“Broad City” pushed the boundaries of comedy by subverting in format and content the uninspired trappings of popular television. Creators Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson’s five-season run ended as an aggressively woke ode to the joys of millennial youth, lasting friendships, sexual liberation and marijuana. These stand-out moments capture the essence of their alter egos’ trailblazing dynamic duo.
####Season 1 Episode 1 – “What a Wonderful World”####
The pilot episode of “Broad City” saw Abbi and Ilana trying by any means to scrape together enough money to attend Lil Wayne’s pop-up concert. They start by ditching their responsibilities and selling office supplies from work, but scarce funds eventually lead them to an ad on Craigslist for partially nude cleaning. If that weren’t creepy and funny enough, Fred Armisen shows up in an adult diaper refusing to pay. No money was made and no concerts were attended, but the women did sit on a stoop drinking whiskey out the bottle, which was even better in the end.
Runner-up: Episode 4, “The Lockout,” in which Abbi bug bombs her apartment, gets locked out of Ilana’s and is harassed by a creepy locksmith before realizing her artwork is opening in a sandwich shop instead of a gallery.
####Season 2 Episode 3 – “Wisdom Teeth”####
Another prime example of Ilana’s unwavering love for Abbi is her wisdom teeth fiasco. Following the operation, Ilana and her roommate, Jaimé, plan to help Abbi recover and relax. This proves to be quite the task as a drug cocktail sends Abbi on a loopy odyssey to Whole Foods in Brooklyn while she believes a life-sized Bingo Bronson toy is following her the whole time. Ilana finally finds Abbi’s location after her phone receives a notification about excessive spending.
Runner-up: Episode 1, “In Heat,” in which Abbi and Ilana steal an air-conditioner from NYU freshmen on a hot summer day with guest stars Seth Rogen and Kumail Nanjiani.
####Season 3 Episode 10 – “Jews on a Plane”####
The show’s third season ends with a tampon flying through the air. It’s an act that showcases the pair’s physical comic abilities while solidifying the feminist elements of their work. As they make their birthright trip to Israel, they spend most of the time trying to be seated next to each other, even coming across a dead man at one point. It isn’t until their interrogation and deporting that they finally discuss Jesus while being held in restraints at the back of the plane.
Runner-up: Episode 7, “B&B-NYC,” in which Abbi’s European crush from Airbnb ransacks her apartment and Ilana seduces NBA player Blake Griffin.
####Season 4 Episode 6 – “Witches”####
This moment marked a shift in the core of “Broad City.” The first season after Trump’s election and the first not to be set in the summer signaled a change in the characters. For the first time, they come into their own, with the help of witches, of course. As Ilana attends sex therapy to help her start having orgasms again and Abbi grapples with the idea of botox, both come to terms with themselves before attending a winter solstice ceremony in Central Park.
Runner-up: Episode 4, “Mushrooms,” in which Abbi and Ilana are animated throughout much of the episode as they take mushrooms and deliver 100 macarons to Abbi’s boss (Wanda Sykes) before Abbi kills her cat and Ilana attempts a threesome.
####Season 5 Episode 10 – “Broad City”####
The final episode of “Broad City” is a doozie because it will make viewers simultaneously laugh and cry. Nothing is better than that feeling, but it’s still sad to see them go. They go out in a typically absurd fashion by pushing a luxury toilet on a skateboard down the Brooklyn Bridge. Abbi goes to Colorado for an art program, so Ilana makes plans for them to meet in St. Louis for the apocalypse. It’s this kind of die hard codependency right up until the very end that makes Abbi and Ilana such a perfect representation of the bonds of friendship.
Runner-up: Episode 9, “Along Came Molly,” in which Abbi and Ilana finally get tickets to a Lil Wayne concert, but end up taking drugs and crawling around in the venue’s air ducts instead of actually going inside.
_Edited by Joe Cross | jcross@themaneater.com_
