Summary: BoJack and Diane return from their trip and BoJack is invited to have dinner with Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter. Mr. Peanutbutter and BoJack compete over Diane and keep trying to one-up each other until Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter goes home. BoJack gets drunk and steals the Hollywood 'D'. He tries to cover it up with Mr. Peanutbutter's help but Mr. Peanutbutter steals BoJack's idea and presents it as a gift to Diane. BoJack leaves a heartfelt voicemail for Diane but she doesn't hear it because she gets engaged with Mr. Peanutbutter. Todd gets invited to two gangs and starts playing both sides. When they find out, there is a prison riot. In the chaos, a helicopter crashes into the prison and everyone escapes.
The Good: This was the funniest episode of the show since the second. There is something special about how this show mocks news channels and society as a whole, so whenever it does that, it gets to a new level of comedy. The jokes about Beyonce were easily the highlights of the episode (see: Best Moment). The other jokes were of a decent quality too. I continue to enjoy the animal jokes, and BoJack's antics getting him in trouble is still quite amusing. His lame excuses to Diane were funny, as were his refusals about liking Diane. I'm thankful that the comedy is back because the past three episodes were not anywhere near fun enough for me. This episode almost told a really good story. There were significant problems in the set-up (see: The Bad), but there was a sense of melancholy towards the end of the episode which was captured brilliantly. This comes from Diane's relationship with Mr. Peanutbutter. The show clearly wants us to feel that they are not a good match, but we also still need to see what drew them together to begin with. That's what makes Mr. Peanutbutter's proposal such an effective scene. There is a wonderful dichotomy here as BoJack calls Diane and finally expresses his feelings for her, suggesting that he's a better match for her. But at the same time, we see that Mr. Peanutbutter is more than he lets on. Despite alienating her with the D, he gives her a sweet album of their memories, apologizes to her, and has a wonderfully intimate moment with her. We can see clear as day that Diane loves this, and this means a lot because it proves that we were all wrong about Mr. Peanutbutter not being right for her. But of course, it suddenly explodes into a huge party with cameras and celebrations. And just like that, the moment is ruined and Diane is left sitting outside at her own party, more uncertain than ever about her future. It's a really sad moment that beautifully captures the uncertainty of knowing if someone is right for you. Todd's story is okay and seeing him trying to choose between two gangs is a funny idea. I quite liked the transition from his wholesome speech about togetherness to MSNBSea covering a huge prison riot that just broke out. The Bad: It's really disappointing that so much of BoJack and Diane's bonding happened offscreen. The end of the last episode suggested that they would get closer, but it seems like they actually got closer in between episodes. This made it difficult to buy into their closeness, and it made it especially jarring when we hear that BoJack likes Diane. This caught me completely off guard, because just one episode ago he was requesting that Diane be fired! How did he suddenly become somehow who knows her so well and loves spending time with her when it seems like they have hardly even done anything. This is the biggest problem in this episode. We are told that we should care about this relationship, but we don't have nearly enough context to buy into BoJack romantically pursuing Diane. Add on the fact that we still haven't learned much about Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter's relationship, and it becomes tough to invest in this love triangle since we hardly know what each pairing has to offer. I also did not get much out of Mr. Peanutbutter and BoJack trying to outdo each other at the bar. The joke went too far, was never particularly funny, and felt unnecessary in how uncomfortable it felt. Subtlety goes a long way, and this sequence had none of it. Todd's story fell flat. I still struggle to comprehend what this character is. On one hand, he is an idiot that misses the point of a lot of things. But on the other hand, he says witty lines like "take me out to dinner first", and profound statements about how everyone should overcome their differences. He's also put into perilous situations like watching a man get shanked to death right in front of him, and we get no insight into how this affects him or makes him feel. I feel very disconnected with the character, as he has zero consistency and I get the sense that the writers change who he is based on whatever story they want to write him in. The Unknown: Will Diane get married to Mr. Peanutbutter? Or will she be tempted away by BoJack or someone else? Will BoJack continue to pursue her? Best Moment: The Beyonce joke was tremendous. The idea that her trivial fall was enough of a top news story to distract everyone was a hilarious critique of how people get so distressed over tiny things happening to celebrities in society. This was my hardest laugh on the show yet, and the episode somehow kept the fun going by throwing in some great Beyonce puns. Character of the Episode: Diane. Conclusion: Another episode that has its heart in the right place but can't quite put everything in place to make things work. Score: 59
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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