Summary: BoJack is struggling to stay at home with his mother. When he sees her babying a doll, he spitefully throws it off of his deck and has to go get it back. He recruits Mr. Peanutbutter and together they bring it back. He has a talk with Hollyhock about how he struggles and helps her with her struggles. Princess Carolyn joins with Rutabaga to book a wedding for Courtney Portnoy to set up a new project. But Todd backs out of the wedding after speaking out at his aces meeting and talking with Diane. Rutabaga gives up and plans fall through.
The Good: Diving into BoJack's thoughts to better paint a picture of his depression was a masterful decision. From the first second, I could tell that this episode was going to be special and different, and it provided exactly that by giving us a look into BoJack's thoughts. This perfectly blended maturity and comedy as BoJack's thoughts are a painstakingly accurate portrayal of depression (the sheer amount of self-hate), and anxiety (he stresses himself out about literally everything), and yet they are comically fun to watch as BoJack makes amusingly bad decision after amusingly bad decision before reprimanding himself in over-the-top ways. For people who have never experienced this, it is funny to see such a ridiculous thought process, and for those who have, its heart-wrenchingly relatable. The episode manages to make this idea entertaining for everyone. On top of that, we got some terrific animation sequences painting out the thoughts in BoJack's head in a unique and memorable fashion. I enjoyed these sequences every time, and they worked well to paint how overwhelming BoJack's thoughts are. For those who condemn BoJack for what he does, this episode does a great job in making him more human because we can clearly see how his mental health issues are a significant barrier that blocks him from doing the right thing, even when he knows what the right thing is. The main plot of the episode has some lovely moments too. We can see how BoJack has been perturbed by his mother's presence, and that reflects in him no longer staying at home, trying to spend as much time as possible away from her. Sadly, that distances him from Hollyhock, and we see the effects on that relationship by the episode's end. BoJack had been awful throughout the episode, running away to drink whenever possible, and the only times he interacts with Bea is always brutally negative, like when he throws her doll off of the deck, something that may be justified in his head, but is ultimately entirely unnecessary and it did not improve the situation for anybody at all. By the end of the episode, BoJack does what he can to repair the damage done to Hollyhock, and surprisingly, he even gets a chance to give some fatherly advice to her about that same mental health issue that is cropping up for her. BoJack telling her that the voice will go away eventually is the best thing he's done all episode because while it is not true for him, it gives Hollyhock a chance to overcome her issues and remain hopeful and optimistic about her life. But it's a sad reflection for BoJack who has to lie to her to give good advice, not being able to share that he does have this same struggle eternally happening within his mind. The side stories in this episode offer some good bits of storytelling, even if they are not perfect (see: The Bad). Todd as a developing asexual gets some further exploration into his feelings as he dives into marriage and what that means to him, leading to him opting out of being used in a fake marriage. I liked that Todd got a chance to stand up for himself, learning more about being asexual in the process. I quite liked how he took advice from both the asexual meeting and from Diane (who comically got way too personal with her advice) before making his decision. Princess Carolyn working with Rutabaga had some fun moments, and their plan to kidnap Meryl Streep is pretty funny. The end of the episode delivers that unexpected relatable moment as Rutabaga goes back home to his family, something that Princess Carolyn dismisses, throwing a hint at how Princess Carolyn's difficulties in managing a work-life balance could disrupt her abilities as a mother. The rest of the episode does offer a lot of fun little things. We get to see an elderly slug using multiple walkers to walk around. Diane's still being a horrible friend to Roxie which is really amusing. I liked Todd's awful tootsie pop analogy, and then the call ending with him about to fall into the hole. Mr. Peanutbutter using his sense of smell was funny. I enjoyed the continuity with Felicity complaining about the regurgitated cotton candy from the show's first episode. Lastly, I enjoyed Judah constantly surprising everyone, and Rutabaga's question of "do you go through the walls" was a comic highlight. Judah has been one of the show's best side characters. The Bad: The side stories do not live up to the greatness of the BoJack story. While they have admirable aspects, the plot is uninteresting and there isn't enough personal drama to make them interesting to me. Todd's story is a neat exploration into his continuing development as an asexual, but it never feels significant or emotionally important. Part of that is because Todd always seems to casually meander into ridiculous stuff all the time, so this fake marriage doesn't seem like as big of a deal as the show wants it to be. Meanwhile I have absolutely zero investment in Princess Carolyn's career. Her interesting and relatable story aspects come from her personal life and her inability to manage that alongside her career, and her career was only interesting when BoJack was involved. This lengthy story with Courtney Portnoy is bland because the character offers nothing more than a few chuckles, and I have no reason to be invested with Princess Carolyn remaining her manager. Rutabaga's presence doesn't add much since the character has at best only ever been mildly entertaining, and his relationship with Princess Carolyn is much less compelling than her relationship with Ralph. I've long since grown tired of the tongue twisters since they aren't funny to me and they take up far too much screentime within a scene, destroying the scene's pacing, drama, and emotional stakes in the process for nothing. The Unknown: Will Princess Carolyn have a successful pregnancy this time? What is going to happen with Meryl Streep? Will Princess Carolyn find something with her? Is Courtney going to stay with Princess Carolyn? What's next for Todd now that he's gotten out of this fake wedding business? Will BoJack be able to reconnect with Hollyhock in spite of his mother's presence? When will he reconnect with Diane? Best Moment: The opening sequence was entirely out of left field and thoroughly fascinating to watch, a great mix of comedy, relatable storytelling, and tragedy as we get to see how BoJack's self-destructive thoughts affect his behaviour. Character of the Episode: BoJack. Conclusion: The concept behind this episode was phenomenal, and everything spent focusing on BoJack's mental state was superb television. It's a shame that the rest of the episode isn't quite as good or this could have been something genuinely special. Score: 78
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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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