Broad City, Season 2, Episode 6, “The Matrix”
Written by Abbi Jacobson & Ilana Glazer
Directed by John Lee
Airs Wednesdays at 10:30pm (ET) on Comedy Central
It is a common worry that we have become too dependant on the Internet and on our phones. We spend so much time plugged into the Matrix, as Ilana puts it, that we can’t handle any time separated from it. We can forcibly remove ourselves from its hold over us, but we inevitably begin to crave it and, in some ways, require it. We are helpless without it, and if this episode proves anything, it’s the the truth of that statement, at least for Abbi and Ilana.
This realization dawns on them after spending a night getting so into their online searches and discoveries, falling into holes of the deep web, that they forget the other is even in the room and begin a Skype call while sitting on the same couch. This is hilarious, but in many ways, depressingly relatable. “Judge Judy ran for 18 seasons!” Abbi exclaims in shock after looking it up, a sentence I am almost positive I have said myself at some point. She takes a picture of Ilana’s reaction, tells her she’s going to Instagram it, to which Ilana demands no filter. “Alright, fine,” Abbi responds, disappointed. She later tries to zoom in on a physical picture with her fingers.
But they have a dog wedding to get to, so the pair agree to stay disconnected and get there on roller skates without their phones or any technology. Of course they crash and burn. They encounter some shirtless guys, to which Ilana rejects the need for Tinder by yelling, “WANNA FOOK?” at them (each time she does it is more funny). Abbi tries, kicks their ball back at them, and falls on her ass. Skating away later, Abbi realizes her shortcomings. “I suck without the Internet. It’s like, I’m too real for it, you know?”
Their dependence on the Internet is reflected by their dependency on each other, particularly Ilana’s obsession with Abbi. While trapped in her dirt hole with a sprained ankle, Abbi looks through Ilana’s backpack and finds kinda creepy pictures of her sleeping. And before Ilana leaves to get help, she says, “I wish we could FaceTime while I go get help.” “Ilana, what?” Abbi responds, because that is a ridiculous thing to say, displaying the huge dependency between the two best friends. It is played as pretty creepy on Ilana’s part, but it’s hard to not fall for the love between these two, the absoluteness of their mutual adoration. A match for all time.
Bed, Bath, and Beyonds
- Lincoln even needs a video to teach him how to tie a knot to get ready for the wedding. “Clap if you understand.” Lincoln claps.
- The different scenarios that Abbi envisions while stuck in the dirt hole are perfect: at dinner with Elijah Wood eating only dessert, at an extravagant flea market with Mark Ruffalo, at Turks and Caicos with Taye Diggs.
- Ilana fists a tree.
- “Ordinarily I wouldn’t say this, but they’re dogs.” “Well you just lost a star on Dog Yelp.”
- Abbi tries to convince Ilana to watch Food Inc. because it could change the way she looks at life, and the whole corn thing. “Sometimes it’s the less you know, you know?”
- Which Dead Child Star Are You?