Summary: BoJack has no memory of what he has done while the Philbert crew try to clean up the mess. Princess Carolyn talks to him and gets him to do an interview with Gina so that things can continue normally. However, Henry Fondle is ousted as a sexual predator and is forced to resign in shame. Todd kills him and leaves his position. This results in Philbert being cancelled anyways. Princess Carolyn is called by Sadie, who wants to give up her baby again and Princess Carolyn immediately goes to her after Philbert's cancellation, finally becoming a mother. Mr. Peanutbutter is conflicted by his feelings for Diane and they have sex again. He wants to get back together but Diane says she doesn't want to and that he should tell Pickles what happened. However, he's unable to and asks her to marry him instead. BoJack goes to Diane and wants to be held accountable for what he's done but Diane tells him that it won't help anyone. Instead, she takes him to a rehab centre so that he can truly recover.
The Good: The fallout from BoJack strangling Gina was beautifully told. BoJack didn't even remember what he did, but everyone went in complete damage control mode, an indicator of how justice is often pushed aside to protect the bigger picture; it wouldn't do for the company to have controversy surrounding Philbert so they would rather hide it away instead of doing something about it. The most heartbreaking aspect is that Gina is also complicit with it since she doesn't want to see her newfound career go up in flames because of what BoJack did. In the end, BoJack gets a free pass despite doing something absolutely awful, and it's horrifying and sad to see that there is no way for him to atone or be punished because it would just make things worse for the victim. Wanting help with the situation, BoJack goes to Diane because he knows her as someone moral enough to let him be punished. But even Diane is jaded enough by society to understand that BoJack being ousted will not help anyone. But Diane is still able to do some good, and she is able to capitalize on BoJack's shame to get him to go into rehab and put his trust in someone else to guide his recovery. Their final scene together as BoJack heads to rehab is brilliant, an exploration of their friendship which BoJack knows he does not deserve, but Diane finds herself incapable of letting go of. The animators do a great job showing Diane in this scene and they are able to portray her complex emotions towards BoJack in a compelling way. Speaking of Diane, her story with Mr. Peanutbutter is also very well done. I'm glad that she is still firm on not getting back together with him, but the complexity of her emotions leads to her making repeated bad decisions as they hook up multiple times. Mr. Peanutbutter knows he wants to get back together because he still has feeling for her, but Diane's situation is more complicated and her inability to deal with her negative emotions puts her back with Mr. Peanutbutter repeatedly. But she is firm about not wanting to be with him, leaving Mr. Peanutbutter with a real problem now that he has cheated on his current girlfriend. The fall of Henry Fondle has its problems (see: The Bad), but it does offer some good entertainment. After repeated sexual comments, it is amusing that it's a "low battery" warning that gets him in trouble. I was entertained by how Fondle's fall parallels the MeToo movement, and Todd's interview about him is pretty amusing. I got a good laugh out of the line "this is a great day for the women of this company, many of whom will be laid off". I liked the little things as well. Henry Fondle's death being an homage to Of Mice and Men was a clever reference. Tracy and Stuart have to be the most annoyingly incompetent characters in this show, and seeing them be too incompetent to realize that they are each other's long lost twin is a fantastic payoff. There are a few nice animal jokes in here, like a couch with a bed bug hiding in it, and Mr. Peanutbutter referring to the "humany style" sex position. We also get more amusing headlines with my favourite being "US military solves refugee crisis by bombing all refugees". Lastly, I like how Flip's story concluded with him getting lost in the themes of his own show ("I was Princess Carolyn the whole time"), which is also a nice reference to "Mr. Robot" with Rami Malek voicing Flip. The Bad: Henry Fondle was certainly funny, but I think the show went too far with it by making Fondle such a significant plot point in this season finale. It was tough enough to stomach Fondle becoming the CEO to begin with, but now we have people finally feeling offended by him, leading to a forced resignation, the fall of What Time Is It Right Now, and the cancellation of Philbert. Considering how serious the show has treated BoJack strangling Gina and how realistic the fallout from it has been, it is a slap in the face to have the Philbert storyline ended by something so absurd and stupid. It's a step too far in suspending my disbelief, and I'm not happy with the decision to have Henry Fondle be the reason that the Philbert storyline ends. This episode drives home how underutilized Todd and Princess Carolyn were in this season. Todd had a huge new role in What Time Is It Right Now, but he never did anything meaningful or substantial with his new role, barring a few jokes. But now Todd has lost his position and has reverted to the exact same place he was in at the start of the season, making the whole ordeal feel pointless. I wish that Todd had more to do in season 5 so that this did not feel like such a waste of the character. Princess Carolyn's story was similarly underwhelming. She doesn't undergo any significant growth after "The Amelia Earhart Story", but she's rewarded with a baby anyways, which feels like an anticlimax to her adoption story arc. Much like with Todd, I wish this season had done more with her. Because she was so underutilized, the ending of her season 5 story falls flat. The Unknown: Will rehab be able to help BoJack? Is it still possible for him to change and become a better person? How will Princess Carolyn handle being a single mother? What's next for Todd now that he's quit his new position? He can pretty much do whatever he wants. Will Mr. Peanutbutter tell Pickles the truth, or is he going to continue to string her along? Best Moment: The ending scene with Diane sending BoJack away to rehab is heartfelt and beautiful. Character of the Episode: Diane. Conclusion: Barring some disappointing conclusions for Todd and Princess Carolyn, I thought that this episode had some of the strongest storytelling we have seen in a "BoJack Horseman" season finale, especially when it came to the stuff with BoJack and Diane. In the end, season 5 was another great season of "BoJack Horseman". The season's biggest strength came from its creativity with there being a large number of unique gimmick episodes, all of which are the best episodes of the season ("Free Churro", "The Showstopper", "The Dog Days Are Over", "INT. Sub", etc.). This resulted in a number of great standalone episodes that I will remember for a long time. I also have to praise this season's story of relapsing, which was told with realistic depth and subtlety, and becomes a more complete story by the end of the season with BoJack finally deciding to go to rehab. However, I don't enjoy season 5 as much as I enjoyed seasons 3 and 4, and that's likely because of how poorly the season utilized its side characters. Mr. Peanutbutter and Diane had good stuff, but Princess Carolyn and Todd had forgettable stories. The minor characters also felt like a step back as Gina, Flip, and Pickles weren't nearly as interesting or funny as other characters like Hollyhock, Sarah Lynn, Ralph, and Kelsey from previous seasons. Despite this problem, I still found season 5 to be an entertaining and compelling watch, and another strong addition to the show. Score: 70
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Summary: BoJack's reality gets confused as he takes more and more drugs and struggles to separate his personal life from his job. He begins to believe that there is a conspiracy against him and Gina and he takes measures to discover who is coming after him, confronting Diane and Todd, and also calling Kyle. Eventually Gina discovers his drugs and leaves him. Later, BoJack and Gina act out a scene where the characters fight, but BoJack goes too far and strangles Gina in real life.
The Good: The biggest strength of this episode is how brilliantly it captures BoJack's fraying mental state through unexpected cuts, hallucinogenic experiences, and repeated confusion of whether BoJack is at home or on set. These aspects of the episode show us how BoJack is growing increasingly manic and dissociated from reality, building up tension and suspense as the episode goes on. Further tension comes when we see little things eating at him, like his obsession with Flip's "popsicle guys" (a nice reference to last episode's storyline), and the sense that somebody is coming after him. I got a chuckle out of seeing his insane board of connections between people, but it was also sad to see BoJack becoming so delusional as he believes everyone is out to get him. The episode goes the expected route with BoJack's fall, and it maintains tension through the mounting feeling that something is going to go horribly wrong. It all comes to a head when BoJack argues with Gina and she abandons him after realizing that he's a junkie who is endangering her newfound career. It's tragic that BoJack spent the entire episode trying to protect her, not realizing that he was the bigger threat to her the entire time. Unfortunately, this also means that Gina's departure has left him with resentment, especially after he hyperfixates on Gina being afraid for her career instead of being afraid for him. This leads to the episode's shocking climax when BoJack strangles Gina on set, letting his emotions get the better of him in a horrifying and deeply uncomfortable way (also, it's a remarkably ironic callback to BoJack saying "obviously choking women is bad" back in "BoJack the Feminist"). It's a perfect place for the season's f-bomb, and the culmination of BoJack's fall from grace in this season. While it may feel repetitive for BoJack to do something awful in the penultimate episode again after all of his recovery, I feel that it was necessary and helps to tell a more realistic story of recovery. Nobody gets it right on their first try, and this season has been explicit in showing us that BoJack is not strong enough to change on his own. He has spent the season mostly isolated from his friends, refusing to get any extra help from places like rehab or therapy. His stubborn refusal to do this is what leads to him relapsing and once more doing something terrible. Nobody has the strength to change on their own, and the message that this season is telling us is that we have to be open to outside help or we will never be able to achieve true permanent change. BoJack, being stubborn and short-sighted, is somebody who needs to learn this the hard way, and now by reflecting on the awful things he has done in this season, he realizes that he is not strong enough to change on his own. Season 5 has told this story of relapse superbly and subtly (I didn't start connecting the dots of this story until "Ancient History"), and I think that it is a remarkable exploration of how and why people can relapse in spite of all they have accomplished. I also found this episode to use symbolism in a superb way. The episode consistently shows visuals of BoJack seeing the giant balloon version of himself floating around, and a heavenly staircase appearing in backgrounds. By the episode's end, BoJack ascends these stairs only to find the balloon staring down at him from above. This is a memorable and evocative image, made better by the fact that we have to interpret what this means on our own. To me, the staircase symbolizes truth, and BoJack finally climbing it is him finally seeing reality after he spent the entire episode distracting himself with drugs and false conspiracies. But all that awaits him is the balloon, a symbol of his own true nature and the terrible things that he does to those around him. The balloon is crucially dressed up in the Philbert costume, highlighting that when he truly looks at himself, BoJack can only ever be the worst aspects of Philbert that are explored in the show he is making. It's a crushing realization for BoJack to make, and it makes us wonder if true change is really possible in a world where BoJack refuses to get help and repeatedly has his actions glorified by the red carpet of Hollywood. As always, there are plenty of little things I enjoyed. the Philbert intro sequence is an inspired choice, and I love how well it parodied real life TV show intros. The cheesy dialogue in Philbert is always entertaining, and provides some chuckles throughout the episode. I thoroughly enjoyed the "ad break" as Todd practically begs everyone to give him money so he can sponsor them. I was amused by BoJack's "let's find out!" reference, which he seemed to do unconsciously. BoJack's call to Kyle and his terrible telemarketer accent was really funny, easily the comedic highlight of the episode. Lastly, Mr. Peanutbutter's obvious guilt over having sex with Diane is pretty funny and a clever way to confirm our suspicions about what happened between them after the previous episode. The Bad: I understand people who criticize this episode for being too similar to seasons 2 and 3 with BoJack once more doing a terrible thing as the climax of the season. Though as I outlined above, it doesn't bother me and I think this was the logical next step for the show to explore relapsing. The Unknown: What's next for BoJack? Is this the end of his career? Is this the end for Philbert? Best Moment: The don't stop dancing musical performance is creepy, unsettling, and a fantastic exploration of the trauma that BoJack has buried deep inside of him. The song is well performed, but the visuals clearly reference multiple images from BoJack's past, like the dead Sarah Lynn, his dead mother dancing into a coffin, and the Old Sugarman Place where he stayed for so long. The sequence is masterful, and a memorable exploration of the fear and trauma that BoJack carries deep within him. The abstract nature of the sequence only makes it more captivating and more interesting to rewatch. Character of the Episode: BoJack. Conclusion: A magnificent episode that captures BoJack's dissociative episode beautifully. It's heartbreaking to see BoJack fall in this season after coming so close to recovery, and this episode serves as a somber, painful reminder of the nature of this character. Score: 81 Summary: Philbert's first season receives great reviews from critics, and the crew go to the red carpet screening. BoJack makes a brief speech about how Philbert makes it feel like it's okay to be awful, which horrifies Diane who doesn't want this to be the show's message. Diane and BoJack have a long and tense argument afterwards. Diane storms out and is driven home by Mr. Peanutbutter, who was abandoned by Pickles at the screening, and she invites him inside. BoJack kisses Gina publicly. Todd's sex robot Henry Fondle ends up becoming the next CEO of What Time is it Right Now. Princess Carolyn resolves a dispute between two comedians who Flip plagiarized.
The Good: The Philbert premier story is superbly executed. The event takes over the episode, and it's engaging to find out what exactly is going to happen here. The centerpiece ends up becoming the pay-off for the tensions that BoJack and Diane have had all season. After their latest arguments and a long break where they did not talk with each other, the blowout finally comes and it is glorious. Diane's respect for BoJack has dropped massively, and hearing him use Philbert to excuse his own actions is horrifying for her. Diane has always wanted to make positive change in the world, so it's very fitting that she would go into crisis mode upon realizing that awful people may be getting a pass because of their show, and this leads to her heated confrontation with BoJack where she finally dives into the problem she has with him: what happened in New Mexico? The ensuing scene is absolutely fantastic. We've seen heartbreaking dissolutions of relationships in this show before, but none have been as messy as this with BoJack and Diane venting at each other about BoJack's actions and if they can be justified. Diane's approach may not be the best, but she absolutely has a point in that BoJack should be seeking help and needs to be held accountable for what he's done. Horrifyingly, BoJack seems to be blissfully ignorant of all of this, hammering in that he really hasn't changed like we thought he did. Hearing him argue that he is the biggest victim of his own actions is disgusting, and while you can see how he may think that, it requires a devilishly narrow mind to completely ignore the effects he has had on the lives of others. This scene ended up being fantastic, and I enjoyed everything that it had to offer. The brutality of the sequence also made it far easier to accept BoJack and Diane both turning to sexual acts to feel better with BoJack going public with Gina and Diane inviting Mr. Peanutbutter into her studio. The side stories in this episode had problems (see: The Bad), but they had aspects I enjoyed. The popsicle guys were neatly set up as we did see Flip eating these popsicles in previous episodes. It's no surprise that he blatantly plagiarized. Watching Todd's sex robot take over a company through innuendos is so stupid, but also quite amusing. The storyline didn't add much, but it made me chuckle at a few points.\ There are lots of little bits I enjoyed in this one. The "sixty days earlier" followed by "fifty seven days later (three days before the thing with the nuns)" transition was fantastic. It was a great example of subversive humour as I started to grow excited by the prospect of an episode that would take place across sixty days, only to have that completely nullified literally five seconds later. Hilarious. I got a chuckle out of Princess Carolyn's coffee having her name spelled as "Pringles Cartilage". Flip had a good episode as he said some absolutely outrageous things that neatly highlighted the flaws within the film industry (especially how one person often ends up with full credit for a team's performance). I was entertained by the dark joke with Flip saying "well who's hung now mom". The Bad: Side stories have been an issue throughout season 5. So many of these storylines have not been memorable, have felt like filler, and haven't developed characters in interesting ways. This trend continues in this episode, and the side stories were underwhelming. Princess Carolyn dealing with the two comedians was a poor story. The characters weren't funny or interesting, and Princess Carolyn didn't add anything to that story either. It felt like a waste of time by the time it was over, especially since nothing became of the copyright story in the end anyways. Todd's sex robot taking over as CEO is mildly amusing, but it feels too ridiculous for me to fully believe it. It's also disappointing that we spend so much time with a robot instead of with Todd. I appreciate that the show tried to keep the Diane/BoJack argument light by having some light comedic moments where they get interrupted. But I can't help but wonder if these interruptions ultimately detracted from the sequence by breaking our immersion at key thematic points in the argument. I almost wish that "BoJack Horseman" had fully committed to serious storytelling just for this sequence. The Unknown: Are Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter about to get back together? What happens when Pickles finds out? BoJack has rashly decided to make his relationship with Gina public. Where is this going to go? I don't imagine this will have a happy ending for both of them. So Margo Martindale is alive on some island. Is this the last we will see of her? Best Moment: The argument between Diane and BoJack is tremendous. Character of the Episode: Diane. Conclusion: A couple of underwhelming B-stories prevent "Head in the Clouds" from being one of the show's best efforts, but the main story, especially the argument between Diane and BoJack, is fantastic and ensures that this episode is still high quality. Score: 70 Summary: Hollyhock stops in LA to visit BoJack. She gets nervous in his house and ends up dumping all of his pain meds. BoJack can't go without them and tries numerous methods to get more pills, accidentally continuing his relationship with Gina in the process. Hollyhock realizes BoJack isn't in much pain and is likely abusing drugs. BoJack drops her off at the airport, and then intentionally crashes his car to get more drugs. Princess Carolyn meets with Ralph to get rights for a movie Mr. Peanutbutter wants to make. She is called by her adoption agent to get a baby and Ralph comes with her. Ralph wants them to get together again but Princess Carolyn doesn't want to. She doesn't end up getting the baby. Emily returns to Todd and Todd builds a sex robot to fulfill her needs so they can be together, but it doesn't work out in the end.
The Good: I really like the idea behind this episode. "Ancient History" is not only a line that BoJack says, but it ties into the fact that BoJack, Princess Carolyn, and Todd all end up meeting with characters who used to be prominent parts of their lives. This gives the episode a slightly nostalgic feel, and highlighted the theme of moving forward, especially in the Princess Carolyn/Todd stories. Diving into the individual storylines, it is BoJack's that is the most effective. Having Hollyhock back is a treat, and her presence immediately leads to several fun capers, like their trip to Gina's house, and the drug deal gone wrong. It's a blast to see these two together, and you can tell that it's good for BoJack to have her in his life again. But it's not necessarily a good thing for Hollyhock, and while she cares for BoJack, it's clear that she is unsettled by his apparent drug abuse. This reveal came as a surprise, but it has been quietly built up in previous episodes. BoJack appears to be falling off the wagon, and I thought that the show highlighted this admirably well, with the intentional car crash at the end being the final step for BoJack. This episode has a few lovely details, like the reveal that BoJack has a bottle of alcohol for each day of the week (in the season premier he has one bottle for the week), and the increasing evidence that BoJack's drug use is not for his pain. BoJack's angry rant when Hollyhock suggests that he doesn't need the drugs is exactly what you would hear from a junkie, and it's sad to hear him claim that he's been in pain his whole life as if that justifies him abusing drugs and making his life worse. It's sad that he's quietly relapsed in the background, and this episode excels in how it makes you realize the reality of BoJack's situation. The Todd and Princess Carolyn stories are quite good too. Princess Carolyn ends up face to face with Ralph again, and the story they have is quite sad. We are quickly reminded of how well they work with each other and how much they still do care for each other, but things just didn't work out. The episode does a good job of exploring how two people who loved each other ended up falling apart permanently. Todd's story is a bit sillier, especially with that obscene and ridiculous sex robot, but it contains the sad reality of Emily and Todd trying to find a solution to be with each other since they don't feel like they connect with anyone else. But because their needs are different, it was never going to work. A few little things and jokes throughout the episode amused me, as ever. I laughed at Flip telling everyone "I'm proud of what I've done here". The character's ridiculous ego is amusing to watch. BoJack wearing his Philbert costume everywhere has been pointed out a few times (see: The Unknown), and I appreciate how the show handles it. The drug deal scene is especially funny with Meow Meow Fuzzyface making a fantastic cameo return as the most blatant undercover cop imaginable. Princess Carolyn having a "La-Z-Baby" car seat is pretty funny. Dr. Hu's return is also quite fun, and it's amusing that he doesn't believe the completely true story BoJack tells him about how he lost his pills. I also quite liked how Dr. Hu threw Sarah Lynn back in BoJack's face, highlighting that BoJack's personal plan for improvement hasn't worked perfectly and that he would do well to seek outside help. But of course, BoJack can't admit that he needs help and he won't see that he's relapsing again in spite of his personal plan. The Bad: Nothing bad about this one. The Unknown: Why is BoJack in his costume all the time? This is the second episode in a row where he has been wearing it, and even the show's intro has BoJack in his costume now. Is BoJack relapsing? He is drinking more alcohol and is clearly dealing with substance abuse issues. Will he be able to get back on track, or is he on a downward spiral again? Is this the end for Princess Carolyn's relationship with Ralph? I can't see her getting back with him. Best Moment: BoJack's goodbye to Hollyhock is very well done. Hollyhock is feeling a bit upset by how things went, but she still cares for BoJack, and is happy when she hears him admit that he might have been abusing his pain medications, and she gives him some advice. This seems like a good moment for BoJack, but based on what happens right after, it's clear that the pain of Hollyhock going back is enough to prevent him from taking her advice to heart. It's also sad to see Hollyhock express her love to him, but he's still so tragically unfamiliar with wholesome interactions that he doesn't know how to respond, even though it's clear that he wants to express back. Great stuff here. Character of the Episode: Hollyhock. It was great to have her back for an episode. Conclusion: A solid episode with three good storylines and a nice overarching theme of characters interacting with other characters from their past. Another good effort from this fifth season. Score: 68 Summary: The episode takes place across four different Halloween parties at BoJack's house. In 1993, Mr. Peanutbutter takes Katrina to BoJack's house for his first Halloween party. Mr. Peanutbutter gets caught up in the excitement and leaves Katrina alone, causing her to freak out and angrily leave. In 2004, Mr. Peanutbutter takes Jessica Biel to the Halloween party, but she freaks out after seeing a mummy and angrily storms out. In 2009, Mr. Peanutbutter takes a nervous Diane to the party. She meets BoJack but ends up being very awkward. She runs out of the house, feeling uncomfortable in the party. In the present, Mr. Peanutbutter takes Pickles to the party but she ends up drinking and gets upset with Mr. Peanutbutter, especially when Diane gets stuck at the party as well. Mr. Peanutbutter is confused by why he makes women less fun but Diane explains that they are just maturing while he does not mature. Diane talks to Pickles and gets them to reconcile. Everyone goes home as the party ends.
The Good: Once more, we get an excellent concept episode. Season 5 has been very creative so far, with an episode where Diane writes a blog post detailing the episode's events, an episode that's a 20 minute monologue, an episode told by a random couple who interacted with the main characters, and now an episode split across four different timelines that tells a cohesive story. These episodes have used their gimmicks very well to be highlights of the season. This episode is no exception as its exceedingly fun to see 4 different time periods in one episode, and the transitions between the time periods are consistently delightful. The comedy is a standout in this episode. The amount of cut away gags referencing events in other time periods are terrific, and they all pretty consistently made me laugh. Mr. Peanutbutter's costumes are a blast as well, and there are plenty of tongue-in-cheek jokes about what will become of his relationships. I also enjoyed how the supporting cast were handled. BoJack growing frustrated by the parties, drinking heavily, and demanding they do another one by the end is quite funny. Diane having her car boxed in, making her unable to leave is also really funny. Princess Carolyn being stuck on door duty is a funny twist, and it's amusing that she gets to interact with kid Todd, telling him to come back when he's older (the cut to an older Todd arriving is a nice touch as well). The star of the show is obviously Mr. Peanutbutter. This episode is all about him, with the show taking some time to critique its (arguably) most lovable character. We've always known that Mr. Peanutbutter gets lost in his love of parties, and that has worked against him in his relationships. We see Katrina getting frustrated by being abandoned by Mr. Peanutbutter as the most direct consequence of his actions, and we also see Diane being extremely uncomfortable in her first party which Mr. Peanutbutter ends up completely forgetting time and time again as he continually arranges parties (as an aside, I got a good laugh out of him saying that it's good they discussed Diane's feelings so they never have to have this argument again). But this aspect of Mr. Peanutbutter's character is something we already knew. The episode needed to go deeper, and thankfully it did. As Mr. Peanutbutter starts to reflect on how the women in his life seem to grow more miserable around him, he makes the connection that he ruins women. But that's not the case at all and Diane hits the nail on its head when talking with him: the reason for Mr. Peanutbutter's failed relationships is his inability to mature as he grows older. He stunted his development in his mid 20s, and now 20+ years later he hasn't changed or grown as all. Meanwhile all the women in his life have matured into fully formed adults, and that's where Mr. Peanutbutter gets left behind. This is a nice bit of character exploration as it informs us more about Mr. Peanutbutter while also providing some humous with how Mr. Peanutbutter completely fails to grasp what is going wrong without Diane's help. The episode also offered some lovely bits of storytelling with the side characters. Diane meeting BoJack awkwardly at the Halloween party is perfect, and it's amusingly fitting that BoJack would forget that he ever met her and Diane would be too embarrassed to ever bring this up. But it's also sad that BoJack was affected at this party by learning about what happened to his dad at the duel, which was heartbreaking and it seemingly got in the way of BoJack connecting with Diane at an earlier point. Another sad moment is BoJack telling Todd he can stay as long as he wants. It was nice to see how Todd originally ended up at BoJack's, but it's also sad considering that Todd has long since moved on and doesn't often interact with BoJack anymore. Princess Carolyn wearing a pilot costume to every party, a reference to her love for Amelia Earhart, is a lovely character detail. The Bad: If there is a major flaw with this episode, it's that there isn't really a standout moment in all of this. The one moment that could have been great was when Diane spoke with Mr. Peanutbutter. Diane explaining to Mr. Peanutbutter why his relationships all fall apart explores the episode's central idea well, but it felt too straightforward and lacked subtlety. Diane just spelled it out for him without any real nuance. I feel like this should have been the episode's big emotional moment, but instead it felt surprisingly simplistic, lacking most emotional resonance. This episode is also very heavy on reference humour. I got most of the jokes, so I got a good laugh out of it. But I understand that these jokes will be a complete miss for some people, and that will weaken this episode for them. The Unknown: Will Mr. Peanutbutter's relationship with Pickles last? Or is this one also doomed to fail, just like his previous ones? Best Moment: I'll go with the cuts between all of the awkward freakouts at the Halloween parties over the years. It's remarkable how Mr. Peanutbutter consistently pushed all of his significant others away at these parties, and I thought that this sequence of repeated arguments showed the flaws in his character far more effectively than Diane's words. Character of the Episode: Mr. Peanutbutter. Conclusion: This is the best character exploration we have ever got for Mr. Peanutbutter. It was fascinating to learn more about how and why his relationships all fall apart, and in typical "BoJack Horseman" fashion, this was all done in an exceedingly funny episode, possibly the funniest of the season. The episode didn't ever threaten any all-time great moments, but it was a fun experience that offered up plenty of entertainment for me. Score: 71 Summary: The story is framed by a married couple telling stories of their clients to each other. BoJack is distressed by his mother's death but is struggling to express it. He wants to talk with Diane, but she needs space from BoJack after hearing the tape. Diane tells BoJack her therapist says she shouldn't talk to him so BoJack storms off to see the therapist and ends up becoming her client unintentionally. Diane is furious and leaves, but BoJack also leaves when he realizes this is therapy and not just a new friend. Diane and BoJack argue and Diane writes a scene into Philbert that mirrors what happened to BoJack in New Mexico. Princess Carolyn and Todd have a disagreement when Todd accuses her of stealing his cheese string. After some drama, they end up working it out and Todd gives Princess Carolyn a new office.
The Good: This episode has such a creative concept behind it that makes it so much more interesting. This could easily just be a normal story exploring two separate conflicts but instead the episode goes the extra mile and tells a vast majority of the story from the perspective of a married couple swapping stories in a restaurant. This is a breath of fresh air, and it leads to several hilarious jokes involving the characters who are now alternate versions of themselves. The new intro with "BoBo the Angsty Zebra" is fantastic, and the rest of the episode is filled with similarly comedic characters. Flippy the dolphin is really funny, Todd being "Emperor Fingerface" for some reason is really amusing, and I got a real laugh out of the simplicity of "Mr. Chocolate Hazelnut Spread". I also like that the character of each of the wives is established with how they name the characters. Indira isn't particularly creative and just makes character names sound laughably similar to what they actually are, while Mary-Beth comes up with outrageously left field ideas to describe everyone. It's consistently entertaining and I got a lot of laughs out of seeing what variations of existing characters we will get. The storytelling is pretty good too. I thought that BoJack and Diane's conflict was very realistic. BoJack's way to handle problems has always been to clamour for attention without outright asking for it, leading to nobody actually caring. So he just ends up complaining to whoever will listen to him, which is usually Diane. However, Diane wants to stay away from him this time and that puts BoJack in an awkward place. He desperately needs to talk to someone but his one friend he usually relies on is unavailable. To make matters worse, Mr. Peanutbutter continues to make him feel bad about himself because of how BoJack is unable to connect with people like he does. It's amusing to see everyone console Mr. Peanutbutter on a loss that doesn't ring true like it does for BoJack, and it's easy to understand his frustration. Meanwhile, Diane just needs some time to process what she heard on the tape and collect her thoughts regarding BoJack. But he doesn't give her the opportunity because he ends up going to her therapist (courtesy of some awful advice from Indira) and even steals her therapist away. Indira is pretty deplorable here to cause all of this chaos, and you can't help but feel bad for Diane who has now lost her safe space to BoJack. Their eventual argument at the end of the episode feels earned, and it makes sense that Diane would lash out angrily at BoJack considering what she knows and how her morality will not let her stand for BoJack's awful behaviour. This was a well written story that perfectly captures how frustrations can lead to a divide in friendships. The end of the episode is a perfect catharsis for everything. Diane is fed up by BoJack relating with her and thinking they are the same because she knows that he crossed a boundary that she never will cross. And his stubborn refusal to do therapy pushes her over the edge, doing something that will most certainly hurt BoJack and could potentially undo all of the progress he has made to become a better person. Diane writes a scene for Flip and makes it so that the character BoJack is playing will be struggling with the very same past mistake that BoJack is dealing with, forcing BoJack to relive his nightmare every single day. It's a cruel and vindictive thing to do, and it's heartbreaking to see BoJack realize what Diane has done and that she knows about what happened. We know BoJack has been trying to get better, and it's sad to see that he is unable to escape from his past mistakes, even if he justifiably should be condemned for what he's done. This is a dark and complicated moment that really made me think about what is justifiable and who is in the right in this fight between BoJack and Diane. Princess Carolyn and Todd's B-story doesn't add much (see: The Bad), but it's a decent way to flesh out their relationship more. I was especially amused by the cheese string reveal at the end of the storyline, which had been subtly set up by some dramatic drumrolls any time Todd reached for his pen earlier in the episode. There are some little things as always. The various iterations of our main characters were quite funny, and I love that the show went all out with making a new intro featuring BoBo instead of BoJack. I enjoyed Mary-Beth quite a bit because her mediation tactics were laughably simplistic. Her flowchart in the background called "Mary-Beth's mediation map" is laughably simplistic and utterly useless. I also quite liked the 4th wall breaking joke as Mary-Beth and Indira talk about how it will be better to intertwine their stories as a tongue-in-cheek reference to how TV shows handle A-stories and B-stories. Lastly, I really liked the jab at cliched action movies with the "barf me a river fartbags" line during the intense submarine shootout. The Bad: The Todd/Princess Carolyn story feels completely pointless. It has been a pattern in this season where the side stories don't go anywhere interesting and only serve to provide a comedic B-story. Previous seasons had more substance to their side stories, but this season has not offered the same storytelling depth. Instead we get what is basically a typical animated comedy storyline that doesn't offer much outside of the novelty of the episode's main premise. The Unknown: I imagine that BoJack will tell Diane the full story of New Mexico at some point. What happens when Diane finds out? Will they reconnect, or will this destroy their friendship? Best Moment: The final scene is done very well as BoJack slowly realizes that this submarine scene has been maliciously inspired by his most shameful moment in real life. Character of the Episode: Diane. Conclusion: Another creative episode, this time one that is rooted in the compelling developing conflict between BoJack and Diane. The story was good and I got some of the biggest laughs of the season out of this one. Score: 73 Summary: A flashback shows Butterscotch picking up BoJack late after soccer and ranting to him about Beatrice and life in general. In the present, BoJack gives an extended eulogy for his mother but it turns out he was at the wrong funeral.
The Good: It was a genius idea to have this episode be one long monologue. Well technically two if you count the flashback sequence as well, but it's still the same brilliant idea. A whole episode of listening to BoJack speak and process his mother's death as a way to dive into the character deeper than we have ever gone before. This concept is basically the inverse of season 3's fantastic "Fish Out of Water", and it is every bit as effective. The whole premise is BoJack giving a eulogy, in which he amusingly uses his stand-up comedy skills to make it more entertaining. Throughout this self-indulgent, emotionally messy speech, we get to learn more and more about BoJack's past, unearthing new details we never knew, while also exploring his current mental state and why it has been so hard for him to deal with his parents dying even though he never even liked them. The episode handles this stuff superbly well and I can't wait to dive into what this episode had to offer. First and foremost, BoJack's grief for his mother is crushingly sad. What makes it so impactful is that the episode doesn't outwardly show his pain, instead it subtly reveals it underneath the surface of a man who is trying to stay put together and explain this pain that he can't seem to understand. The loss of an abusive parent is so much more complex than just losing a parent, and I love that this episode cared to address the contradictory feelings that one experiences in this situation. It's the accuracy to reality which makes this so affecting and so painful. So many little things are perfectly accurate. BoJack's jokes about his dead mother scream defence mechanism to save himself from hurting too much. I also absolutely loved seeing BoJack ranting about the bad parts about his mother, and yet still finding solace in one of the few beautiful memories he had: when his father would come out to watch her dance at parties. The only moment when the monologue stopped all episode was for a brief bit of recollection in this moment as BoJack remembers the one hopeful memory he had. And just like in real life, it's gone in a flash and we see him snap back to reality and the eulogy he is giving. Brutal stuff. The obvious highlight of the episode for me is BoJack trying to attribute meaning to his mother's "I See You" (see: Best Moment). He dwells on this for a long period, going through the rational and emotional aspects of his brain in trying to figure out what it all meant, before discovering the truth towards the end of the episode in a heartbreaking moment. This is all outstanding storytelling, and a compelling dive into the character of BoJack and the episode's theme of the complicated grief after losing family members. The episode started away from BoJack's monologue in an interesting flashback sequence where we get another horrifying snapshot of BoJack's life when his father comes to pick him up. The sequence is horrible as Butterscotch rambles on and on, somehow saying worse and worse things every sentence while a hurt and angry BoJack cowers, looking outside the car window. Anyone who has experienced similar ravings from a parent can understand and connect to BoJack, and the scene is fantastically written. It does hold some storytelling weight to it as well since Butterscotch advises BoJack that he can never rely on other people and that he's all alone. It's an awful thing to say to your own kid, but ironically, Butterscotch telling this to BoJack accomplishes the opposite. Instead of believing he is alone, BoJack lived a life in denial of this fact, waiting for it to be proven wrong because he so desperately wanted some sort of affection from his awful parents. But as BoJack repeats Butterscotch's dialogue about how good it is that he learned not to rely on others at Beatrice's funeral, it's clear that BoJack has finally been defeated by this lesson. That's a tragic overarching theme for this episode, and it's told naturally with such great attention to detail to make it all the more devastating. More on Butterscotch, we learned quite a bit about him. We never knew how he passed away, but now we get the half-funny, half-sad reveal that he died after tripping and falling during a duel because people didn't like his novel. It's painfully ironic and exemplifies all of Butterscotch's worst character traits, but you can only imagine how this would have affected BoJack and Beatrice. It also stemmed one of the episode's best lines: "my husband is dead and everything is worse now", a line that is explored in great depth by BoJack throughout the episode. Before I ramble on about every little thing I loved about this episode, I'll go ahead and talk about the ending. After BoJack finally finds some clarity and closure for saying goodbye to his mother, he decides to do an open casket and honour the one thing he knew his mother wanted. It's here that we're given a fantastic gag to close out the episode as BoJack realizes he was in the wrong funeral parlour and gave this heartfelt eulogy to a dozen lizards who don't even know Beatrice. This is a hilarious and excellent closing joke, but it also reflects BoJack's character perfectly. This eulogy is incredibly self-indulgent, which is what we expect of BoJack who has always struggled to see things outside of his point of view. Him not even noticing that he might be in the wrong room is perfectly in-character with someone who is so self-obsessed that he doesn't think a single thought about the audience members, failing to even realize that he's at the wrong funeral. It's fantastic, it's fitting, and it ends the episode on the right note. I've got a few other small bits that I want to touch on before finishing this review. I loved the gag with the musician, who always seemed to do the wrong thing at the wrong time. It was amusing and added to the feeling that BoJack was using his stand-up skills to get by with this eulogy. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing BoJack reference his attempt to save Todd back in "Out to Sea" when he's talking about how a grand gesture of love isn't enough to make up for consistent failings. It's clear that BoJack has taken the incident to heart and regrets what happened with Todd, but he understands that he failed as a friend, which is a beautiful detail to include. The story about how he got a free churro was a good way to kick off the speech since it's BoJack contemplating something odd he couldn't quite explain (getting a free churro because your mother died). It sets the right tone for the contemplative nature of his eulogy, and it also gets called back brilliantly at the end with BoJack referencing the kindness of the stranger giving him a free churro in contrast to his mother's cruelty. Lastly, as a writer I couldn't help but chuckle when Butterscotch talked about his unique sentence that went on for pages and pages. If only we could have a chance to read his novel, I'm sure it was awful. The Bad: Nothing. The Unknown: Will BoJack ever find peace after his mother's passing? How will this affect him going forwards? Best Moment: BoJack's realization that "I see you" was actually "ICU". This is a crushing realization for BoJack who had blissfully tries to use this final line as closure, perhaps just one moment where his mother recognized him. But it was false, and the realization launches BoJack into a heartfelt rant where he gets to address his disappointment and frustration in his mother and why it still hurts to lose her. Consistent with how BoJack learned everything from TV, he compares his feeling for her passing to his feelings for the TV show "Becker", a profound way for him to communicate his feelings in a way we don't usually see from him. In an incredible and profound monologue, this small section stood out the most to me. Character of the Episode: BoJack obviously. Conclusion: One of the best episode's of the show yet, easily. The premise behind this one was creative and unique, and the result was a focused and emotional deep dive into BoJack with some brilliant writing and voice acting. You don't get episodes like these from every TV show. This is a rare gem, and it will go down as one of the most memorable experiences from this show. Score: 86 Summary: Flashbacks show Princess Carolyn living with her mother in North Carolina as a housekeeper. She gets pregnant with the son of the Wallace family, the house they serve. Princess Carolyn's mother is excited but there is a miscarriage. Princess Carolyn gets into UCLA and leaves. In the present, Princess Carolyn goes to North Carolina to meet with Sadie who is looking for someone to adopt her unborn baby. Princess Carolyn tries to win her over, but struggles to balance her conversations with her life as she gets constant calls from L.A., which ultimately leads to BoJack falling off a building and being hospitalized after a dangerous stunt. Sadie notices how manipulative Princess Carolyn is and passes on her. Princess Carolyn returns to LA unsuccessful.
The Good: I appreciate that we got a deeper look into Princess Carolyn's past and what shaped her as a person. Everything didn't quite work perfectly (see: The Bad), but it was a good story that's worth telling. Princess Carolyn's mother is drunk, manipulative, and sometimes abusive in her parenting style. I thought the character was well realized. She seems like she genuinely cares about her children, but her stubborn beliefs that her lifestyle is ideal, and her inability to cope with her kids moving on in their lives made her a bad parent. We also get to see how Princess Carolyn's manipulations manifested from a young age with how she convinces Cooper to convince the coach that he's good enough, even if he's not. This business strategy is something that Princess Carolyn employs time and time again throughout the episode with just about everyone she talks to. It's fun to see the rest of the main cast checking in by phone with her, but Princess Carolyn uses her skillset to get rid of them as quickly as possible, creating red flags for Sadie to notice and ultimately call her out on by the episode's end (see: Best Moment). I appreciate how entertaining it is to watch how things fall apart in LA. Most of the humour in this episode comes from these check-ins, and every character is fun to watch. BoJack's good times on set being disrupted by Mr. Peanutbutter upstaging him is true to what I would expect to happen, and it's amusing to see BoJack's jealousy clash with Mr. Peanutbutter's obliviousness. Todd struggling to answer questions in his new job is an amusing development as well. On the more serious side, Princess Carolyn's advice for Diane is consistent with her manipulative behaviour. Princess Carolyn encourages Diane to manipulate Flip into doing something, and then absolves her of all blame after it led somewhere bad. You get the sense that this is what Princess Carolyn does, she manipulates others to get what she wants, but absolves herself of blame if anything goes wrong. In this case, Princess Carolyn's lack of involvement with her job and her thoughtless encouragement leads to BoJack getting into a horrific accident, but she clearly has absolved herself of any blame for what happened. It is a sad and relatable scenario though, as most people can relate to putting their every effort into getting something done (the adoption), only to get nothing to show for their efforts. Princess Carolyn sacrificed a lot to appeal to Sadie, and ultimately it was all for nothing. There are a few fun jokes that I got a laugh out of. The Wallace family having an empire built on answering machine tapes is quite funny. The flea market has some funny jokes in it, like a sign saying " stuff I stole to make money to buy heroin", and a shirt that says "stop pausing and just watch the show". The Bad: This episode does not go far enough into Princess Carolyn's past to entirely work. We learn about her backstory, but much of it is stuff that we could have already guessed based on what we knew about Princess Carolyn before this episode. "Ruthie" gave several hints about Princess Carolyn's troubled relationship with her mother involving miscarriages, and also told us the truth about Princess Carolyn's necklace. Seeing these scenes actually happen did not feel fascinating, instead it just felt like checking items off a list to show us. This made Princess Carolyn's backstory feel somewhat forgettable and less emotional than I was expecting. I thought this episode was lacking in jokes. We didn't get the usual amount of background humour as I've come to expect, and if there were North Carolina centric jokes, I didn't understand very many of them since I don't know much about North Carolina. "BoJack Horseman" has quite a bit of reference humour, and the negative aspect of this type of humour is that if the viewer is not well versed in the topic being jokes about, the jokes will fall flat. I don't think many people are well versed in North Carolina, so the jokes in this episode won't work very well for a significant portion of the audience. The Unknown: How bad is BoJack's injury? Will this be a key storyline in this season? Will Princess Carolyn find other opportunities for adoption? Best Moment: Princess Carolyn tries to make a big play to convince Sadie that she's the best pick, but Sadie is not falling for it. Sadie has seen Princess Carolyn manipulate just about everyone for her own needs, and is not afraid to call her out on it. In response to this, Princess Carolyn has nothing. Without her selling abilities, she has nothing to offer and has to contend with the fact that she's not the best choice. So in the character's best moment in the episode, Princess Carolyn gives up the facade and gives her genuine advice to Sadie based on her own experiences. Finally, an honest moment. Princess Carolyn gets no reward for it, but it's nice to see her show something genuine. Character of the Episode: Princess Carolyn. Conclusion: An episode that has some good ideas and fills in some solid backstory for Princess Carolyn, but it doesn't quite hit those lofty emotional highs it's aiming for. Score: 67 Summary: Princess Carolyn tries to hire Vance Waggoner, a disgraced celebrity, for Philbert. He gets a Forgivie award and BoJack makes a disgusted face on the TV in response to cheese, making the media think he doesn't approve. As fallout, BoJack becomes a feminist icon and Vance opts not to do the show. Princess Carolyn is annoyed and works with Diane and BoJack to disgrace Vance, but Vance comes out as feminist too. Ultimately Vance gets himself in trouble again, and Ana, his publicist, meets with Diane and shows her the tape recording of BoJack's New Mexico story. BoJack gets Diane a job on his TV show to make a difference, but she still isn't able to do much. Mr. Peanutbutter wants to be tough to be considered for new roles, but every attempt to be tough results in him being loved more. In the end, he's selected for a role on Philbert.
The Good: The concept of this episode is the usual absurd fun. Vance Waggoner is a creative take on toxic celebrities who do terrible things, and it's a lot of fun to watch him and compare how his actions are reminiscent of BoJack in the earlier seasons, just worse and much less sympathetic. Vance is ludicrously awful, and this character allows the episode a fun lens to explore cancel culture and how little damage this actually does to the lives of celebrities who do terrible things. I also quite like how the episode sets up BoJack being a "feminist". BoJack reacting badly to cheese at a bad time is the type of thing that's very consistent with how BoJack is, and it's amusing to see how BoJack, despite trying to correct things, gets sucked into being a feminist after saying simple things that net him a positive public reaction. He's always fallen victim to his own desire to get people to cheer him, and he does the same thing here to become a "feminist". But this is still BoJack 2.0 who is an improved man from who he was before, and BoJack is smart enough to realize that Diane has a point about how inherently sexist his show is, and it's nice to see BoJack helping her and her ideals by getting her a job on his show. Much of this episode is focused on Diane, and her frustration is beautifully realized. Princess Carolyn is the first to frustrate her by hiring Vance Waggoner, and it's totally understandable how angry Diane is about how these awful men do awful things and somehow keep coming back. Diane is sent from infuriating scenario to infuriating scenario first from Princess Carolyn's selfishness ahead of morality when it comes to Vance, then with Ana showing no integrity as she helps Vance, and also with BoJack as he shows absolutely zero interest to learn anything about feminism. Everything Diane experiences frustrates her as the episode goes on and it culminates with her finally getting a good position to make a difference on "Philbert", but she quickly finds that nobody is going to listen with her and she's entirely useless, just like she was on "Secretariat". Then the kicker at the very end: Diane learns what happened with BoJack in New Mexico and has to face the possibility that BoJack isn't just an asshole, he might be as bad as Vance Waggoner. The episode tells Diane's story beautifully from frustration to frustration, making this ending moment where Ana plays the tape feel so impactful for Diane, a boiling point to serve as the episode's climax. Mr. Peanutbutter and Todd take up a lot of the episode on a side story, and luckily it is really funny. The idea of Mr. Peanutbutter trying to be tough and menacing and accidentally helping the people he's trying to act tough to is a hilarious idea, and the episode goes a long way with it. Mr. Peanutbutter's reactions to this increasing absurdity are a lot of fun to watch, and his interactions with Todd are as good as ever. There are plenty of fun jokes in this episode. There's an amusing animal joke as a chameleon girl camouflages with a building to hide from a bad date. GirlCroosh has a funny memorial for the cockroaches who were exterminated a few episodes ago, with the message "they checked in but didn't check out". Diane's computer has an amusing article on it that parodies Buzzfeed ("13 celebs who look exactly like soup"). The news headlines offer some gems as always, such as "Buffalo Buffalo sues Buffalo Buffalo for Buffaloing Buffalo Buffalo", and "victims families breathe sigh of relief as authorities declare mass shooting by white man not terrorism". The Bad: Mr. Peanutbutter's story is entirely superfluous and unnecessary ultimately. It's funny, but a needless distraction without a whole lot of merit. The Unknown: How will Diane react to the tape? How is this going to change her relationship with BoJack? How will Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter handle working together? Best Moment: Ana showing Diane the tape of BoJack's New Mexico story is a big moment, and an exciting cliffhanger. Character of the Episode: Diane. Conclusion: We get our seasonal political episode, and this one is another solid and fun experience with lots of laughs. Score: 66 Summary: BoJack grows closer with Gina on set. He learns that she loves musicals and dreams of singing and tries to give her a shot to sing on the show. Gina is upset that he did this, but she gives it a shot and it doesn't go well. BoJack feels bad about it. Mr. Peanutbutter invites Pickles on a date, but Pickles is nervous they are moving too fast. After Mr. Peanutbutter admits he still has feelings for Diane, things get awkward, but they have a romantic night. Yolanda takes Todd to meet her family and they try to hide their asexuality. Eventually it gets out and the family is understanding. However, Todd decides to break up with Yolanda as they have nothing in common.
The Good: Todd meeting Yolanda's parents is a comedic highlight. The entire family is the height of absurdity with how thoroughly associated they are with sex. Every member has something funny to offer, and poor Todd is very relatable as he's put in this highly awkward scenario. The plot is intentionally convoluted with over-the-top characters for comedic purposes, and it works well. The real kicker is that the family was accepting about asexuality all along, and all of this chaos was essentially for nothing. The end of the episode is a bit of a surprise as Todd breaks up with Yolanda. These two never felt like a good fit, so it's sensible that Todd would see this and call things off. This nicely tackles the idea that finding someone else who is the same minority as you is not all that you should base a relationship on. BoJack's story is fun as he continues to bring a positive vibe to set, and gets closer with Gina. BoJack is making a clear effort to be better in this season, and we see him trying to develop a closer relationship with Gina, trying to make a positive impact in her life. Though Gina is happy to stay distant, BoJack wants something more and enjoys learning more about her and teasing her. Unfortunately, while BoJack had good intentions, they backfired on him again. He tries to get closer to Gina and he tries to help her realize her potential, but the result is an embarrassing audition (I love that Gina wasn't comically bad, just painfully average) and a hollow feeling for BoJack when he tried to do something good for someone. This nicely goes to show that sometimes you may try to do good, but it won't always pan out. Mr. Peanutbutter and Pickles have a decent episode too. It's nice to get a deeper look into why Mr. Peanutbutter is with her, and how he still hasn't fully been able to move on from Diane. It's a sad situation since Mr. Peanutbutter and Pickles contrast each other nicely, but it's poor timing. The end of the episode is sweet as they are able to temporarily get past the situational problems in their relationship. This makes me wonder if Mr. Peanutbutter has finally found the right person for him, even though Pickles is significantly younger than him. A couple little things were amusing. Mr. Peanutbutter's constant pop culture references reached a new absurd high in this episode, and I loved it. Diane's appearance on her podcast is fun, and I chuckled at how she openly trashed Mr. Peanutbutter on it. Even funnier is Mr. Peanubutter's hate for Twenty One Pilots, which makes sense considering how downbeat their music is, not at all Mr. Peanutbutter's type. Todd's story is full of great jokes like Yolanda's mother telling him "asexualize me", everything involving the lube, and Todd being unable to read tone ("riiiiiight...", "right!"). I love that the "cock at midnight" kept being brought up and we actually get to see it crowing in a transition scene. The International Space Station exploding for unknown reasons is very on-brand with this show's sense of humour. The Bad: This episode did not click with me. The three stories are fine, but they have no real emotional resonance and don't offer as much comedy as I would want from fairly uninspired stories. The biggest issue for me is that we are spending a lot of time with characters we just met and don't have much of a connection with. Yolanda has been one of the more forgettable characters on the show, and it looks like her role has finished already. I think she was meant to play the serious role in contrast to Todd's wackiness, but the show failed to extract any comedy from this idea. The only laughs came from her family's weirdness. We have only just met Gina, and I don't think we know enough about her yet to care about her. BoJack clearly likes her and has a desire to build a relationship with her, but it's hard to tell why. I hope she gets more depth going forward. Pickles is the most amusing of the three side characters so far, but we only just met her as well and I don't think she is all that interesting or entertaining. Structuring this episode around these three average side characters was never going to result in great television. This much is clear from the opening scene where all three characters interact in a scene and it falls painfully flat. The Unknown: BoJack's attempt at a good deed backfired here. How will this affect BoJack going forwards? Will this be a setback in his attempts to do good? Will Mr. Peanutbutter and Pickles work out together? Best Moment: The sheer insanity that happened once the lube started to spill was the highlight of the episode for me. Todd being told to stick his erect penis to seal the hole in the barrel is something I never thought I would hear in my life. Character of the Episode: Todd. Conclusion: An average episode. This had some decent ideas and was watchable, but the focus on three side characters that I don't have any investment in meant that this was a duller episode than what we usually get. Score: 58 Summary: Diane tries to find the positive in life after breaking up with Mr. Peanutbutter. She has a new apartment, a therapist, and reconnects with BoJack. She goes to a party at Mr. Peanutbutter's and is distraught when she sees him kiss someone else. In pain, she leaves the party and goes to Vietnam. But in Vietnam she doesn't find much to help her and ends up flying back home afterwards. While in Vietnam, she writes a blog for Girl Croosh. Mr. Peanutbutter picks Diane up and tells her he is seeing someone. She says she is happy for him.
The Good: The premise of this episode is perfect, and exactly what we needed to see following Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter's break-up. I love that we spent a whole episode focused on the banality of life that you experience after a long relationship, diving into Diane's psyche and the pain she feels. This is a terrific character study that offers a lot of moving moments. But in typical "BoJack Horseman" fashion, the episode does not commit to being purely bleak and miserable with many jokes and stylistic decisions. The art and animation was allowed to flex a little bit with the Vietnam setting, making this episode visually distinct. Also, the episode had a unique gimmick with Diane writing a blog throughout the episode, permitting voiceover narration to further make this feel special and different. These various decisions came together to make a high quality, memorable experience. The episode presents its story almost as a mystery. We open with Diane in a flood of tears, but we don't know why exactly she has broken down like this, and the episode is centered around answering this question. Most of the episode shows Diane in the present looking to find herself in Vietnam, but in the past we get a few flashbacks to show what led Diane to take this trip. The flashbacks are highly effective, as we see Diane desperately trying to spin things in a positive light for herself. She has an awful apartment, she feels lonely, and has many untapped emotions inside her. But she tries to put a coat of paint over all of this, saying that she likes her new life and that this is all going to be good for her. By the end of the flashbacks, we see this all come crumbling down. After some drunken dialogue and a poorly thought-out joke alienates BoJack (who seems to have genuinely become better since he refuses the chance to take advantage of Diane), Diane goes to Mr. Peanutbutter's party feeling empty and alone, and seeing Mr. Peanutbutter move on and find someone else and a new place to belong makes her feel adrift and lost. Hence the breakdown, and the impromptu trip to Vietnam. This reveal is simple, but shockingly effective as it perfectly encapsulates how even the tiniest of things can have a devastating impact on someone who is going through a tough time. Diane's speech at the end of the episode on how hard it is to move forwards after such a big change in your life is phenomenal and embodies these ideas magnificently (see: Best Moment), concluding the episode on an emotional high. The Vietnam part of the story is also highly effective. Seeing Diane venture into her homeland, only to be alienated by it all is quite sad, and the episode includes several nice touches to make this feel like a foreign experience for Diane. Scenes like Diane dressing up in traditional clothing, Diane getting hit by a local for no reason, and others help display how wrong it feels for Diane to be there. Another funny touch is that there is a Hollywoo movie being filmed in Hanoi, so Diane truly is unable to get away from her life by going to Vietnam as parts of it will always be with her. I found Diane's conversation with Laura Linney to be quite fascinating as well. After a trip that was completely useless to her, the fiction in Laura Linney's film is Diane's final chance to get some meaning out of it. And true to form, there's nothing there whatsoever outside of the usual Hollywoo smoke and mirrors, further cementing that Diane failed to find what she was looking for from this desperate trip. If there's one thing that this show does very well, it's showing us the harsh realities of life in a way that's accessible and not too bleak. The way this show avoids being overly bleak is, as always, through its comedy. This episode is particularly rich with funny moments and background details that I enjoyed. I smiled when I noticed that just about every sign in Hanoi had "Nguyen" written on it. The "Americrane Airlines" board also had some fun bits like Iceland being "Miceland" and the plane to Turkey having the status of being "stuffed". There's also a good joke in that scene about how personal customer service is being replaced by screens. There are more funny scenes too. Diane's interactions with the tourists in Vietnam was fantastic (as was the fact that she was eating a human-sized chicken leg), and I enjoyed her dressing down of the grip when she accidentally let it sleep that she speaks English. I got a laugh out of Stefani calling an exterminator to deal with unionizing cockroaches, and BoJack's "that was my Vietnam" line had tremendous comedic timing. The background jokes were terrific too. I especially got a kick out of a pig head being served at Elefante, horrifying an adult pig eating in the background, disturbing her to the point where she stops eating. The boxes in Diane's home are quite funny, especially when you realize that she has entire boxes that just describe the outfit she is wearing (my favourite is realizing that the red arrows on her jacket are apparently something that she puts on separately). The therapist's office has a great poster in the background saying "holding back tears in like spanking your inner child". Todd has a very small role in this episode, but it's amusing to hear about the whole ice sculpture debacle. The Bad: Nothing outright bad, but there was one weird moment in the episode I'll point out. Being Vietnamese, Diane naturally asks her dad why she looks different from everybody else. However, the phrasing of this is very awkward in the context of this world. A sizeable population in this world consists of animals, so this makes Diane saying that she looks different from "everyone else" ring a bit hollow. Thinking about this makes me really want to see how ideas like racism would extend into a world with animal-human hybrids. The Unknown: How will Mr. Peanutbutter's new relationship go? Will he have a better relationship with Pickles? Best Moment: Diane's speech at the end of the episode is fantastic. I couldn't ask for a better exploration of how life changes after a break-up, and I was particularly touched by how Diane knew that she asked for this, and yet now she feels so lost and unsure of where to go or where she even belongs. It's a sad monologue, and it's accompanied by fantastic visuals as we see Diane flashing from location to location, never feeling like herself and never feeling like she belongs. Character of the Episode: Diane. Conclusion: An outstanding episode. "BoJack Horseman" strikes the balance between emotional storytelling and amusing comedy so well, and episodes like these perfectly exemplify that. This was a compelling character study for Diane with a unique premise, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching this. Season 5 is up and running. Score: 80 Summary: BoJack works on his new show, but isn't a fan of the show. He has sex with Gina, his co-star, but still feels lonely. BoJack tries to reduce the gratuity in the show by talking to Flip but ends up making it worse. After some arguments with Flip, BoJack talks to Princess Carolyn who helps him make peace with the show and the character he is playing. Afterwards, BoJack is more friendly on set. Todd is dating Yolanda, who is unhappy with his lack of career direction. Todd tries to get a new job, but ends up becoming Chief of Sales and What Time is it Right Now. Diane returns from a trip and is picked up by Mr. Peanutbutter, who is finalizing their divorce. Princess Carolyn goes to an adoption agency.
The Good: BoJack is given an engaging story in this episode. He has changed for the better, and we can see that through how he is limiting the amount of alcohol he has each day. But maintaining this is tricky, and we see that he is crushingly lonely. Doing his job on set leads to many problems, and with Hollyhock gone, he doesn't have anyone to spend his free time with. It's tough going for BoJack, and the result is growing tensions between him and Flip due to BoJack taking issue with the show, primarily because he sees too much of himself in Philbert. BoJack and Flip's rivalry is fun to watch as we get a sense of this new character. Flip doesn't seem like a bad guy by any means, but he's definitely a little misguided and it's amusing to see how he tries to fix the gratuity problem in increasingly dumb ways. His argument with BoJack made sense for the character, and it led to a good scene where BoJack speaks with Princess Carolyn who is able to help him navigate his problems and find some motivation to do this job and do it properly. It's refreshing to see BoJack being so charismatic and friendly by the end of the episode, showing that BoJack has successfully overcome his natural instincts of scheming, causing problems, and running away. At least for now. It was nice to see BoJack and Todd reconnecting for a bit, giving us a bit of a throwback as they try to execute another scheme. We haven't seen them together for a long time, and it's nice to see them at peace with each other. BoJack's scheme to get his way is typical of BoJack, and the way it spins horribly out of control with Todd's promotion is unexpectedly hilarious. BoJack's frustration with it all, and Todd's acceptance of his new role are quite funny. The side stories are set up well enough for the season. Todd and Yolanda already have some friction, which makes me question their future. It was nice to see Emily again, and the confused firefighter Steve is pretty amusing. Princess Carolyn is going for adoption now, and her scenes at the agency are amusing. Tracy is horrible, as you would expect, and it's funny to see her explaining the difference between agent and manager, which is a joke that keeps on giving. Mr. Peanutbutter and Diane are firmly in the background, but they have gotten a divorce, confirming the worst from last season's finale. We are misled to think that they are working out their differences with Mr. Peanutbutter picking up Diane, but there is a good reveal shortly after confirming that they are splitting up. I expect that these three storylines will be developed as the season goes on, and they are established in a competent way in this episode. A few little things as always. I like that What Time is it Right Now doesn't want to "remind the audience of the existence of clocks", and it's funny to see Flip pull up the app, which is absolutely useless. BoJack using the turning chair with Princess Carolyn is a funny continuation of a joke from last season where BoJack used the same chair with Hollyhock. He just can't seem to make it work. I liked the callback to David Boreanaz House from the first season, with Philbert's house being modelled to look like BoJack's because of this. The "Warbler Brothers" company name is amusing, and I got a smile out of Flip looking for "hot and haunted" being met by a girl dressing up as a ghost with boobs drawn on. The Bad: Nothing I would call bad. This episode definitely feels like one at the start of a season. There's not much in terms of character development, or interesting plot developments. The comedy was surprisingly mundane this time around. There was more of a focus on drama even in this first episode, which is a shame because the comedy is usually what makes these earlier episodes in the season stand out. The Unknown: Where did Diane go for a trip? Will BoJack get through this show, or will he leave this one too? Will Princess Carolyn be able to adopt a baby? Her new manager isn't particularly promising. What will Todd do with his new job? Will Yolanda be happy about this? Will their relationship last? Best Moment: Dramatically, I'll go with Princess Carolyn helping BoJack get to the root of his problem with Flip and Philbert. In terms of comedy, I got a good laugh out of BoJack saying "of Todd, your good-hearted naivete has once again conspired with outrageous happenstance to completely dick me over". Character of the Episode: BoJack. Conclusion: This is nothing particularly special, but it's a solid episode to set up the stories being told in season 5. Score: 63 Summary: BoJack returns home and tracks down Hollyhock's mother. He visits her fathers in Wichita and gives them the number to Hollyhock's mother. BoJack agrees to do the Philbert show for Princess Carolyn. Hollyhock calls BoJack and is happy for him to be her brother. Todd takes Princess Carolyn into to woods to give her a pep talk. He sees the clown dentists have become rabid and turns them into a business with Yolanda's help. Yolanda asks him out, revealing she is also asexual. Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter buy a new house and take an impromptu trip to Hawaii. They don't make it there, but have a nice night together. Mr. Peanubutter gives Diane a Belle-room like she wanted but Diane is upset by it.
The Good: This was a surprisingly uplifting finale for BoJack. Every other season of the show ended with BoJack doing something terrible, with the finale ending with a slightly optimistic message promoting the possibility of change and moving forwards. But this season was different. BoJack did not do anything appalling to conclude this season, and instead he did everything right to prove that he has changed to a degree, and because of this, the tone for the final scene isn't just hopeful for the future, it's celebrating actual change and success for BoJack. That's so refreshing, and it makes the end of this season feel very memorable. BoJack's story is very strong. He is clearly pained by losing Hollyhock, and he struggles to move forward in life without resolving what happened with her. It's so sweet to see him hunting down Hollyhock's mother and getting the information to her, even if he doesn't get to see her himself. He's clearly not doing this because of selfish reasons, he genuinely wants to help her and that is refreshing to see. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the animation style from "Stupid Piece of Sh*t" return. Having this animation in a scene where BoJack recounts the good that he's done shows great character development from before, when the animation only happened when BoJack was destroying himself with his thoughts. The final scene is, of course, terrific. BoJack was suitably rewarded for the good that he did with Hollyhock's phone call, and hearing her accept BoJack as an older brother, and seeing BoJack genuinely smile at this was so heartwarming and cathartic. Sometimes the simple facial animations in this show can be so powerful, and this is a perfect example of that. In contrast to BoJack who has finally figured it all out, Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter fall apart in the most tragic fashion in this episode. At the start of the episode, this story looked like it was going to be a way to reignite their love and move forwards with confidence. There's some wackiness as they look for a new house together, the impromptu trip to Hawaii to help organize their fears for the future was very in-line with how they do things, and that sweet night at the motel told us exactly what it is they enjoy about each other. These two can be so good as a couple, and the past couple seasons have done a wonderful job of making us care about these two. This makes the story's conclusion so sad and tragic. In spite of all the good that happened, the problems still remain. Mr. Peanutbutter is insecure with Diane, and Diane is consistently frustrated by how Mr. Peanutbutter listens but never truly understands how she lives and what she wants. The Belle-room going so wrong was very sad to see, considering how much work both of them had put into the relationship. But saddest of all was certainly Diane's final line, which spells doom for their marriage. Hearing her choke out "I'm so tired of squinting" was a brutal moment, and it's a tragic culmination of the conflict between Diane and Mr. Peanutbuuter that has gone on for a few seasons. They have their moments, but sometimes it's just too much work for them to keep it together. The election was a bad time for them, but their problems persisted even without the election. In the end, it looks like it has become too much for Diane to put up with. Todd and Princess Carolyn don't get as much focus, but their story is solid enough. Todd's story is packed with the usual silliness, though not to the best results this time (see: The Bad). However, things ended in a surprisingly sweet way for him. After finally solving the clown dentist problem, Yolanda asks Todd out, and it's clear that Todd is trying to take himself out of the reckoning because he is asexual and thinks that will be an issue. But Yolanda is also asexual, so Todd has an opportunity here. The final shot is beautiful as we pan out to see everyone around Todd dressed up in his same clothes. On the surface, it's a gag based on the joke earlier in the season where Todd's clothes become trendy, but the deeper meaning is clearly to show that Todd is noticing that there are people like him out there in the world and that it's not as lonely as it initially seemed for him. That's a very positive message. Meanwhile, Princess Carolyn looks to have finally reestablished herself. Todd giving Princess Carolyn her own speech is a fun moment, and I like that his intervention finally allowed her to see the way forward again. The scene between BoJack and Princess Carolyn is sweet as they look to have left their problems behind them to move forwards. BoJack is finally able to treat her the way she deserves, and he is happy to help her out and encourage her on her way to making a new family, with adoption looking like the likely way forwards. This scene is excellent, giving Princess Carolyn some closure with BoJack, and further highlighting the genuine change within BoJack as he is able to treat Princess Carolyn much better than he did last season or any other time in this season. A few little things amused me in this episode. The VR housing is a fun idea for a scene, and I liked Mr. Peanutbutter heading to the VR bathroom to end off that joke. As a "Friends" fan, I had fun with Hollyhock's jokes about Chandler. The gas station that Mr. Peanutbutter and Diane went to had a fun sale for beef jerky and "beef friendly" which made me smile. I also had to laugh at the accuracy of the new bridge to Hawaii immediately becoming clogged by traffic. Lastly, I like that Hollyhock also hates honeydew, and calling it "the Jared Leto of fruit" was pretty funny. The Bad: The clown dentists in the woods strays a little bit too far into absurdity for my liking. Absurdity is funny in this show when it comes to decisions that characters make, and stupid things that they say. But when it comes to sheer ridiculous ideas like the clown dentists being randomly left in the woods (they don't have lives to return to?) where they contract rabies and become zombies, that's a step too far. Furthermore, Yolanda as a character is damaged by going along with Todd's dumb business scheme. Her dynamic with him worked because she was logical, and that clashed with Todd's stupid ideas. They don't have that dynamic anymore with Yolanda actively helping him with one of his dumb ideas. The Unknown: Will BoJack be happy in his new TV show? Will he see it through? What drama will happen on this show? Is Hollyhock going to stay in BoJack's life? Will this be the end of Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter's marriage? Best Moment: It's tough to choose between Diane and BoJack, but I'll give it to the feel-good ending scene as BoJack can finally smile happily now that he's saved his relationship with Hollyhock and earned some respectability. Character of the Episode: Everyone had a good episode, but I'll give it to BoJack for finally changing for the better to some degree. Conclusion: This episode ended season 4 on a very strong note. This concluded storylines satisfyingly, and it feels more effective than most of the previous finales because it spends more times concluding stories than setting up new ones. Season 4 was the best season so far. It may not have been the most consistent, but there were so many standout episodes that provided the very best we have seen from this show. "The Old Sugarman Place", "Ruthie", and "Time's Arrow" alone are fantastic enough to make this season worth it, but there are plenty of other fun experiences throughout like "Stupid Piece of Sh*t", "Hooray! Todd Episode", and "Underground" to name a few. Overall, I liked a lot of the stories that were told this season. After three seasons of BoJack doing bad things, it felt refreshing to see season 4 go in a different direction, and the result is the most unique and memorable season so far. I enjoyed almost every new thing that was introduced, including BoJack's relationship with Hollyhock, the new direction of Todd's character, the election storyline, and the time spent exploring Beatrice and her story. Overall, this season encompasses the best I've seen from this show so far, and it will probably be tough to top the quality that we saw here. Score: 69 Summary: Beatrice recalls her past in her head. As a child, she caught scarlet fever and was traumatized by her father ripping away her doll from her and burning it. As she grew up, she got an education but Joseph tried to force her to marry Corbin Creamerman. In protest, she has a lovely night with Butterscotch, who crashed her party. Beatrice gets pregnant and tracks down Butterscotch who decides that they can start a family together. Over the years, they grow bitter. At an old age, Butterscotch admits he got Henrietta, their maid, pregnant. Beatrice convinces her to give up the baby for adoption. In the present, Beatrice recognizes BoJack. BoJack shares a nice moment with her, telling her she is back in Michigan.
The Good: This is a special episode, and you can tell from the very first scene when the point of view stylishly switches to Beatrice, entering the complete blank slate that is her mind. I've never seen a TV episode tackle the effects of Alzheimer's on such a personal and creative level before, making this a unique experience. The visual style is masterful, and you are constantly reminded that you're watching memories inside of a person's mind. The scribbled out and blank faces all over this episode are deeply unsettling, and it's creepy seeing pieces of different memories popping up briefly throughout the episode with occasional connections to the present day reminding us that Beatrice is living her current life while her brain is trapped in the past. Little details like the childhood slide being exaggerated in size to represent child Beatrice's fear of the height, and Honey's presence always being a frightening shadow do a great job of representing that we are watching events in the way that Beatrice perceives them. These are brilliant stylistic choices. The style only works if there is substance, and there is plenty of it in this episode. This episode is an in-depth portrayal of generational trauma, exploring how the struggle and suffering that Beatrice went through was passed down to BoJack and Henrietta. In doing this, "Time's Arrow" manages to make us sympathize with a total monster, making us understand the source of Beatrice's pain and why she ended up becoming such a miserable figure in BoJack's life. Her life with her father is absolutely awful. Back in "The Old Sugarman Place", much of Joseph's horrible fathering was played for laughs, but here there is no disguising how monstrous he is towards Beatrice. It's no wonder that Beatrice was so desperate for an escape, and it's sad to see how she was tempted by Butterscotch, who comes off as a charming knight in shining armour to sweep Beatrice away from her bland life and save her. But life is not a fairy tale, and ultimately Butterscotch doesn't offer the solace that Beatrice needed. Tragically, right when it looked like Beatrice may have found something in Corbin Creamerman, her pregnancy takes her back to Butterscotch, and into a terrible life. Beatrice's new life started off with such hope and it is sad to see Beatrice's optimism ground out by financial pressures, Butterscotch's stubborn pride and general awfulness, and an inability for Beatrice to give up her baby due to unresolved trauma with her childhood doll. The passion goes out from her, and all Beatrice is left with is her own wit, which she promptly uses to destroy everyone and everything that she thinks is contributing to her misery. It's an awful thing for her to do, but we can understand how she ended up here, and I sympathize with her for being a victim of bad life decisions that she will never be able to undo. The generational trauma idea is portrayed in some really brilliant ways. It's so sad to learn why Beatrice was always so degrading to BoJack. Beatrice chose this life with Butterscotch over the life her father wanted for her, so she put an unfair amount of pressure onto BoJack to be worth it to justify her decision. But Beatrice's expectations were unrealistic, and combined with Butterscotch being a constant source of frustration, she was never going to be able to provide a good home to raise BoJack in. Furthermore, the trauma goes back deeper as we eventually learn that Beatrice was traumatized at an early age by her father forcefully burning her doll in such a cold and callous manner, and this resulted in Beatrice being unable to give up BoJack due to her trauma, condemning BoJack to growing up in an abusive household. Even more tragic is that Beatrice ultimately becomes her father as she traumatizes Henrietta in a similar way by not allowing her to hold the baby she's giving up for adoption. The climactic scene intercutting Beatrice's burning doll, Henrietta giving birth, and Beatrice giving birth is phenomenally edited and executed, offering some big moments and providing a huge catharsis that sums up the main ideas of Beatrice's story perfectly. I was surprised and impressed by the Hollyhock twist. Hollyhock being BoJack's daughter felt so obvious and logical that I never even considered another possibility, but this reveal makes a ton of sense. I also have to applaud the show for demonstrating restraint. We are never told that this baby is Hollyhock, but the show trusts that we will know anyways. A lot of other moments throughout Beatrice's story had emotional resonance. Beatrice trying to convince Henrietta not to throw her dreams away for a future with Butterscotch that looked too good to be true was a fantastic moment. Poor Beatrice had the root of all of her suffering exposed again, and it's no wonder that she sounded so desperate to help Henrietta as this is the closest she can ever come to correcting the mistakes she made in her life. The detail that Butterscotch uses the same connection to his dead mother to win over Henrietta is deeply sad, a sad moment of acceptance for Beatrice as she faces yet another reminder that nothing about Butterscotch was real and that she was essentially scammed into this marriage. Lastly, I really want to call attention to Joseph's horrifying demeanour as he burns Beatrice's doll. Instead of allowing her to process her feelings, Joseph tells her that things need to happen with such a neutral unsympathetic voice, and forcibly burns Beatrice's doll so suddenly without allowing Beatrice time to process what is happening. It's heartbreaking how little he cared, and that final line of "one day this will all be a pleasant memory" is so painfully false, and you can tell that it stuck with Beatrice throughout her life. At the end of the exploration of Beatrice's mind, the episode has one last incredible gutpunch to throw our way as we resume in the present day with Beatrice finally recognizing BoJack. Earlier in the season BoJack had expressed his desire to rage at his mother once she recognized him, and after Beatrice drugged Hollyhock, I'm sure that most viewers would have wanted to see this happen. But following this episode's horrifying experience in Beatrice's mind, the tone has changed a lot, and there's a greater sense of tragedy in Beatrice's confusion. I think it's absolutely sweet that the show chose to give this character a somewhat positive moment at the end of the episode as BoJack describes a childhood memory of Beatrice at the lakeside cabin before all of the trauma and pain entered her life. This is also an extremely powerful moment for BoJack, who had every reason to not care about his mother and allow her to feel pain. But he chooses to share a moment with her, which is indicative of how no matter what Beatrice does, BoJack deep down just wants to have a mother who he can share a nice moment with. This scene has such a sad undertone, and it ends with a fascinating final line as BoJack asks Beatrice if she can taste ice cream. But as we learned in "The Old Sugarman Place", Beatrice was not allowed to have ice cream, so the illusion was ruined in this moment. But Beatrice, like BoJack, is content to let the illusion play out because it is better than the reality that she and her son have to face, and the episode ends with mother and son tragically sitting in a fake reality where they are both happy, just wishing that this illusion will last for longer than just a few moments. This scene is a perfect conclusion to the most emotionally complex, devastating, and thought-provoking episode yet. There are a couple funny details that I appreciated in this episode. Corbin's goat scream after Beatrice vomits on his is completely unexpected and really funny. Butterscotch giving Beatrice a number to a pizza parlour in Brownsburg is very similar to BoJack giving random women a number to a sandwich shop in Temecula. I guess being an asshole is genetic. The Bad: Nothing. The Unknown: Will this be the last time BoJack ever talks to Beatrice? Best Moment: In an episode chock full of excellent moments, that sweet final moment between BoJack and Beatrice managed to stick with me the most. Character of the Episode: Beatrice. Conclusion: This was an experience unlike anything else I've watched. A beautiful look into the fraying mind of Beatrice, showing us what made her into the monster she is and how she transferred her traumatic experiences to the next generation. This episode is a masterpiece and hits like a truck when you watch it. Another absolute winner from season 4. Score: 89 Summary: Hollyhock passes out in BoJack's bathroom during a game of uno. She is taken to a hospital and BoJack can't get an update until her eight dads arrive. He learns she overdosed on amphetamines and is not allowed to see her. BoJack discovers Beatrice had been spiking Hollyhock's coffee. Angrily, BoJack takes her to a bad retirement home to leave her there, but she says his name. Woodchuck and Jessica Biel continue to have a ridiculous political battle, but Diane seals Woodchuck's victory by publishing an article on how Jessica Biel hates avocados. Todd's clown dentist venture comes under fire and he has to perform a show to keep it alive. Todd helps Princess Carolyn secure a job opportunity by meeting with Turteltaub to propose a TV show. She forges a signature to attach BoJack to the project. Todd's show is not good enough and he has to shut down his business.
The Good: The structure of this episode is really unique as we get to see three separate storylines told in their entirety back to back to back. All three storylines are fun, with the tone becoming more and more serious with each storyline. The first storyline shows the conclusion to the political storyline that's been going all season, and it more than delivers a satisfying conclusion. The political angle has been ridiculous since minute one, and it ends on a suitably stupid note. The montage of Woodchuck's hand-related rivalry with Jessica Biel is quite funny with a lot of amusing little details. Could there have been more thematic relevance and seriousness to this political storyline? Maybe. But the show chose not to do that and was very consistent with the ridiculousness, so it worked overall. The story also had the underlying role of creating more distance between Mr. Peanutbutter and Diane. Even in this episode, Diane comes up with such a stupid plan to ruin Jessica Biel, and it worked spectacularly well, but she has to put up with Mr. Peanutbutter acting like this was a team effort. Tensions between them have been set up well throughout the season. The second storyline features Todd and Princess Carolyn. Princess Carolyn is obviously in a bad place right now after all that happened, but she finds a calling in making this new TV show that personally appeals to her by being called "Philbert". Even still, she's in no fit state to pull this off herself, so Todd has to help her make this a reality, once more showing his giving side. The ridiculous caper with the clowns setting up a meeting with Turteltaub is pretty funny, and I love that earlier in the episode we inexplicably see Princess Carolyn flying through the sky in the background, setting up this moment. Todd's clown dentists look like they have run their course after the performance failed, but they brought a lot of levity to this show and were a joke that worked exceptionally well. Lastly, we get to the BoJack storyline which is far more serious as Hollyhock gets sent to the hospital. Perhaps the most painful thing about this fall for BoJack is that he doesn't know what he did wrong this time. Sure, he didn't notice Hollyhock's appearance changing because he's ignorant when it comes to these things, but outside of that, he didn't do anything outrageously wrong like trying to have sex with Penny or leading Sarah Lynn to her death. That makes this loss so much more painful for him, and it gets worse when he discovers the true culprit: Beatrice. Ultimately he believes his mistake was bringing Beatrice into his house, and watching him lash out at her was sad and affecting. The episode ends on a curious cliffhanger with Beatrice finally recognizing him, and I'm interested to see what happens next (see: The Unknown). Lots of little things in this episode. I enjoyed BoJack playing uno like he was playing poker. The story of Woodchuck's hands was really funny, and there are so many funny newspaper clippings that are absolutely worth pausing to read. My favourite aspect of them is the recurring "Baby Billy the Balloon Man", a 17 year old with dwarfism giving his opinions on hands. Tom gets a great line here after Jessica Biel accuses Woodchuck of taking hands from a pedophile/murderer, saying "well if you have to murder somebody". The saga of Mr. Peanutbutter's banners continues with the latest entry "hooray for Woodchuck and if he doesn't win write I'm sorry Woodchuck". The Bad: Nothing I'd call bad. The side stories aren't nearly as interesting as what's going on with BoJack and Hollyhock, but I would not call them bad by any means. The Unknown: Will BoJack be okay with working on Philbert? How will he react to Princess Carolyn forging his signature? Will this new TV show get Princess Carolyn back on her feet? Will BoJack ever see Hollyhock again? Is there any way that he can make up for what he did? How will BoJack react to Beatrice finally recognizing him? What's next for Todd after his latest business venture failed? Best Moment: BoJack's terror after realizing he was responsible for what happened to Hollyhock was sad and painful to watch, but even better was the immediate realization we saw afterwards that Beatrice was the one spiking the coffee. BoJack's rage and frustration was very real, and seeing him unleash it against Beatrice who no longer understands anything in her current state is really sad. Character of the Episode: BoJack. Conclusion: This episode had a weirdly fun structure featuring three easy to enjoy stories while setting up the season's endgame. Not one of the show's best episodes, but a very easy one to enjoy. Score: 68 Summary: In a future world, Princess Carolyn's descendant Ruthie tells the story of Princess Carolyn's bad day. In the present, Princess Carolyn is fired by Courtney Portnoy and finds out her family heirloom necklace was fake all along. She learns from Charlie that he gave an offer to Judah that she never learned about. She goes to a doctor's appointment and learns she miscarried. She can't bring herself to tell Ralph and goes to the office. She fires Judah and gets drunk in her other apartment. Ralph goes to see her and finds out. They get into an argument and break up. Princess Carolyn returns to her office and is called by BoJack, who had a bad day failing to get adoption information for Hollyhock.
The Good: This episode did a magnificent job of portraying the worst possible day for Princess Carolyn. The writing here was brilliant as the episode gradually escalated the stakes for Princess Carolyn as she goes from career setback, to family setback, to personal setback, to losing the most important relationships in her life, leaving her with absolutely nothing by the end. It can be tough to create that feeling of pure despair and emptiness that accompanies a character losing everything, but this episode nails that feeling, turning this into quite a sad and memorable experience. We have seen nothing but good things in her relationship with Ralph, so seeing Princess Carolyn's inability to process her miscarriage destroy that relationship is heartbreaking, especially knowing that she has essentially lost her dream of a perfect family life with this break-up. Just as heartbreaking is Judah being fired. We've seen Judah be an ideal employee that genuinely cares for a long while now, and it's very sad to see him get abruptly fired, leaving Princess Carolyn without one of her most dependent and reliable confidants. These two scenes work very well because I understand why Princess Carolyn felt the need to cut off these relationships even if she did not want to. The presence of Ruthie in this crazy alternative world is a fun idea that brilliantly sets up a sad twist ending. The final moments where it becomes clear that this happy ending we were promised by Ruthie was fake and Princess Carolyn just has to deal with her life crumbling around her is devastating. I went through the episode believing that there would be a happy ending, and revealing the sad reality was tremendously effective. On a lighter note, the alternate universe had some fun jokes too, including the weird bean system, and the teacher bot getting frustrated by the BoJack and Diane B-story. BoJck's side story is effective too. Not only does it offer some much needed levity, but it intersects with Princess Carolyn's story in a meaningful way to end the episode (see: Best Moment). There's some lovely irony in contrasting BoJack's "worst day ever" with Princess Carolyn's, while also showing us why Princess Carolyn has kept in touch with BoJack for so long since he does offer something of a safe space for her when she has had an awful day. Lots of fun little things. The biggest laugh of the episode was Princess Carolyn returning to her apartment to see Todd's horrific clown dentist business getting underway. I loved Ralph's business ideas written on the board, with the most amusing being a crossed off "Halloween in January" idea because it has "already been done". Princess Carolyn's cat ancestors being portrayed as real-life cut-outs was creative and funny, and it made for a memorable sequence. I liked the George Clooney/Jurj Clooners line which highlighted how self-aware this show can be sometimes. Lastly, I was amused by BoJack getting Diane to come alogn with him by saying there was a "feminism-related emergency". The Bad: Nothing outright bad, but if that was the end of Princess Carolyn's relationship with Ralph, then that was surprisingly abrupt. Most break-ups would not happen so quickly and definitively in these circumstances. I hope there is more to their story. The Unknown: Are these decisions going to be permanent? Is Princess Carolyn and Ralph's relationship over? Is Judah gone for good? Will Princess Carolyn keep trying to get pregnant or is she going to end up adopting? Is Todd's clown dentist venture legal? It seems like this is going in the wrong direction. Best Moment: BoJack calls Princess Carolyn and for once she seems like she could use his company. As BoJack obliviously prattles on about his "horrible" day, Princess Carolyn gives us the sad reveal that all of those promises from Ruthie that told us there would be a happy ending were false, just something in her imagination to help her process everything that she has lost. This was a real shock to me, and the moment was so real and relatable (we've all had those days) so it works tremendously well. Character of the Episode: Princess Carolyn. Conclusion: What a sad, powerful episode. I think just about everyone can relate to having those truly awful days, and seeing Princess Carolyn go through setback after setback until she had nothing was absolutely heartbreaking. Score: 80 Summary: BoJack goes to his new job on FHBA and Hollyhock connects to an intern, Miles, on set. BoJack believes Miles is no good and tries to set him up by getting him to sleep with a contestant. It backfires and he is fired, but Miles cuts a deal with him to never talk to Hollyhock again in exchange for a career favour. BoJack does it and Hollyhock is saddened. Princess Carolyn goes to meet Ralph's parents but Ralph doesn't want to mention that she's pregnant. Eventually Ralph tells off his parents for being rude to Princess Carolyn. Mr. Peanutbutter resigns from running for governor but Woodchuck is contested by Jessica Biel. Mr. Peanutbutter joins the cause to help him overcome her. Todd starts a new business venture for dentists that are also clowns.
The Good: BoJack making awful decisions is always amusing. He's clearly jealous thta Hollyhock is spending time with others throughout the episode, and in typical BoJack fashion, he comes up with a hilarious scheme that completely blows up in his face spectacularly. It's funny to see BoJack's plan to get Miles to sleep with a contestant gets totally derailed due to him continuing to mistake Miles as a PA. The side stories tell a decent enough story. Princess Carolyn visiting Ralph's family is okay stuff, with the highlight being Ralph's parents offering Princess Carolyn things that pregnant women should never bother with, with the requests getting comically more obscene as the scene goes on. Todd and Mr. Peanutbutter coming up with another side venture is the type of silly fun that I love from this show. The clown/dentist combination is quite funny and the show does a lot with this idea in the episode. It's funny to see these clown/dentists intersect with Woodchuck's story. Also poor Woodchuck's hands are a good source of humour throughout the episode. The episode is full of fun jokes. I was happy to see Randy back in action on the news. Mr. Peanutbutter screwing Katrina over with the lease is so wonderfully funny because Mr. Peanutbutter has always been this irritatingly ignorant about things. Animal jokes are prevalent again with highlights being Hotel Kangaroosevelt and a lobster gardener accidentally destroying a hedge. The episode makes a fun Frogger reference as well with a frog trying to cross a road. Lastly, I got a chuckle out of Hollyhock's absurdly long initials written on her tote bag. The Bad: Much of this episode feels like filler and it never feels like this is a story that is worth telling. Let's take BoJack's story to start with. The Felicity Huffman show feels like a retread of similar previous storylines, and it predictably goes nowhere of note making it a waste of time. The joke about her show feels redundant and doesn't offer enough comedy to make it a worthwhile storyline. The episode tries to make it feel substantial by adding in a story between BoJack and Hollyhock, but it doesn't work at all. The storyline is just BoJack being BoJack; we don't learn anything we didn't already know about him, and nothing about what he does in this episode is surprising. The episode tries to have a dark and sad ending moment, the type that the show usually tends to do really well, but it fails here too. Hollyhock's insecurity gets preyed on by BoJack ultimately, and even though he makes it up to her, he still can't fix the pain she feels in the moment. This would be more impactful if I connected more with Hollyhock's pain, but I just didn't. Her relationship with Miles is rushed and off-screen, so I am unabel to connect with her emotions like I usually can in the very best episodes of "BoJack Horseman". The side stories are bland. Princess Carolyn having problems with Ralph's family is predictable and nothing interesting is done with this. The prejudice against cats isn't interesting to explore, and things ultimately go nowhere with Ralph predictably standing up for his girlfriend. I felt like I was watching a subpar melodramatic soap opera at times in this storyline. Mr. Peanutbutter dropping out of the race ended up being a bit of an anticlimax. It looks like something else is being set up, but this episode failed to make the transition from Woodchuck and Mr. Peanutbutter as enemies to allies feel interesting and exciting. The Unknown: Where is the clown dentist storyline going? Best Moment: Oxnard being the poor straight-man dealing with Mr. Peanutbutter and Todd's shenanigans will never not be funny. In a weaker episode like this, it steals the show. Character of the Episode: Mr. Peanutbutter. Conclusion: Honestly, this is quite an underwhelming episode. It never feels like a purposeful and important episode, and nothing stands out whatsoever. For a season with some brilliant high points, there have been a couple of lows as well. Score: 56 Summary: BoJack goes to a fundraiser at Mr. Peanutbutter's place to see Diane but she's frustrated with him. The fracking under the house causes it to fall into the underground and get buried. Everyone is trapped and looks to Mr. Peanutbutter to lead, but the result is total chaos. Woodchuck comes to save them but nobody listens to him. As the chaos continues, BoJack and Diane drink together and open up to each other about their problems. Princess Carolyn and Todd meet with an ant colony and convince them to move Mr. Peanutbutter's house back aboveground. Everybody leaves and gets back to their normal life.
The Good: This is a fantastic concept episode. The idea is so stupidly absurd that it would never work in any other medium, or really in any other fictional universe. Mr. Peanutbutter's house gets buried underground, leading to a group of hilarious gimmick characters going "Lord of the Flies" in an effort to survive. The escalation into pure chaos is so much fun to watch, and makes this such a unique episode of the show with a good mix of comedy and drama. The sheer ridiculousness of the whole scenario makes it difficult to take your eyes off of the screen, and the situation is tailor-made for a better examination of why Mr. Peanutbutter would be an abysmal politician and an even worse leader as he eggs on the mob and defies all logic in every scene and every decision. It's no wonder that Diane is frustrated with him, and we see the danger of his influence unleashed in the most comical of ways. BoJack and Diane's story anchors the emotional side of this episode. The episode opens with Bojack finally reaching out to Diane, but because he waited so long, there is some hostility between them again. The rest of the episode sees them get stuck getting drunk together ranting about their problems (as they do), working out their individual conflicts in a meaningful way. These two have an interesting relationship, and I enjoyed their scenes quite a bit. BoJack wanted to be better before seeing Diane again, which is understandable but also a sad indicator of his failures that he was unable to connect with her in a situation where he did not need her help. Naturally, Diane immediately offers BoJack a solution to help him with his Hollyhock problem, indicating that BoJack really should have opened up to her immediately as a friend. Meanwhile Diane is fittingly enraged with Mr. Peanutbutter as his actions have directly (fracking) and indirectly (bridge to Hawaii) resulted in them all being trapped underground. Diane's fury is fun to watch because here it is absolutely earned. This is a step too far, and seeing her lash out to everyone is amusing. Of course, she drinks a bit too much and ends up having another mental crisis (see: Best Moment), and it's nice to see BoJack help her get through this and reconnect with Mr. Peanutbutter, once more reaffirming the value that they both get from this relationship. This episode did well to utilize this relationship by having each character's story reach a turning point as a result of the help they received. Todd and Princess Carolyn have a side story here, and it's decent enough. It doesn't have much storytelling meat (see: The Bad), but it offers some substance. I like that the show has addressed the presence of ants, and the take on an ant colony living underground is creative and fun. I especially liked the drones, who were such over-the-top hunks, fitting for an ant colony. Seeing Princess Carolyn negotiate with them is fun, and I always get a kick out of how she insists that being a manager is completely different from being an agent. She's said it so much and it has somehow worked out for her enough times that I can almost believe it. This episode is bursting with little things that made me really laugh. Mr. Peanutbutter sensing an earthquake like a dog at the episode's start was really funny, and I loved how everyone panicked tot he extreme once things starting shaking. The side characters stuck underground were all fantastic and added something to the story. Jessica Biel being obsessed with burning people alive, while constantly being dissed for being a B-list celebrity is really funny, and knowing that Jessica Biel herself plays the role makes this even better. Poor Zach Braff begging to go home before being burned to death and cannibalized is a horrifically hilarious death that I absolutely love. The cherry on top is in the final scene where we can see "wish I wasn't here, ZB '17" engraved on the wall in the backgound. The parrot character is really fun as she repeats everything and contributes to the always-amusing mob mentality that develops. Woodchuck is perfect as the voice of reason as he continues to make the best solutions, only to be overrun by the crowd of idiots around him. Pinky making a return is very welcome, and hearing of his failed TV exploits is a blast. Lastly, the guy who has an orgasm whenever there is a shift in power dynamics was funny every single time. Outside of the colourful characters trapped in the house, I also got a laugh out of the continuity of the rescue budget being low because of the sheer expense of the farcical bridge to Hawaii. The Bad: This episode feels similar to "Best Thing That Ever Happened" in a lot of ways, but I don't think that it tastes the same success. The comedy is quality, but where this episode is lacking is in its emotional edge. BoJack and Diane's relationship is the emotional centerpiece, but both characters are often left on the sidelines while the underground situation escalates, and that makes this episode a less compelling story than what it should have been. I wish that BoJack and Diane were incorporated into the main story with more of a major role instead of being simple bystanders. Princess Carolyn and Todd's story doesn't have much substance to it either, it's just another mildly amusing Todd side-venture with Princess Carolyn tagging along this time. "Best Thing That Ever Happened" benefited from not having to spend time on a side story, and I wish that this episode was given the same luxury, but unfortunately it was not. The Unknown: Will Diane's adoption paper solution help BoJack find Hollyhock's mother? Will Mr. Peanutbutter drop out of the running now? It seems like he's willing to let go of this needless desire to be governor to fix his relationship with Diane. Best Moment: Diane crying about how she is a pit that is never happy. On the surface, this is a sad moment where Diane takes stock of her unhappiness and is overcome by it. But on the other hand, she's also extremely drunk and woefully overdramatic, making this sad moment surprisingly funny to watch at the same time without ever losing the importance of its meaning. It's a nice scene that offers both laughs and feels. Character of the Episode: Diane. Conclusion: I may have criticized this episode for a couple of things, but overall I love this creative departure from the main story and got a lot of laughs out of this episode. This isn't one of the show's best episodes, but it's memorable and fun, and sometimes that is all you need. Score: 69 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 Summary: BoJack confesses to Hollyhock that Carla Mercedes Benzbrown doesn't exist. Hollyhock convinces BoJack to take her to meet Beatrice. When they arrive, Beatrice has dementia and can't remember BoJack. BoJack tries to make her remember but fails and Beatrice has a violent breakdown, getting kicked out of the retirement home. BoJack decides to take her in since she has very little time left. Princess Carolyn's Ms. Taken project is in danger with the prevalence of real life mass shootings. Diane writes an article on Courtney's use of guns and gains a lot of popularity. Women start walking around with guns, causing guns to be banned in California. The Ms. Taken project ultimately gets cancelled.
The Good: Here's the seasonal political-themed episode, and this one has a lot of fun with taking a stance on gun laws and exploring the inherent hypocrisy within society when it comes to this issue. Diane is a great viewpoint for this issue, and it's fun how she goes from anti-gun to writing a great article on how she came to love guns and felt safer with them. There's a lot that's correct and a lot that's wrong with this idea, and I like how the episode points out the issue here and then promptly has the American society ignore the main issue and simply ban guns because of the ridiculous idea that one woman doing a mass shooting is one too many, while men are seemingly allowed to do it as much as ever without major consequences. It's a funny bit of storytelling and it works really well. I also liked the cruel view on mass shootings that Hollywood execs have, as they only fret on how these shootings affect their movie productions. Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter's relationship gets a little bit of progress in this episode, and I enjoy it. The way they have compartmentalized their lives by arguing viciously on the news before having angry, aggressive sex later in the day. That scene was fun. BoJack's story is a central part of the episode, and it's pretty solid. I'm pleased to see his relationship with his mother come under deep focus, and his antics are amusing. Of course Hollyhock is horrified by BoJack's horrific treatment of Beatrice, but our prior knowledge combined with the flashbacks in this episode remind us of how terrible Beatrice has been to BoJack since the very beginning. She has earned this resentment, and even if BoJack does sometimes go too far, you can understand why. The episode strikes a good balance by having BoJack's cruelty reduced to extreme pettiness, making it quite funny to see him lash out at his mother in subtle ways. The episode has some surprisingly profound moments too with BoJack expressing frustration at his mother's condition, and his momentary confusion when Beatrice praised him on Horsin' Around, something he never expected her to do. Lastly, I loved BoJack's interactions with Princess Carolyn as he gives her a genuinely profound apology before completely undoing it by revealing that he's only calling her to find out where his mother is. This was simultaneously sad and hilarious. Lots of little things as always. The movie posters were fun with "Americanine Shooter" being my personal favourite. Other great animal jokes include "Chelsea Parrotti", and an old cat playing with the ball of yarn used for knitting at the senior's home. Mr. Peanutbutter's banner woes continue as his latest attempt says "PB for Governor, is Governor spelled with an e or an o". Todd gets in a nice pumped up kicks reference as he tries to explain the shootings in his own dumb way. The news headlines tell a very fun story about the president's obsession with a ball and cup game. The many article titles in this episode are brilliant with my favourite appearing on Princess Carolyn's computer saying "owning a gun may increase female fertility". Stuart being scared by two women walking around sporting half a dozen guns was amusing. Lastly, A Ryan Seacrest Type gets one of the episode's best lines by saying "as a straight white male I will plow forwards with confidence and assume I'm doing fine". The Bad: The political aspect of this episode was not as good as in previous seasons. This is because the gun story is shallower than the topics explored in previous seasons, and the plot feels like it has been manufactured specifically for this episode, whereas in previous seasons the story has naturally fit in with existing character arcs. Diane, Princess Carolyn, and Todd's main storylines are put on hold to have this episode, and it's noticeable with how out-of-nowhere this episode is. The Unknown: When will Beatrice die? How will BoJack react? How will the changed gun laws affect the show? I feel like this is the kind of story to have some role in continuity later in the season. Best Moment: Diane saying "I can't believe this country hates women more than it loves gun" was the perfect punchline in the gun laws storyline. Character of the Episode: Hollyhock. I really like her. Conclusion: A solid episode with good storytelling progression, though the comparatively shallow political exploration let this episode down a little bit. Score: 66 Summary: BoJack helps Hollyhock as she attempts to find her mother. They have an argument but BoJack apologizes and makes it up to Hollyhock. He says she can stick around for longer until they find her mother. Princess Carolyn and Ralph work hard to get Princess Carolyn pregnant. Diane speaks out against Mr. Peanutbutter's stance on fracking, and the result is Mr. Peanutbutter fracking in their yard. They argue and fight, but end up having sex.
The Good: This episode has three solid, but unspectacular stories. The strongest sees BoJack grow closer with Hollyhock. These two develop a great dynamic with BoJack being jaded and sarcastic, while Hollyhock is sweet and innocent, but still has some of BoJack's wit and laziness. This story is a little bit by-the-numbers with the attempt to find Hollyhock's mother, but it is kept fresh and enjoyable by the interactions between the two. It's hard not to feel for Diane this season. She's trying her best to be supportive, but nobody is ever there for her to vent, and she struggles so much with being belittled and overlooked by everyone else in and around her house. Mr. Peanutbutter has seemingly forgot all about her in his enjoyment of the campaign, and there's nothing Diane can do to change this. Then, when she finally gets to act out in some way, things get infinitely worse and everyone blames her for it. I can't blame her for giving Mr. Peanutbutter an ultimatum considering all that she's going through, and seeing them break out in a vicious, hateful fight at the end was depressing, even if it did result in temporary elation when they finally had good sex. Katrina is playing a key role in this and she is absolutely despicable as she relishes in the destruction of Mr. Peanutbutter's marriage. Having her subjected to their sex at the episode's end is a nice bit of karma. Princess Carolyn's story isn't the most interesting either, but it is a good way to highlight the desperation in her attempts to get pregnant since she doesn't have many more chances left. The albino rhino gyno got to make a fun cameo reappearance, and so did the reliably over-the-top Meow Meow Fuzzyface. Lots of little things in this episode. The news headlines have returned, and again we have some great stuff. Highlights include "country puts forth plan to continue to ignore Flint water crisis", "hero celebrity wears ribbon on red carpet", and "bloated corpse found in White House discovered to be bleated alive person". Girl Croosh is a lovely new environment for background jokes, and there are lots of hilarious statements in the background. Stefani continues to be great, and Diane remarking "you said offices have corners and corners are the patriarchy" is really funny. Diane having a picture of her "messily eating a sandwich" is a great joke, clearly a parallel of BoJack's sneezing picture that he just can't escape. Lastly, the "DiCapriCorn Flakes" is a clever branding. The Bad: This episode just isn't that interesting. This show usually tackles some engaging ideas, but this episode is devoid of that, consisting of fairly simple stories that I have very little to say about because they are all quite shallow. The comedy is also fairly unspectacular, with limited jokes compared to what we get from "BoJack Horseman" at its best. This episode doesn't do much outright bad, it's just underwhelming from both a dramatic and comedic perspective. The Unknown: How will BoJack and Hollyhock's relationship go? Will they grow close, or will BoJack drive her away like everybody else? Will Princess Carolyn successfully get pregnant? Will there be consequences to her and Ralph having sex in a cop car? Will Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter's marriage last? How are they going to compromise with this campaign that is clearly dividing them? No Todd in this episode. What's he up to? Best Moment: Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter's big fight turning into sex was amusing, and a unique escalation of their conflict. Character of the Episode: Hollyhock. Conclusion: This episode was decent enough, with the highlight being the start of a new character relationship between BoJack and Hollyhock and the escalating conflict between Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter. Other than that, there is not much to dive into here. Score: 59 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 Summary: Flashbacks focus on Beatrice's mother Honey, who falls into grief after losing her son Crackerjack in war. Honey has a meltdown at a party to celebrate the end of the war, and her husband, Joseph, has her lobotomized to help with her grief, horrifying young Beatrice. BoJack returns to his familial cottage where he stays to process his grief. He befriends Eddie, a dragonfly who helps him rebuild the cottage. BoJack helps Eddie fly again but Eddie is distraught, wracked with guilt over how he killed his wife by flying. Not wanting to be consumed by grief, BoJack decides to return to LA, destroying the old cottage.
The Good: This episode was a powerful and comprehensive exploration of grief through numerous unique case studies. The addition of this theme takes an already powerful and affecting episode, and elevates it to something genuinely special. The first study of grief is BoJack's grief in the wake of Sarah Lynn's death. BoJack's story is fantastic as he escapes back to Michigan in order to get away from the awful things he has done. The episode opens with a terrific, atmospheric sequence with a melancholy rendition of "A Horse With No Name", a perfectly fitting song that exemplifies BoJack's feelings and dissociation with himself. Once he gets to Michigan he lives a miserable lifestyle, sitting in a broken wreck of a house while denying to everyone that he is BoJack (but of course he still craves attention and fame so he does a crappy job of it). BoJack's existence here is sad and isolated, and he can't seem to do anything right. The story of BoJack struggling to fix his house is a perfect symbol of his grief and his fraying mental state. He is sitting in a broken wreck, symbolic of how his mental health is in shambles after losing Sarah Lynn, and he has no clue how to fix anything in this house, so he continues to suffer. It's not until he forms a genuine bond with Eddie, who offers to help him out, that the house (and BoJack's mind) is finally fixed. It's notable that BoJack is often seen breaking parts of the house even while Eddie is fixing it, exemplifying how BoJack feels like he doesn't deserve to move on from Sarah Lynn and that he belongs in emotional turmoil. But the care and effort of a stranger is what ultimately pulls him back, and it helps him make a crucial decision by the episode's end (more on that in a bit). Eddie's story is the second case study on grief. In this episode, Eddie functions as an example of what BoJack will become if he never moves on from grieving. Where BoJack punishes himself by living in a wrecked house, Eddie punishes himself with his refusal to fly, a small mystery that ultimately culminates in a heartwrenching reveal of how Eddie's actions directly resulted in the death of his wife. Throughout the episode, Eddie is the epitome of the "angry old man" character, and he's a lot of fun to watch in the role. But when we finally take a peek into his house, we realize that he's still unable to move on from his wife's death. We see his wife's stuff all over Eddie's room, still untouched after all this time. Eddie is still holding onto the past and is unable to let go of it, living in pain and grief seemingly until the end of time. This is genuinely sad, and it serves as a wake-up call for Bojack who learns that he needs to get out of this so that he doesn't waste away the rest of his life in pain and grief. One sweet phone call with Diane highlights that BoJack still has something to live for in this friendship that seems to survive even the hardest of times. As such, BoJack makes his choice. He tears down the house that he and Eddie spent so much time rebuilding, symbolically moving on from all of the grief and pain that he has been surviving in. This is BoJack's big choice, and it is a healthy decision to move forwards and stop dwelling in the pain that dominates his past. It's a powerful message that perfectly ends a heavy, emotional episode on a hopeful and optimistic note. A lot of great TV shows out there can deliver crushing, devastating moments, but "BoJack Horseman" stands out for its ability to always follow up devastation with moments of hope. The final case study of grief goes way into the past, and is the boldest choice made in the creation of this episode. The final study is of Honey Sugarman, Beatrice's mother who goes through grief when her son Crackerjack dies during World War II. Honey's story is meant to show a horrific end to grief, where it can consume someone permanently to the point where they are no longer themselves and can never come back. It's a horrifying and sad story that better illuminates Beatrice's story through a showcase of her awful upbringing. At the beginning we get to see how happy this family was in the cottage, but by the end, they are all a broken mess living in a husk of a house with no happiness inside the walls. The comparisons between the first scene in the cottage with the entire family and the ending scene is downright horrifying as Honey has given herself into grief, Joseph has used his terrifyingly limited understanding of the world to "cure her" via a lobotomy, and Beatrice is left all alone with nothing and no one to help her grow up. This entire sequence is terrifyingly devastating, and shows us the "bad ending" to grief that results in lasting emotional damage across generations. As a final aside to Beatrice and Honey's story, I adore the addition of Beatrice's flashback form roaming around alone outside the cottage as BoJack destroys it, a ghostly reminder of another life that was ruined by grieving in this cottage. I appreciate that an episode with such heavy subject matter still included plenty of humour to keep things watchable. Tamera and Tamara are really funny, and I enjoy BoJack and Eddie's distaste for them and their attitude. BoJack's futile attempts to fix his house go amusingly badly, and it's fun to see him try to fix one problem and cause several new ones. BoJack's interactions with Eddie humanize this episode nicely, and their wit clashing against each other makes for a really fun dynamic with some great lines ("how about you fix your door instead of my metaphor?"). Joseph Sugarman is a monstrous man, but a lot of the things he says are so outrageous that they end up being funny. Beatrice not being allowed to eat ice cream and being given a lemon with sugar on top is darkly funny, as is Joseph saying hilariously out of touch statements like "it'll always be here just like polio and blackface" and "if anyone's to blame it's the jews for peeving Hitler off so much". The animal jokes here are quite good too. I enjoyed seeing a fossil in the desert having a watch and shoes, consistent with the world in this show. I got a laugh out of the termites gnawing on BoJack's house, and a squirrel digging up a bag full of nuts in the yard. The Bad: Nothing. The Unknown: Beatrice growing up with a lobotomized Honey for a mother, and a sexist, absentee father paints a very different picture about who she is. Perhaps there is more to her story than what we have seen so far. Has BoJack processed his grief now? What will he be like when he returns to LA? What is he going to do? Will Eddie ever be able to move on from his grief? Or is it too late for him to move on? Will we see him again? Best Moment: The "I will always think of you" duet across generations between Honey and Eddie was incredibly powerful. The moment is so haunting and painful, highlighting the pain and emptiness of grief and how seemingly impossible it is to escape the loss of a loved one. The best of many outstanding moments in this episode. Character of the Episode: BoJack. Conclusion: A masterful showcase of grief that ended up being one of the most emotional, well-made, and memorable stories in the whole show. This told a complete story with such heavy emotional weight throughout, resulting in the show's best episode yet. Score: 87 Summary: Mr. Peanutbutter is running for governor and Diane is supporting him but clearly just wants it to be over. However, his campaign continues and he challenges the current governor Woodchuck to a ski race. Woodchuck refuses saying he will only accept if it's in the constitution, which Katrina makes happen. The ski race happens and Mr. Peanutbutter gets destroyed, but Todd, who started riding around in a drone throne earlier, falls into the race and wins, becoming governor. He immediately resigns and starts an election. Princess Carolyn is pregnant but she miscarries. She accepts Ralph's invitation to move in and they decide to try to conceive.
The Good: It was neat to get an episode where BoJack was entirely absent, and I appreciate how the episode poked fun at this in numerous ways. The episode opens with Mr. Peanutbutter getting his sitcom role in hilarious fashion, where the executives are talking about "doing the show about the horse without the horse". The episode then closes with a unique version of "Back in the 90s" where the lyrics instead describe Mr. Peanutbutter. I liked the idea behind this, and it resulted in a unique and fun episode. We get to see the extent of Mr. Peanutbutter's charm and charisma on display in this episode. Considering the time period that this episode was released, I'm sure that this is meant to be a satire of politicians like Donald Trump, highlighting how having the "it" factor can lead to entirely uneducated politicians seizing control of the masses using their people powers. It was amusing to see Mr. Peanutbutter's energy completely block out the will of Woodchuck, who is obviously a well-trained politician. Mr. Peanutbutter's ski race idea is laughably horrible, and it's amusing to see Katrina make it officially become part of the constitution in such a stupid way, culminating in the building of a bridge to Hawaii, perhaps the stupidest political decision that anyone could ever make. The cherry on top is the sheer ridiculousness that comes from the ski race. We have fantastic laughs throughout from Mr. Peanutbutter going to ski school with the most intentionally cliched training arc imaginable, to Todd somehow becoming governor of California in his subplot, but giving it up because he's "not into labels right now". I enjoyed Diane's role in the episode as well. With such absurdity going on around her, she needs an outlet for these emotions that she's not allowed to let out under the guise of being a supportive wife. So she calls BoJack to let out her real thoughts, creating a unique narration aspect in this episode. But Diane unintentionally makes things worse and ultimately drives Mr. Peanutbutter further into this election as a result of her hiding her true feelings. Lots of little things of course. The waitress being dressed in royal garb and saying "this cow loves getting tipped" is pretty funny. We get more amusing news headlines including an update on Margo Martindale being presumed dead (noo!), a "lobster mobster caught red-handed", and "study finds news ticker headlines to be more distracting than informative". I really enjoyed Andre Braugher's role as Woodchuck and I think he is perfectly cast for this role. I was happy to see that A Ryan Seacrest Type survived BoJack smashing into him last season. Lastly, I was amused by the presence of a polar bear in a t-shirt during the ski race. The Bad: This episode feels like it is missing something. There's lots of goofiness and fun, and decent satire of the 2016 election, but the heart to this episode seems to be missing. Most episodes of "BoJack Horseman" manage to tell an additional story on top of the comedy, but this episode left a lot to be desired in that regard. I suspect that BoJack's absence contributes a lot to this. He is usually the center of the show's most compelling storytelling, and his absence is felt with nobody else stepping up with compelling internal conflict to anchor the episode. As a result, this episode is fine comedy, but it fails to nail that balance between comedy and heavy storytelling that "BoJack Horseman" has done so well in the past two seasons. The Unknown: What's the significance of Princess Carolyn's miscarriage? Will this be a recurring problem for her? She is over 40 now, so her fertility will have gone down. Will Mr. Peanutbutter actually become governor? His campaign has finally tasted some success. Where is BoJack? Why has he gone missing for so long? Why isn't he responding to Diane's calls? Best Moment: Todd becoming governor over the stupidest of rules and giving it up immediately. A perfect Todd moment if I've ever seen one. Character of the Episode: Mr. Peanutbutter. Conclusion: "BoJack Horseman" made a bold move to have an episode without BoJack, and unfortunately his presence was missed. While I appreciate the ambition, it didn't pay off because the compelling emotional drama brought on by BoJack's presence was sorely missed in this episode. The result is a decent enough comedy episode, but unfortunately it's still one of the weakest episodes since the first season. Score: 60 Summary: In a flashback, BoJack goes to Sarah Lynn to get her as a guest star on his show. She is initially happy to see him, but sours when she realizes why she is there. In the present, BoJack attends Sarah Lynn's funeral. Diane comes to see him and he opens up about his pain. BoJack decides to do Ethan Around to move on. But upon seeing Sarah Lynn in one of the new child stars, he leaves and tries to get as far away as he can. A spaghetti-related emergency happens as spaghetti threatens to destroy Pacific Ocean City, so Mr. Peanutbutter saves everyone with his spaghetti strainers. Katrina comes to meet him, giving him a chance to be governor. Diane gets a new job writing a blog. Princess Carolyn opens up her agency again, this time as a manager. Todd gets the buyout from Cabracadabra but tips it all to a waitress. He comes to terms with the fact that he may be asexual.
The Good: These season finales are typically lighter in nature with more hope in them, especially after the penultimate episode's are usually the most depressing episodes of the season. This episode takes a similar approach, but it is unable to fully escape from the negativity that has taken over BoJack's life. He failed Sarah Lynn, he's responsible for her death, and he knows it. That leaves BoJack in a dark place for this season finale as he struggles to move on after what he has done. The flashback sets up the tone of his story perfectly as we reflect on another instance where BoJack failed to be there for Sarah Lynn at a time when she had nobody to help her. He always only entered her life when it suited him. Now he has to live with that. BoJack attempts to move on by doing the Ethan Around show, a way to atone by actually being there for another one of his co-stars, and it seemed to be working for a while. He connects with Ethan and has positive interactions with Chloe, the new child star. But memories come back to haunt BoJack, and the fear of ruining another innocent's life is too much for him to carry so he runs away. The final scene of the season beautifully explores the darkness currently in BoJack's heart and magnificently spins it in an almost hopeful light, capping off with a beautiful sequence (see: Best Moment). The rest of the episode takes a much lighter tone as every other character is moving on to hopeful new chapters in their lives. The purpose for all of the side characters in this episode is to set up their storylines for season 4, and this is done effectively. Diane reconnects with BoJack in what was a superb scene. They both cut to each other's hearts with their words, but unlike the hostility in "It's You", this time it is a casual understanding of each other and respect for their friendship. It's really sweet. Diane seems to be moving back into her activism, and she does so by joining GirlCrush, helmed by the hilariously contradictory Stefani ("I'm sorry but I won't apologize for it"). Diane seemingly got the job by saying that she would write a blog about Mr. Peanutbutter if she had the choice, which could be bad for their marriage going forwards, setting up an interesting conflict to hook us for season 4 (see: The Unknown). Mr. Peanutbutter on the other hand becomes a bonafide hero (more on that later) and is no swarming with opportunities, including a lucrative offer to become the governor of California. I'm sure that will be an entertaining story. It's amusing how Mr. Peanutbutter's naivety is what helps propel Princess Carolyn back into her old job... or sorry her "new" job as a manager (I love how the show pokes fun at how managers and agents are practically the same). Lastly, I come to Todd who has branched off on his own finally. His conclusion here was sweet as he gets closure with Emily and accepts the fact that he is asexual, and that it's okay for him to be asexual. You don't often see asexual characters in TV shows, so I really appreciate the decision to give Todd this extra depth, which may allow for some very unique storytelling in the future. I was also highly amused by Todd tipping 8 million dollars to the waitress, which is typical of him and a funny way to end off his story for the season. Then we get to THAT sequence of the episode, you know the one I'm talking about. Finally, the spaghetti strainers have paid off and I couldn't have asked for a better or funnier pay-off than what we got. I was amazed at how every loose thread that was set up this season came back to create one of the most hilariously absurd and out-of-this-world situations, and it fit so well with the world in this show. In this whole sequence, the show managed to integrate Margo Martindale stealing BoJack's boat, Sandro starting his own restaurant as an Italian stereotype, the mirror ads for Secretariat, the existence of an underwater city, the Cabracabra business, and the presence of those spaghetti strainers in the most perfect way, creating such a hilariously specific situation that was a joy to behold. Even better was Mr. Peanutbutter being at a movie theatre during the day and almost missing out on his opportunity. This whole sequence is filled with these hilarious pointed jabs at the absurd specificity of the situation, and the comedy is fantastic. This was probably the hardest I've laughed at the show so far. The final shot of Mr. Peanutbutter rolling up to the beach Mad Max-style was a perfect capper to this joke that has been an entire season in the making. The writers get a round of applause for this one; the joke took tons of effort to make happen and it was executed to perfection. The Bad: I suppose the tone can be jarring in this episode. Having the bleak, depressing scenes with BoJack mixed in with one of the single funniest sequences in the show results in the tone feeling extremely uneven. To go from such intense melancholy to laughing until our sides hurt makes the episode feel unfocused in its message. I understand that it is intentional and that there likely was no better way to execute this episode, but it undeniably feels weird and prevents the episode from hitting both the comedic and dramatic highs that it otherwise could have hit. The Unknown: Will Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter get into conflict with Diane's new job combined with Mr. Peanutbutter running for governor? I can't imagine this going well. Will Princess Carolyn returning to her old job affect her relationship with Ralph? It would be a shame because they seem very happy together. Where is BoJack going at the end of the episode? Is he just driving as far away as possible, or does he have a destination in mind? Who was the horse girl calling for BoJack? Is this a long-lost daughter? Best Moment: That final scene was a thing of beauty. Driving aimlessly away from LA, BoJack seems almost suicidal in his actions. He lets his car go and speeds off into the distance, which reads to me as a cry for help, a desperate attempt to give up control over his life because control has gotten him nowhere of note so far. But at his lowest moment, BoJack sees one final sign of inspiration as he sees a herd of racehorses running through the desert, evoking powerful memories of Secretariat and the running man from season 2. The scene is wordless, but the look of realization on BoJack's face tells us that this small moment he is witnessing is that little flicker of hope that he needs to continue living his life. This, combined with the swelling music makes for an evocative image to end the season, perfectly capturing both the despair and the faintest of hopes that has dominated BoJack's story in this season. Powerful stuff. Character of the Episode: Mr. Peanutbutter. Conclusion: While a bit problematic tonally, "That Went Well" is a fantastic season finale that concludes the season's story perfectly with a healthy mix of comedy and harrowing storytelling. This season finale sets up season 4 neatly, but it also provides an emotional conclusion stronger than any of the previous season finales. Season 3 was another excellent season to follow up season 2, and I think I like it just a little bit more than season 2. The season started off a bit rocky with little story momentum and some underwhelming episodes, but this final stretch of episodes was outright outstanding. Every episode hit like a truck, and seeing everything fall apart for BoJack was perhaps the most depressing, devastating, and memorable that the show has been so far. Add on an exceptional episode in "Fish Out of Water" and this season more than lived up to my expectations, and it feels even stronger after finishing it now that we can see where everything was leading up to. BoJack has hit rock bottom now, and I'm curious to see if season 4 can do something fresh with the character. I'm uncertain that seeing BoJack fall further and further each season will make for compelling television, but if handled correctly, I'm sure that this show can craft a good story for him. We're a long way out from the roughness of season 1, and "BoJack Horseman" has more than hit its stride. Season 3 was a great season that was confident in its style and storytelling, hitting enormous highs. Score: 71 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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