Summary: BoJack convinces Kelsey to break into the Nixon library to film a scene for Secretariat that Lennie no longer wants in the movie. Kelsey agrees, and with the help of Todd, Mr. Peanutbutter, Margo Martindale, and others, they get the shot and Kelsey is grateful. However, Lennie is upset and fires her. Princess Carolyn is given a shot to open a new agency with Rutabaga, but she craves a quieter life. She realizes she isn't made for a quiet life and agrees to join Rutabaga. Diane goes to Cordovia but is horrified by Sebastian's ego and his lack of empathy for everyone in Cordovia. She leaves, having failed to make a difference, and goes to stay with BoJack.
The Good: The main heart of this story came from the BoJack and Kelsey dynamic. We have seen these two get to know each other more as the season went on, and this episode is the peak of their relationship. In a Hollywoo that doesn't care at all for art or accuracy, Kelsey and BoJack come together due to their respect for telling the true story. Kelsey is a film director who wants to make a good film, and BoJack just wants to tell the story of his hero as accurately as possible. Their shared passion and growing bond leads to a genuinely heartwarming moment as they get the shot they need (see: Best Moment). For once, BoJack has somebody who has faith in him and believes in him, and it's a great feeling. Especially contrasted with the emotion BoJack taps into to act as well as he does, a moment where his mother humiliated and abused him in the past. It's clear how much Kelsey means to BoJack now, and that makes the episode's ending so devastating when we learn that Kelsey is gone and that BoJack's actions resulted in her getting fired. I thoroughly enjoyed the heist aspects of this episode, as they added some terrific moments of levity throughout the episode. BoJack stealing the Nixon library model for ultimately no reason whatsoever is needlessly funny, and I love that this decision made the heist even harder by raising security. The hiring sequence is hysterical, as it becomes increasingly obvious that the main cast is all going to show up for this heist and the reasons for their inclusion become increasingly ridiculous. Todd is picked because he "can pick locks", but then it ends with Mr. Peanutbutter coming along for literally no reason whatsoever. There's another fantastic laugh as BoJack interrupts Princess Carolyn's one night off in a spectacularly intrusive way. Then of course we get a magnificent Margo Martindale cameo, and I can't help but laugh at how this show portrays such a sweet person as a mass murdering psychopath. Lastly, we have Alan the cable guy who inexplicably gets wrapped up into this in such an organic funny way, and is framed as guaranteed to die from the first second we see him. This is very funny, and it builds up to an amazing moment as we get to cheer Alan's survival. This was a brilliant use of a side character, providing laughs and making us genuinely invested in this literal nobody. Diane's time in Cordovia is quite crazy. The dark humour surrounding Sebastian has been prevalent for a while, and it is dialed up to 11 here with Sebastian's sheer overpowering ego through his pretentious speeches, lack of empathy, and absurd grandiose gestures. The existence of Kinko, an adorable orphan who exists to die without any trouble for Sebastian is so dark, and yet it works brilliantly as both a story beat and as comedy. This episode does a great job of painting Sebastian as a horrifying villain underneath his facade of a hero, and Diane's voiceover does a good job of dissecting the emptiness behind his gestures. Unfortunately, Sebastian being something of a fraud is exactly what Diane doesn't need. She thought she would get to do something genuine and good, but even in Cordovia she was faced with that trademark Hollywood showiness and selfishness, and as a result, she returns back to LA as lost and unfulfilled as ever. Princess Carolyn's side story is very simple, but it works. She thinks she wants a simple, quiet life, but it's abundantly clear that this is not true because of her job and the people she chooses to stay close to (looking at you BoJack). Her moment of clarity while being entranced by the painting works surprisingly well, and sometimes you have to get what you want to realize that you never wanted it all along. Lots of little things again. Alan being an endangered panda is a nice animal joke, and I really liked Mr. Peanutbutter being devastated about not being taken to a park. Nixon's enemy and frenemy list in the museum is amusing. I'm Canadian so I don't know my American history that well, but I imagine that there would be some clever jokes squeezed onto those lists. Sebastian's ego is shown so brilliantly in several ways, from the enormous portraits of himself in his house to the beautiful sign saying "Cordovian refugee camp, improvements by Sebastian St. Clair", making it abundantly clear that the "improvement" is just the fancy sign. Lastly, I liked BoJack causing a cigarette fire, and him being ignorant of Wanda's jealousy towards Diane while on phone with her (also Wanda's enormous "cell phone" is quite funny). The Bad: Nothing I would call bad. The Unknown: What will become of the movie now that Kelsey is fired? How will BoJack feel about this? Will he try to help her? What is Diane's plan now? Why is she staying with BoJack? How long will she stay with him? How will Wanda feel about this? Will Princess Carolyn's new agency be a success? Best Moment: Kelsey directing BoJack to get the shot, and their moment of genuine connection afterwards was sweet. BoJack had spent all season trying to get to know Kelsey, and now they have finally developed a genuine director-actor bond. This beautiful scene made it that much more devastating when Kelsey was fired by the episode's end. Character of the Episode: BoJack. Conclusion: Another winner of an episode. This episode furthered the stories of the season in a compelling, powerful way while providing some great jokes due to the "heist" sequence. More excellent stuff, and I'm excited to see how this season wraps up. Score: 70
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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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