I agree. It is not quite what I expected. I was ready for a whole lot of Issa Rae but instead I feel as though the "Molly" character is crammed into the story and grabbing important character aspects that rightfully belong to the main character. This unfortunate decision has really narrowed the impact of what should have been a groundbreaking prestige series for HBO.
In Awkward Black Girl ("ABG") the story was narrated through Voice Over which is traditionally frowned upon even though it worked well in successful programs like Sex in the City and frankly worked fantastically in ABG. So in order to tell her story in the conventionally "acceptable" fashion they had to cram in another Black female, Molly to be her sounding board and foil character. If all the issues in the current plotline were happening to the same person it would be a much more compelling show. But here, the issues are divided between two characters which diminishes their impact. Whose character development are we supposed to be following?
There are some implausible moments from the very beginning. Why would an "insecure" person jump up on stage singing about anyone's "pussy". It felt forced and unnatural. And for the sake of all that is holy - Why Is There So Much Cursing? Two intelligent, educated black women sit in a restaurant for lunch having a loud expletive laden conversation that professional women certainly have in private but NEVER in public. Why would Molly care about someone in her office getting married? Issa's character would be more concerned with that as she has been living with a man who has not been able to get his act together to make that next step. Molly doesn't even have a steady beau, yet. So it seems highly unlikely that someone getting engaged would even resonate with her. Her strong reactions would only seem valid if her office mate was getting engaged to a man that Molly had dated seriously. It makes me very uncomfortable seeing the same angry black woman who can't get a date, who complains about the variety of black men who are in the dating pool; or the one who has the disappointing boyfriend, who slacks off at work, who has to be chided by white people as to how to be a concerned employee and involved black person. And further, the "fill in the blank - 'As *beep*'" episode titles are puerile and make it difficult to reference them in watercooler discussions.
I believe that Issa Rae is a brilliant writer and really good actress, and I am praying that her very unique voice does not get drowned out by industry-insider conventionalism that has to this point marginalized our ability to bring non-stereotypical and reality-based People of Color to the big and small screens.
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