‘Insecure’: Why Fans Are ‘Disappointed’ in How ‘Unlikable’ Molly Has Become
In the fourth season of Insecure, fans have started to dislike Molly, even sending Yvonne Orji, the comedian who portrays the lawyer, hate on social media. Many viewers are “disappointed” in how the writers portrayed Molly, a professional black woman, and wished they balanced the fallout between her and Issa better.
Some fans don’t like the portrayal of professional black women through Molly
In the Insecure subreddit, one fan noted their annoyance with how “unlikable” Molly has become in the fourth season. They pointed out that she initially started as a “good friend, just emotionally flawed” that fans connected with and enjoyed.
However, the viewer feels that she “has become a forced, difficult trope in order to push the main character’s growth along.” While the fan understands the “purpose” in that, they still expressed their disappointment the writers “couldn’t just have a successful, professional black female character who discovers and addresses her inner emotional turmoil without having her also be mean, callous, and self-destructive.”
Although there are other professional black females in the show, the fan noticed they either don’t have the same “emotional turmoil aspect” or don’t “navigate the same type of cutthroat world as Molly.”
Therefore, they would like to see Molly portrayed as “strong yet vulnerable and worthy of empathy” as the majority of professional black women portrayed in television are usually strong or vulnerable, never both.
Other viewers believe the writers ‘destroyed’ Molly’s character’
Another fan agreed and admitted they were “side-eyeing the writers” for “destroying Molly’s character” and making her the “villain” for seemingly no reason.
They noted they’re waiting for the writers to “validate her [Molly] viewpoint, ease up on her, or give a little pushback on the Issa character.” However, it seems like the writers are “punishing Molly” and painting her as a “toxic person.”
The fan also pointed out that the lawyer has had “valid” problems with people, yet the writers portray her as always wrong and never happy or “likable.”
Therefore, the viewer thinks it’s sending a message that people are supposed to “accept chauvinism, microaggressions, and user friends,” and if they don’t, they should be cut off from their friends’ and “aren’t worthy of love.”
However, viewers get “entire episodes of Issa” happy and “trying to live a fulfilling life” without ever getting “called out on a lot of the messed up things she’s done to people in her life.”
Additionally, the fan noted the “changes in the writer’s room” and thinks those who initially conceptualized Molly’s character and “sympathized” with her are no longer writing the series.
The letdown in the character disappointed the viewer because they thought Molly “reflects a lot of real women but hadn’t really been put on TV before, so the stereotypical stuff they’ve heaped on her is especially bad.
Many fans think the way Issa and Molly are portrayed is ‘unbalanced’
One Reddit user pushed back and pointed out the writers “did a whole episode dedicated to her [Molly] being happy and likable.” Additionally, the lawyer reached out to her therapist by the end of the show because she realized she needed help “sustaining” her happiness.
The fan also noted that Molly’s “in a loving relationship” and “trying to cut Issa out of her life.” However, another fan argued that “Issa decided to cut Molly out of her life first but decided not to take the time to talk about their friendship.”
Additionally, she told Nathan on the phone that she doesn’t “f**k” with Molly anymore before they got into an argument at the block party. After their blowup, Issa attempted to “resume their friendship like none of that happened” as she thought time would heal all wounds, as it seemingly did with Lawrence.
However, “the show doesn’t engage with the personality traits/elements of Issa that’s led to the friendship breakdown the way it has with Molly.” Even though the lawyer had an episode dedicated to her, it showed her blowing up at her assistant for seemingly no reason. Additionally, the vacation ended with her getting into an argument with Andrew’s brother, Victor.
Therefore, the fan thinks the episode focused more on her “character faults.” In contrast, Issa’s episode after the blowup revolved around her “decompressing after the block party” before reuniting with Lawrence, making it “unbalanced” and easy for viewers to perceive Molly as the villain.
Ultimately, many fans want to see Molly, a professional black woman, written in a way where viewers can empathize with her flaws the way they do Issa. Insecure airs Sundays at 10 p.m. EST on HBO.
