Summary: Abe, the new director for the Secretariat movie, is ruining the film and BoJack loses his passion. He gets an opportunity to do a play in New York, but Abe screws him out of that. Depressed, BoJack stops working and stays at home with Diane, neglecting Wanda's wishes. Wanda goes to talk to him about it and they break up. BoJack and Diane open up to one another. BoJack decides to visit Charlotte in New Mexico. Diane decides to keep lying to Mr. Peanutbutter and tells him they should stop calling. Todd joins an improv cult and invites BoJack to a rehearsal that means a lot to him, but BoJack doesn't come.
The Good: The structure of this episode is good. It starts off light in tone with a story that makes this seem like another self-contained fun story, but by the episode's end, things take a much darker turn into heavier themes and emotion-oriented storytelling. It's very effective, and the ending stretch of this episode is one of the best parts of the season. Abe is a fun new side character, and his new relationship with BoJack is enjoyable. It's very funny how BoJack misunderstands Abe's horrible saying ("it's not Casablanca"), and how this leads to Abe making BoJack's life miserable on set. Which leads into the more serious aspect of this episode. BoJack is happy to do his job in this movie and then move his acting talents to play acting to seek fulfillment. But Abe's pettiness makes everything worse for BoJack and it ruins both his current job and his future. It's sad to see BoJack fall so sharply after starting this season in a more positive place, but it's brutally effective to see him lose everything going good in his life in this episode. His repeated line of "I'm tired of running in circles" is such a good way to showcase the frustrations he is dealing with. Wanda's relationship with BoJack also comes to an end here in brutal fashion. It's sad to see how BoJack delegates Wanda into the background of his own life, and she feels utterly neglected by BoJack's actions in his depression. It's sad to see, considering how much BoJack loved her before, and it all culminates in an intense argument scene where BoJack reveals a grudge he's held against Wanda and her job all along, perhaps an indication that this relationship was doomed from the start. Wanda gets a good line about red flags too to close things out, a sad ending to a relationship that fizzled out in an all too realistic way. Diane's story is really good too. It's amusing to see her in such an unfiltered slobby way, completely lost in life without a care left in the world. She's given into nihilism, and her only reminders of her old life are periodic phone calls from Mr. Peanutbutter, who is unknowingly making things worse for Diane with his overpowering praise. There's also a nice joke when Diane makes her fake refugee name "Coffee Maker". Anyways, Diane's time with BoJack is quite scary to see. They are both enabling each other's toxicity when faced with depression, giving in to horrible habits that only serve to make their already bad lives worse. But, it's not all bad. After dissociating with one another for days on end, these two show the value in their relationship by talking things out and offering genuine advice. Diane brilliantly dissects the root behind BoJack's depression, getting him to admit that he gets by on temporary satisfaction and that there is nothing that genuinely makes him happy, leading BoJack to make a proactive move by searching out Charlotte in a way to resolve his past regrets. BoJack meanwhile is able to get Diane to open up about why she isn't going home and offers her some good advice to get back to the life that she has abandoned. Unfortunately, Diane doesn't heed this advice and is unable to escape from the guilt and shame she feels. She still loves Mr. Peanutbutter, I genuinely believe her when she says it, but the shame is so significant that she sadly can't take speaking with him anymore. BoJack gave her good help, but it wasn't enough for Diane to make the right decision. A couple of little things again, though not as many as usual. There is a terrific joke squeezed in this episode where Princess Carolyn and BoJack make clothing jokes with each other (are you wearing comfortable shoes, because you walked a long way to get to that punchline). I enjoyed the commentary from BoJack's line about how New York is a perfect place to live in for only six months and if you are wealthy. As for animal jokes, I got a laugh out of the passing shot of a lady with an egg in her stroller, which hatched into a little fledgling bird. The Bad: The ending of this episode had great themes and emotion to it, but the first half was so problematic because it was painfully unfunny and slow-paced. The biggest culprit for this is the Todd storyline, which took up so much screentime and had no good jokes to offer. It's lightly amusing to see Todd accidentally join a cult without knowing, but the joke wears out its welcome rapidly, and there is little to no other comedy available. It's amusing to see Rian Johnson in a cameo role as Bryan, but the improv comedy story has little else to offer that was interesting or funny. These scenes were a slog to get through, and I was disappointed by how flat these scenes felt. Considering that Todd is mainly used for comic relief, this storyline was a total failure because it didn't make me laugh once. Princess Carolyn hasn't had a very good season. She's spent most of it in the background, and her story just isn't that compelling. Rutabaga is an uninteresting character and love interest for her. Sure he's eccentric and has funny ears, but we know so little about the rest of his personality and what it is that Princess Carolyn sees in him. I struggle to care at all about their new agency, and I rapidly lose interest when they are sharing screentime. The only amusing scene with them in this episode was when Mr. Peanutbutter walked in on them, oblivious as always. The Unknown: Will Rutabaga screw over Princess Carolyn if the new business doesn't work out? Where is the Todd story going? Will he stay involved with this cult? What happens now that he is going to meet Copernicus? Will there be a rift between BoJack and Todd? Will we see Wanda again? I doubt she gets back together with BoJack, but she still has a big enough role in the TV industry that I wouldn't be surprised if she returns. What will BoJack do now that he's back with Charlotte? What will she say to him? Where is this story going? When will Diane finally leave BoJack's to get back to Mr. Peanutbutter. Best Moment: BoJack and Diane's conversation was thought-provoking and powerful for both of them. It's sad to see them suffering so much, but it's good that they are able to find solace in each other and talk to each other. Character of the Episode: BoJack. Conclusion: Everything about that ending was exceptional, but the unimpressive first half of the episode drags this down. "BoJack Horseman" continues to nail the heavy stuff, but the comedy remains hit or miss. Score: 68
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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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