Broad City 5.7 Recap: Abbi & Ilana’s Luck Go In Different Directions

Abbi and Ilana work behind a bar with a raucous crowd cheering them on. The two humor their audience pulling out fancy tricks and juggling glass wear as they make drinks. It was all a dream as they bounce back to reality and are serving drinks at a stuffy retirement party. Although they are working at Abbi’s catering job, they don’t let being on the clock stop them from drinking.

[*Spoilers For 5.7 Ahead!]

The next day, Lesley is treating Abbi’s sprained ankle. She injured it during a drunken stupor the previous night at her job. Lesley feels there’s a fundamental difference in their personalities and begins to have doubts about their relationship. She thinks that Abbi is not mature enough and needs to stop having wild shenanigans. This leads to an argument and eventually the two break up.

Elsewhere, Ilana is sorting through her mail and finds responses back from her graduate school applications. The only one she cares about is from Hunter College since it allows her to stay in NYC. She anxiously opens the letter and finds out she is accepted into the master’s program. Her first order of business is to go to a local salon to purchase products and take advantage of the student discount. Though she is rejected because she doesn’t have a student ID yet, she is discovered by a stylist who wants her to model for a shoot later in the evening.

Ilana is on cloud nine after her good fortune and shares the news with her parents. While walking down the street, some air conditioning fluid drops straight into her eye. It becomes noticeably irritated when she meets up with Abbi. Shrugging it off, Ilana and her best friend meet up with her family to watch a musical based off of The Diary of Anne Frank. The show seems the perfect way to celebrate her brother’s last days in New York. At intermission, Ilana’s eye becomes worse and begins to smell forcing her to see a doctor.

Since it’s Ilana, she doesn’t visit a doctor for humans but visits her veterinarian friend, Monica, for help. It turns out she’s contracted conjunctivitis and it won’t clear up for a few weeks. She doesn’t let that stop her from her modeling gig and shows up wearing sunglasses and an eye patch. The stylist stops the shoot but then convinces Ilana’s mom to replace her daughter because her curly hair is even better. Ilana misses her opportunity to be a model but she is happy for her mom.

Abbi spends the day updating her Instagram showing off how mature she is. She shares photos of her dressed up, reading The New Yorker and watching theater while drinking wine. She’s hoping all her pictures will show Lesley she is a grown up and maybe make her jealous. While trying to get a perfect pic, she ends up falling off the theater outside and is stuck between two buildings. Desperately trying to grasp her phone, she accidentally calls her ex and it seems the two reconcile but when Abbi reveals her current situation, Lesley is reminded of the wild shenanigans and breaks up with her again. Abbi returns home dejected but receives an email about an art residency program from her friend Donna. She’s conflicted because she doesn’t want to leave New York and her best friend but ends up applying.

For all the maturing Ilana and Abbi have experienced this season, they still get into their fair share of wild shenanigans. It’s interesting to see how Abbi is embracing her lesbian side since she found the firewoman who saved her at the theater attractive. This could play a significant role in her relationship with her BFF because it seems Ilana has become even more touchy feely with her since she started exploring her sexuality. There was even a scene where Ilana kissed her on the lips though it was only a quick peck. With only three more episodes remaining, could this set up a very bittersweet farewell to the show? Everyone is leaving New York including Jaimé, Lincoln and now her brother Eliot. Is Abbi next after applying to her residency program? At least as we approach the series finale, they are bringing back some old characters like this episode’s Monica the vet (Janeane Garofalo) and the crazy real estate agent, Pam (Amy Sedaris).

Other interesting episode notes:

• When I was waiting to hear back from universities and graduate schools, the belief was big envelopes meant good news and small ones meant bad. Three Ivy League Universities sent Ilana big yellow envelopes.
• Some people sneak in a few snacks at the movies or theater but the Wexler Family rolls in with a full Chinese carry-out meal.
• I can’t help but laugh that Donna with the feminine odor problem closes her emails with “Smell you later”.

Broad City airs Thursdays at 10:00 pm on Comedy Central.