Summary: Todd leaves to join Copernicus on the Giggleship and says goodbye to a self-loathing BoJack. Princess Carolyn tells him they finished the movie without him using technology to replace his performance, and that she made an orphanage under his name. None of these things please BoJack. BoJack decides to go after Todd, the one person who sees the good in him. Todd finds out Copernicus is a fraud and is trapped in the Giggleship. BoJack breaks him out and takes him back. Princess Carolyn opens up the new agency, but does so without Rutabaga. She gets Diane a new gig, and when out in public, she runs into Mr. Peanutbutter, but he doesn't ask questions and merely wants her back home.
The Good: BoJack's story in this episode is full of regret and self-loathing, and why wouldn't it be after the events of last episode? This episode sees BoJack at his absolute worst, giving in to despair and no longer making nay attempt to be good. Where "Downer Ending" saw BoJack begging Diane to see the good in him, he is now accepting that he is horrible, and is struggling to handle this fact. His pessimistic speech to the orphans highlights this phenomenally as he highlights how he never seems to do anything good on his own. Then there's his goodbye to Todd, which is a painful scene. Todd is looking for a reason to believe in BoJack again, but BoJack is too caught in his self-loathing to notice, and he ends up unintentionally suggesting to Todd that their friendship meant nothing when in reality he thinks that he has been purely terrible to Todd and doesn't deserve him. It takes BoJack realizing how empty his current life is to make him finally make an effort, and what an effort he makes. BoJack realized that Hollywoo will never see the good side of him and will encourage his awfulness, so he goes to an extreme to get Todd back, the one person who makes him feel like he can be better. His gesture towards Todd is powerful and it feels good to see BoJack trying to be better for once and actually succeeding by saving Todd from this awful cult. All of this builds up to a superb ending scene. This season ends where it began, with BoJack struggling to run up the hill outside his house. But notable, he gets a little farther. Not by much, but it is some progress, and it's a great metaphor for BoJack's inner journey this season. He's had ups and downs, but ultimately he did make some progress towards better understanding himself, his problem, and what he needs to do to be better. I adore the way this episode and this season ends. "Escape From L.A." ended with despair and pain, but the season rehabilitates us with some hope, and chooses to end on an optimistic note rather than a bleak one, something that I applaud the writers for. After collapsing in exhaustion, the running man comes up to BoJack and delivers a phenomenal quote: "Every day it get a little easier. But you have to do it every day. That's the hard part". The line is fantastic because it's the perfect instruction for how BoJack gets better. He made a grand gesture to Todd today, but he has to make sure to maintain this standard every day. That's where the challenge will be for him, but the longer he stays decent, the easier it will be. Mr. Peanutbutter and Diane have been compelling all season, and I'm glad to see them have a pair of excellent scenes in this episode to conclude their story for the season. The opening sequence is so sad as we see both Mr. Peanutbutter and Diane living their separate lives, and yet they are unable to escape from their pain. Diane is happily enjoying Mr. Peanutbutter's energy on the TV, but reminders of her failure to change the world is enough to make her run away from him again; she loves him, but is so ashamed and insecure. Meanwhile, Mr. Peanutbutter looks to be living the dream on his own, but it isn't until a final shot of his sadly sitting on his roof alone that we really see how much he misses Diane and wants to have her back. All of this builds to a fantastic scene later where Mr. Peanutbutter spots Diane. This could easily have been grounds for an enormous fight, but their shared feelings of missing each other overcome all negativity here in such a sweet way. Diane is stunned to see him, and she looks like a deer in the headlights, terrified that all of the negativity she has been stewing in will finally come true. But Mr. Peanutbutter doesn't indulge in that. He misses Diane too much, and he makes it clear that he will not judge her, or yell at her, or demand answers; he just wants her to come home. Diane's relief upon hearing this is palpable, and hearing the sweetness in their conversation at the end is delightful. Well done to this season for turning these two into such an engaging pairing that I'm actively rooting for. The continuity in this episode was exceptional, with so many jokes and story beats calling back on events that happened throughout the season. In the very first episode, BoJack had himself scanned in case of an emergency where he did something stupid, and that paid off here when the movie was finished using that scan to create a fully CGI BoJack. The orphanage stuff is pretty funny too because BoJack made this statement all the way back in "Still Broken", and it's nice to see the jar of Herb's ashes (which has appeared consistently all season) finally get some resolution by being used for the orphanage. But only after being comically broken by Stuart of course. I have talked a lot about that ending line already, but it's brilliant to see the running man used in this final moment. He has been running outside BoJack's house in every establishing shot, so it's great to see him finally used for something important. The credits for the Secretariat movie being dedicated to Corduroy and "Debra's Old Face" is really funny, and another great callback to the first episode. Lastly, a very small moment, but that baby bird that hatched in the previous episode takes flight from the stroller in a lovely gag that is a perfect example of how much care this show puts into the smaller details, details that most people likely won't notice on a first watch. Some other little things were amusing. I liked the sea creatures boarding the Giggleship directly out of the water. Rutabaga finally made me laugh with his horrific statement after news of Mr. Witherspoon's condition just broke. The improv security being so easily outsmarted was a pretty funny culmination of the improv idea. The Bad: Again, the side stories did not entirely work for me. The improv story has the occasional fun joke, but I have to question why this was such an important storyline that had multiple episodes dedicated to it. The comedy was lacking, Todd's character journey was almost non-existent, and the side characters were totally forgettable. I got nothing out of this story. Princess Carolyn leaving Rutabaga behind should have felt like a triumph, but since I've found it difficult to invest in this storyline, it had very little impact on me. The season never got me invested in their relationship and the new agency storyline, so this big emotional point fell completely flat. The Unknown: Will Mr. Witherspoon die? What's next for Rutabaga now that Princess Carolyn cut him out? He burned bridges at Vigor, so where will he go now? Who is Jill Pill? What was BoJack's history with her? What was this other show that BoJack was involved with? Best Moment: The unexpected beauty of Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter being reunited and getting back to their usual routine without a hitch because they had missed each other so much. Character of the Episode: BoJack. Conclusion: A touching, and effective season finale that lays down the foundations for season 3. Some of the side stories here did not land for me, but most of the storytelling was great, and the result is a profoundly satisfying end to a profoundly satisfying season. The second season of "BoJack Horseman" was a massive improvement on the first. Season 1 was so rough and unpolished in nearly every aspect, but season 2 took a lot more care in its storytelling, comedy, characters, and style. Every episode was enjoyable, offering a consistency that was not there in season 1. The humour was much improved, with "Let's Find Out" being a prime example of it, though there was still inconsistencies in joke quality. More overtly positive is the handling of the characters, with almost all of them being massively improved from season 1. BoJack continues to be a fascinating lead character, with his personality being fun and charismatic, but his actions and behaviour often being reprehensible. Todd was written with more conviction this time around and ends up being much better as a result. Diane becomes emotionally well-rounded and relatable in a way similar to BoJack, and the same goes for Mr. Peanutbutter who went from being genuinely one-dimensional to providing some of the most emotionally memorable moments this season. The only miss this season was Princess Carolyn, whose story was relegated to the background, and often felt repetitive or underdeveloped. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this season. Like season 1, it got better as it went on, with "Escape From L.A." being a gem of an episode to serve as the climax. This show fulfills a unique itch by combining comedy with some of the most relatable, heavy storytelling I have seen in a TV show, and I'm excited to see what creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg has in store for us in season 3. 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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