History Characters / BojackHorsemanTheMainGroupFamilyMembers

* JadedWashout: Once his dream of writing the next UsefulNotes/GreatAmericanNovel went down the drain, all he had left was his pride, his unappeasable wife and his young son, all which made him more miserable. He became a bitter, defensive SellOut who could only dream of his non-existent GloryDays.

%%* Standard50sFather: He has the look down. The attitude, however...

* WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent: He's constantly disappointed with [=BoJack=] for failing to meet his standards on how an American boy should be. From what we see in flashbacks those "standards" are random incomprehensible nonsense unique to him; for instance when a very young [=BoJack=] builds a treehouse himself Butterscotch is enraged that he used screws instead of nails, because he thought of the former as "fancy Jew nails".

* MiseryBuildsCharacter: His main philosophy and one he practices at every turn in "raising" his son; as long as [=BoJack=] doesn't do things the way he considers fit, the more punishment and rejection he'll receive. There's the treehouse incident and there's his harsh critic of [=BoJack=]'s drawing for him. The way he sees it, happiness is grueling pain.
* MissingMom: As he tells Beatrice when they first meet, Butterscotch never knew his mother as she died when he was too young.

* ShotgunWedding: Beatrice and Butterscotch had a rushed wedding due to Beatrice' pregnancy.

** Bea and Butterscotch were both once young, idealistic and having a certain fondness for each other. Of course, it wasn't a relationship built in solid foundation - they tied the knot only because they fucked up and Beatrice wouldn't have any sort of intrinsic value beyond what she could offer as a fertile, virginal woman; without it, she had no chance of marrying anyone and Butterscotch felt he owed her at least that to save her reputation. Years later, their seeming idyllic life has not reaped any of the promises they thought it would and so they start resenting each other out of their perceived shortcomings (lack of money and mediocre life the main problems).

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: As a deconstruction of the Standard50sFather, his outdated beliefs and distant, insensitive parenting style haven't aged well in the slightest, and he's portrayed as [[HateSink totally despicable]] for it. Special mention goes to [[spoiler:lobotomizing his wife, Honey, which would've been seen in the 1940s as an acceptable mental health treatment, but to a modern-day audience is rightly portrayed as a cruel procedure that causes DeathOfPersonality]].

* FauxAffablyEvil: At first, he seems like a very pleasant and affable man, or at least as pleasant as a StrawMisogynist can possibly be to his own family.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: He considers himself a family man trying his best to provide for his wife and daughter, but his actions cause Honey and Beatrice far more harm than good.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler: Because she cut off ties with [=BoJack=], we don't know what became of her after the one year time skip.]]

* AmbiguouslyJewish: For one, "Chickens" sees PC headed to a family wedding between her niece and a dog, with the groom wearing a yarmulke. Then, in [[Recap/BojackHorsemanS4E09Ruthie "Ruthie"]], the eponymous character tells her ancestors' story, which mirrors that of Jewish immigrants, especially the downgraded lifestyle compared to their much better positions in their home country.

* AbusiveParents: Although it was Beatrice whose had a greater influence on [=BoJack=]'s screwed psyche, Butterscotch was still dismissive, manipulative, and even violent towards young [=BoJack=].

* StrawPolitical: Espouses extreme right-wing views, such as imaginary friends being invented by communists to create welfare cheats. He is shown to have had different views when he was younger in a flashback in Season 4, wanting to get in with a group of beatnik artists he admired. It's implied that his conservative streak was mostly a bitter response to being rejected by his heroes.

* BigEater: She has a huge appetite that is similar to [=BoJack=]'s.

* OnlySaneWoman: The only one in season 4 who's got her head screwed right (beside occasionally [=BoJack=]) and who never loses her shit through the season (other than the amphetamine incident).

* DirtyOldMan: [[spoiler:Sired Hollyhock on a woman ''40-50 years'' his junior.]]

* ExpressiveEars: His ears perk up when surprised and descend when disappointed. Like [=BoJack=]'s, the way his his head is drawn makes them appear to be perpetually pinned back.

* HandsomeLech: His seducing Beatrice was only intended for a one night stand. Taking into account his expertise at playing charming and knowing what kind of words would convince her, it's implied he has done this before. Beatrice was quite aware of it being a one time thing and was willing to play along with it since she needed to blow some steam...at least until it resulted in pregnancy.

** Season 4 shows that he pretty much won Beatrice over for a one night stand, among other indiscretions [[spoiler: like having an affair with the maid, using the same story he used to garner sympathy with his wife when they first met no less.]] And unlike his wife or son he has no FreudianExcuse for his behavior.

** When he has to admit to Beatrice that he ended up [[spoiler: impregnating Henrietta]], he greatly downplays his role in the act, saying that [[spoiler: she "got herself pregnant"]] and then blaming Beatrice for the act, accusing her of [[spoiler: being "neglectful in her wifely duties"]].

** In "The View From Halfway Down", [[spoiler: he apologizes to his son for being a lousy father, and states that he loved [=BoJack=] even though he was terrible about expressing it. Of course, it may not have been real]].

* SatanicArchetype: In Beatrice's memories affected by dementia where she reminisces about her childhood doll being incinerated, Joseph Sugarman appears on front of a fiery wall, with his horse ears curved and pointed almost perfectly like the devil's horns.

* AbusiveParents: His actions have a profoundly negative effect on his daughter's emotional well-being. He prohibits her from eating ice cream and makes constant asides about her weight, and when she is upset due to her belongings being burned during a bout of scarlet fever, he casually threatens her with a lobotomy if she cries too much.

* HateSink: Joseph Sugarman is probably the most despicable member of the entire Sugarman[-/-]Horseman family line, but for different reasons than the others: While Beatrice and Butterscotch can rival him in terms of child abuse, Beatrice has the big excuse of a neglectful childhood and multiple traumas all around and Butterscotch was decent(ish) enough to actually take responsibility for what he had done to Beatrice. Joseph's lack of trauma, dissonant cheerfulness to his deeply harmful actions and enforced casual misogyny toward his daughter's aspirations and his wife's inability to deal with trauma make a standout monster above all. There's no excuse beyond his experience and how he was taught to deal with everything (though fellow businessman Corbin Creanman was raised with DeliberateValuesDissonance too but was ironically confident enough to reject them), and even those fall flat when so much pain and suffering is caused because of his actions - he is unwilling to reach to anyone and uses extremity, force and emotional blackmail to keep everything in his life in check, no matter how much damage it causes everyone around him. Even his happy façade can drop when something goes wrong and the monster can show itself.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: His actions shaped Beatrice into [[AbusiveParents who she would become]] but nothing he did was out of malice. He gently explains his motives to his daughter [[spoiler: like lobotomizing his wife because of her grief over their son dying or burning Beatrice's possessions because of her scarlet fever]] and despite how horrific his actions are he honestly is acting with the best of intentions for his family.

* InnocentBigot: Joseph doesn't think highly of civil right movements or feminism, let alone seeing women as people with rights, but his initial appearance masks those traits. Then, it's slowly {{deconstructed|Trope}} showing how this type of mindset can kickstart heinous actions without fully comprehending their impact.

[[caption-width-right:200:Cant talk, watching the ga,e]]

* GenderEqualsBreed: Hollyhock is a female horse and [=BoJack=] might possibly be her father. Whether her mother is human or an animal is unknown for most of the season. [[spoiler:It's revealed that [=BoJack=] is not her father, it's actually his father, Butterscotch, who is the father. Hollyhock's mother is a human nurse named Henrietta Platchkey.]]