TV Review: Master of None, Episode 7: “Ladies and Gentlemen”

By Tyler Hodg

If you’re an ignorant, regressive feminist-hater, the best course of action would probably be to skip “Ladies and Gentlemen.”

The majority of the 30-minute episode is spent as a social commentary on female inequality in today’s society. Topics such as unbalanced wages, perception in media, and double standards of beauty all get discussed in an humorous, yet impactful way.

At the top of the episode, there is a fantastic parallel sequence showing the comparisons between a man’s carefree walk home from the bar and a woman’s paranoid, hurried journey to the front door. While Dev’s biggest worry is that he stepped in dog shit and ruined his favorite “sneakies,” a woman leaving from the same bar is shown fleeing from a drunk asshole who doesn’t understand the word “no.”

One thing that’s important to note is that the writer’s idea of what a feminist is clearly defined. It’s not the theory that women rule and men drool; it’s the basic fact that women wish to be placed on an even playing field with men. This is the type of explanation that “Indians on TV” should have had, as it makes the subject matter more understandable.

A storyline consisting of Arnold (Eric Wareheim) and Rachel (Noël Wells) negotiating with a man about purchasing his couch is also included in the episode, but falls short of sustaining anything interesting. There is a plus side to their scenes, and it’s that we finally get to see Arnold interact solely with someone other than Dev.

“Ladies and Gentlemen” is yet another example of why Master of None is such a current show. The theme of women’s equality rings truer than ever, and is incredibly topical (but not for the sake of it). There may be some people who have the opposite to say about this episode, citing it as biased and unfair, but those are the same people that probably don’t understand irony.