Summary: In flashbacks, BoJack is belittled by his mother in childhood and adulthood. In the present, BoJack adopts a new attitude so that he can be a better person. He has thrown out the couch, so Todd is looking for a new place to sleep. BoJack picks up Diane and goes to work for the new movie, but his new attitude prevents him from performing well, unsettling him. BoJack talks to Diane about it. At the set, BoJack answers his mother's phone call and is disheartened by her words. He gives up on his new regime and is able to act properly again. Princess Carolyn works on a new project but it ends up as another failure.
The Good: This show still maintains its ability to hit your emotions, and early into season 2, it seems like this will be tapped into more often than it was in season 1. Despite this being a season premiere, it tackles some heavy moments, and they work really well in crafting a story. This is especially notable in the episode's examination of BoJack's relationship with his mother and that damage that did to him. The episode starts brutally as Secretariat's encouraging words to BoJack are barely even legible to him because his parents are too busy fighting in the background, and the follow-up for BoJack is more belittling from Beatrice. It paints a powerful picture of a traumatic childhood, and I appreciate that the cruelty wasn't played for jokes like it was in season 1, highlighting that this show is learning to take its mental health themes more seriously. BoJack's trauma doesn't end in childhood though, and a follow-up scene shows that this same unbearable belittling continued well into BoJack's career and has cemented itself in his psyche. This builds up to a ruthless climax as Beatrice calls BoJack in the present, and following a surprising apology, she bleakly tells him of the hopelessness of recovering from such a dark upbringing, a powerful bit of dialogue to base the episode on. The thematic core of this episode explores how it's unfeasible to restart your life with a new personality, and it explores this idea masterfully. The aforementioned Beatrice scene is so effective because it also serves as the centerpiece for the exploration of this theme, affirming that no matter how hard you try, it is impossible to escape your past and the person you have become. Throughout the episode we see that BoJack has taken lessons from last season and is actively trying to change, and for a bit it seems to be working. But it only seems to last a day, and BoJack's new attitude has immediate detriments on his career, highlighting how trying to make such an extreme change will never work because it will affect other aspects of your life that you value. In this case, BoJack's new attitude destroyed his ability to act, and he had to give up on making this enormous change to be able to continue his career. This serves as a perfect indicator of how hard it is to manifest true change, and that these silly audiobooks are not the solution to being a better person. Furthermore, I enjoy how one bad day for BoJack was enough to send him on a backward spiral, and it's likely now that he will give up on his new regime just because of this one failure. There are some other interesting themes skimmed over in this episode. I love that the show acknowledges how a "character consultant" like Diane would go underappreciated due to the vanity of directors, and she's immediately sidelined. I got a good laugh at the scan done on BoJack's head, which is a joke that aged magnificently since we now see major companies like Disney digitally inserting deceased/aged actors into movies. The jokes are pretty good, and there's lots of things I laughed at. I really laughed at Debra tripping over the cable and destroying everything, with a follow-up memorial being created for her "destroyed" face. Lennie being stuck on his back during this sequence is another great animal joke. On the topic of these animal jokes, I really liked the presence of "ewe haul", and Mr. Peanutbutter's cone as a result of him attacking his own reflection. The Bad: This episode goes a bit too hard into poking fun at encouraging audiobooks. There are so many metaphor jokes and jokes about BoJack's new attitude, and they are more irritating than funny. This show is usually more clever than this; these jokes are so simplistic that they carry no comedy with them. Rutabaga is a curious new character (see: The Unknown), but I'm not pleased with how this character has started off. He did not make an impression at all and offered no real comedy. His presence padded out this episode with an ultimately unnecessary side story for Princess Carolyn that treaded on familiar ground (Princess Carolyn working hard and failing was thoroughly explored back in "Say Anything"). The only thing amusing about Rutabaga is his ears, but that is only entertaining once. Todd doesn't get much in this episode with his side story about accepting BoJack's new couch. At least the writers had the decency to put much of his storyline in the background of other scenes, but it was entirely superfluous and uninteresting. The Unknown: Did BoJack hear Secretariat's words for him, or was it totally drowned out by his parents' fighting? Who exactly is Rutabaga and what is his purpose? Will he be a potential romantic interest for Princess Carolyn? Is this it for BoJack's brand new attitude? Will he find other ways to become a better person? Best Moment: Beatrice telling BoJack the hard truth that he will never be happy because he can't escape his past and who he is like he has been trying to. Character of the Episode: BoJack. Conclusion: Season 2 has started strong with a profound theme study mixed in with some fun style and humour. It's not perfect, but this was a great start to the second season. Score: 68
3 Comments
Joe Y
12/19/2022 10:59:04 pm
I agree with you. This was a really strong premiere for BoJack that explored challenging and heavy ideas in a way that didn't clash with the humor. I also found this to be much funnier than most S1 episodes. Part of the reason I struggled to get into the show was that many of the jokes landed with a thud. That starts to change here for sure. I might even argue that S2 has the best balance of drama and comedy in the whole series (Seasons 3 and 4 come pretty close for me too).
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Aaronic
12/20/2022 12:39:01 pm
Great to hear your thoughts as always Joe. I always read Beatrice's declaration as her response to seeing a bit of herself in BoJack after reading his book. After years of cruelty, she understands his emotions and wishes to connect with him. But her pessimistic and bleak attitude that she's adopted for many decades turns what could have been a moment of connection into yet another cruel statement on how awful her life is. You get the sense that she tells herself "You're Beatrice Horseman, and there's no cure for that", and that's the "advice" she's offering her son now that she finally sees herself in him. Sad.
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Joe Y
12/20/2022 06:12:20 pm
I think it's the same flaw that popped up in "The Telescope". He genuinely wants to fix his life, but he doesn't want to put in the work to get there. He thought one pleasant conversation with Herb could make up for a massive betrayal and decades of radio silence towards his best friend. Here, he thinks that merely having a better attitude can fix the mess that is his personal life. But he can't. It's not that Beatrice is correct, but genuine self-improvement takes hard work. It's about treating the people around you better, not making oneself feel better. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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