It all came to a head this week! Let’s jump in!
The show has been building up to this fight between Issa and Molly since the beginning of the season. The tension was palpable before Molly even arrived at the event. She’s been unsupportive since the beginning and the disconnect with Issa only adds to her trepidation towards attending. Issa wasn’t sure she would come but Molly insists that they’re best friends so of course, she would. That sounded a bit hollow to me and I think Issa thought so too. Andrew mentions the toll planning a large event can take on a person which makes Molly a little more understanding of Issa. She might have come to their inevitable conversation with more thoughtfulness. However, all that goes away when Andrew mentions that Nathan asked him about getting Vince Staples to perform. Molly felt betrayed and confronted Issa. A shouting match ensued and everything they had been holding in came out.
I’ve said this before but I do understand where Molly is coming from. She wants her relationship with Andrew to work and she felt like asking him to do a favor for her friend would have jeopardized that. They had just worked out the situation with Molly’s work encroaching their time together (can you say irony?). In her mind, saying that she wouldn’t ask Andrew meant that involving him at all was off-limits, period, paragraph, the end! I don’t think Issa was wrong to ask Nathan to talk to Andrew though. Molly did not say not to involve Andrew at all. She said was that she was not going to ask him. There’s a difference. Nathan was willing to help so why not leverage that connection? Also, while Molly is entitled to her feelings, it was wrong of her to confront Issa in front of everyone at the event. That’s embarrassing and could potentially overshadow the positivity of the event. It’s the cherry on top of Molly’s negative attitude towards the block party. Molly was right about one thing, though. Working with Condola proved to be somewhat messy. Once she broke up with Lawrence, she disappeared leaving Issa to deal with all the problems. Not very professional. Anyway, Issa isn’t innocent either. She and Molly were supposed to talk over pie at Thanksgiving but she canceled. They don’t really speak for a while and then she called just to ask for a favor. That’s likely another reason why Molly said no. You can’t blow someone off and then expect them to do you a favor!
So, am I Team Issa or Team Molly? It depends. If we are talking about the shouting match in isolation, then I’m 100% Team Issa. Molly was wrong to come at her while the block party was still happening. That conversation could have waited until the next day. If not, at least wait until the crowds are gone. Taking the shouting match together with the events of the last few months, I’m not solidly on a “team”. On the one hand, I lean towards Issa because Molly was so negative about her doing the block party. Also, in Issa’s mind, Molly chose her relationship with Andrew over their friendship. I understand that feeling all too well. On the other hand, I can relate to Molly feeling ignored and a little bit used. It’s not black and white. Both of them contributed to the breakdown of their friendship. The question going forward will be whether they can come back from it. What will their relationship look like if they do try to reconcile? I doubt they’ll be as close as before. I also think Kelly and Tiffany will be caught in the middle to a degree.
Moving on, Andrew is a great addition to the show and good for Molly. He’s not intimidated by her, he treats her well and helps her see reason. I love his quip to Molly about wearing something to the block party that she’d wear any other time it is 75 degrees in LA. He had to point out the obvious on that one! Kelly’s fake British accent was hilarious! The guy she was fooling totally bought it even when Ahmal tripped her up by asking her where she was from. Poppycock is popcorn or a real formal way to say BS. The guy also said that Bank of America was a branch of government. What a dunderhead! In a way, he might be on to something because big banks often exert outsized influence on the government. Anyway, an interesting dynamic played out between Tiffany and Derek when the babysitter called. A crying baby usually means either they both go home or the mom goes. I loved that Tiffany said no way and made Derek go by himself. Moms shouldn’t always be the one that runs home when the situation only requires one parent.
Finally, I have to talk about the block party itself. It looked like such a fun event! The quasi-vegetarian in me appreciated seeing Stuff I Eat as a vender. Issa accomplished what she set out to do which was to showcase local businesses and artists. She overcame losing her headliner and being ghosted by Condola to pull it off. Her fight with Molly, unfortunately, puts a damper on her triumph.
That’s all for now. Until next week.