REVIEW: ‘Broad City,’ Episode 8 – Sleep No More

Borad City is in it’s final season, it was created by and stars Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson as the main characters. Currently airing on Comedy Central and with only two more episodes left, Abbi has some big news to drop in this episode, episode eight, “Sleep No More.”

We open with Ilana throwing what may seem as random nonsensical interview questions to a prospective roommate. It looks like she may have found the perfect match, but she lets them know that they are her back up. Even though they’re a match  Ilana is holding out hope for one more possible candidate, her best friend, Abbi. Meanwhile, Abbi is video calling Ilana’s mom hoping to get some kind of advice on how to break some not-so-great news for Ilana.

bobbi saves the day!! pic.twitter.com/TvYEO2AnMr

— Broad City (@broadcity) March 14, 2019

With no real solution to her problem, Abbi takes Ilana to “Sleep No More,” a horrifying interactive, hands-on art exhibit. The importance of this exhibit is that Ilana has always wanted to go to it, to experience it in all the genital glory, but Abbi was too scared to go. So, using this Abbi tries to to find the right time to tell Ilana her life-changing news and soften the potential blow from it.

One thing I especially liked in this episode was Ilana Glazer’s acting ability. Immediately after Abbi tells Ilana the big news, she flies into a fit of rage smashing anything in her site, storming around the exhibit and screaming curses at Abbi. In the next minute, she’s depressed and void of any emotion, but sadness and is trying to make sense of everything. How can she deal with her best friend moving? Just when she starts to come around to accepting Abbi’s news, knowing that she should be the supportive friend that she is, Ilana flies right back into rage mode because she learns Abbi moves in less than two weeks. There isn’t time to adjust, Abbi is leaving soon.

I appreciated Glazer’s superb performance in these scenes because it appropriately shows the multitude of emotions someone can feel all at once. However, even while her character is going through an immense amount of emotional processing, she still delivers laugh after laugh. Whether it was was the orgy she was sitting in front of or the candy jars she was smashing, she uses her environment and voice to deliver humor.

Another thing I appreciated was the scene when Ilana accuses Abbi of making a huge decision without considering her. While some may think Abbi’s decision is selfish and that she should have considered Ilana’s feelings more, I like that Abbi stands by her choice and is adamant that she had the make the best decision for her even if it meant hurting her best friend. Sometimes in life, we have to make the decision that may not be right for everyone in our lives, but it may be right for ourselves. Sometimes we have to prioritize our growth and health and over others.

Overall, I liked how this episode ,Sleep No More, ended. It ended similarly to real life when close friends fight and are left with various emotions on both sides. Ranging from sadness, regret, anger, and guilt towards someone you know you love but still, need time to process the feelings and acceptance for the friendship to move on. I think most people can relate to either characters’ situation.

You might be like Abbi, who is feeling anxious and guilty for not being upfront with Ilana sooner and for not taking into consideration how badly it would hurt her. Or maybe you’re identifying with Ilana, who is trying to process through feeling betrayed but still wanting to be happy and support Abbi’s career as an artist. Ultimately by the end of “Sleep No More”, the audience isn’t left with any laughs, but rather the uncertainty of not knowing what will come next for these two until the next episode.

You can watch the entire series and the final episodes of Broad City on Comedy Central.