Things are finally going right for BoJack and he's got a new positive outlook on life. Unfortunately for him, this positive attitude isn't translating well to the character of Secretariat.
Tropes:
- Arc Words: BoJack has trouble delivering the line "What are you doing here?". This line will come up several times outside of the context of this shoot throughout the season.
- Backhanded Apology: Beatrice calls BoJack to apologize for being such a horrible parent, but since she can't bring herself to admit any blame, she turns around and makes it a subtle "Reason You Suck" Speech.
- Bad "Bad Acting": The first day of shooting on Secretariat goes rather badly thanks to BoJack's only acting experience being in a cheesy sitcom and his positive thinking making him unable to call upon his real-life sadness.
- Call-Back: When Bea attends a taping of Horsin' Around, the first thing she says about to her son is "It's not Ibsen." These are the very same words that BoJack used to describe the show during his Charlie Rose interview.
- Crossword Puzzle: After Bea gives BoJack a Backhanded Apology, she asks BoJack who directed The Philadelphia Story "5 letters, second letter U". BoJack says, "Lubich?", to which Bea gives a Little "No". (It was actually "Cukor".)
- Flipping Helpless: Happens to Lenny Turtletaub when the studio burns down.
- Foreshadowing:
- In a flashback, Beatrice angrily tells BoJack she hopes he dies before she does so he doesn't know the pain of losing a mother. In Season 4 we learn her mother was lobotomized and the trauma of losing her own mother made Beatrice the cold hard woman she is today, and in Season 5 Beatrice dies and BoJack doesn't feel anything because of what a horrible mother she was to him.
- Beatrice makes a point of saying "Good bye, BoJack" after calling him. This will be the last time Beatrice ever speaks to him with a clear mind, since she'll be hit with dementia soon after the call.
- Princess Carolyn tells an Orphaned Punchline on the phone, "And it turns out, her boyfriend was the strangler the whole time!" Three and a half seasons later, this will be the in-universe Season Finale to the Show Within a Show BoJack will star in and PC will produce, that will end with BoJack strangling his own girlfriend.
- Beatrice claiming Horsin' Around "wasn't Ibsen", which feels like a very tame insult compared to her usual fare. In Season 4, her behavior during her less inhibited demented state heavily implies she always secretly liked Horsin' Around and was proud of BoJack being on it, but could never admit it.
- For Want Of A Nail: Diane failing to warn people about the huge cable in the middle of the room leads to the destruction of the set and the facial disfigurement of one of the crew members.
- Harmful to Minors: Little BoJack has to inch closer to the TV so that he doesn't have to hear his parents fight. It doesn't work.
- Heel Realization: BoJack's mother has this upon reading his book, apologizing for raising him as a broken child.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: BoJack does this while having lunch with his mother to drown away the abuse she's handing him.
- Meaningless Meaningful Words: BoJack's self-help audiobook consists entirely of vaguely-positive gibberish.
- Never My Fault: Beatrice apologizes to BoJack for being a bad parent... sort of. As seen below she doesn't directly acknowledge any fault of her own and more or less blames how the both of them are on their respective upbringings. What she means by that will come up next season.
- Once for Yes, Twice for No: A variant by Princess Carolyn's coworker Rutabega: Once for adjective and twice for a more intense form of the adjective.
- Rule of Three: BoJack's costar lists stuff via slashes. BoJack tries to respond similarly."Hey, man. That's fantastic/great/I-ran-out-of-things.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Less a "calling out" and more a "painful reminder that you're a loser" speech, courtesy of Beatrice after she reads her son's book.Beatrice: "I just wanted to tell you that I know. I know you want to be happy, but you won't be... and I'm sorry."BoJack: "...what?"Beatrice: "It's not just you, you know. Your father and I, we, well... you come by it honestly, the ugliness inside you. You were born broken, that's your birthright. And now you can fill your life with projects: your books and your movies and your little girlfriends but... that won't make you whole. You're BoJack Horseman. There's no cure for that."
- World of Symbolism: Mercilessly parodied by the audio book BoJack listens to.
