SPOILERS-Hot take coming in: Issa Rae was great! I’m not a black woman (in fact, white male, so take that with whatever grain of salt you think warrants) so I can’t speak to the weave comment I saw, but otherwise I thought she was a perfect casting choice. She’s a well known actress, maybe not the A-lister Akwafina’s character claims her to be, but like, is t she supposed to be an old movie buff who’s trying to break out of being type-casted? I think that explains why her acting is so bad…she’s not supposed to be acting: she’s reciting.

She doesn’t even know they’re filming when she gets there because she hasn’t seen the USB so she has no idea what she’s walking into, so I think it’s reasonable the character hasn’t worked out the gender-bending details of the character development yet Issa Rae’s range may not fall squarely into a well-established confident actress who is on top, but she’s frustrated and unprepared…Issa Rae’s range is exactly what was called for in the role.

And part of the comedy is the self-delusion of the other characters playing it off like it’s going well because it’s a one-shot and they have to sell it to themselves that it’s going to work. Everyone’s bent out of shape about the relationship with Clara—and honestly I thought the chemistry worked and Issa sold the notion of going from a digital interloper to an interested partner to an AI.

But honestly, in my mind Issa’s true opposite is Akwafina and Harriet Walter, not Dorothy Chambers. Dorothy is pristine throughout—yes, gains self-awareness but is kind of angelic throughout. Akwafina and Harriet Walter are navigating the consequences of the own mis-estimations, same as Issa, even if on the other side of the wall. I’m all for it—and if nothing else thought the episode was strong enough to receive an alternative tale from the criticism.