thatghchick
General Manager
I did not see that number 1 man coming lmao. The actor's reaction on Insta was too cute. Below is the article. What are you guys' thoughts?
The best part of Insecure is talking about Insecure — fussing over it, yelling at it, tweeting about it. Issa Rae’s HBO series brings together late-20-somethings who seem like people you know but keep at a distance because they move too messily. Issa and Molly’s relationship anchors the series, but their dealings with (and misgivings about) the men that orbit them make for some of the series’s strongest drama. There’s Nathan. There’s Andrew. There’s Lawrence. But who’s the best dude on Insecure, and who’s the worst?
The criteria: How is this man as a co-worker, boyfriend, sibling, or friend? How often did he ghost, cheat, or flake? The rules: The man in question must appear in two or more episodes of Insecure. (Unfortunately, that leaves out the revolving door of guys Issa went out with in the immediate aftermath of Lawrence, the guy Molly dated who thought two glasses of Malbec earned him a night of passion, and the 20-something Kelli met in Malibu who looked “just like Jill Scott.”) So here is the definitive ranking of every man to appear on Insecure.
27. Dro
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
I hate this too tall, too tight-shirt-wearing man. I hate him! (Important to note that ranked higher than him are Molly’s two incompetent colleagues and a fictional antebellum slave owner.) He teased Molly with the trappings of a real relationship: comforting her after learning about her dad’s infidelity, bubble baths, dates, a Los Angeles day party — my God. When Molly repeatedly expressed confusion over the terms of their relationship and said that she was enjoying their time together a little too much, he gaslighted her as if he hadn’t been leading her to higher expectations. Andhe’s too tall.
Due North
He was a slave owner. So.
25. Vice-Principal Gaines
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
I know that the vice-principal of We Got Y’all’s partner school wants to do what’s best for the underserved black students at his school, but turning away Latino students from PSAT tutoring is not right!
24. Ken
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
Issa’s white We Got Y’all co-worker is the kind of white colleague to whisper surreptitiously when he says Baldwin Hills is known as the “black Beverly Hills.” For whom, Ken? For what? He was the leader of the “secret white meetings” and the “secret white emails.” He expects Issa to understand that he represents the gay community in their We Got Y’all meetings and she represents the black one.
23. Daniel
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
Oh, Daniel, Issa’s “What if?” guy. He was the fantasy that snapped her out of her relationship with Lawrence. Issa hadn’t felt appreciated or desired for years, but a perfectly timed “What’s up?” from Daniel was enough to rekindle a friendship that was always a little something more. Too bad Daniel’s flirty texts and lingering glances masked his selfishness: He only wanted a relationship with Issa on his terms, when he was ready, when hedidn’t have anything else going on. He shows up to her work events and office unannounced, only to manipulate her attention. Sometimes she can live with him as a friend, sometimes as more than a friend, sometimes he’ll flirt with other girls in front of her, or not care if she’s in the next room hearing them have xes. In or out of their unstable relationship, Daniel likes to keep Issa in his life, but at a distance.
22. Lawrence
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
We had to make it here eventually. Everything with Lawrence — loving him, hating him, cheating on him, making up with him, trying to be friends with him, resenting him for sleeping on her couch — is the second most important relationship of Issa’s 20s. Insecure’s first episode had Issa making plans to break up with her down-and-out boyfriend; four years later, she’s still trying to figure out how to keep him in her life but not at its center. Let’s establish that they had a terrible, no good, very bad relationship, one that was toxic for them both. Issa was supportive (for four years! When he had no job and no ambitions and no plans and no initiative to be a good partner!) until she couldn’t give him any more emotional labor. Lawrence was lazy and selfish and proud until he lashed out. But where does that leave him?
Not great! He has the veneer of a nice guy because he dresses with intention and seems thoughtful. He improves with every relationship Insecure finds him in — things with Condola were markedly better than things with Issa, albeit with much lower stakes — but still he doesn’t actually listen to women or consider their needs. He is a frustrated, jealous friend even when he’s successful. All he did was get a job and a nicer clothes. Tasha was right about him in season two: “You a fµck ***** who thinks he’s a good dude.”
21. Jidenna
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
Jidenna — his character has a name, but truly, why does it matter here? — dated Molly for a few episodes in season one. Compared to the revolving door of hoteps and fµck buddies she’d been out with, Jidenna seemed like a breath of fresh air. Their romance fizzles when she brings him to a co-worker’s engagement party and he introduces himself as her boyfriend. This was a bad, misleading thing to do, but Jidenna’s heart was (sort of) in the right place: Molly was jumping to way too many conclusions before she even slept next to this man with a scarf on, after only a few dates! “I thought you needed a win,” he told her. “We barely even know each other, and you’re talking about me leaving clothes at your spot, making plans six months in advance.” The message was delivered loud and clear and very clumsily, but Jidenna was being more honest with Molly than a lot of men on this list.
20. Mr. Robinson
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
All Issa’s tenant does is not curb his dog and then lie about having one. I appreciate the flex, but this is bad behavior!
19. Nathan
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
Of all of Insecure’s men, Nathan is probably not there when you call, and he definitely won’t even be on time. But he’s the only ex-bae in Issa’s life who is at least trying to be better. Nathan started out promising enough when he stepped into her Party Lyft and defended Issa’s honor — or her car’s no-smoking policy — when an unruly passenger tried to light up. After a few dates and a very Before trilogy walk around Leimert Park, he ghosted her. Bad!
18. Neighbor Bae
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
When Issa needed to get laid without a lot of effort, Neighbor Bae was conveniently just downstairs. (He was also, she later learned, stealing her Wi-Fi.) He wasn’t exactly straight up with her about the fact that he was sleeping with other people — once she came over and he was entertaining another woman — but they’d never explicitly defined the terms of their friendship.
17. Taurean
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
Molly’s co-worker at her second law firm always finds a way to have a funky attitude about something.
16. Chad
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
Chad believes in a law of averages, where all the women who were selective in their 20s lower their standards by their 30s, an economy that benefits his clownery. He’s a “Where my hug at?” type, more than happy to flirt with every woman within a five-mile radius. (Even with Lawrence sleeping on his couch, Chad batted his eyelashes at Issa!) And yet! Chad is pure chaotic neutral. He will tolerate his friends’ messiness only to a point. He’s the friend that will laugh alongside you when you’re making the biggest mistakes of your life, but if you ask him for real talk, he’ll give you tough love. Chad is good, but not perfect. Chad is messy, but not toxic. Half the things he says are idiotic (women, he says, don’t need male friends because “that’s extra dick around for no reason”), and half the things he says are profound (“Whatever happened to Bradley Cooper?”). That’s why he’s here, near the very middle.
15 and 14. Molly’s brothers
Photo: HBO
Neither of Molly’s brothers — Jerome and Curtis — have anything major going for them. They’re not as ambitious as she is, but they do seem much happier. Good for them!
The best part of Insecure is talking about Insecure — fussing over it, yelling at it, tweeting about it. Issa Rae’s HBO series brings together late-20-somethings who seem like people you know but keep at a distance because they move too messily. Issa and Molly’s relationship anchors the series, but their dealings with (and misgivings about) the men that orbit them make for some of the series’s strongest drama. There’s Nathan. There’s Andrew. There’s Lawrence. But who’s the best dude on Insecure, and who’s the worst?
The criteria: How is this man as a co-worker, boyfriend, sibling, or friend? How often did he ghost, cheat, or flake? The rules: The man in question must appear in two or more episodes of Insecure. (Unfortunately, that leaves out the revolving door of guys Issa went out with in the immediate aftermath of Lawrence, the guy Molly dated who thought two glasses of Malbec earned him a night of passion, and the 20-something Kelli met in Malibu who looked “just like Jill Scott.”) So here is the definitive ranking of every man to appear on Insecure.
27. Dro
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
I hate this too tall, too tight-shirt-wearing man. I hate him! (Important to note that ranked higher than him are Molly’s two incompetent colleagues and a fictional antebellum slave owner.) He teased Molly with the trappings of a real relationship: comforting her after learning about her dad’s infidelity, bubble baths, dates, a Los Angeles day party — my God. When Molly repeatedly expressed confusion over the terms of their relationship and said that she was enjoying their time together a little too much, he gaslighted her as if he hadn’t been leading her to higher expectations. Andhe’s too tall.
Due North
He was a slave owner. So.
25. Vice-Principal Gaines
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
I know that the vice-principal of We Got Y’all’s partner school wants to do what’s best for the underserved black students at his school, but turning away Latino students from PSAT tutoring is not right!
24. Ken
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
Issa’s white We Got Y’all co-worker is the kind of white colleague to whisper surreptitiously when he says Baldwin Hills is known as the “black Beverly Hills.” For whom, Ken? For what? He was the leader of the “secret white meetings” and the “secret white emails.” He expects Issa to understand that he represents the gay community in their We Got Y’all meetings and she represents the black one.
23. Daniel
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
Oh, Daniel, Issa’s “What if?” guy. He was the fantasy that snapped her out of her relationship with Lawrence. Issa hadn’t felt appreciated or desired for years, but a perfectly timed “What’s up?” from Daniel was enough to rekindle a friendship that was always a little something more. Too bad Daniel’s flirty texts and lingering glances masked his selfishness: He only wanted a relationship with Issa on his terms, when he was ready, when hedidn’t have anything else going on. He shows up to her work events and office unannounced, only to manipulate her attention. Sometimes she can live with him as a friend, sometimes as more than a friend, sometimes he’ll flirt with other girls in front of her, or not care if she’s in the next room hearing them have xes. In or out of their unstable relationship, Daniel likes to keep Issa in his life, but at a distance.
22. Lawrence
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
We had to make it here eventually. Everything with Lawrence — loving him, hating him, cheating on him, making up with him, trying to be friends with him, resenting him for sleeping on her couch — is the second most important relationship of Issa’s 20s. Insecure’s first episode had Issa making plans to break up with her down-and-out boyfriend; four years later, she’s still trying to figure out how to keep him in her life but not at its center. Let’s establish that they had a terrible, no good, very bad relationship, one that was toxic for them both. Issa was supportive (for four years! When he had no job and no ambitions and no plans and no initiative to be a good partner!) until she couldn’t give him any more emotional labor. Lawrence was lazy and selfish and proud until he lashed out. But where does that leave him?
Not great! He has the veneer of a nice guy because he dresses with intention and seems thoughtful. He improves with every relationship Insecure finds him in — things with Condola were markedly better than things with Issa, albeit with much lower stakes — but still he doesn’t actually listen to women or consider their needs. He is a frustrated, jealous friend even when he’s successful. All he did was get a job and a nicer clothes. Tasha was right about him in season two: “You a fµck ***** who thinks he’s a good dude.”
21. Jidenna
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
Jidenna — his character has a name, but truly, why does it matter here? — dated Molly for a few episodes in season one. Compared to the revolving door of hoteps and fµck buddies she’d been out with, Jidenna seemed like a breath of fresh air. Their romance fizzles when she brings him to a co-worker’s engagement party and he introduces himself as her boyfriend. This was a bad, misleading thing to do, but Jidenna’s heart was (sort of) in the right place: Molly was jumping to way too many conclusions before she even slept next to this man with a scarf on, after only a few dates! “I thought you needed a win,” he told her. “We barely even know each other, and you’re talking about me leaving clothes at your spot, making plans six months in advance.” The message was delivered loud and clear and very clumsily, but Jidenna was being more honest with Molly than a lot of men on this list.
20. Mr. Robinson
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
All Issa’s tenant does is not curb his dog and then lie about having one. I appreciate the flex, but this is bad behavior!
19. Nathan
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
Of all of Insecure’s men, Nathan is probably not there when you call, and he definitely won’t even be on time. But he’s the only ex-bae in Issa’s life who is at least trying to be better. Nathan started out promising enough when he stepped into her Party Lyft and defended Issa’s honor — or her car’s no-smoking policy — when an unruly passenger tried to light up. After a few dates and a very Before trilogy walk around Leimert Park, he ghosted her. Bad!
18. Neighbor Bae
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
When Issa needed to get laid without a lot of effort, Neighbor Bae was conveniently just downstairs. (He was also, she later learned, stealing her Wi-Fi.) He wasn’t exactly straight up with her about the fact that he was sleeping with other people — once she came over and he was entertaining another woman — but they’d never explicitly defined the terms of their friendship.
17. Taurean
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
Molly’s co-worker at her second law firm always finds a way to have a funky attitude about something.
16. Chad
Photo: Courtesy of HBO
Chad believes in a law of averages, where all the women who were selective in their 20s lower their standards by their 30s, an economy that benefits his clownery. He’s a “Where my hug at?” type, more than happy to flirt with every woman within a five-mile radius. (Even with Lawrence sleeping on his couch, Chad batted his eyelashes at Issa!) And yet! Chad is pure chaotic neutral. He will tolerate his friends’ messiness only to a point. He’s the friend that will laugh alongside you when you’re making the biggest mistakes of your life, but if you ask him for real talk, he’ll give you tough love. Chad is good, but not perfect. Chad is messy, but not toxic. Half the things he says are idiotic (women, he says, don’t need male friends because “that’s extra dick around for no reason”), and half the things he says are profound (“Whatever happened to Bradley Cooper?”). That’s why he’s here, near the very middle.
15 and 14. Molly’s brothers
Photo: HBO
Neither of Molly’s brothers — Jerome and Curtis — have anything major going for them. They’re not as ambitious as she is, but they do seem much happier. Good for them!
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