Broad City: "Co-Op"

It’s almost senseless to talk about the second episode of the third season of “Broad City” without focusing on its best moment: Ilana’s reaction when Lincoln finally musters the courage to confess to her that he slept with someone else. Ilana makes a scene, as she typically does, by kicking over a bike, yelling in public, throwing a plant. And the viewer’s faith in Ilana and in “Broad City” is shaken. Is Ilana a hypocrite, the sexist person’s parody of a feminist? Can she honestly be upset with Lincoln, given that she has slept with so many one-episode characters?

Of course not. Ilana humps a tree; then, atop the hood of Lincoln’s car, she screams, “That is so fucking hot!” She explains to Lincoln, “We are a modern day Will and Jada. We are open sex friends. We are poly. We are bi,” to which Lincoln objects, “I’m not bi!” Ilana remains as extraordinary and likable as ever, and order is restored to the universe.

Few shows other than “Broad City” have accrued enough confidence from their viewers to execute a scene like this. Negative depictions of feminists are common enough in culture as to be expected, but “Broad City” is so opposed to this stereotype that it can parody the stereotype itself. In a single scene, “Broad City” illustrates the pervasive forces which it opposes and demolishes them—a potent illustration of just how easy it is to create spectacular humor from a progressive perspective. More potently than any thinkpiece could, this scene questions the fundamental premise of “Family Guy”-style humor. Why play into stereotypes when subverting them is so much funnier?

Even beyond this scene, the episode is uniquely self-conscious. It devotes much of its length to Abbi trying to impersonate Ilana in order to cover her co-op work hours, and the mimicry is wonderfully ridiculous. Abbi first walks into the co-op proclaiming, “Rape culture sucks!” and informs a fellow worker that “We are on the fast track to, like, caramel and queerdom. Later, she tries to twerk against a wall while doing a handstand and knocks down a display of dried beans in spectacular fashion. Granted, the switched identities conceit might have been elevated by an increased focus on Ilana’s portrayal of Abbi, as this episode does read as Ilana-centric rather than Ilana and Abbi-centric, which is a shame. Though she certainly has less flamboyant a persona than Ilana, Abbi has the capacity to be just as hilarious; hopefully this potential will more fully manifest as the season progresses.

—Staff writer Grace E. Huckins can be reached at grace.huckins@thecrimson.com.