Twenties 1×03 Review: “Happy Place”

BET is offering us an hour of Lena Waithe goodness and I’m here for it. The Boomerang season 2 premiere followed Twenties episode 3 ‘Happy Place,’ but I’ll get to Boomerang in my next review. First, let me share how much I enjoyed watching the latest episode of Twenties this week.

The two-episode premiere of Twenties season 1 helped introduce us to the main cast of characters. We know that Hattie is still trying to figure out how to make a name for herself as a writer in Hollywood. She just needs to sit down and write something. Marie is a woman who seems to have the job she wanted, but there’s misogyny to be dealt with. Nia’s still figuring out what to do with her life.

So, in a sense, all three friends are in different places on the same journey (kind of). Marie has her job, Hattie’s working toward her dream job, while Nia is indecisive of what job to go for. This allows the series to share three different narratives that work together.

Coming to ‘Happy Place,’ let’s start with Hattie because the title related to her the most. The current episode was about her trying to find her happy place to sit down and write. It’s obvious that Hattie has some issues to figure out. She lacks motivation. The conversation she had with her boss Ida B made me roll my eyes. Even though I’m suspicious of Ida B, seeing Hattie prioritize attending a party instead of accepting Ida B’s offer to use the office to get some writing done was a bad call to make.

I know writing can be tough. But words won’t magically appear unless you sit down and write them out on a notebook or type them out on an electronic device. Seeing Hattie go through the entire experience made me smile because as a writer myself, I could relate a lot with her struggle. It’s as if the moment you get ready to jot down some words the entire world tries to make you stop.

As for the rest of the cast, I’m here for Marie teaching a thing or two to her male coworker. I’m fine with healthy competitiveness in the workplace, or even some petty competitiveness. What I’m not fine with is resorting to lies and manipulations to pull down your coworker. That’s what Marie’s coworker did and I need her to better prepared for next time. If he wants to play dirty, Marie should step all over him without a regret (unless he changes his ways).

Also, is it just me or is Twenties dropping hints about Marie’s husband possibly being curious about exploring his sexuality with another man? Or maybe it’s a misdirect and the story behind him laughing with a male waiter at a party and asking for his card has to do with something else?

I’m not really sure how to feel about this entire situation yet. From what I know, the first season of Twenties is only going to be eight episodes long. So, hopefully, we’ll get an explanation concerning Marie’s husband soon enough.

Coming to Nia, her little outburst with an ex-child actress at the party felt a bit too much. It’s not like she lied to Nia about how the life of an actress can be tough. Let’s see if Nia decides to revive her acting career, though.

All in all, ‘Happy Place’ helped progress the narrative forward while showcasing the issues the three leads still have to face. Will they be able to address everything correctly? We will have to wait and see.

If you’re into a fun comedy with a WoC cast, a WoC queer lead, and a killer soundtrack, I urge you to consider checking out Twenties.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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