Spoiler Alert: This article contains details on the finale of HBO's Insecure.
It's so hard to say goodbye.
On Dec. 26, HBO's Emmy-nominated hit Insecure came to a close after five seasons of protagonist Issa (Issa Rae) navigating love and friendship in Los Angeles.
The last episode, "Everything Gonna Be, Okay?!" saw the lead taking another break from her relationship with Nathan (Kendrick Sampson), then skipped ahead in time to see her finally engaged to Lawrence (Jay Ellis). Fans also got to see a confident Issa with a successful business taking off as her friend Molly (Yvonne Orji) is getting married to Taurean (Leonard Robinson).
It's the happy ending fans craved. In the HBO post-show, Insecure: Wine Down With Issa Rae & Prentice Penny, the show creator revealed why she wanted the main character to walk into the sunset with Lawrence in episode 10.
"From the very jump of writing the season, I think I knew that I didn't want them together, and I was very confident about that. I was like ‘I want more for our girl.' And I felt we had told their love story and it ended tragically," she stated. "But I still wanted a healthy love story."
Executive producer Prentice Penny added that he didn't want the show to end it where everything was "wrapped up all cute."
"It's not about where you end up," he said about the character's journey. "It's really how you get there.
Rae also said that the love story between BFFs Issa and Molly was just as important as the romantic plotlines.
"It was this moment of them kind of reckoning and acknowledging everything they had been through," she said. "They found each other, and they've loved each other through all of their flaws.
Rae credited the show's fan base with giving her her own personal happy ending as the series drew to a close. "It really is a true blessing to have people so invested. These characters are so part of people's lives in such a rich way. And you can only dream of creating characters like that."
Be sure to check out the interview above for more insight on the final Insecure episode, streaming on HBO Max.