30 Rock 5×16 – “TGS Hates Women”

I don’t usually review 30 Rock even though I love it because I often have very little to say other than, “These are the ten Tracy Jordan lines that made me laugh the hardest.”  But last night’s episode was all about gender and comedy and expectations for women in comedy, and if I were more narcissistic, I’d swear that Tina Fey wrote it just for me.

To sum up: Liz hires a guest female writer named Abby Flynn (Christin Milioti) who embodies the “sexy baby” stereotype that many of us hate.  She tries to teach Abby the error of her ways and show her that she doesn’t need to be the sexy baby in order to get male attention, while Jenna wants nothing more than to take Abby down because Jenna hates anyone who might hog the spotlight.  Meanwhile, Jack tries to educate a new young nemesis named Kailey Cooper, who threatens his position at NBC, and winds up bonding with her over marine biology.

In the end, both Jack and Liz turn out to have underestimated and misinterpreted their rivals.  Kailey Cooper is just as ambitious as Jack and has been playing him more effectively than he’s been playing her, and Abby Flynn adopted the “sexy baby” act because she was on the run from her violent ex-husband.

So many gender issues to tackle, so little time. 

First, I loved the opening gag that showed Jenna playing famous, strong women in different TGS sketches, who keep making bad decisions when they’re on their periods, followed by Liz falling down in the middle of a staff meeting because she was on her period.  A couple of things there: the show was cleverly pointing out that comedy sketches written by women, starring women, can still be incredibly sexist.  The show was also cleverly poking fun at some of the feminist backlash against Tina Fey for “not being feminist enough,” and I agree with the writer of that article that holding a female comedian to an impossibly high standard and expecting her to be a “perfect feminist” is anti-feminist in of itself.

Second, there was Jack’s talk about how women are genetically wired to compete with each other for male attention, and Jenna’s jealousy of Abby.  Sometimes Jenna is criticized for being a negative female stereotype, given her extreme narcissism and diva behavior, but I’ve never had a problem with her because Tracy is just as narcissistic and needy for attention.  I also laughed at Jack’s conservative blathering because he’s wrong just as often as he’s right, and of course Jack (another narcissist) would believe that hogwash about a woman’s biological need to compete with other women.

Third, we had the writing staff’s reaction to Abby’s arrival: they all want to change their identities to impress her so they can increase their chances of sleeping with her.  Even Girl Writer was attracted to Abby.  The fact that even Twofer wanted in on the action was both amusing and disappointing.  Tina Fey once commented that “the thinking man also wants to fuck Megan Fox,” and I kept that in mind when I saw Twofer’s eager reaction.  This is where I have to challenge Tina Fey’s stereotype of men, because I don’t think it’s very feminist to assume that all men are drooling horndogs who will screw anyone who looks like a blow-up doll.  I agree that even smart men can be dumb about women, but it was a little disappointing to see all of the male writers fall for Abby’s sexy baby act, though I did find their rich, bad boy, and British personas very amusing.

Fourth, there was Jack underestimating the potential of Kailey Cooper (who apparently played Hit Girl in Kick-Ass, which I didn’t see).  He first sees Kailey as a ditzy teenage girl, but she grows in his estimation when she shares her love of marine biology, a hidden passion of his.  Then he learns that Kailey was manipulating him even more effectively than he was trying to manipulate  her.  The lesson: Do not underestimate the intelligence and drive of teenage girls.  I love it.

Finally, we had the surprising twist in the Abby Flynn storyline.  I was apprehensive about the direction this storyline was taking, and afraid the show was going to do the predictable, “A woman can put on the sexy baby act if she wants because if she chooses to do it, it’s empowering!” route that I hate.  Instead, Abby was putting on the act because she wanted to protect herself from her ex-husband.  She felt she could only get that protection by surrounding herself with men.

This was meant to be an over-the-top punchline and a surprising twist, and it worked – I didn’t see that coming at all.  But I also found it very sad, and darkly brilliant.  This is a woman who feels so desperate to get away from her violent ex that she degrades herself and sleeps with Lutz, of all people, so she can feel safer.  Obviously, this is not typical of all women trying to escape abusive relationships and it’s not meant to be.  But it does make me think about the lengths women might go to in order to flee from increasingly violent, desperate circumstances. I came away from the episode genuinely worried for Abby, even as I laughed at the reason her husband turned on her (he was electrocuted while watching Sleeping with the Enemy. Of course he was).

The real lesson, of course, is that we shouldn’t judge people’s decisions without knowing where they come from.  Liz should not have judged Abby just for her persona.  Not a bad point, Tina Fey – but with all due respect, I will continue to find Sarah Silverman’s “sexy hot geek ironic racist” act repellent and annoying, and will continue to roll my eyes at women who do the sexy baby act to get male attention, if that’s all right.

My Verdict: One of my favorite episodes of all time, even though Tracy didn’t appear at all.  I want more episodes like this.