‘Insecure’ Season 3 Premiere Recap: Dysfunctional-Like

After a year-long wait, HBO’s hit TV series Insecure is finally back for their third run and the season premiere was packed with everything we needed. Last year, the season finale brought Issa and Lawrence’s relationship to a close, but left the door open for a whole new set of issues to tackle. With the focus for season three centered around embracing the idea of adulting, this season we’ll see how the show’s characters grow and mature from the mistakes they’ve made in the past.

Last season left off with Issa saying goodbye to Lawrence, Molly and Dro starting their newfound “situation,” and Issa moving out of The Dunes and in with Daniel, setting up the storylines for this season. A lot of people were disappointed to hear that Lawrence wouldn’t be returning, but the writers made sure to replace him with another character to explore - the mysterious Daniel. In season one he was introduced as a guy from Issa’s past who she would then cheat on her boyfriend with, but this season we’ll get a chance to learn more about his character outside of his connection to her. In addition to Daniel, the show will as usual shed light on each character and reveal the insecurities they’re battling with now.

Last night’s season premiere got off to a bumpy start, but the first episode was just a glimpse of what else this season has in store for us. Your timeline might have given you a brief rundown of everything that happened in the premiere episode, but allow us to give you a more thorough breakdown of “Better-Like.”

Issa’s New Living Arrangements

Last season tied up any loose ends Issa had, so in season three we’re going to see how she handles navigating adulthood now that she has a new lease on life. All of the mistakes she’s made in the previous seasons have come full circle for her now that she can’t pretend to ignore the consequences of her actions. For instance, the game she’s been playing with Daniel has finally come back to bite her. In the season 2 finale, we were under the impression that Issa would be going to live with her brother, but somehow she ended up on Daniel’s doorstep, making the start of season three even more messy. Choosing to live with Daniel was a bad idea from the start, but of course Issa already knew that. She found out the hard way that things weren’t going to be what she expected.

The opening scene was a shock to everyone last night- the episode started with Daniel having very loud, passionate sex with someone but imagine our surprise when we found out it wasn’t with Issa. Instead, she’s right where she said she’d be - sleeping on the couch (at least trying to). Daniel’s lack of discretion for his roommate proved he wasn’t letting Issa play around with him this time, his petty levels were at an all-time high. Although her current situation doesn’t seem like she’s doing better, she made it clear that she does know better than to go back down that road with Daniel.

Molly and Dro Get Complicated

Speaking of messy, Molly and Dro are still in their situation-ship and Molly is finally realizing it’s not what she wants. As far as her love life, Molly went with the flow last season accepting whoever came along, but when Dro sprung his open marriage on her she had to make a choice - temporary or permanent happiness. Clearly she didn’t go with the latter, but now that she’s on her “know better do better” tip, she’s taking control of her love life.

After the constant reminders of Dro’s marriage, Molly took a stand. If they were going to continue with their affair they needed to establish boundaries. Her sudden need for rules to make things work between them didn’t sit too well with Dro since he obviously didn’t care to follow them. Her final straw was when he let himself into her apartment without letting her know. His lack of respect for her new boundaries resulted in a huge fight between them where he told her to figure out what she wanted. Hopefully this season we see Molly make better choices in men since she knows she doesn’t have a future with Dro.

Issa Gets a Side Hustle

Issa’s been having trouble with her job ‘We Got Y’all’ for awhile now. Last season she got beat out for a promotion by her co-worker and she got demoted. Since then she’s been trying to get back in her boss’s good graces, but according to her boss she can’t get anything right. Desk duty at work is just a constant reminder that she’s stuck working a dead-end job that barely pays the bills. Her only motivation to stay is the fact that she’s needs money so she can hurry up and move out of Daniel’s place ASAP. Since her regular 9-5 isn’t exactly cutting it, she decided to get a side hustle for some quick cash - being a Lyft driver. The job is less than glamorous (per the Party Lyft brawl in the backseat), but she’s making the best out of her situation.

Issa Reveals Her True Feelings

Despite chalking them up to being nothing more than roommates, deep down Issa has trying to suppress her real feelings for Daniel. She once described him as just “an itch she needed to scratch,” but clearly he’s much more than that. Before the episode ended she finally came clean to him and told him why she really moved in with him. Unfazed by her realization, Daniel is still treating her as just his roommate. She took her chance to explore her relationship with Daniel, but it looks like her plan backfired - now she’s stuck in a messy situation.

The first episode left us with a lot of unanswered questions, but the preview for the rest of the season helped fill in some of the blanks. Who knows what other surprises will pop up this season, all we know is that we’re in for quite the ride.