*This post contains spoilers.
On Sunday evening (Sept. 9), Insecure fans gathered around their screens to watch the latest episode. What was in-store, or around the corner, produced an immediate reaction from spectators once the character Lawrence appeared.
Played by Jay Ellis, the figure that has his own social media hashtag immediately confused those who thought his presence on the show was done in season two. For Ellis, however, he always knew the return of Lawrence was imminent. “I will say, the phone call from Issa and Prentice [Penny], our showrunner, about not being in the first few episodes, I could tell in their voices they were, ‘Hey, so what’s up? Just wanted to talk to you,’ ” he said in a Vulture interview. “And I was like, ‘Guys, it’s OK. Don’t worry about it, it’s OK. It’s fine. I’ll see you when production starts, I’ll take an extra-long vacation,’ which was exactly what I did!”
Before season three premiered in August, the series’ creator Issa Rae said Lawrence would not reappear, due to keeping the show as close to reality as possible. “They had a great conversation at the end of season two and it was just about like, hey, she’s moving on to Daniel, sometimes we have those conversations,” she said. “You never see the exes again, and it’s okay! You gotta explore life without Lawrence.”
Like Rae’s sentiments, Ellis also told Vulture that their characters’ split mimics what happens in real life when it concerns fizzled out relationships. “You break up with someone and you take a break. That’s just the nature of relationships, the seasons of relationships, and the seasons of life, right? That’s what we were seeing with Issa and Lawrence,” he said. “The two of them were… not even taking a break, they were just living their lives, and for them to live their lives doesn’t mean they’re necessarily going to cross paths anymore.”
Missed y’all #LawrenceHive #insecurehbo
— Jay Ellis (@JayREllis) September 10, 2018
On GMA tomorrow if y’all wanna talk about it…#InsecureHBO pic.twitter.com/TRDa2msPuF
— Jay Ellis (@JayREllis) September 10, 2018
Read a few reactionary tweets below.
How Chad was looking at Issa and Lawrence #InsecureHBO pic.twitter.com/5M977bO3Xf
— Itsloudinsidemyhead (@itsShirleyBIH) September 10, 2018
Ex’s definitely have radars, as soon as you get some fresh new dick they be like… #InsecureHBO pic.twitter.com/J68reNuypr
— Marcella. (@FashionablyNae) September 10, 2018
When #LawrenceHive and #NathanNation see each other in the street #InsecureHBO pic.twitter.com/pRZPPlLzrN
— Jozen (say Joe-Zen) (@jozenc) September 10, 2018
The #LawrenceHive coming back like… pic.twitter.com/xTeKYH65VZ
— Andrew Hammond (@ahammsportsgeek) September 10, 2018
My guy Lawrence walked around that corner like #LawrenceHive #InsecureHBO pic.twitter.com/CyapPLRUwq
— Just Dave (@P_Biggavelli) September 10, 2018
seeing Lawrence back on my tv screen .. they liedddd #insecure pic.twitter.com/SMZrGyqekQ
— A (@Anasiaa_) September 10, 2018
Come one, #Insecure. Not Lawrence, he needs to be dead, get bite by a walker, get killed by a dragon, anything… Dont want Issa back with him. New beginning. Please.
— Firmine (@salomofi) September 10, 2018
Insecure ratings about to skyrocket because of Lawrence. The HIVE baby
— Yung Denim Supply (@GPackChopra) September 10, 2018
LAWRENCE HIVE WE BACK!!!! #insecure pic.twitter.com/cCCeRoQ3DQ
— HĪPMAGAZINE.ORG (@hipmagazineorg) September 10, 2018
Woooow. Issa’s out here telling whole-ass lies about Lawrence being in S3. Okay. #Insecure pic.twitter.com/hqkp7RBLNq
— Cicely deGrasse Tyson (@DorothyBornblaq) September 10, 2018
Lawrence got that radar like oh she getting some… NOPE! #Insecure #InsecureHBO pic.twitter.com/KdqmIEOoNv
— Angelica (@Mcthra_) September 10, 2018
I just watched insecure and I’m overwhelmed I really like New Boy! Why is Lawrence back lol and Why was she smiling so hard
— P e t u n i a (@_missbIiss) September 10, 2018
Really surprised that people thought Lawrence, a character on a HBO show, a network who tried to get us to believe Jon Snow was really dead for a whole ass year, would really not be back on Insecure in season 3.
— Matt “Diet” Wilhite (@TrimHalpert) September 10, 2018
#InsecureHBO pic.twitter.com/gazqoPuJLC
— INSECUREHBO (@insecurehbo) September 10, 2018
READ MORE: Jay Ellis To Star Opposite Tom Cruise In ‘Top Gun: Maverick’