Summary: Todd gets caught trying to help everyone in one day. He is sent to get Mr. Peanutbutter's glasses back but along the way is given a job to pose with Courtney Portnoy by Princess Carolyn. After returning the glasses, Todd signs off on a contract for Mr. Peanutbutter and forces him to take a stance on the fracking issue. Mr. Peanutbutter tells him to make sure Diane doesn't find out, so Todd distracts her. Todd is also met by Hollyhock who thinks she is BoJack's daughter. He tests her hair with BoJack's hair and ultimately finds out that it is a match. Todd ends up inspiring Diane while pretending to be Channing Tatum. At the end, Todd clears the air with BoJack regarding their friendship and goes to an asexual meeting.
The Good: This episode is absolute chaos and it is meant to be. Todd's story ended up being a wonderfully accurate look into the life of a habitual people-pleaser, showing how Todd is often consumed by the lives of those around him and ultimately is believed to be lazy and always free because very few are able to see all of the little things that he does for everyone. This episode is intentionally made to be all over the place to simulate how overwhelming this feels for Todd, and makes us better understand his plight. The way that Todd is always playing a background role in each individual character's story gives off the impression that Todd has always been doing this in the background of previous seasons, and it recontextualizes our views of him. Sure, he's still slightly incompetent and gets himself in ridiculous scenarios, but he's also been massively helpful and caring for all of those around him. This is a nice story to tell, and it makes it so much more satisfying when we see Todd finally take some time to explore himself by the episode's end, going to an aces meeting and finally making some peace with who he is. This story was very well told and is by far the best we have seen from Todd in the whole show. The lion summing up the story of Todd in a heavy-handed way at the start and end of the episode is really cheesy, but it fits with the comedic nature of the show so it actually ends up working a lot better than you would expect. The comedy and drama combines nicely to create such a compelling story for Todd. Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter are being nicely set up for a big argument after this episode. Mr. Peanutbutter is going too far in this election due to Katrina's influence, and we see things hit a real snag as the overwhelming nature of an election results in Mr. Peanutbutter accidentally taking a stance as pro-fracking, which is inevitably going to raise an issue with Diane. This episode sees Diane reaffirm her morality and her stance as an honest journalist who only writes about what she feels is the truth. That's a problem when Mr. Peanutbutter actively goes against her desires in the same episode, and the stage is most definitely set for Diane to write a scathing article against Mr. Peanutbutter and fracking. This story was set up nicely, and the show found clever ways to integrate Todd into the story of both characters in amusing ways. We are also introduced to Hollyhock this episode, and she thinks that she is BoJack's daughter. This storyline is a lot of fun to develop, primarily because Hollyhock is such a sweet and fun personality. Her dynamic with Todd is really fun, almost like a version of the Todd/BoJack relationship if it was healthier. I really like how Hollyhock is given a lot of BoJack's traits including her spy gear, laziness, her sleeping position, her slight chubbiness, and her tendency to insist upon if people understand her jokes. Todd has some great reactions to her too, with the highlight line being "that's a horrible thing to say to a baby!". I am intrigued by this new character, and her dynamic with BoJack is something that I'm very excited to see unfold. Todd has a sizeable story with BoJack in this episode too. The episode nicely updates us on how their relationship stands, with Todd being given plenty of reasons to remain outside of BoJack's life even though BoJack is once more seeming remorseful and appreciative of what Todd brings to the table. Seeing BoJack from Todd's perspective really hammers home how even when BoJack is trying to be better, he's still not a great friend to him. Their story closes with a beautiful scene that examines both the best and the worst of their relationship in a poignant way (see: Best Moment). Lots of little things of course. Todd using a massive egg that likely came from a human-sized chicken at the start of the episode is funny. I like that FedEx has become "FedOx". It was nice to see that Sandro's restaurant successfully opened. Courtney's reactions to Todd and her complete inability to understand the life of a lower class person is quite funny. What a great way to highlight the effects of privilege and ignorance of people living outside of your own world. Todd taking over the fashion show with his dumb philosophy was quite funny, and I loved seeing Courtney dressed up in his outfit by the end of the episode. I was laughing at the usual Tom scene only to be horrified by Randy's health scare. This show succeeded so much at making Randy's antics such a regular bit of fun that I was genuinely saddened by him passing out, and both amused and gladdened by Tom's reaction to it. Lastly, the several Channing Tatum jokes throughout the episode are really funny. The Bad: Despite the episode trying to make you think that Todd has been a people-pleaser in the background this whole time, that obviously just isn't true. This aspect of Todd's character feels like a retcon because we have never seen Todd be so thoughtful and caring before, and there's always been a bit of a confusion in what defines the character since the start of the series. The show has found a better feel of Todd as it went on, and the character is being used in some fantastic storytelling right now, but it's clear to me that Todd being asexual and a people-pleaser was never considered before the story of this season. It's okay to have this retcon, but it does break the immersion a bit when you realize during the episode that much of what we are seeing is not consistent with what we have seen from Todd in prior seasons. Princess Carolyn's story is the only one that doesn't fit too well in this episode. This Courtney Portnoy project is right out of nowhere, and we aren't given any reason to care about what happens with her. Furthermore, the tongue twister sayings are a joke that I don't find very funny, and I was more annoyed by their constant presence than amused. The Unknown: How will BoJack react to Hollyhock? What will their dynamic be? What is going to happen when Diane finds out about what Mr. Peanutbutter has done? Will their marriage be able to survive what might be their biggest conflict yet? How long will it be until BoJack and Todd become friends again? Will they ever become close friends again? Is Randy going to be okay? I really need to know. Best Moment: Todd making peace with BoJack was a sweet moment. It was nice to see Todd be honest to BoJack, finally admitting to someone he feels comfortable with about his sexuality. But crucially, Todd is not simply going to repair their friendship and forgive BoJack entirely. A year has passed, and Todd is ready to move on, but he hasn't forgotten the awful influence that BoJack had on him. Even though Todd is able to forgive BoJack and not despise him, he's not ready to be friends, and that's a very real take on how forgiving friends who broke your trust works. The hatred is gone, but amiability has not replaced it. This show has always been stunningly accurate to real life with its character conflicts, and this is no exception. Character of the Episode: Todd. Conclusion: Todd finally got some time to shine, and the result is a light-hearted episode that gives the character unexpected depth, putting us through an uplifting story of a people-pleaser finally taking some time for himself. This isn't as impactful as the outstanding previous episode, but it's another gem of a story that leaves a great impression. Score: 74
1 Comment
Joe Y
3/19/2023 07:07:04 pm
Yeah, as you noted, this is a retcon, but it's used in the service of a really fun story. I can accept that. It's a much more endearing version of Todd than the one we started off with. And it's pretty well suited to Aaron Paul's performance as well. This is easily the best showcase for him in the whole run, and a showcase of just how strong the show's storytelling is in Season 4. It can follow up a gut punch of an episode like "The Old Sugarman Place" with such a fun and fresh episode. I definitely wasn't out of my mind when I thought of S4 as the show's peak. Though I agree with you that "Commence Fracking" and "Thoughts and Prayers" aren't up to that standard, along with a couple others. Nothing's perfect, of course.
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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