Line #49 Recap/BojackHorsemanS5E11TheShowstopper


1	"Philbert" is a hit, and filming begins on Season 2. But as [=BoJack=] spirals deeper into his recent painkiller addiction, he loses his grip on reality.
2	----
3	!!Tropes:
4	* AddledAddict: [=BoJack=]'s opioid abuse issues come to a head in this episode. While it puts a strain on his and Gina's relationship when she finds out what's going on, the final nail in the coffin is when a drug-induced [=BoJack=] snaps during the recording of a fight scene and strangles her.
5	* ApatheticCitizens: As the production crew start to notice that [=BoJack=] is strangling Gina for real, Flip tells his cameraman to continue filming while other members take videos on their phones. Only Mr Peanutbutter, Princess Carolyn and a couple of crew members figure to step in and stop [=BoJack=].
6	* AfterTheEnd: The second season of ''Philbert'' is set after Los Angeles has been razed by nuclear missiles.
7	* CallBack: [=BoJack=] tells Kyle, "You the man now, dawg" before hanging up on him –- a call-back to the PunnyName of Princess Carolyn's former assistant, Judah Mannowdog.
8	* CannotTellFictionFromReality: [=BoJack=] goes beyond "merely" being LostInCharacter, as he rapidly loses the ability to distinguish between ''Philbert'' and his actual life, thanks to his rampant drug abuse.
9	* CerebusCallBack: In "[=BoJack=] the Feminist", [=BoJack=]'s statement that people "shouldn't choke women" is PlayedForLaughs as a ridiculously low bar for being decent with women. In this episode he ends up choking Gina while he's under the effect of drugs.
10	* ContinuityCavalcade: Gina's number "Don't Stop Dancing" as [=BoJack=] hallucinates is a huge call back to several moments of the show:
11	** As soon as the number opens, a few actors are dressed as several people [=BoJack=] knows, including some that haven't showed up in quite a while: [[CharacterDeath Herb Kazzaz]] and [[PutOnABus Kelsey]].
12	** The background then suddenly changes for the planetarium where [[Recap/BojackHorsemanS3E11ThatsTooMuchMan Sarah Lynn died]]. Even mirrors that exact scene.
13	** The background then changes to Hollywoo, with various items approaching, including [[Recap/BojackHorsemanS1E06OurAStoryIsADStory the giant "D"]] and [[Recap/BojackHorsemanS2E11EscapeFromLA BoJack's boat]].
14	** A set for the Dick Cavvet's show where [[Recap/BojackHorsemanS2E01BrandNewCouch Secretariat is being interviewed]] shows up.
15	** Drawn versions of [[Recap/BojackHorsemanS2E11EscapeFromLA [=BoJack=], Penny and Charlotte on the boat]], [[Recap/BojackHorsemanS4E06StupidPieceOfShit [=BoJack=] taking his mother's doll]], [[Recap/BojackHorsemanS1E06OurAStoryIsADStory [=BoJack=] stealing the giant "D"]] and [=BoJack=] back at the Horsin' Around room.
16	** [=BoJack=] also notices to be in a fake version of [[Recap/BojackHorsemanS4E02TheOldSugarmanPlace his mother's summer home]], which soon goes down.
17	** [=BoJack=] driving through a street in a desert is reminiscent of his [[Recap/BojackHorsemanS3E12ThatWentWell suicide attempt]].
18	** An actress playing his mom dances her way to [[Recap/BojackHorsemanS5E06FreeChurro a coffin]].
19	* DisneyAcidSequence: The musical number that Gina sings in one of [=BoJack=]'s drug-induced hallucinations.
20	* DownerEnding: First, Gina breaks up with a drug-addled [=BoJack=] after finding all his stash and later he, unable to distinguish reality from fiction, legitimately strangles her on set.
21	* EmbarrassingRescue: No one is pleased when ''Mr. Peanutbutter'' of all people has to pull [=BoJack=] off Gina and restrain him, least of all Mr. Peanutbutter himself. Gina's too busy trying to breathe to prioritize that.
22	* EnforcedMethodActing: [[invoked]] [=BoJack=], under the influence of drugs, legitimately strangles Gina while on set. Flip's rather callous response is to ask for the camera to keep rolling.
23	* EveryoneHasStandards: Throughout the entire series, Mr. Peanutbutter has always passively laughed off or EasilyForgiven [=BoJack's=] worst behaviour, having known him long enough to accept that this is just the way [=BoJack=] is. Even he is [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness genuinely horrified]] when he realizes that [=BoJack=] is actually strangling Gina, and is the first one rushing in to separate them.
24	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
25	** In "INT. SUB", [=BoJack=] mentions to Dr. Indira that he has dreams where he is Philbert and when he wakes up, he doesn't know who he is. By this episode, this becomes a major conflict as this issue is expanded due to [=BoJack=]'s addiction to painkillers.
26	** Early in the episode, Flip complains that a strangling scene doesn't look "real" enough. Near the end, [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor he gets that realistic strangling scene]].
27	* HurricaneOfPuns: What ''Philbert'' devolves into thanks to Diane quitting.
28	* KickTheDog: Once it starts to dawn on everyone that [=BoJack=] is strangling Gina for real, and ''isn't stopping'', Flip's only reaction to the revelation... is to tell the cameraman to resume filming.
29	-->'''Mr. Peanutbutter''': (worried) [=BoJack=]? Buddy? (to everyone within earshot) I think he's... really... strangling her...
30	-->'''Flip''': [[DissonantSerenity What? Oh no. (quietly; to the cameraman)]] [-[[DissonantSerenity Turn the camera back on.]]-]
31	* LaughingMad: In the French dub, on top of making more audible growls, [=BoJack=] starts ''laughing'' while he’s strangling Gina.
32	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Some lines of Gina's song can be applied to the show itself, like "why not sell your sadness as a brand" and the notion that he doesn't want things to be fine because "boring". As much as they deconstruct it, the show does kinda run on [=BoJack=] being miserable and screwing up.
33	** Additionally, the episode makes use of the things that are affecting [=BoJack=]'s ability to keep track of reality - he's almost always wearing his ''Philbert'' costume, he's in a relationship with Gina at the same time Philbert is dating Sassy, and his house looks exactly like the set of the show - in order to make it hard for the viewer to tell the difference between ''Philbert'' and real life.
34	* LetsGetDangerous: Mr. Peanutbutter sheds his AttentionDeficitOohShiny nature to save Gina from an addled [=BoJack=]. And he succeeds!
35	* LostInCharacter: [=BoJack=], with Philbert.
36	* OneDialogueTwoConversations: At one point, Mr. Peanutbutter thinks [=BoJack=] is talking about his one-night stand with Diane while [=BoJack=] thinks Mr. Peanutbutter is talking about a conspiracy against him.
37	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Once he sees that [=BoJack=] is actually hurting Gina, the normally air-headed Mr. Peanutbutter exclaims, without a hint of nonsense in his voice, "Okay, that's enough!" while leaping to her aid.
38	* OohMeAccentsSlipping: In-universe. [=BoJack=] affects a Scottish accent while calling Charlotte's husband Kyle in the guise of a cable representative. As [=BoJack=] gets to the topic of Penny and her "sexual maturity," he loses his fake accent completely, before reverting to it as he hurriedly hangs up on Kyle.
39	* PrecisionFStrike: Gina delivers the traditional once-per-season f-bomb after a [[AddledAddict drug-addled BoJack]] loses control and actually strangles her during a fight scene.
40	-->'''Gina:''' What the fuck is wrong with you?!
41	* PunchAWall: When demanding Gina to give back his bag of pills, [=BoJack=] punches his wall in a fury.
42	-->'''[=BoJack=]''': (on edge) Gina, I'm not kidding! The pills! (smashes his fist into the wall) ''NOW!''
43	* TheReveal: Who slipped that anonymous note under [=BoJack=]'s door saying "You did a bad thing and I'm going to tell everyone"? No one; it's a promotional gimmick for ''Philbert'' with a flier on the other side that got sent to everyone in LA.
44	* SanitySlippage: Throughout the episode, [=BoJack=]'s painkiller addiction makes him lose more of his grip on reality, to the point that he thinks everyone is conspiring against him and he's no longer able to tell the difference between his role on ''Philbert'' and real life.
45	* SeasonalRot: In-universe, Gina comments how the writing quality for ''Philbert'' plummeted in the second season without Diane around.
46	* ShoutOut:
47	** The musical number is one to ''Film/AllThatJazz'', though with a brief nod to ''Film/{{Cabaret}}''.
48	** A bird in the first post-credits shot is wearing a ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}''-style blue and yellow jumpsuit.
49	** While attempting a Scottish accent, [=BoJack=] ends a phone call saying, "[[Film/FindingForrester You're the man now, dawg]]."
50	* SilentCredits: Absolutely no lyrics play during the credits of this episode.
51	* TomatoInTheMirror: The show ''Philbert'' eventually reveals that Fritz never existed and Philbert made him up to deflect his guilt for strangling his wife, all those strangle victims (people who knew him), and Sassy when she learns the truth in the Season 2 Finale.
52	* WhatTheHellHero: Gina weaponizes this season's only "fuck" this way after [=BoJack=] legitimately tries to strangle her under the influence of opioids.
53	* WholePlotReference: The episode is quite reminiscent of ''Anime/PerfectBlue'', also about the star of a gritty cop show who gradually loses all sense of what's fiction or reality.
54	* WordSaladLyrics: The ''Philbert'' theme is complete nonsense.

Context Recap / BojackHorsemanS5E11TheShowstopper