“The New York City Snipper is at it again, snipping women’s ponytails,” reveals a newscaster in the opening scene of the fourth season of “Broad City.” It is a bleak day in the city, dated 2011. New York is gray, grimy and busy — which is just how “Broad City” likes it. Throughout its seasons, “Broad City” has succeeded in peeling off the veneer of glitz and glamor most shows paste over the Big Apple, revealing the gritty underbelly which most real New Yorkers would consider authentic. And of course, the show wouldn’t be complete without adding in its own unique layer of absurdity — which, in this episode, means the presence of a “New York City Snipper.”
Because so much of the show focuses on the cityscape itself, it is no surprise the scenario that weaves Abbi and Ilana’s lives together is one many New Yorkers have experienced. Hurrying to catch the F train, Abbi swipes her MetroCard — only to realize she doesn’t have enough money left for her commute.
Ilana observes Abbi slam her hips into the turnstile and offers to swipe her in. It’s only afterwards that Ilana realizes the second swipe gives her insufficient funds. As the F train approaches, Ilana quickly hops the turnstile and both girls bolt toward it. From this moment onward, two alternate storylines unfold — hinging on whether or not Abbi and Ilana catch their train.
In the scenario in which Abbi and Ilana miss the train, they chat and hit it off immediately — effectively having one of the best days of their lives. In a parallel world, they get on their train and head their separate ways. Despite the alternate storylines, Abbi and Ilana are not too different from their present-day counterparts in both cases. In 2011, Ilana is still too eccentric for her time period, and her quirks are painfully highlighted as she accidentally walks in on a suite meeting —a ‘suiting’ — her preppy NYU roommates are holding. Not expecting Ilana to be back, the three girls are caught discussing the ‘Ilana Wexler Problem,’ as they list their major complaints, including the appearance of her natural hair and her graphic wall decorations.
Meanwhile, Abbi is as awkward as ever — tripping over herself when she meets her roommate's boyfriend, who turns out to be Bevers in his prime. Over the course of the first three seasons, Abbi deals with the free-loading and permanently couch-surfing Bevers. All the while, her roommate is perpetually absent.
Awestruck by his sculpted body, Abbi treats him like a guest, offering him food and assuring him he shouldn’t lift a finger while he stays at her apartment. This uncomfortable interaction gives viewers a long-awaited backstory to the off-kilter rooming situation in which Abbi has found herself.
For both girls, this flashback to their earlier lives demonstrates their previous need for close friendships. In each other, they find someone who is both understanding and willing to help the other grow. Ilana helps bring Abbi out of her shell, while Abbi represents someone who appreciates Ilana’s individuality. The surface level story may focus on two friends who seem to complete each other, but the subtext runs a little deeper.
The premiere is also laced with political references. This isn’t anything new for “Broad City” — Hillary Clinton was a guest star last season, and the characters frequently discuss feminist values and social injustice. However, the premiere is more overt than previous episodes, offering direct political commentary rather than throwaway lines about smashing the patriarchy.
From Abbi and Ilana’s conversation praising the Obama presidency — which they believed would pave the way for a woman next — to the homeless man in the subway yelling “Donald Trump will be president one day,” subtle political references escalate. Eventually, these elements converge to bring Abbi and Ilana’s ideal day to a dark and ironic end — the two are hit by a bus bearing President Donald Trump’s face. This tragic demise indicates it is the alternate storyline — the one which follows their individually terrible days after not catching the train — which ultimately brings them together. The deeper subtext implies that although an ideal world won't last, there are silver linings for those who make it through hardship.
For Abbi and Ilana, the silver lining is finding a friend in each other while smoking a bowl and sharing a pizza on a traffic median in the Lower East Side. While the inventive plot and direct political references may indicate a deeper direction for the show, the final moments demonstrate the core values of “Broad City” will remain intact. At the end of the day, “Broad City” is a show about good friends having good times — even when the odds seem stacked against them.
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