So they just came out with a trailer for the third season of the show, and it's got me pretty excited. It looks like it might be promising.
So, we go into episode 2 of the first season. As I mentioned, the first half of the season isn't particularly special, though I think episode 2 is probably my favorite. It actually does a little bit to go more into BoJack's psyche and it also helps to establish some character dynamics, particularly with regards to Mr. Peanutbutter and Diane.
Now, if you're familiar with a lot of television, Bojack's format shouldn't be particularly surprising. Most (though not all) episodes follow the basic "A plot B plot" format. In the case of this show, the A plot is usually something involving Bojack himself while the B plot typically involves one of the other characters, usually in a much more lighthearted affair.
In this case, the A plot revolves around an altercation that Bojack gets into at a supermarket. He finds a box of muffins sitting in the produce section and gets into an argument with a seal who claims dibs. Bojack, because he's petty and the seal is kind of whiny, decides he's going to buy them himself over the seal's protests. It turns out that said seal is actually a Navy S.E.A.L. named Neal McBeal. This causes a media shitstorm that Bojack, because he's stubborn, is unable to keep under control, particularly when he contests the notion that being in the armed forces makes one a hero.
The biggest weakness of the early episodes is two-fold. For one, once the really heavy drama stuff starts kicking in, the early season stuff looks comparatively lightweight. But more than that, there's a bluntness to the writing that can be a little off-putting. I noticed it particularly in episode three. The writing is very on-the-nose at points in ways that don't feel like they make sense coming out of the mouths of the more subtle and nuanced characters. That's not to say that plenty of characters aren't more exaggerated and cartoonish (such as the whale news anchor voiced by Keith Olbermann, no, really), but sometimes the writing doesn't look like it's giving the viewer enough credit to understand what the writers are saying. This will become more apparent in episode 3.
The writing is very snappy, though, and there are lots of good gags. Like the running gag of BoJack getting put on hold when he's told he needs to speak with Princess Carolyn and having to listen to "Jellicle Cats" (you know, I'm actually not familiar with Cats, funny as that might sound).
The B-plot involves Mr. Peanutbutter filming a reality show at his house, titled "Peanutbutter and Jelly." When BoJack asks who "Jelly" is supposed to be, Peanutbutter counters that it's wordplay (later "a pun"), to which BoJack contests that wordplay and puns don't work that way.
"Well, it could work a lot harder. And that's wordplay."
As I mentioned a little earlier, the show tips its hand a little soon with some slightly unsubtle foreshadowing, like a bit early in the episode where BoJack chews out a woman at a bar, telling her that must because she doesn't know she's a horrible person doesn't mean that she isn't a horrible person.
The episode resolves when BoJack is forced to swallow his pride and apologize to the Navy SEAL on Mr. Peanutbutter's reality show. He starts to get on a bit of a grandstanding thing about military worship and the contrived nature of the situation (something something reality television), but it gets interrupted by Mr. Peanutbutter getting a bucket stuck on his head.
The most interesting parts of the episode are the parts where Diane tries to get BoJack to open up about his parents, wherein we're treated to some brief flashbacks to his childhood.
The other flashback and the later conversation with Diane focus more on his father, which is interesting, because most of the rest of the time BoJack's parents come up in the show it involves his mother, rather than his father.
Anyway, they released a trailer for the third season recently. It's interesting that they seem to be promoting it differently than the first two seasons. This time they're billing it more as a drama, and the trailer reflects it with more pensive lines and stuff focusing on his depression and struggle to find fulfillment.
Any who, thanks for tuning in!
