct and without the attitude from a scorned lover.

As earlier stated, Derek is here because he’s the least offensive. The rest of these niggas though? God help them.

6. Daniel (S1 ranking, 7th )

Season 2 ended with Daniel offering Issa his couch to crash on. A stand up move, considering Issa told Daniel, “don’t ever fucking call me again” in episode 7’s “Hella Disrespectful.” He gets points for not taking that personal and not turning his back on someone he may or may not have “disrespected.”

So let’s talk about the scene where he skeeted on Issa’s face.

It might be the male perspective talking, but I didn’t get the impression he intentionally tried to hurt Issa. When he and Issa spoke on the subject he was exceedingly apologetic and damn near begging for her not to cut him off. And then he tried to make light of the situation by telling her “now you know how I feel.”

That, was stupid.

Daniel is confusing. Last season, he didn’t want Issa until he wanted her. This season, Issa is playing more mind games and instead of just making her pick a side, he let her yo-yo with his feelings. When she pulled a Love Jones “this ain’t no love thang, we just kicking it” move, it was clear he didn’t feel the same way. And instead of saying that, he basically just let things slide.

Little negro in a little jacket needs to learn how to stand his ground.

7. Molly (S1 ranking, 5th)

I have no idea what the fuck Molly is doing.

I was hoping she’d do some self-analysis about where she was in life and why she was there. Instead, she continuously made bad decisions to the point I almost hoped for her downfall in the same way I hoped for Issa’s in the previous season.

When Molly found out her father cheated on her mother, she was devastated and used that as the catalyst to sleep with Dro. I get that she was angry. It can be very difficult to have your dreams shattered by the cold touch of reality. But Molly’s desperation is infuriating. Last season, she ditched Jared for them “League” dudes. This season, she brought a complete stranger to her parents’ ceremony. Even her brother said, “if you don’t like this nigga, why are you wasting your time?”

Molly doesn’t want to live this life and yet she’s continuously sticking her hand in an open flame then wondering why she gets burned. At the dinner party in “Hella Disrespectful,” it was clear she felt left out when it came to Dro and Candice. And yet, it’s Dro she’s modeling underwear for at the end of the season.

What I did enjoy about Molly, however, was how she’s handling things at her job. Black women have to do so much to be recognized at work and it can be incredibly difficult to look for other options when a person feels they’ve put in so much time at their current spot. Plus, it’s a “devil you know versus the devil you don’t” thing and it’s dope Molly decided to go out there and leverage her brilliance to force her firm to pay up.

They didn’t, though. So now she’s left with a decision to make. And Molly isn’t good at making good decisions. I hope this ends well.

8. Lawrence (S1 ranking, 4th)

I want to fight Lawrence. He was clearly in pain, obviously wilding out, and didn’t think there was anything he could do about it. It wasn’t so much that his behavior was out of control in that, he just seemed so damn weak. His fallout with Tasha was inevitable, but he pulled way too many rookie moves for someone who’s so close to 30. Granted, being 30 doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things but Lawrence doesn’t have a backbone and that’s very unbecoming of a grown man.

Lawrence is a pleaser. That’s why he didn’t tell Tasha he didn’t want to go to the family barbecue, why he didn’t reject Aparna’s self-invitation to Derek’s dinner, and why he let that white chick talk about his “nigger dick” without batting an eyelash. I don’t understand how anybody could be #TeamLawrence when he took more L’s than the 2008 Detroit Lions.

(They went 0–16 that year.)

Lawrence’s downward spiral hurt me. I identified with his employment struggles last season. I also felt where he was coming on the season finale, “Hella Perspective,” when he talked about checking out of his relationship with Issa due to failed expectations. I wasn’t ever #TeamLawrence but I did want to see him win.

While I hated him and Issa equally, I was happy to see they reconciled in the finale. I’m not a big fan of closure but, if it’s something people are going to seek, I was glad to see them find it. Probably. Admitting he still loved Issa was a big step and welcome change in their relationship because watching them hurt each other in “Hella Disrespectful” was cringeworthy.

In short, Lawrence might’ve been a spineless dweeb but here’s to hoping there’s some momentum from the closure of his failed relationship with Issa that’ll enable him to live his best life.

9. Issa (S1 ranking, 6th)

Issa’s awkwardness stretched my patience. I thought she was endearing and slightly off-kilter in the first season but I found her hard to stomach in the second season. There’s so much she did wrong this season that one could write 2500 words on just her fuck-ups alone.

Issa is just…she’s always doing the opposite of what the fuck she’s supposed to be doing. Issa’s “ho phase” was a bad idea. Not that she shouldn’t have been out here having sex with anybody she wanted, because she should. But, she wasn’t built for that. And maybe she didn’t know she wasn’t built for having a “ho-tation” until she actually tried to get one. But even the way she ascertained her partners was painful to witness.

Issa showed up to her neighbor’s house unannounced. Strike one. Issa threw herself at Nico and got the Mutumbo finger wave. Strike two. Issa got a facial from Daniel and, instead of just talking about why she felt disrespected, she wigged out. Strike three.

What’s realistic about her character, however, is she’s someone who doesn’t really know who she is. She’d been in a relationship so long she didn’t have an identity outside of being someone’s girlfriend.

One constant about Issa that’s been evident from the first season is she’s non-confrontational in a way that’s maddening to witness. So, it was cool to see her finally approach Vice Principal Gaines about not letting the Latino students into the program. Although, the way she handled it got her a stern talking to and possibly overlooked for a promotion.

With Issa, it’s always one step forward and six steps back.

Here’s a list of some other classic Issa fuck-ups: she lost her car; she might lose her job; she has a very strange relationship with her brother, which I hope they get into next season; and her friends almost burned her apartment down.

Babygirl was doing bad, yo.

What I would like to see next season is how she handles being the least successful friend in the group. Issa is at rock bottom in her life, but the only way she can go is up. Let’s hope she gets her shit together.

10. Tiffany (S1 ranking, 9th)

I hate Tiffany. She’s annoying. She’s obnoxious. She’s bougie. She makes decisions without thinking of the ramifications, like inviting her alleged best friend to the same dinner as said best friend’s ex-boyfriend without shooting her a heads up.

She’s just generally un-fucking-likable.

It’s clear she’s an archetype for a certain type of Black woman, but I don’t like those kind of Black women so Tiffany can go ahead and get her die on.

You can find Garfield ranting away on Twitter at @Smooth_Orator or hear his thoughts on his podcast, @NWAPCast.

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