Issa Rae’s “Insecure” has come to an end. The series finale aired on Sunday night (Dec. 26), bringing a close to what many deem to be a culture-shifting sitcom.
After five years of watching main characters, Issa Dee and Molly (played by Yvonne Orji), face their insecurities while navigating through uncomfortable situations in their careers, relationships and family life, the two women — who overcame a past rift in their friendship — ended the series as the best friends we met in the show’s pilot. This time, however, they were solid in their careers and had each found love with their respective partners; Issa followed her heart and chose to be with her longtime lover Lawrence, and Molly found a forever love in her coworker and now-husband Taurean.
“The real love story is Issa And Molly,” showrunner Prentice Penny tweeted. “Black women being dope as fuck and thriving in the face of anything is what we are really watching,” adding that the intention of the finale was to show that Issa was finally “secure in her insecurities.”
As with every episode since the start of “Insecure,” Twitter users live-tweeted as the show aired, sharing their reactions to every scene and laughable/relatable quote. By the end of the show, the tweets included general posts about the finale, congratulatory tweets to Issa Rae and her fellow cast members and posts acknowledging the impact the show has had on African American culture.
“I’m really proud of Issa Rae though,” wrote one Twitter user. “Really gotdamn proud. From a Youtube series to a 5 season show on HBO. Amazing.”
“I love that ‘Insecure’ ended with two successful Black women finding love and succeeding in their life goals,” added Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill. “It really was beautiful.”
@evelynvwoodsen said that the “Insecure” finale “made life seem so beautiful and gave hope for what’s ahead.”
Others discussed their thoughts on the entire series.
“I like #Insecure because it was a show about Black people existing,” wrote @tinaqueen_15. “Not once did they try to remind us of Black trauma. It felt like I was talking to my Black ass friends and not talking to people trying to pitch me something.”
“We’ll be talking about ‘Insecure’ the same way we still talk about ‘A Different World,’ ‘Living Single,’ ‘Girlfriends,’ etc. for years to come,” predicted writer @IAMNJERA. “It shifted the culture entirely in just 5 years, and that impact will never be forgotten.”