Summary: The episode flashes back to 2007. Princess Carolyn is sleeping with BoJack, and in a bid to help herself become an agent, she gets him a new TV show opportunity with Cuddlywhiskers. BoJack is nervous about this show defining him and he and Cuddlywhiskers devolve the show into nonsense. Mr. Peanutbutter is married to Jessica Biel. They break up and he meets Diane. Todd is dating Emily in high school but appears to be uncomfortable in their relationship.
The Good: The 2007 gimmick is fun and brought to life in so many ways. There is of course that fun sequence with the "generic 2007 pop song" directly parodying a similar sequence in "The Telescope" while blasting us with reference after reference to 2007 (Britney Spears themed sheep shearing business, a Subway where kids eat free in reference to the infamous Jared, a flip phone store, and a Wii remote strap warehouse to name a few). This is far from the only reference to the time period, and the whole episode is packed with little things that make me smile. Some examples include Marv shredding scripts to acclaimed 2007 films, posters that reference animal-ified TV shows (Koalafornication, The Pig Bang Theory, The Drunken Crow Show), the appearance of Jorge Garcia as Hurley talking to BoJack about "Lost", and Todd hilariously destroying the ending of "The Sopranos" in one of the episode's best jokes. The little details don't end there. This episode is perhaps the best example so far of the great attention to detail in "BoJack Horseman" with dozens of great jokes to enjoy in the background. As always, I'll list off some of my favourites. The menu board in the knock-off Starbucks that Diane works in was a blast to read with some comical items including "petrol", "two potatoes", and "croissant juice". I also appreciate the continuity of Mr. Peanutbutter and Diane meeting in this location, which was alluded to back in "After the Party". Jessica Biel is a ton of fun in this episode. I love that the character has been caricaturized into making puns involving her last name, and that the episode directly sets up her relationship with "Justin" who is obviously Justin Timberlake. BoJack gets a great moment here that is perfectly in character as he admonishes Cuddlywhiskers for emphasizing his Harvard background so much only to later tell Princess Carolyn "he's so smart, he must have gone to Yale or something". Classic BoJack. The animal jokes are still excellent. There's a throwaway shot of a lizard lady being robbed with her arm being ripped up and she just regrows it. Mr. Peanutbutter gets more great dog humour with his hate for tennis because nobody ever catches the ball. Princess Carolyn even gets a great moment with her obsession with crinkly tissue paper. Lastly, I'll mention that fantastic customized ending song for this episode with lyrics that reflect on the failure of "The BoJack Horseman Show", which was creative and wildly fun to listen to. The characters are given a decent amount to do. Princess Carolyn is the star as we get to see what made her become an agent to begin with. Marv has always been disgusting, and Princess Carolyn's dissatisfaction with her position lead to her making a huge power move and accepting her new job in delight, totally ignorant of Marv's regrets, regrets that she would soon come to understand in the present day. Mr. Peanutbutter and Diane getting a meet cute is quite nice and another effective reminder of why they are so good together. And BoJack's story is another solid example of how in his desperate hunt for success and happiness, he ruined something genuine. The Bad: The biggest issue with this episode is that the little details overpower the main storyline. I didn't have much to say about the characters and their story arcs because, frankly, they didn't interest me at all. Some moments were nice, but this episode had next to no momentum in terms of character progression, and I felt like not enough time was devoted to exploring how these people were different 10 years in the past. This is especially significant because flashback episodes are usually so much fun because we get to explore what was different about the characters in their past. This episode fails in that regard because just about everyone is exactly the same as the present, barring Diane who is only slightly edgier than before without much context being given as to why, and how this affected her life. The character dynamics had so much potential, and they were ignored in favour of shoving as many jokes as possible into the episode. I also have to take issue with pop culture references dominating an episode like this. I enjoy reference humour when I get it, but the problem comes when I don't get it. This is why I prefer for TV shows to avoid referencing real life events, because when people don't understand the reference, the joke is completely lost. This episode is so dependent on people having lived in 2007 to understand the many jokes that are made here. For me, I understood most things, but imagine how somebody born in 2008 who watches the show in 2030 will feel while watching this episode. Sure, they might understand some things, but much of this humour will likely go over their heads, resulting in an episode that feels like it never even attempted to be funny. And considering my complaints about how the episode is lacking in character work, the episode could be a complete dud for those who don't understand the jokes, or don't care much for reference humour like this. I appreciate all of the work that was done to reference 2007 with as much detail as possible, but this doesn't make for an episode that is accessible to everyone. I wasn't a huge fan of the plot in this episode either. BoJack's show isn't very interesting because we know that it's doomed to fail, and there isn't enough interesting or unique storytelling to make this impactful. What we expect to happen is exactly what happens, and it feels like the show is spinning its wheels because BoJack ruining something good is something that he has done many times before. The side stories aren't ideal either. Mr. Peanutbutter and Diane meeting is sweet, but ultimately completely inessential. Todd's story may be setting something up down the line (see: The Unknown), but it's not funny outside of the joke on "The Sopranos", and never becomes interesting. The Unknown: What happened to Emily? Why isn't she around in the present? Why was Todd so awkward in his relationship with Emily? Is this setting up further exploration of the character? How did the show's failure affect BoJack? Best Moment: Mr. Peanutbutter and Diane's first conversation is really sweet with some funny moments. I love what this show has done with their relationship. Character of the Episode: Princess Carolyn. Conclusion: This is an episode where its biggest strength is also its biggest weakness. The attention to detail is fantastic, but building a whole episode on little things rather than telling a compelling main story leads to this being more unsatisfying than it should be. Score: 58
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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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