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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
Today is just not Issa’s day…
The sixth episode of Insecure’s fourth season is titled “Lowkey Done;” and it is directed by Lacey Duke and written by Fran Richter.
Some spoilers ahead for those who have not yet watched this episode or seen the series. If you haven’t done either, you should get to that now, then return to this article!
Issa Dee (Issa Rae) is put to the test when she spends the day without the company of friends or family. On one hand, she has been receiving great responses and feedback to her block party. On the other hand, she is still dealing with the falling out between herself and her best friend.
Issa uses this time for self-care; as her mirror self says, “Relax, relate, release.” She becomes a Good Samaritan figure to a pregnant woman at a grocery store, to an elderly man trying to find his son, and a trio of women on a bachelorette celebration. Things go awry when matters become more complex, and from Issa’s point-of-view, the situation just gets worse. In fact, the pregnant woman says that Issa’s gift to her is “perspective,” which is how human beings look at the world subjectively as opposed to objective. Not everyone can be helped, and as Issa’s mother tells her, we just need to “figure it out” and it will all fall into place.
If anything, this episode of Insecure is insightful. Issa’s mother says, “Sounds to me like you’re entering into a new season in your life.” As the fourth season of the series, it seems that we are coming full circle with the show. In the pilot episode, Issa and her friend Molly Carter (Yvonne Orji) are celebrating the former’s birthday at an Ethiopian restaurant. At the end of this episode, Issa is about to enter an Ethiopian restaurant — perhaps the same one — when she spots Molly sitting inside. Her decision proves the title of episode, explaining that she may indeed be done with this part of her life.
Issa tries to apply the concept of “relax, relate, release,” but there doesn’t seem to be any room for this until the end of the episode, where she smokes a joint of weed to calm her anxieties. As she tells the pregnant woman, “You’ve got to put out the energy you want to give back.” From here, we could extrapolate that “Lowkey Done” wants us all to look behind us and see how far we’ve each come, and if anything it is spiritual than in other aspects (that is, physical, mental, etc.). Everyone needs to helped one with or another, and the best of people will go the mile to make sure this happens. Issa has admitted this over and over throughout the show: both her professional and personal lives rely on helping other people.
This episode of Insecure demonstrates the difficulties of the individual human. As Issa’s other friend Kelli Prenny (Natasha Rothwell) implies, we need to keep striving for improvement in our relationships with ourselves and with others rather than waiting for that transformation to happen. Actress and series co-creator Issa delivers such an outstanding performance in her character’s solo journey to find what she so desires in this stage of her life. The cinematography is such a sight to see, and in addition to that, the episode perfectly mixes its musical soundtrack with the internal and external conflict, although the music only enhances the dramatic tone.
What do you think? Have you seen this series? If not, do you plan to binge it sometime in the near future? Let us know! For more Insecure and HBO-related news and reviews follow The Cinema Spot on Twitter (@TheCinemaSpot) and Instagram (@thecinemaspot_).
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
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