BoJack visits his dying former friend, Herb Kazzaz, in an attempt to set things right.
"The Telescope" contains examples of:
- Armor-Piercing Question:BoJack: You have to believe me, I did everything I could!Herb: Then why didn't you call me?
- Bait-and-Switch: Herb was hurt when BoJack didn't side with him when he was outed, but he reveals that what hurt more was that his best friend didn't even try to call him in twenty years and didn't even try to contact him until news came about that he was dying.
- Both Sides Have a Point:
- After he hears news of his friend diagnosed with cancer, BoJack, visits Herb in hopes of making amends. He finally works up the courage to apologize in hopes burying the hatchet after not being there for his friend, but...
- Herb decides not to forgive him, because BoJack was unable to back him up during the executives' decision to fire. He makes it clear, however, that the only reason BoJack is contacting him twenty years later is because of his cancer news and didn't want to suffer any guilt. If they kept in contact sooner, and often, Herb would be more sympathetic.
- Break Them by Talking: How Angela spells out to BoJack what's on the line for Herb.Angela: I'm not gonna waste your time with small talk, 'cause you work for me and your time is my time. We're letting Herb go.Angela and BoJack: I/You can't do that.Angela: I'm not asking you. It's nothing personal. I like Herb, I think he's a good guy, but this is a business, and every day we don't fire him, we're throwing money down the crapper.Angela and BoJack: Well, if he goes, you/I go.Angela: I wouldn't do that. BoJack, I think you're a star, and sometimes, being a star means making tough choices. You could storm out make a big show out of what a "good friend" you are, or you could be the guy who does his job.BoJack: Angela...Angela: I'll tell you when it's your turn to talk again. Look, you're a star. But this is really just the beginning of the BoJack Horseman story. You could choose whatever path you want, but I'll tell you right now, you don't win awards, you don't get to be on the covers of magazines, and you don't get to play the lead role in the Secretariat movie by being a good friend. What's that old expression about how the show must go on. Oh. Right. It's "Don't be an idiot." So what do you think, BoJack? It's a courtesy question, I already know what you think. I have conversations like this five times a day. I know who you are. I know you've already made your decision, but if you wanna surprise me, now's the time to do it.BoJack: [says nothing]Angela: That's what I thought. You're doing the right thing. I know it's hard, but if Herb's really your friend, he'll understand. Now, you've got a show to put on, so I'll let you get ready. This was a good conversation. Productive. If you're lucky, I'll never talk to you again.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: BoJack is forced to make a decision that would ruin his best friend's life and career, but Angela Diaz says she makes people make those decisions on a daily basis.
- Cowardice Callout: Herb spitefully tells BoJack that he's a "selfish, goddamn coward" while giving him a "The Reason You Suck" Speech about the sad and thoughtless excuse for a person he is. All BoJack can do in response to the accusation is bitterly (and unsuccessfully) try to get in the last word.
- Credits Gag: At the end of the credits, there's a fake "All That Kazzaz Productions" logo in place of "Boxer vs. Raptor".
- Crossing the Burnt Bridge: This is what the episode is all about.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: Audiences in the 1990s were not thrilled to discover Herb's sexuality and had formed a mob to protest it.
- Doomed Moral Victor: Angela nips BoJack's protests over Herb's treatment by invoking this as his fate if he doesn't go along with the network.
- Downer Ending: BoJack makes peace with his dying friend Herb, but ruins it by demanding that Herb accept his apology, ensuring that they'll never speak again for the rest of what little life he has left. Then he kisses Diane when she tries to comfort him and makes their friendship awkward.
- Dramatically Missing the Point: Herb already made it scathingly clear that he will NEVER forgive BoJack, yet BoJack still insists on trying to get the former to accept it. In doing so he makes the situation much worse and didn’t get the message until Herb fully brings Bojack out of his house. And even until then Bojack just wonders why he went there, even though Herb knew EXACTLY what BoJack‘s intentions are.
- Dude, Not Funny!: Diane tries to lighten the mood while driving home from the incident at Herb's by saying that at least BoJack will have a fun story to tell at his funeral. It's enough for BoJack to pull his car over and run to the side of the road in anguish.
- Easily Forgiven: As the first of many defiances and inversions of this trope in the series, Herb refuses to forgive BoJack.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Herb wasn't surprised that "all those showbiz phonies" left him to his fate, but was hurt that BoJack abandoned him.
- Flashback B-Plot: A good chunk of the episode shows flashbacks of Herb and BoJack in the 80's and 90's to explain what ruined their friendship.
- Forced Out of the Closet: Herb's sexuality is revealed after he was arrested for indecency, such in the case in the 90s. He was later fired.
- Forceful Kiss:
- BoJack kisses Diane.
- Herb also kisses BoJack after giving him the news of getting Horsin' Around greenlit, foreshadowing he's gay.
- Friend-or-Idol Decision: Herb asks BoJack to threaten to walk out if they force him to leave, but that course of action could also lead to BoJack getting fired. He chooses to throw Herb under the bus.
- Hard Truth Aesop: Just because someone deserves an apology doesn't mean they'll accept it, no matter how badly the apologist means it. If the recipient doesn't feel that like the apologist deserves to be forgiven, they won't, especially when it was because of an unforgivable act.
- Hope Spot: Despite a rocky greeting, Herb and BoJack seem to have a good time visiting again. Then BoJack tries to apologize...
- Hypocritical Humor: BoJack in the 80's says that he enjoyed Back to the Future except for the lame time period jokes, only to immediately order a New Coke.
- Karma Houdini: Angela twists BoJack's arm to get him to betray Herb, and as a big name producer, this is to be expected. However, what drives it home is that not once does BoJack bring up her role in forcing his hand even when apologizing to Herb.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Diane pushing BoJack to apologize to Herb ironically makes thing worse. Him pushing for an apology that gets rejected leads to all the ugly baggage between the two surfacing, leading to their fight. Had he simply left, his last memory of Herb would have been parting on friendly terms after a nice day together, thus providing the closure he had wanted.
- P.O.V. Sequel: This episode tells the events of "Say Anything" from BoJack's perspective.
- Precision F-Strike: Herb punctuates his first "The Reason You Suck" Speech with this. It also sets up the show's Enforced Trope of having exactly one f-bomb per season for added magnitude when and only when BoJack has permanently sullied a relationship.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Herb gives BoJack a particularly brutal one.Herb: I'm not gonna give you closure. You don't get that. You have to live with the shitty thing you did for the rest of your life. You have to know that it's never, ever going to be okay! [...] I'm dying! I'm not gonna feel better! And I'm not gonna be your prop so you can feel better! Do you know what it was like for me? I had nobody. Everybody left! I knew all those showbiz phonies would turn on me, sure. But you? [...] I don't care about the job! I did fine! I had a good life, but what I needed then was... a friend. And you abandoned me. And I will never forgive you for that. Now get the fuck out of my house.
- He also gives BoJack a second, more bitter one after the two fight.Herb: You know what your problem is? You want to think of yourself as the good guy. Well, I know you better than anyone, and I can tell you that you're not. In fact, you'd probably sleep a lot better at night if you just admitted to yourself that you're a selfish goddamn coward who just takes whatever he wants and doesn't give a shit about who he hurts. That's you. That's BoJack Horseman.
BoJack: ...I don't know why I came here.
Herb: (turns and leaves) Yeah. You do.
- He also gives BoJack a second, more bitter one after the two fight.
- Rejected Apology: Herb refuses to forgive BoJack for abandoning him when he needed him the most.
- Ripped from the Headlines: Herb being Forced Out of the Closet is based off of how George Michael's sexuality was found out when he was caught having sex in a public bathroom.
- Schmuck Bait: Invoked.
- Herb: Hey BoJack, do you need a knife?
BoJack: Uh, no.
Herb: Because if you do, I have the one you left in my back twenty years ago!
BoJack: That's on me, nobody asks about cutlery.
- Sincerity Mode: Herb says that he really enjoyed BoJack's visit.
- Skewed Priorities: Played for laughs when Herb and Bojack finally stop faking politeness and start fighting for real.
- Herb: The show was never the same after I left! Admit it!
BoJack: (being actively choked to death) Some people ... prefer the later seasons!
- Shout-Out:
- Two girls wearing bikinis and balaclavas are robbers on the run from the police.
- When BoJack sees in the news that Herb was arrested for indecency, he lets a long, prolonged "shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit" just like Clay Davis from The Wire constantly does.
- Synchronous Episodes: With Say Anything.
- This Is Unforgivable!: BoJack's abandonment of Herb is one of the main reasons the latter refuses to forgive the former.
- We Used to Be Friends: Herb was once BoJack's best friend and mentor, but their bloating egos during the production of Horsin' Around pulled them apart, and crumbled when BoJack didn't come to Herb's aid when he was fired for being gay.
- Wham Line: BoJack finally works up the courage to apologize to Herb, at which point Herb outright rejects BoJack's apology, leading into his crushing "The Reason You Suck" Speech, and one of the first genuinely serious and heartbreaking moments on the show.BoJack: I'm sorry.Herb: Okay. I don't forgive you.
