Original air date: 10/26/2011
Randy becomes interested in Broadway musicals after learning that they carry subliminal messages urging women to give their husbands blowjobs. Meanwhile, Stan's sister Shelley gets a new boyfriend.
"Broadway Bro Down" contains examples of:
- Bitter Sweet Ending: Larry drowns to death and Shelley feels utter guilt about convincing him to take off his life preserver, but at least Randy and Sharon's marriage is shown to be much healthier spot than a few episodes ago.
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Broken Aesop: At dinner with the Feegans, Shelley tells Larry's parents that they should let him think and act for himself, whether it's in his dietary choices or the company he keeps. Right afterwards, she implies that he gets beat up for being vegan and he wouldn't if he "had a nice steak once in a while", implying that he should stop being a vegan partly out of peer pressure and that he should be more like everyone else, contradicting herself within the same scene. - Character Development: Shelley starts out as her hot-tempered, violent self, but soon develops feelings for Larry and is nice to him.
- Comically Missing the Point: When Randy creates his own show, the lyrics explicitly talk about women giving blow jobs instead of being subtle like the other shows. When the actual producers point this out to him, Randy just assumes they are trying to scare him out of the business.
- A Day in the Limelight: For Shelley and Stan's parents. Stan himself doesn't have a real role in the episode.
- Easily Forgiven: When Randy apologizes to Sharon for basically brainwashing her into oral sex, Sharon thinks it over and decides that the subliminal messaging doesn't matter. She still likes going to the shows and he likes it when she gives him head. If the situation makes both of them happy and isn't hurting anybody, then why would it matter?
- Everyone Has Standards: Even if Randy was "brainwashing" Sharon into oral sex, he's disgusted when he sees an elderly man attending a broadway show with his granddaughter.Old man: Do you mind? I'm trying to enjoy this musical with my granddaughter.Randy Marsh: Oh you fucking pervert!
- Frat Bro: Elton John, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephen Sondheim, and Stephen Schwartz are all actually beer-chugging, football-watching, wing-eating bros who create Broadway shows in order to help other men get sex. Most humorous of all is Elton John, who is not only well-known to be a rather swishy gay man, but also appeared in an earlier episode As Himself.
- Ironic Death: Larry was always forced to wear a life preserver and took it off to prove his independence. He drowns during Randy's disastrous attempt to stop the show.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Deconstructed. The Broadway bros' criticism of Randy's show is perfectly valid, but they deliver it as scathing criticism and admonishment that Randy will ruin Broadway. As such, Randy does not listen. Later, when they point out the flaws by offering to help after the "BroDown", like offering a new title, Randy is perfectly happy to hear them out.
- Oh, Crap!: When Randy reveals the truth about Broadway, that it's all to brainwash women into giving blowjobs, Sharon doesn't believe it. She tells him she's always loved the theatre since the first play she went to see... only to realize Randy isn't lying after she remembers what she gave the guy who took her to that play.
- Pet the Dog: After initially bashing Randy's attempt to create his own show, the Broadway bros become friendly with him after a "bro-down" and offer to help him fix it, which he accepts.
- Product Placement / The Stinger: The very end of the episode has a short plug for The Book of Mormon, with the announcer saying "You'll get a blowjob!".
- Take That!:
- A big one towards Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark when Randy goes to "put an end to Broadway" by donning a Spider-Man costume and wrecking the theater, making fun of the destructive production problems the show had during its previews.
- The Vegans are portrayed as a bunch of snobby, uptight liberals who spend all of their time bragging about their dietary choices and are paranoid about danger.
