Insecure’s Yvonne Orji On What Molly is Really Fighting For and Against in Her Relationships

Awards Daily’s Megan McLachlan talks to Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Emmy nominee Yvonne Orji about what’s pushing Molly to the edge of her relationships in Season 4 of Insecure.

You couldn’t go on Twitter on a Sunday night this past spring without seeing people tweet about being Team Issa or Team Molly, relating to the fight between the two best friends on Insecure. It was a difficult season to watch at points, especially since it felt so real in its nature. Issa (Issa Rae) and Molly (Yvonne Orji) are growing apart, and neither one knows what to do about it, falling into their old habits that aren’t doing the friendship any favors.

Through four seasons, we’ve watched Molly go through many relationships, but in Season 4 she seems to have found some happiness with Andrew (Alexander Hodge), until the final episode when he reveals he doesn’t think they are a good fit. It’s crushing to hear for Molly and for all of the show’s fans, knowing what this character has been through and how she truly only wants to find love, even if she herself always gets in the way of that.

I got to chat with Emmy nominee Orji about this turbulent season for Molly, what is was like filming that near throw-down with Issa after the block party, and whether Issa and Molly can ever go back to the way they were.

Awards Daily: I’m Team Molly. I know she has her issues, but I see a pain there and a loneliness. What do you think Molly is going through this particular season that’s different from other seasons, that ends up affecting her relationship with Issa and all of her relationships?

Yvonne Orji: Molly is going through this growing pain. It started in Season 1. It’s her trying to do better, and trying to figure out how. Then now she’s in this relationship and she’s trying to figure out how to be in a relationship and also how to be front and center in her friendship relationship. I think that all leads to the breakdown in communication. She’s trying to balance everything and get it all right. There’s no getting it all right when it comes to human interaction. You’re going to stumble. You’re going to mess up, and that’s how you grow.

AD: Is there something else specifically holding Molly back in relationships? I feel like there’s something in her past that’s affected her that maybe we haven’t learned about yet. Or maybe do you think it’s just being a strong black woman who’s so used to having to fight her way to the top that she’s picking fights with those she loves?

YO: I think when you know one way of doing things, I think you’re absolutely right—she’s used to the struggle. She’s used to the survival mode. She’s used to fighting. And then she doesn’t have to do that with Andrew. He actually just wants to love you. But then she’s like, I had to fight for Dro to love me, but he wasn’t the one who was supposed to be the one to love you. She has patterns she hasn’t really overcome. It’s the push and pull. Issa is also a pattern. Both of them are falling into patterns that they are having to fight against.

AD: What was it like filming the near fight scene with Issa? That was so intense. 

YO: Fight scenes are always the worst. Going all the way back to Season 1 when Molly and Issa are at the fundraiser, that’s the first time we really see a crack in the foundation of their friendship when they yell at each other. The first cut is always the deepest, and I remember having to go home after shooting that and watching Veep to get laughter back in my life. I was like, “Why am I so angry?” Then, I was like, “Oh, I just had a fight scene.” (Laughs) I had to channel this anger. I’ve gotten used to it over the years, so by the time we got to that scene with Issa this season, I was like, “Girl, the only time we’ve been together this season, is when you’re about to fight me. Who wrote this? Oh, yeah—you!”

AD: In the breakup scene with Andrew and Molly, he asks her, “What are you fighting for right now?” What do you think he is fighting for? 

YO: I don’t think he’s fighting anymore. (Laughs) Whenever a guy has to fight to just be loved, it’s never going to end well. If I have to fight you to love you, what are we doing? I just want to be able to be, and you won’t let me. She doesn’t get it until it’s too late.

AD: In “Lowkey Trying,” you say to Issa, “Maybe who you are now and who I am now just don’t fit anymore,” which I think is interesting because that’s basically the same language that Andrew uses with her, in terms of “fit.” Do you think Molly feels like an outsider in all of her relationships?

YO: I feel like she’s trying so hard to be an insider when she’s already inside. It’s the thing of trying to be the perfect friend. Again, the show is called Insecure, right? We have this very strong-willed woman who’s killing it at work and scared in relationships. Even when she’s talking with Tiffany, she’s like, “What should I do?” It’s like, girl, what is it that you actually want? She’s involving the other friends. “Do you think I should be upset? I should be upset, right?” How do you feel and what do you want from this? She’s asking for approval to be herself.

AD: She breaks my heart. I would be friends with her, get into fights with her, but still love her.

YO: I love her dearly.

AD: When Molly gets into an argument with Andrew’s brother Victor, it’s such a hard scene to watch. The way he talks to her is infuriating. How do you feel about that situation, stepping away from playing Molly?

YO: It’s very specific. It’s one thing to be like, hey, let’s look on the bright side, we’re here, it’s fine, let’s be good together. Molly’s thing is she constantly has to prove herself, and now there’s this person who’s inviting her to prove herself. It’s like, what in the heck? I have to prove to you that this could be racist? I don’t want to have to do that.

AD: In the season finale, she and Issa appear to make up. Do you think that things will go back to normal? Or do you think this relationship still has some work ahead of it?

YO: I think the way it felt after Episode 8, with Issa and Lawrence finally being able to have a truthful, real conversation, that needs to happen with Molly and Issa. If anything’s going to happen. Because that was the first time they were truly honest and transparent with one another. It felt like they really could tell the harsh truth, and I don’t think Issa and Molly are there yet. Maybe that’s what happened when they got together at the Ethiopian restaurant. We’ll never know!

AD: Or we’ll know next season. Whenever that happens.

YO: Whenever that happens!

All seasons of Insecure are available on HBO and streaming on HBOMax.