What Finally Unpacking Her Apartment Means for Issa’s Character on Insecure
Warning: Spoilers ahead for season three of “Insecure.”
In the finale of what Issa Rae calls a “starting over again” season of “Insecure,” our main character, Issa Dee, takes a look around her new-ish apartment on the night of her 30th birthday, unpacks those boxes sitting in the corner and finally starts to decorate her new space. Why now?
Issa is finally starting to have clarity in a way that we haven’t seen before. Picture Issa Dee, season one. She was stuck in a job she hated and in a relationship she wasn’t happy in. By the end of season two, and beginning of season three, she found herself having to move out of the apartment she shared with her ex, Lawrence, and on the couch of her on-again off again boo Daniel’s apartment — still hating her job and wanting to do more of the things she loves and bring light to her beloved city, Inglewood. But there’s a lot of confusion on the way, including quitting that job she hated, and wondering what-the-heck happened to Nathan, the guy who provided excellent lip service and sweet promises to Issa and vanished without notice for an entire month.
Though all of this, Issa’s apartment is still not unpacked. There’s still no clarity about her love life, her career, or how she’s supposed to pull off the all important block party.
In the finale, though, Issa gets clear and demands closure. Daniel’s been a thing of the past and there’s no bad blood between her and her ex, Lawrence. When Nathan does show up with a reason why he left Issa hanging, she doesn’t buy into it. She found a friend-of-a-friend to help her take her block party off the ground, and in the meantime, is still decidedly a Lyft driver.
This is where Issa is, in that exciting but bittersweet time where things are poised to work out, even if it means letting go of some things. At 30, Issa’s gotten the answers and the signs she’s needed to move forward, and the status of the apartment has to follow suit. Without the mental clutter of men who ghost or logistics of block parties, she can focus on making her house a home, putting roots into the first place she’s had of her own since her breakup with Lawrence. Not to mention, it’s was probably very therapeutic to clean after dismissing Nathan and his excuses (whether or not his excuses were legitimate is still TBD).
It’s time for Issa to focus on Issa—what she likes, and what she wants to do, starting with finally unpacking her apartment. What better way to do that than to listen to a 2018 remake of the The Glow—a song from Issa’s favorite movie, “The Last Dragon,” which she just watched earlier to celebrate her birthday? The lyrics are even fitting: “Now that I’ve got my s*** figured out, no one else can even stop me now.”
Shine on, Issa.