| 1 | !'''As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff as per policy.]] Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.''' |
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| 8 | ->''"I burst into tears when I first saw this. If you told me 2 years ago that an animated comedy starring Creator/WillArnett would be the most moving, life affirming piece of media I've ever seen, I would have laughed right in your face."'' |
| 9 | -->-- '''Website/YouTube commenter''' on the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2_Mn-qRKjA final scene from season 2]] |
| 10 | |
| 11 | ''[=BoJack=] Horseman'' has been praised for breaking the mold of traditional {{Animated Shock Comed|y}}ies... by breaking all of our hearts. Whether it be through exploring the nihilistic toxic tar-pit that is Hollywoo, or the nearly identical eponymous horse, there's no shortage of moments that'll (figuratively) rip your heart out. Needless to say, there is a reason it inspired the term "sadcom." |
| 12 | |
| 13 | ---- |
| 14 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 15 | |
| 16 | [[folder:Season 1]] |
| 17 | [[AC:The [=BoJack=] Horseman Story, Chapter One]] |
| 18 | * The first scene for several reasons, especially once [[RewatchBonus you've watched the entire season]]. Let's dissect it, shall we, folks? |
| 19 | ** For starters, a fragment of ''JustForFun/HorsinAround'', the show [=BoJack=] recorded in his glory days, is played. However brief, the [=BoJack=] portrayed in the archive footage is lively, energetic and fun to be around as his character of [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep "The Horse"]]. Then, we cut to The Charlie Rose Show whose interviewee is the horse himself and he presents himself apparently aged well, only to then reveal to be completely wasted, barely conscious of his surroundings and even trying (and failing) to appear well adjusted to his fading stardom. |
| 20 | --->''[[BelievingTheirOwnLies Am I nailing this interview or what?]]'' |
| 21 | ** Gets worse in later seasons--Despite appearing at first as a well-adjusted actor who became bitter with age; even back in the ''Horsin' '' days, [=BoJack=] was already a sad jerk in TheNineties '''''and he was probably even worse considering how he treated his fellow castmembers and crew''''', only evolving into a regretful JerkWithAHeartOfGold through experience and time. He had it all back then and he still felt empty enough to behave similarly: the only difference now is that he's starting to take notice of how much damage his path has caused. It's sad that he had to tear so many relationships apart and get old to truly begin his clunked recovery. |
| 22 | ** To elaborate, [=BoJack=] shows up to the interview drunk and making a fool out of himself, yet still deluding himself into thinking he's doing great. The contrast between what he thinks is going on and how everyone else sees him is ''painfully obvious''. He's just that willing to lie just for the sake of appearing happy, as if to convince everyone he's anything but a SadClown. It becomes unbearable when later episodes show it's this mental trick what eventually starts '''screwing him over and over'''. |
| 23 | ** When Charlie Rose just mentions ''JustforFun/HorsinAround'', [=BoJack=] automatically defends it, expecting him to mock the show. For everyone who knows the series, [=BJ=] has a very troubled, tug-and-pull relationship with the show because of all of the backstage fiasco and consequences, especially in [[Recap/BojackHorsemanS3E11ThatsTooMuchMan "That's Too Much, Man!"]], but he defends it because in his mind, it's the only ''good'' thing he did. |
| 24 | *** To say nothing of this rationale, which effectively sums up his vision of reality and foreshadows his deep desire that life would work that way: |
| 25 | ---->'''[=BoJack=]''': Charlie, listen, you know, I know that it's very hip these days to shit all over Horsin' Around, but at the time, I can tell you [...] 'Cause I I think the show's actually pretty solid for what it is. It's not Ibsen, sure, but look, for a lot of people, life is just one long, hard kick in the urethra, and sometimes when you get home from a long day of getting kicked in the urethra, you just want to watch a show about good, likeable people who love each other, where, you know, no matter what happens, at the end of 30 minutes, everything's gonna turn out okay. |
| 26 | *** Then, he starts repeating himself... |
| 27 | ---->''Did I already say the thing about the urethra?'' |
| 28 | ** Charlie Rose's expressions during the whole interview. It's clear he feels uncomfortable and disgusted about the whole thing, but feels such pity for the horse he seems ambivalent about kicking him out or continue seeing him making a fool out of himself. Makes it HarsherInHindsight considering Rose's real life accusations. |
| 29 | ** And finally, the kicker: |
| 30 | --->'''Charlie Rose:''' Well, let's talk about real life. What have you been doing since the show's cancellation?\ |
| 31 | '''[=BoJack=]:''' That's a great question, Charlie. I...uh...Uh...I...Um... |
| 32 | |
| 33 | [[AC:Prickly Muffin]] |
| 34 | * We see Sarah Lynn's StartOfDarkness. She was filming a ''Horsin Around'' scene where [=BoJack=] praised her, and asked the audience to cheer her. Then he whispered AntiAdvice that no one would ever love her, not even family or lovers, but she should do everything for her fans even if it kills her. Sarah Lynn retains her OhCrap face as the cameras start rolling again for take two. No, the bell tolling after does not help. The worst part is [=BoJack=] was ''right''; Carol Himmerlfarb and her husband don't love Sarah Lynn, using her as a paycheck or a warm body in the latter's case. Andrew Garfield breaks up with her for the crime of turning thirty and insensitively says that he thought she wouldn't make a scene in public. As Sarah Lynn puts it, with her voice breaking, he thought she ''wouldn't'' make a scene? Herb was the only positive influence in Sarah Lynn's life, but he wasn't enough. |
| 35 | * Sextina Aquafina carelessly saying that Sarah Lynn should just go where stars after 30 go when they lose relevance. Talk about NoSympathy |
| 36 | * Almost the entire episode is HarsherInHindsight, but nothing more so than the following exchange: |
| 37 | -->'''Sarah Lynn:''' I'm at a place right now where I never need to grow as a person or rise to an occasion because I can constantly just surround myself with sycophants and enablers until I die tragically young. |
| 38 | -->'''[=BoJack=]:''' Wh-what? |
| 39 | -->'''Sarah Lynn:''' Yeah, it's pretty much too late for me. |
| 40 | |
| 41 | [[AC:Zoes and Zeldas]] |
| 42 | * The whole episode really shows how toxic and abusive [=BoJack=] is to Todd. |
| 43 | ** For most of the beginning, [=BoJack=] is very vocal about how he thinks Todd's Rock Opera won't be a success and making insult after insult. And the clenching part is that Todd, whose already insecure, believes all of [=BoJack=]'s insults are ''good''. |
| 44 | ** When Diane brings up why [=BoJack=] never bothered to learn anything about Todd, she asks him a question: [[ArmorPiercingQuestion Does he let Todd stay because he's kind or because he's afraid of being alone?]] Given [=BoJack=]'s reaction and the ending of the episode, it's the latter. So, [=BoJack=] is willing to clip his friend's wings because he can't stand being alone. |
| 45 | ** [=BoJack=]'s verbal abuse mirrors how his parents would tear any moment they had the chance to. While it's clear [=BoJack=] is not as bad as his abusive parents, it doesn't change the fact that he is doing a similar abusive method they always did to him. This is depressingly common -- most adults who grew up in abusive households as children tend to adopt some, if not all, characteristics of their parents. |
| 46 | * Parts of Todd's backstory is revealed -- He got addicted to a video game to the point his girlfriend left him and his parents kicked him out of the house. |
| 47 | |
| 48 | [[AC:Live Fast, Diane Nguyen]] |
| 49 | * While Diane's response to her brothers' call about her father dying is [[FlatJoy barely mustered grief]] which in retrospect is [[AssholeVictim understandable]], [=BoJack=]'s and Pinky's reactions (the former more so than the latter) aren't. While Pinky utters a genuine condolence before being sidetracked by necessary business concerns, [=BoJack=] just stays there with a sad expression and silent grief. It's especially telling since he didn't have a good relationship with his own father and hearing about Diane's (apparently) happy relationship with her father made him open up: he's truly sorry that relationship has been taken away. Which of course, sets everything up for a bigger gut punch later, see below. |
| 50 | * Based on what Diane has previously told him, [=BoJack=] has assumed up to this episode she and her dad shared a special relationship, climbing to the roof and looking at the stars. This belief is shattered when she acts completely indifferent to her father dying. On the way to Boston, [=BoJack=] points out this and Diane reveals that everything she has told him about her dad was a lie. A trick to get him to open up for the book. |
| 51 | -->'''Diane:''' Oh, yeah, I was just trying to get you to open up, so I used an old writer's trick called "[[ILied me lying to you]]."\ |
| 52 | '''[=BoJack=]:''' Oh, yeah? Well, I'm using an old me trick called "[[ThatMakesMeFeelAngry that hurts my feelings]]." |
| 53 | * This is then followed by Diane explaining to him how's life back home: she was the WhiteSheep (the BlackSheep [[VisualPun was her adopted brother]]) of the family and every member of it, her dad especially, enjoyed tormenting her and making her feel less. The fact that she's returning is clearly making her uncomfortable and her speech is probably one of the most realistic descriptions of an abusive household and how bad memories never completely fade, they just stay hidden in you. The assholish thing she did to [=BoJack=] is obliterated as Diane suddenly becomes just as miserable as he was with his parents. To see her let her guard down and simply talk without any barriers about it is just painful to watch. |
| 54 | -->'''Diane:''' Yeah, well, I was pretty lonely, too. My family made my life miserable, and then they never forgave me for leaving. [...] I'm just the member of the family nobody likes. And my dad was the worst of them all. [...] And the truth is, I used to sit alone on the hill out by the dump and dream of [[MoodWhiplash waking up as Chelsea Clinton, but with my hair]]. |
| 55 | * The 'Cryane' tape. We learn that when she was a teenager, Diane's brothers wrote letters to Diane pretending to be a pen pal they made up named "Leo". They eventually invited her to prom and then [[BribingTheHomeless paid a hobo]] to pretend to be Leo. In the video, we see the teenage Diane shakily complimenting the hobo's beard before breaking down crying. If you look at the hobo, it's clear that even he was really uncomfortable taking part in the prank, and probably just needed the money. |
| 56 | |
| 57 | [[AC: Our A-Story is a 'D' Story]] |
| 58 | * [=BoJack=]'s obvious, burgeoning love for Diane results in [=BoJack=] stealing the D from the Hollywood sign. It forces [=BoJack=] to come to terms with his feelings for her, except that he can't manage to tell Diane how he feels. Even as Diane herself seems to be waiting for [=BoJack=] to push himself to speak up after hearing from Princess Carolyn that he is in love with her, [=BoJack=] [[CannotSpitItOut can't get the words out]]. The first when he realises that Diane is recording their conversation and the second time he leaves a expressive heartfelt message on her voicemail telling her exactly how he feels. |
| 59 | ** The end result of [=BoJack=] stealing the D is that Mr Peanutbutter takes the credit to get [=BoJack=] off the hook. Diane doesn't like public displays of affection which upsets her, and to make it up, Peanutbutter puts together exactly what [=BoJack=] described earlier as a "Diane thing", a hand made collage of pictures from their relationship. At which point Peanutbutter proposes to Diane and she says yes. |
| 60 | ** After Diane calls [=BoJack=] having not listened to the voicemail, being told about the engagement completely takes the wind out of [=BoJack=]'s sails and he tells her to delete the voicemail. |
| 61 | --->''"Well, nobody knows me like you."'' - [=BoJack=], to a bottle of scotch after he ends the phone call with Diane. |
| 62 | |
| 63 | [[AC:Say Anything]] |
| 64 | * The shift in POV to Princess Carolyn adds several layers to what the series has amounted so far.It also cements the show's CerebusSyndrome. ''Why?'' Well, as everyone bares witness to the relationship she and [=BoJack=] share, this time from her perspective;what initially appears like a comical [[OnAgainOffAgainBoyfriend on-again-off-again]] work & pleasure arrangement, becomes a rather chilling tale of co-dependency and hurt. |
| 65 | ** Princess Carolyn's bitter speech about how often she has to be there for [=BoJack=] when he crashes and burns, despite more often than not really getting anything in return. To drive the point home during the FailureMontage in which [=BoJack=] gets into all sorts of pickles, he keeps repeating about how this is a blessing in disguise, "the best thing that ever happened" and how it has made him realize what's really important: his relationship with Princess Carolyn. He keeps saying this as he continues messing up. [[HereWeGoAgain Over]]. [[AesopAmnesia And over]]. [[MotiveDecay AND OVER]]. ''[[YouKeepTellingYourselfThat AND OVER]]''. |
| 66 | ** Princess Carolyn's anger comes less out of the fact that her client/ex-boyfriend keeps screwing the pooch and more about how he expects her to be there to comfort him almost automatically, as if her opinion, what's she doing, who she is doesn't even matter. She is just expected to put everything else second with no regards to what she wants and has to say about it. AmIJustAToyToYou has never been summed up in such a raw fashion. |
| 67 | ** And the kicker? When she finds out Vanessa Gekko, [=BoJack=]'s new agent after he fires Princess Carolyn to date her again, shredded their contract, she still tries to reason in his favor to keep him attached to Vigor. After everything that has happened, she cares. '''''SHE STILL CARES'''''. Which is more than can be said about the rest, given how easily and matter-of-factly Vanessa reveals she ripped the contract and how [[MeanBoss Mr. Witherspoon]] is eager to advise PC to drop the "dead weight". |
| 68 | ** While Princess Carolyn may be the focus of the episode, [=BoJack=]'s half of the relationship isn't ignored and there's something sad about it. Many toxic relationships often show either one half of the couple being responsible or both. BJ's actions toward PC, however, aren't as cut-and-dry as BothSidesHaveAPoint or as TheObstructiveLoveInterest. No, there's every indication that should [=BoJack=] unleash himself from the neuroses that plague him, of his belief the world owes him, of demanding full attention and love from Princess Carolyn without giving her any, they could actually work as a couple. [=BoJack=]'s full attention is focused on Princess Carolyn in this episode and he shows the kind of attention to detail only decades of knowing someone can get you. He gives her a cardboard cutout that spells "Film/JerryMaguire" phrases (her favorite movie) and up to a point, they have a sweet date. But it always end up the same way: BJ can't stop devaluating a relationship as soon as he hits a snag, he can't stop pigeonholing PC as the woman who'll always be there for him no matter what and whenever he has a LoveEpiphany, he's basically in a tug war with a cat who has had to place a lot of value within herself to rise in the business, who's starving for companionship masks a deep sense of untrustworthiness toward others and workaholic tendencies based on self-esteem and fulfillment. They should work together. ''But they don't''. |
| 69 | ** Beyond that, the episode does a pretty good job of showcasing how much Princess Carolyn has to juggle in her line of work and how little she's reaped as part of it. She has meetings with flaky, pragmatic producers; she makes big projects from scratch for her clients only for them to go with a better option; she's not looked upon at work, especially not by her boss Mr. Witherspoon and just the tiniest slip, the smallest mistake and she may be out the door. |
| 70 | ** The episode ends on what seems to be a rather triumphant note - Princess Carolyn finally succeeds in besting her rival Vanessa Gecko and securing [=BoJack=] a job. That is, until she calls him excitedly to tell him the news, and he responds in a broken, emotionless voice. |
| 71 | --->"It doesn't matter. ''Nothing''... matters..." |
| 72 | ** The end of the episode reveals that it was Princess Carolyn's 40th birthday, and nobody remembered or bothered to wish her a Happy Birthday. |
| 73 | --->'''Laura''': Are you gonna head out soon?\ |
| 74 | '''Princess Carolyn''': Where else would I go? |
| 75 | ** The ending credits replace the usual theme with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAHZ-f4X5Jk Lyla Foy's "Impossible,"]] a miserably beautiful song about not looking back. |
| 76 | |
| 77 | [[AC:The Telescope]] |
| 78 | * [=BoJack=] reveals he abandoned his friend Herb after he got kicked off the staff of his sitcom, when Herb needed a friend more than ever. To be fair, [=BoJack=] was coerced into it by his heartless studio executives[[note]] and Herb initially wanted [=BoJack=] to threaten to walk if he got fired[[/note]], but he still carried a lot of guilt over that. Years later, [=BoJack=] tries to make amends, but Herb [[RejectedApology doesn't forgive him]] and tells [=BoJack=] that he'll have to live the rest of his life without closure, sealing [=BoJack=]'s status as a JerkassWoobie and giving his relationship with Herb some emotional depth and brokenness. |
| 79 | ** The flashback of Charlotte telling [=BoJack=] that she doubts that he would've tried to take their relationship to the next level, even if Herb hadn't hooked up with her, because she thinks he's a coward. |
| 80 | ** Herb, in late stages of cancer, winds up fighting [=BoJack=] when he starts playing with the telescope. This used to be the symbol of their friendship and their goal to take over Hollywood together. During the fight, they roll onto it and break it. What makes it worse is that during his first flashback with Herb, [=BoJack=] refused alcohol and was a truly caring individual, and was willing to stand by his friend if he lost his job, as he admits to that he wouldn't have even starred on ''Horsin' Around'' if it wasn't for Herb vouching for him. |
| 81 | ** [=BoJack=] pulling over on his and Diane's trip back from Herb and jumping out of the car so she won't see him cry. He never does, but the heavy breathing clearly implies that he's about to explode. |
| 82 | ** [=BoJack=]'s [[WrongGenreSavvy misconception that real life operates like a sitcom]] finally blowing up in his face when Herb [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech calls him out]] on how selfish and petty he is. |
| 83 | --->'''[=BoJack=]:''' I don't know why I came here!\ |
| 84 | '''Herb:''' Yeah... ''[[InsultBackfire you did]].'' |
| 85 | ** If [=BoJack=] learned to leave well enough alone, he would have had his closure. He, Herb, and Diane had a good day, he and Herb made many jokes and bonded, and left on good terms. Herb even told him it was genuinely good to see him again. And even then, even after he went back and apologized on Diane's urging, if he'd left it at that, things could have closed on a neutral note at worst. But [=BoJack=] can't just leave well enough alone. He kept pushing, and refused to accept that Herb had every right to refuse to forgive him. His final memory of Herb won't be the lovely day they had, or even the reality check Herb gave him, it's of a fight, and old wounds ripped open anew, and the symbol of their friendship shattered on the floor. |
| 86 | * [=BoJack=] kisses Diane. Only to get rejected. |
| 87 | |
| 88 | [[AC:Downer Ending]] |
| 89 | * While trying to write his memoir, [=BoJack=] starts off with a saccharine take on his childhood, complete with flashback to the fictional event. When he scraps it for not sounding right, his father gives Young![=BoJack=] a DopeSlap for writing so poorly as an adult. |
| 90 | * This appropiately titled episode features [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a sad moment at the end]] where [=BoJack=] goes to the Ghost Writers Panel [[http://youtu.be/45a1NTArG-g?t=33s to give Diane permission to publish the book she'd written]]. |
| 91 | -->'''[=BoJack=]''': Um, I-I guess my question is, do you... do you think it's too late for me? [[RealisticDictionIsUnrealistic I mean am-am-am]] I just doomed to be the person I am? The-the person in that book? It's not too late for me, is it? It's-- it's not too late-- Diane, I need you to tell me that it's not too late. I-I-I need you to tell me that I'm a good person. I know that [[ItsAllAboutMe I can be selfish and narcissistic]] and self-destructive, but [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold underneath all that, deep down, I'm a good person]], and I need you to tell me that I'm good, Diane. Tell me, ''please'', Diane. [[AintTooProudToBeg Tell me that I'm good]]. |
| 92 | ** Made even worse in that, during the telling silence where he's hoping Diane will reply, the audio shifts to play a lone birdcall and his hallucinatory daughter's laughter. |
| 93 | ** In the same episode while starting their binge, an intoxicated Todd gently admits that he no longer expects [=BoJack=] to ever be a good friend. |
| 94 | --->'''[=BoJack=]:''' Okay, just to be totally clear, [[ItMakesSenseInContext we're shooting each other]] to determine whether we're holding guns or brooms, right? Not because you're still mad about the whole me sabotaging you with the rock opera and your life's dream and suchety-such? |
| 95 | ---> '''Todd:''' [=BoJack=], shh, shh, k, [=BoJ=]- quiet, quiet, quiet, quiet. As you know, I was hurt, but then I realized that's just how you are. You know, maybe I just need to stop expecting you to be a good person, so that way, I won't get hurt when you're not. |
| 96 | *** And prior to this and in a ''very'' subtle moment, when Todd and Sarah Lynn are making different versions of [=BoJack=]'s memoir, Todd puts in that he (Todd) is [=BoJack's=] best friend. [=BoJack=]'s reply? To change "best friend" to "pretty good friend". And Todd is shocked by this hurtful statement. |
| 97 | ** [=BoJack=]'s JerkassRealization. |
| 98 | --->"This is all that I am and all I'm ever going to be." |
| 99 | ** During his MushroomSamba, [=BoJack=] dreams of a life where he left showbiz, got together with Charlotte, started a family with her and living a simple but fulfilling and happy life. Moreover, he actually ''does'' seem like a good father (unlike his own parents who were horribly [[AbusiveParents abusive]]), and Charlotte is very sweet and [=BoJack=] is actually a nice and normal person around her on his own accord. And then Dream Charlotte seals it. |
| 100 | --->'''[=BoJack=]:''' What are you thinking about?\ |
| 101 | '''Charlotte:''' Oh, just how nice things could've been if you had chosen this life. |
| 102 | ** Even before Charlotte drops the bomb that it's AllJustADream, it's pretty easy to tell that something is up with this too-perfect scenario. The reveal hurts, but the anticipation is ''murder!'' |
| 103 | ** The majority of his MushroomSamba counts as well, as it reveals just how [[BrokenBird psychologically broken [=BoJack=] really is]], including a flashback to his StageMom pushing him into singing the "Lollipop song" for her friends at the Supper Club, telling him something he later passed down to Sara-Lynn. |
| 104 | --->'''Beatrice''': Nobody gives a damn what you feel! You've got an audience out there, and they want to hear you sing! [[AbusiveParents Now you want your mommy to love you?]] You go out there, and you do the only thing you're good for, which is ''singing the god-damned lollipop song!'' |
| 105 | |
| 106 | [[AC:Later]] |
| 107 | * The opening: Secretariat, in his prime, replies to a letter from a young [=BoJack=] Horseman on live television. [=BoJack=]'s letter asks how Secretariat dealt with getting sad. Secretariat replies honestly with some truly inspiring advice. |
| 108 | -->'''Secretariat''': [=BoJack=], when I was your age, I got sad. A lot. I didn't come from such a great home, but one day, I started running, and that seemed to make sense, so then I just kept running. [=BoJack=], when you get sad, you run straight ahead and you keep running forward, no matter what. There are people in your life who are gonna try to hold you back, slow you down, but you don't let them. Don't you stop running and don't you ever look behind you. There's nothing for you behind you. All that exists is what's ahead. |
| 109 | ** It's worth noting that after hearing [=BoJack's=] letter, Secretariat suddenly sports [[ExhaustedEyeBags eye bags]] and briefly loses his composure, as if [=BoJack's=] question [[CloseToHome struck a chord]]. |
| 110 | ** Cue an immediate SmashCut to Secretariat throwing himself off the Louisville bridge one month later after being permanently banned from horse-racing. |
| 111 | ** It's no surprise Secretariat killed himself in the end; [[FridgeBrilliance all that running just distracted him from how unhappy he was]]. When running was finally taken from him, he had nowhere else to go. [=BoJack=], for all his faults, is at least trying. |
| 112 | [[/folder]] |
| 113 | |
| 114 | [[folder:Season 2]] |
| 115 | [[AC:Brand New Couch]] |
| 116 | * It starts off on a low note, showing a young [=BoJack=] [[CallBack watching Secretariat answer his letter on TV]]... while his parents fight in the kitchen loudly enough that he comes in closer to the tv so that he can only hear Secretariat's response to his question of what to do when he is sad, establishing his life of running from his problems. |
| 117 | * His reaction to the fight is equally heartbreaking - he just scoots closer to the TV and turns up the volume in an attempt to avoid hearing the fight, the pure happiness he was expressing earlier from his idol talking about him vanishing instantly. |
| 118 | * And ''then'' his mother calmly walks into the living room and [[ResentfulGuardian blames it all on [=BoJack=]]]. |
| 119 | -->'''Beatrice''': You know, I was beautiful before I got pregnant\ |
| 120 | '''Young [=BoJack=]''': I know.\ |
| 121 | '''Beatrice''': You ruined me, [=BoJack=].\ |
| 122 | '''Young [=BoJack=]''': ''(sadder)'' I know.\ |
| 123 | '''Beatrice''': You better grow up to be something great to make up for all the damage you've done.\ |
| 124 | '''Young [=BoJack=]''': I will.\ |
| 125 | ''({{Beat}})''\ |
| 126 | '''Beatrice''': Okay, enough me being a great mom. I'm gonna go hide your father's heart medication. Enjoy your dumb little TV show. |
| 127 | * Beatrice calls [=BoJack=] to [[HeelRealization apologize to him for how horribly she treated him when he was younger.]] It doesn't lessen the sadness by very much when she tells him that "[he] was born broken." [[AbusiveParents True to form]], Beatrice never actually admits fault or apologizes for her behavior, instead saying "You must think I'm a monster. I don't want to argue with you, [=BoJack=]." and then apologizing for the fact [=BoJack=] was born messed up. Even her apology shifts all of the blame onto [=BoJack=]. It's a subtler blow, but heartbreaking nonetheless. |
| 128 | * [=BoJack=] has been trying to turn over a new leaf the whole episode, listening to positive thinking tapes, refurnishing his house, working out, and doing his level best to be upbeat and happy, while fighting off anxiety. While filming ''Secretariat,'' he has been having difficulty with his delivery on a line that is supposed to be sad and understated, as he keeps [[LargeHam hamming it up]] in the style of his ''Horsin' Around'' character. At the end of the episode, after all the heartbreak he's gone through, he nails the line. It's painfully obvious he's tapping into his own depression to do so. |
| 129 | |
| 130 | [[AC:Still Broken]] |
| 131 | * The scene at the end where [=BoJack=] and Herb sneak into an on-set pool after filming the ''Horsin Around'' pilot doubles as this and heartwarming. |
| 132 | * The [[TheLoad Todd]] sub plot of the episode involves him finding a new, sudden burst of confidence... Until [=BoJack=] makes fun of him, [[BreakTheCutie re-shattering]] his self esteem. It really shows how even after admitting to [=BoJack=] that he no longer expects him to ever be a good friend, he's still vulnerable to [=BoJack=]'s constant criticism. |
| 133 | --->'''[=BoJack=]''': Hey, why'd you roll up your sleeves like that? You look weird.\ |
| 134 | '''Todd''': Oh, I, uhh...(immediately falters) I was - I was trying out a new look - It was... It was a dumb idea... |
| 135 | |
| 136 | [[AC:After The Party]] |
| 137 | * The fourth episode has Diane confessing to Mr. Peanutbutter that she's no longer happy where she is. This revelation and their ensuing conversation finally gets her husband, who had been using every passive-aggressive trick in the book to try and change her mind, to fully support her trip overseas. |
| 138 | |
| 139 | [[AC:Hank After Dark]] |
| 140 | * Mr. Peanutbutter ends up reading a lot of hate mail directed towards Diane and gets steadily more depressed because of all the terrible things people are saying about her, which culminates in their fighting over her having no ''personal'' stake in any of it, but is being targeted by others [[ShootTheMessenger due to bringing it up]]. The episode ends with Diane deciding to give up on exposing Hank and waiting for her flight to Cordovia looking miserable... and a random guy tells her "Smile!". The perfect depressingly realistic cap to an appropriately Anvilicious episode. |
| 141 | -->'''Diane:''' You don't... ''really'' want me to go. Do you?\ |
| 142 | '''Mr. Peanutbutter:''' Why does it suddenly matter what ''I'' want. |
| 143 | * Hank's current assistant, Nicole, nervously calls Diane to talk to her but ends up bringing Hank along. When we see her, she looks incredibly uncomfortable, and one can assume whatever Hank did to his other assistants, he's still doing to her. [[DownerEnding And she probably isn't going to get justice for it anytime soon.]] |
| 144 | |
| 145 | [[AC:Let's Find Out]] |
| 146 | * It contains an emotional exchange of ArmorPiercingQuestion and ArmorPiercingResponse between Mr. Peanutbutter and [=BoJack=], ending with PB admitting that he wasn't sure if he could forgive [=BoJack=] for all he's done. |
| 147 | ** Worse, he tells [=BoJack=] that he really wanted to be his friend and was perfectly aware at all of the verbal abuse he was receiving. He doesn't know if he can forgive him, but by the sound of his voice, he clearly ''wants'' to. |
| 148 | ** This is swiftly followed by [[BewareTheSillyOnes this instruction from Wanda]], reflecting [=BoJack=]'s FriendOrIdolDecision. |
| 149 | --->'''Wanda:''' Uh, this is network television. So, resolving everything cleanly in a half-hour [[GoldenMoment is kind of what we do]]. You wanna host a game-show where everyone feels ''bad'' at the end? You can get in your little car and drive to Santa Monica and pitch it to {{Creator/AMC}}. But ''these'' people want resolution, okay? So you get your little butt back on that stage, ''and you resolve''. |
| 150 | |
| 151 | [[AC:The Shot]] |
| 152 | * One of the many tearjerkers near the end of "The Shot" is how after [=BoJack=] had difficulty crying for the shot they needed for the movie (saying himself he never cries in public) he goes off to smoke in private and then breaks down sobbing. |
| 153 | * And the reason he never cries in public is because the one time he tried a cigarette as a kid his mom caught him and [[RadishCure forced him to finish it]] in front of her telling him [[MenDontCry that he should never cry in front of others, least of all her]]. |
| 154 | -->'''Young [=BoJack=]:''' Are you punishing me for smoking or for stealing?\ |
| 155 | '''Beatrice:''' I'm punishing you for ''[[ResentfulGuardian being alive]]''. |
| 156 | * The ending where it's revealed that the events of the episode cost Kelsey her job, because Turtletaub fired her for disobeying his orders... especially since it was established a few episodes earlier that Kelsey needs a big budget movie success to provide for her daughter and avoid losing custody to her ex-wife. |
| 157 | * Diane not being able to deal with Cordovia, and after her phone call with Mr Peanutbutter, it is revealed that she's at the airport sadly waiting for her luggage. |
| 158 | ** Even worse is her monologue at the end of the scene, mentally putting herself down as a writer and as somebody who makes a difference knowing she couldn't tell Mr. Peanutbutter she was back so soon after he had finally comes to terms with her being gone for so long. |
| 159 | --->'''And then you realize that book you're writing in your head... will never actually be a book. [[LeftHanging So you just stop]]--''' |
| 160 | |
| 161 | [[AC:Yes And..]] |
| 162 | * Diane waking up from a drunken stupor shouting "Kinko!", the Cordovian boy who she became friends with and got killed. |
| 163 | * Pay attention to Diane's rant and the way she mentions how "all your favorite musicians beat their wives... allegedly!" Sounds like she's still sore over the Hank Hippopopolous fiasco just three episodes earlier, even after spending some time in Cordovia to take her mind off of it. |
| 164 | * [=BoJack=] and Wanda's break-up. Wanda's "when you look at someone through rose-colored glasses, all the red flags just look like flags" is painfully relatable, as is [=BoJack=]'s "you didn't know me, so you fell in love with me, and now you know me". |
| 165 | * Diane's conversation with [=BoJack=] about how she misses Mr. Peanutbutter but no longer knows how to get out from under her lies: |
| 166 | -->'''[=BoJack=]:''' Why won't you go home?\ |
| 167 | '''Diane:''' I should. I know I should. I wish I could just go home right now and crawl into bed and not have to talk about anything or explain anything. He would just say, "How was your day?" And then he would say, "Hey, did you know the monorail was invented by George Monorail?" And I would say, "I don't think that's true." And he would say, "Well, if he didn't invent it, he certainly perfected it." And I wouldn't have to say "I'm sorry I left. I'm sorry I made things so difficult. I'm sorry I'm not the person I thought I was." I would just say, "My day was good." And he would say, "I love you." |
| 168 | * The brief shots of Wanda going to sleep on her sister's couch, starting to cry, and then perking up at the sound of the doorbell...only to find it's a pizza deliveryman. |
| 169 | |
| 170 | [[AC:Escape From L.A.]] |
| 171 | * The episode doesn't have anything specifically Tear Jerker-inspiring, until you realize that at the end, [=BoJack=]'s circle of friends from the 80s - him, Herb, and Charlotte - is irreversibly, irreparably broken. Herb died hating [=BoJack=], and Charlotte, after catching [=BoJack=] in bed with her daughter, utterly despises him. |
| 172 | * And the "theme song" for that episode is "Kyle and the Kids", as seen under LyricalDissonance. |
| 173 | * Charlotte's hatred of [=BoJack=] by the end of the episode is absolutely heartbreaking, especially remembering the Maine hallucination in "Downer Ending". Consider that [=BoJack=] is implied to still love her- and the implications that [=BoJack=] was about to sleep with Penny,not out of some selfish or spite from Charlotte rejecting his earlier advances, but rather an attempt by [=BoJack=]'s subconscious to sabotage his relationship with Charlotte for good. WordOfGod says he did this because he has the mental capacity of a teenager and, therefore, can't fully register that what he's doing as wrong. |
| 174 | * Charlotte's reaction upon seeing [=BoJack=] and her daughter Penny, who is seventeen, getting ready to have intercourse. Her one line sums up just how shocked, disgusted, and ''betrayed'' she feels. |
| 175 | --> '''Charlotte''': '''''[[LittleNo No]]'''''. |
| 176 | |
| 177 | [[AC:Out To Sea]] |
| 178 | * The episode compares a day in the life of the separated Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter. Mr. Peanutbutter seems to have it much better than Diane, who is disgraced and ashamed from returning to L.A. with nothing to show for it. Then he quietly sneaks away from his own party to sigh and look up at the stars as he pines for his wife. |
| 179 | * Copernicus may be a cult leader but he does make a few good points as to why would Todd would ever go and be friends with [=BoJack=]. Which he, sadly, is right -- Who ''would'' want [=BoJack=] for a friend or, in Todd's case, take him back as a friend. Most of Todd and [=BoJack=]'s relationship consisted of the horse being emotionally abusive to Todd, not to mention intentionally ruining his Rock Opera out of fear that ''[[ItsAllAboutMe [=BoJack=]]]'' would be all alone. |
| 180 | * The final scene of season 2: "It gets easier. Every day it gets a little easier." |
| 181 | [[/folder]] |
| 182 | |
| 183 | [[folder:Season 3]] |
| 184 | [[AC:Start Spreading The News]] |
| 185 | * Princess Carolyn's dream of running her own agency has turned out to be a dead-end alley, crumbling under her own leadership. Clients are signing off, revenue is at a new time low and PC is scraping for whatever money-making deal she can make with any of her clients. |
| 186 | ** Her method of dealing with clients is no longer at work either: J.D. Salinger finally gets fed up by the fact Carolyn (or anyone by that matter) can never spot the many obscure references to his works and finally renounces her as his agent. The salt in the wound? He's going to '''Gekko-Rabbitowitz Agencies''' instead. To think the traitorous rabbit who once seemed lost without Princess is now thriving while the hard working cat is sinking further is just infuriating. |
| 187 | ** She even calls Mr. Peanutbutter to convince him to get another job after "Hollywoo Stars And Celebrities: What Do They Know? Do They Know Things? Let's Find Out!" gets unplugged. ''She's just that desperate for something good coming her way''. |
| 188 | * [=BoJack=] is about to have sex with a manatee journalist... until she says she'll [[MomentKiller "climb up onto [his] boat"]]. |
| 189 | -->'''Bojack:''' On the boat... there was a girl. In New Mexico. And she trusted me. I keep asking myself if her mother didn't walk in, would I have done it? And part of me is sure that I-- I couldn't. But another part knows that's a lie. [[MyGreatestFailure How do you make something so right when you've made it so wrong you can never go back]]? |
| 190 | ** Then, there is his comment about not being in the movie physically. Playing ''Secretariat'' has been a project [=BoJack=] has psyched himself into playing, being his childhood hero and all. Then, as the movie took a turn for the worse and saccharine, he decided to bail out no longer wanting to do a watered down version of an actual humane story, especially of someone he respected too much. Then, the computer replica and the Oscars occurred and now the horse is adrift with nothing but bad memories: an unfulfilled fantasy, a bastardized dream and a hollow recognition for a film notable by his absence. |
| 191 | |
| 192 | [[AC:The [=BoJack=] Horseman Show]] |
| 193 | * First there's Princess Carolyn who (by then) has been working as a secretary for 14 years and wants to be her own agent. And her (former) boss clearly doesn't value her. |
| 194 | ** Then, when she tries to help [=BoJack=] with the keeping the idea for the original idea of the show, he [[KickTheDog brushes her off, telling her that he'll ask for her when he needs coffee]]. ''Ouch''. |
| 195 | ** But the saddest part? When she ''does'' get the job, her ex-boss laments about he never got married, had kids, or a life. And then Princess Carolyn promises to do the ''opposite of all of those things'' -- [[HarsherInHindsight The present timeline shows she has yet to do]] ''[[HarsherInHindsight any of that.]]'' |
| 196 | * Mr. Peanutbutter and [[Creator/JessicaBiel his second wife]] did not get along. She may not have been as abusive as his first one, but she definitely didn't respect him and was implied to have been unfaithful to him. |
| 197 | * This episode sets up a pattern in [=BoJack=]'s behaviour that comes back to bite him ''hard'' in Season 6. The first draft of "The [=BoJack=] Horseman Show" is so well-received that the executives are happy to let it air without any changes whatsoever. So great, [=BoJack=] is making a big comeback, right? ''Wrong.'' [=BoJack=] gets so caught up in the moment that he makes drastic changes to the script, resulting in the show becoming an embarrassing train-wreck. As we see later on, [=BoJack=]'s inability to be happy with what he has already achieved results in him giving another interview about Sarah Lynn's death after the first one managed to portray him as sympathetic, with the second interview making him look like a monster in the eyes of the public. It just shows how [=BoJack=] had so many opportunities to give himself the life he always wanted, yet always finds a way to ruin it for himself and the people around him. |
| 198 | |
| 199 | [[AC:[=BoJack=] Kills]] |
| 200 | * This dialogue between Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter: |
| 201 | -->'''Diane:''' Mr. Peanutbutter.\ |
| 202 | '''Mr. Peanutbutter:''' Diane, where the hell are you?\ |
| 203 | '''Diane:''' Ojai.\ |
| 204 | '''Mr. Peanutbutter:''' Oh, hi? You've been gone all night, all you have to say is "Oh, hi?"\ |
| 205 | '''Diane:''' I'm so sorry. [=BoJack=] and I were trying to find a killer and--\ |
| 206 | '''Mr. Peanutbutter:''' Oh, you're with [=BoJack=] still? Well, that explains it. Of course.\ |
| 207 | '''Diane:''' Mr. Peanutbutter, I understand and affirm your feeling--\ |
| 208 | '''Mr. Peanutbutter:''' I'm glad you're safe, but I was worried about you!\ |
| 209 | '''Diane:''' What I'm hearing you say is you were--\ |
| 210 | '''Mr. Peanutbutter:''' No, stop. You have to call me. It doesn't matter what's happening, doesn't matter if it's the middle of the night. You can't keep doing this to me.\ |
| 211 | '''Diane:''' I'm sorry. I'm coming home.\ |
| 212 | '''Mr. Peanutbutter:''' I'm going back to bed. We'll talk about this in the morning. |
| 213 | |
| 214 | [[AC:Fish Out Of Water]] |
| 215 | * [=BoJack=]'s bonding with the baby seahorse becomes this by the end -- he managed to get the baby back to his father, but when [=BoJack=] ''waved'' at the baby, he ''didn't wave back''. The hurt on [=BoJack=]'s face can't be described in simple words. |
| 216 | ** And the fact that bonding with the baby gave [=BoJack=] the courage to "speak" to Kelsey...it still didn't work out. The words got washed away in the water. |
| 217 | ** Speaking of Kelsey, during the convention not ''one'' person appeared at her stand. Looks like hard times for her. |
| 218 | * Abe appearing without any audible dialogue, due to Garry Marshall's death. |
| 219 | * After an episode spending unable to talk due to being underwater, at the end [=BoJack=] discovers that the oxygen tank has a button that allows him to speak. Which could have prevented half his problems this episode. |
| 220 | |
| 221 | [[AC:Love And/Or Marriage]] |
| 222 | * When Tanisha runs into the bathroom, worried that marrying Karen might be the wrong decision, [=BoJack=] manages to convince Tanisha to go through with it, but only by exposing his own fears. |
| 223 | -->'''Tanisha:''' I love Karen, but does she complete me?\ |
| 224 | '''[=BoJack=]:''' Tanisha, nobody completes anybody. That's not a real thing. If you're lucky enough to find someone you can halfway tolerate, you sink your nails in, and you don't let go, no matter what!\ |
| 225 | '''Tanisha:''' So, what? I should just settle?\ |
| 226 | '''[=BoJack=]:''' Yes! Thank you! Exactly! Settle! Because otherwise, you're just going to get older, and harder, and more alone. And you're going to do everything you can to fill that hole with friends, and your career, and meaningless sex, but the hole doesn't get filled. And one day, you're going to look around, and you're going to realize that [[LovingAShadow everybody loves you... But nobody likes you]]. And that is the loneliest feeling in the world. |
| 227 | |
| 228 | [[AC:Brrap Brrap Pew Pew]] |
| 229 | * Princess Carolyn's passive envy of Diane. |
| 230 | -->''"I'm sorry you're so fertile and in a sexually active, loving relationship. And how you don't want a family. I'm sure that's really hard for you"'' |
| 231 | |
| 232 | [[AC:Stop The Presses]] |
| 233 | * [=BoJack=] follows Ana home, and sees that she's just a sad, lonely woman who gets Mac and Cheese on her sweats. |
| 234 | * Emily and [=BoJack=] are uncomfortable with each other after having sex, and Emily bows out of her work deal with Todd, saying that neither she or the horse have been good friends to him. |
| 235 | |
| 236 | [[AC:Old Acquaintance]] |
| 237 | * Just how badly everyone ends up screwing themselves and one another over: |
| 238 | ** Because Princess Carolyn wrote a letter to sabotage her former secretary Laura's promotion, the latter pulled some strings to ensure that [=BoJack=] doesn't get the role of Pegasus. And because of this, [=BoJack=] couldn't work on the movie he ''wanted'' to do with Kelsey. Putting their relationship in the toilet. |
| 239 | ** Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter's disastrous visit to his brother. First, Diane feels like Captain Peanutbutter is being persnickety with her because he knows and is unhappy about her abortion, and Mr. Peanutbutter is highly offended when she tells him to talk to his brother, snapping at her for being intrusive and then rubbing salt in the wounds by reminding her how shitty her family was to her. Thankfully, it all gets resolved by the end: the two make up and Captain Peanutbutter admits that he might be dying of a twisted spleen, which bums the brothers out, but otherwise ends happily when Captain's surgery goes well. |
| 240 | * Just how badly Bradley Hitler-Smith, [=BoJack=]'s former on-screen son, gets jerked around: he's ready to give up everything he has just to go back to Hollywood and work with [=BoJack=] again on a sequel series to ''Horsin' Around'', but by the time he gets to L.A., [=BoJack=] gets cold feet and is too chicken to tell Bradley to his face. The result is his publicist has to do it ''for'' him, going as far as to [[KickTheDog call him a talentless loser]]. |
| 241 | * What really sets it off though is the ending. Rutabaga brought up earlier that they (him and Gekko) are the good guys. At first, the viewer assumes [[BlackAndGrayMorality they are the bad guys and [=BoJack=] and his team are the good guys]], but once you analyze the episode it's clear that [[GreyAndGrayMorality [=BoJack=] and his team are the bad guys in this]]. Gekko and Rutabaga get the film, the latter's marriage is repaired and he makes it in time to see his children being born and everything ends happily. Then there's [=BoJack=] where he cowers out again and can't even tell his own friend he doesn't want to do the show, he still doesn't have the balls to tell Todd he slept with his old girlfriend, Princess sabotaged her old assistants promotion for her own selfish needs and is the reason why [=BoJack=]'s other movie deal was snatched away. It's sort of sad to think the lead characters we root for kind of caused their own disasters. |
| 242 | |
| 243 | [[AC:Best Thing That Ever Happened]] |
| 244 | * The episode functions as an elegy to one of the most complex relationships in the show and it just leaves enough hints to underscore what's about to happen to [=BoJack=] and Princess Carolyn's relationship. |
| 245 | ** The beginning of the episode opens with Princess Carolyn reading the reviews of ''[[ShowWithinAShow The [=BoJack=] Horseman Show]]'' and simply sighing at how low the horse is falling. Then, PC receives a call from [=BoJack=]'s and tries to cheer him up, only for her to end up agreeing to see him. Thus, a cycle of co-dependence begins, despite her promise in "The [=BoJack=] Horseman Show". |
| 246 | ** [=BoJack=]'s state, while still funny due to the witty one-liners, is also heartbreaking due to how much it's hitting him. Put it in perspective, this was the first time he tried to do something innovative and daring, something outside his comfort zone. All to shed the cred of "[[PhraseCatcher being the horse]] from ''JustForFun/HorsinAround''". ''And he's failing''. It only gets worse upon [[RewatchBonus rewatch]]: [=BoJack=] has been trying to break out for a long time and if history is a witness, he never expressed such enthusiasm for a project (except the Secretariat {{Biopic}}) the way he poured into this. To find out people hate it....''Man''. |
| 247 | ** While it's somewhat heartwarming to see [=BoJack=] start to open up and trust friend's opinions of himself, especially since Ana clearly has his best interests in mind ''and'' is good at what she does'', the fact that he basically tells Princess Carolyn that she isn't one of those friends to him, despite having stuck by him for 23 years, is very sad. |
| 248 | --->'''[=BoJack=]:''' Just so you know, [firing you] wasn't an easy decision... I agonized over this. Ask Ana.\ |
| 249 | '''Princess Carolyn''': ''Oh'', so you ''did'' talk about it with Ana.\ |
| 250 | '''[=BoJack=]:''' Well, yeah. [[InnocentlyInsensitive I respect her opinion]]. |
| 251 | ** After spending the whole episode (intensely) working out their problems, Princess Carolyn, feeling like she truly understands her friend, [[AintTooProudToBeg practically begs him]] to rehire her as his agent, telling him that him firing her will cost her the company. But he's made up his mind, and gives her a blunt no. The look on her face is devastating. And the episode just ends there. |
| 252 | *** This comment on from [=YouTube=] perfectly explains the tragic and complex relationship between [=BoJack=] and Princess Carolyn: |
| 253 | ---->"Their relationship is more tragedy than romance, they bring out the absolute worst in each other. [=BoJack=] is self destructive and Carolyn is addicted to putting out fires in other's people's lives and not focusing on her own happiness. Their entire relationship is him screwing up and depending on her to fix his problems, which she does while not holding him accountable for his own actions, [=BoJack=], meanwhile, is too self-centered to try and help her fix her problems, and the whole thing becomes a cycle. If anything can be said to have wasted Carolyn's thirties, it's their relationship. They are interdependent, but they don't push each other to change or improve. Together, they are stuck." |
| 254 | |
| 255 | [[AC:It's You]] |
| 256 | * [=BoJack=]'s devastation that he wasn't actually nominated for an Oscar... which he finds out ''as he's celebrating'' his nomination. |
| 257 | ** And, as usual, he believes that his winning will make him happy, but after he hears the announcement that he's nominated, he tells Ana that he doesn't feel better at all. |
| 258 | * Worse, Ana, whom [=BoJack=] thought was genuinely interested in him, leaves him in a heartbeat when she learns he wasn't nominated. |
| 259 | ** If you [[RewatchBonus rewatch]] carefully, it's actually foreshadowed. After his fight with Diane, [=BoJack=] goes to Ana to desperately ask if their relationship will continue after the Oscar nominations. However, from Ana's facial expressions, body language, and not even answering the question, she's saying, "No. It won't." Even with his heartfelt speech about wanting to see the real her in "Stop The Presses", it's becomes ''heartwrenchingly'' clear that Ana never started to care for [=BoJack=], only seeing him as a way to advance her career. |
| 260 | * Todd, who has been fiercely loyal to [=BoJack=] since day one, finally getting fed up with him. The fact Todd he drops the season's requisite PrecisionFStrike, which is usually reserved for when [=BoJack=] has done something unforgivable, just shows how far he's gone. |
| 261 | -->'''[=BoJack=]:''' Todd, I'm sorry, alright? I screwed up, I- I know I screwed up, I--\ |
| 262 | '''Todd:''' Oh great, of course! [[HereWeGoAgain Here it comes! You can't keep doing this!]] You can't keep doing shitty things and then feel bad about yourself like that makes it okay! You need to be better!\ |
| 263 | '''[=BoJack=]:''' I know, and I'm sorry, okay? I was drunk and there was all this pressure with the Oscar campaign, but now that it's over, I-I-I--\ |
| 264 | '''Todd''': No! No. [=BoJack=], just... stop. You are all the things that are wrong with you. [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech It's not the alcohol or the drugs or any of the shitty things that happened to you in your career or when you were a kid, it's you]]! Alright? [[TitleDrop It's you]].\ |
| 265 | ''(long, thoughtful pause)''\ |
| 266 | '''Todd:''' [[PrecisionFStrike Fuck]], man. What else is there to say?\ |
| 267 | ''([[DownerEnding cut to credits]])'' |
| 268 | ** While the other {{Precision F Strike}}s usually came out of anger, Todd's just sounds disillusioned. He doesn't want to desert his friend, but [[DisappointedInYou he has no other choice]]. |
| 269 | ** Before that speech, [=BoJack=] asks what Todd thought he and Emily got up to in the first place. Todd replies, "I thought maybe you gave her one of your weird monologues about how sad you are and it bummed her out." A mild chuckle, sure, but it shows how often [=BoJack=] just dumps his trauma on others without resolving to improve himself afterwards. Todd is just worn out by it and has finally had enough. |
| 270 | |
| 271 | [[AC:That's Too Much, Man!]] |
| 272 | * For starters, Sarah Lynn's fatal bender only happens because a depressed [=BoJack=] pushed her off the wagon by inviting her to cheer him up by getting wasted. And this was after she'd been (begrudgingly) sober for nine months. (The entire reason Sarah Lynn was clean for so long was to enhance her highs when she started using again.) |
| 273 | ** Added to the fact that although Sarah Lynn was "clean", her entire house was ''full'' of drugs ("[The painting is] LSD!"). One has to wonder about her commitment to her sobriety when all it took was one call for her to fall off the wagon. [=BoJack=] didn't have to talk her into it, he simply asked and she willingly shucked her beliefs. It's easy to blame [=BoJack=] for this, but Sarah Lynn was just looking for an excuse to fall back into her old habits. The TearJerker comes when you realize that [=BoJack=] simply needed a friend, and the only one he had left was just itching to not be sober. |
| 274 | * The altered opening has [=BoJack=] walking through a completely empty home. His actions have finally alienated everyone from his life. The fact that he asks Sarah Lynn to party despite knowing it will end her sobriety (which he previously insisted she continue) shows just how lonely and desperate for a friend he is. |
| 275 | * [=BoJack=]'s frequent blackouts causing ''literal'' AesopAmnesia when he repeatedly goes to Ana's house to try understanding why she ended things with him. |
| 276 | -->'''Ana Spanikopita:''' After I almost drowned, I decided I would never again be weaker than water, so I became a lifeguard. On my first day of training, my instructor told me that there are going to be times when you'll see someone in trouble. You're going to want to rush in there and do whatever you can to save them, but you have to stop yourself. Because there are some people you can't save. [[TheMillstone Cause those people will thrash and struggle, and try to take you down with them]].\ |
| 277 | '''Bojack:''' ...[[DramaticallyMissingThePoint What does that have to do with me?]] |
| 278 | * [=BoJack=] decides it's best for him to "make amends" with everyone he's hurt (read: he shows up unannounced to their house and throws himself at them while yelling "I'm sorry"). Not only do all of them fail spectacularly, but when he hunts down Penny, who has been getting by fine, it re-opens a wound for her and she shrinks away from him in terror. |
| 279 | ** [=BoJack=] ''didn't'' want to see Penny. His better judgement told him it was wrong, and Sarah Lynn told him he was a jerk for even thinking it, let alone having done it. But somehow, through all of his black-outs, he ends up going through with it ''against his own will''! |
| 280 | ** On his try with Princess Carolyn, [=BoJack=] is desperately begging and pleading while atop his car. She can only be embarrassed, and Ralph shows up to lead her back to the room. As he does this, he looks over his shoulder to frown at [=BoJack=]. It is either a look of annoyance for rudely waking them up like this, or a look of pity for his pathetic attempt to rebuild bridges. |
| 281 | * Sarah Lynn and [=BoJack=] watching the Oscars on TV, implying that their bender has gone on so long that they both completely forgot about it, especially since Sarah Lynn was actually ''nominated'' for one. When she wins, she's disappointed that she doesn't feel any better about herself, much like how [=BoJack=] felt when he thought he had been nominated. She then monologues about how much she hates herself, especially because she went through with the career she was forced into despite never wanting to become a performer, and how beyond help she is. [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct It's Kristen Schaal's finest acting]]. |
| 282 | -->'''Sarah Lynn:''' Oh, man, I should've been there. When I was a kid, if you'd told me I'd win an ''Oscar'', I'd never have believed it. [[WasItReallyWorthIt And now I've done it and]]- [=BoJack=]. I don't... like anything ''about'' me. None of this is me. These boobs aren't me, this house isn't me.\ |
| 283 | '''[=BoJack=]:''' [[ComicallyMissingThePoint We're not at your house right now]].\ |
| 284 | '''Sarah Lynn:''' The only reason I wear this shirt is because some company paid me $8,000 to wear it. ''(Laughs bitterly)'' And I don't even need the money! [[DesperatelyCravesAffection I just liked that someone still wanted me to wear their shirt]]. |
| 285 | ** The bear who accepts her award on her behalf is implied to be her sexually abusive stepfather (even designed to look like photographer and alleged rapist Terry Richardson). Having one's greatest success be accepted by their rapist isn't easy to watch. |
| 286 | * [=BoJack=] tells Sarah he loves her - the one time we ever hear him tell someone on screen - only for her to awake suddenly from a blackout, meaning she probably didn't hear him. |
| 287 | ** Similarly, she is passed out during his poignant speech at the planetarium. This time she never wakes up. |
| 288 | * After a ''brutal'' BaitAndSwitch, where Sarah Lynn appears to have died in their motel room, she and [=BoJack=] finally go to her favorite place, the planetarium... where she does die, cuddled up to who is unfortunately the closest thing to a father figure she's ever had. |
| 289 | --> '''Sarah Lynn:''' I wanna be [[HiddenDepths an architect.]] |
| 290 | ** [=BoJack=]'s closing speech after Sarah Lynn says the above. |
| 291 | --->See, Sarah Lynn? [[RousingSpeech We're not doomed. In the great, grand scheme of things, we're just tiny specks that will one day be forgotten]]. So it doesn't matter what we did in the past, or how we'll be remembered. [[AntiNihilist The only thing that matters is right now, this moment, this one spectacular moment we are sharing together.]] Right, Sarah Lynn? ''({{beat}})'' Sarah Lynn? ...[[PleaseWakeUp Sarah Lynn]]? |
| 292 | ** The whole scene in the planetarium in general, between the peaceful BackgroundMusic and the narration by UsefulNotes/NeilDeGrasseTyson about how all our lives are just mere flashes compared to how long the universe has been around (which is especially sad once we find out what is about to come), is tear-inducing. |
| 293 | * Sarah Lynn proving that she essentially really is the same person as the sweet kid [=BoJack=] knew on Horsin' Around as she begins recalling her dreams of being an architect. One of her first lines as Child!Sarah Lynn were "I want to be an architect when I grow up." This isn't exactly sad – more sweet, watching her express [[HiddenDepths genuine knowledge and passion about architecture]] throughout, watching her consider going to college – up until the end. It's all so much HarsherInHindsight after she utters her last words: "I wanna be an architect." |
| 294 | * Sarah Lynn jokingly suggests that Penny might be in a sex chatroom with a 50y/o horse because it's the only way she can feel love, or maybe she's looking up ways to kill herself, in response to [=BoJack=]'s panic over seeing Penny. It's funny at first – that is, up until you put it in retrospect. It is heavily implied that Sarah Lynn was sexually abused by her stepfather. It could have been [[GallowsHumor projecting at its finest.]] |
| 295 | |
| 296 | [[AC:That Went Well]] |
| 297 | * The brief flashback to 2007 at the start of the episode. [=BoJack=] pays Sarah-Lynn a visit after a concert and she's '''overjoyed''' to see him, viewing him as her last true friend and immediately makes plans to reconnect with him that night once all of her obligations are done. |
| 298 | --->'''Sarah Lynn:''' I am ''this close'' to falling off the deep end ''([[LaughingMad laughs a little]])'' I know I'm smiling right now, [[StepfordSmiler but the light inside me is dying]]. |
| 299 | ** Even worse is that, [[MeaningfulBackgroundEvent in the background]], you can see life-affirming messages written by Sarah Lynn (and some of her fans) posted near the mirror, and she is absolutely ''crushed'' [[MoodWhiplash when she realizes that [=BoJack=] only visited her to arrange the guest spot]]. |
| 300 | * News anchor Tom Jumbo-Grumbo confirming Sarah Lynn's death at age 31. |
| 301 | * [=BoJack=]'s regular acquaintances like Todd and Princess Carolyn gradually disappearing from his apartment in the EvolvingCredits until, by the tenth episode, it's empty. By the final episode, the now-deceased Sarah Lynn is removed from the party scene, and he's totally alone. |
| 302 | * The sheer apathy everyone has to Sarah Lynn's death: everyone knew it was bound to happen (hell, in her first appearance, ''she'' knew it was going to happen), [[BystanderEffect but no one helped]], and [[FalseFriend [=BoJack=] himself]] made it ''worse''. |
| 303 | ** [=BoJack=]'s reaction just made it worse; he ''knows'' that a part of this was his fault, and he feels as if life "[[IronicEcho doesn't get better, and doesn't get any easier]]." He was probably thinking about how he felt as if the message he was given about life from the season 2 finale was a lie. |
| 304 | * Gradually watching Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter's once-happy marriage slowly crumble as he becomes more possessive and she becomes more self-reliant, if not outright selfish. The season ends with [[{{Foreshadowing}} the implication]] that the feminist website she's being hired to write for is setting her up to write something incriminating about her husband and that, like [=BoJack=], she's willing to burn bridges with loved ones for a shot at fame. |
| 305 | * The entire ending, scored to Music/NinaSimone's cover of "Stars." |
| 306 | ** The ''JustForFun/HorsinAround'' sequel series seems to be getting off to a good start, with [=BoJack=] [[PassingTheTorch joyfully coaching his former TV child Bradley in sitcom acting]] and bonding with the new child actors. It seems as though things will finally start working out for him and he'll be able to get past recent events. Then he asks Chloe, the actress playing the youngest of the adopted children, what she wants to be when she grows up. |
| 307 | --->'''Chloe:''' What do you mean? I-I want to be like you.\ |
| 308 | '''[=BoJack=]:''' ''(frowns)'' Like me?\ |
| 309 | '''Chloe:''' [[WhamLine I want to be famous!]] |
| 310 | ** The horror that Chloe is potentially on her way to becoming another Sarah Lynn sends [=BoJack=] into what is very likely a panic attack. By this point in the series, it's clear that his very ''presence'' is enough to negatively affect the people around him, no matter what he does, and he bolts out of the taping, saying to himself "I can't do this again. This isn't right." He proceeds to the city limits in his car and, once in the desert, floors it and [[DeathSeeker lets go of the steering wheel]]. Whether this is meant to be [[DrivenToSuicide a suicide attempt]] or not, it's clear that this is him just ''giving up.'' That DownerEnding is just barely avoided when he sees the herd of horses running and looks on in awe, ending the season on an ambiguous HopeSpot. |
| 311 | [[/folder]] |
| 312 | |
| 313 | [[folder:Season 4]] |
| 314 | [[AC:See Mr. Peanutbutter Run]] |
| 315 | * You have to feel sorry for the Governor, who's genuinely focused on improving the lives of California's citizens, but gets forced into a ski race against Mr. Peanutbutter due to the public having ''drastically'' SkewedPriorities. |
| 316 | * Similarly, Diane is quickly being overwhelmed by being ''the'' OnlySaneMan at that point, desperately wishing [=BoJack=] was around to comment on the situation so she doesn't have to. |
| 317 | * The end of the episode's arc with Princess Carolyn and Ralph reveals that she was pregnant. Emphasis on "was". |
| 318 | -->'''Ralph:''' Oh. I'm so sorry. I still wish you would've told me. I have a card for that. On the front, it says "[[BlackComedy Life isn't fairage.]]" |
| 319 | |
| 320 | [[AC:The Old Sugarman Place]] |
| 321 | * Music/MichelleBranch's haunting cover of Music/{{America}}'s "A Horse With No Name" scoring the ColdOpen. A perfect soundtrack to [=BoJack=]'s isolation as he seems to be just drifting through life at this point. |
| 322 | * Beatrice finally gets a backstory explaining how she grew up to be such a cold abusive person. Her loving family crumbled after her brother Crackerjack was shot down in World War II, causing her mother Honey to lose her sense of joy and become reckless, even letting a very young Beatrice drive their car and almost get them killed. Her father, [[RealMenHateAffection unable and unwilling to learn how to deal with a woman's emotions,]] gets her mother a lobotomy that leaves her barely functional. Honey then tells Beatrice to never love anybody as much as she loved Crackerjack. |
| 323 | ** "Why, I have half a mind..." |
| 324 | ** Beatrice's parents reacting to Crackerjack's death being [[TwoScenesOneDialogue interspersed]] with [=BoJack=] watching the miniseries on Sarah Lynn's death is especially tearjerker-worthy, especially the "That's just show business" complementing the "That's just war" line. |
| 325 | *** Creator/PaulGiamatti, playing [=BoJack=] in the miniseries, [[IronicEcho singing the]] ''JustForFun/HorsinAround'' [[SoundtrackDissonance theme song]] when he hears Sarah Lynn didn't make it. |
| 326 | *** On its own, that probably could have been {{Narm}}, given its vibes of Hollywoo exploitation of tragedy. Juxtaposed with the quiet gradual way that Beatrice's family deals with their grief, however, it highlights what the ''real'' reactions to death can look like. |
| 327 | ** Beatrice's parents denying her choices and actions because she's a girl in the forties [[StayInTheKitchen and is only expected to bear children]]. |
| 328 | ** Flashbacks show Crackerjack and Honey loved to play piano together while they were at the summer house. It becomes a tragic MeaningfulEcho when he dies in the war and the family returns; she begins playing the first few bars of the song they played just before their portrait, then breaks down sobbing. Then it becomes even MORE of one when Honey gets lobotomized, and she's so broken from it she has trouble pressing ''one key''. |
| 329 | ** The way Honey cries about not knowing how to be better after her trauma and begging Joseph to make her better. It's very easy to imagine [=BoJack=] saying the same thing she does about ''his'' broken mental state. |
| 330 | ** When a horrified Beatrice asks her mother what they did to her post-lobotomy, Honey attempts to comfort her by saying "I'm better now." She genuinely thought this was the only way she could be "fixed." |
| 331 | * Eddie the dragonfly and the way [=BoJack=] befriends him, especially when ''his'' backstory is revealed: He flew too high with his wife and got her sucked into a jet engine, and now refuses to fly. When [=BoJack=] tricks him into flying, he almost gets [=BoJack=] killed the same way for revenge, but they fall into the lake. [=BoJack=] saves Eddie from drowning, but [[DespairEventHorizon Eddie starts crying about how he doesn't want to live anymore.]] |
| 332 | * [=BoJack=] destroying the summer house after spending months and months rebuilding it with Eddie, without even letting Eddie know. |
| 333 | * [=BoJack=]'s ImagineSpot of his life with Charlotte (season 2) becomes this in hindsight: Their daughter Harper, was likely named for the house's location of Harper's Landing, Michigan. That and his eventual return suggests it was a place where he was actually happy. |
| 334 | * And the duet between Honey and Eddie as [[https://youtu.be/96lwAGESRAY they both mourn their loved one through song]], a DarkReprise of Honey singing it earlier with Crackerjack. |
| 335 | -->''Summer, winter. Year by year.'' |
| 336 | -->''I'll hear this song inside my ear.'' |
| 337 | -->''Try to restart, that'd be smart.'' |
| 338 | -->''But thoughts of you haunt my heart.'' |
| 339 | |
| 340 | [[AC: Hooray! Todd Episode!]] |
| 341 | * After their falling out in the previous season, [=BoJack=] is genuinely remorseful of what he did to Todd and wants to be friends with him again, but Todd understandably doesn't share the sentiment. During their first conversation he basically tells [=BoJack=] his life has gotten better without him, and [=BoJack=]'s reaction says it all. |
| 342 | |
| 343 | [[AC:Commence Fracking]] |
| 344 | * Diane getting a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech from Katrina, especially about how her marriage to Mr. Peanutbutter is falling apart, calling it "the thin injection of mint in this dog shit sundae" to watch Mr. Peanutbutter fail again. |
| 345 | * Hollyhock trying twenty-three different women on a list, none of whom were her mother. Her frustration boils over to the point she starts to cry. She even admits that, despite growing up with eight dads who all loved her, she just has to know who her mother is. It's a realistic and sobering fear of adopted children, and it's heartbreaking to see it play out. |
| 346 | |
| 347 | [[AC:Thoughts and Prayers]] |
| 348 | * [=BoJack=] finally makes the trip to see Beatrice again for Hollyhock's sake. Beatrice is in a nursing home now, and suffering late-stage dementia, and unlike season 2 she can't even recognize [=BoJack=]. [=BoJack=] refuses to accept that she ''isn't'' terrible to him anymore. When she recognizes him on a "''Horsin' Around'' tape but not in real life, he decides to stage a live performance of the sitcom to remind her who he is... just so he can say [[PrecisionFStrike "Fuck you, Mom"]] at the end of it to rub in her face how far she's fallen. When he puts on the show, she panics out of confusion and attacks another patient, getting her kicked out of the home to live with [=BoJack=]. Thus begins the tragic arc that takes up the rest of the season, and can be especially tragic if your parent or grandparent was abusive, or if they're losing their mind. |
| 349 | ** Even worse is that he discovers that she was lying about not caring for his show. The ''audience'' found out why in episode 2, [[DramaticIrony but he's left wondering]] why she not only [[WellDoneSonGuy didn't praise him for it]], but outright scolded him for being a failure by acting in a sitcom. |
| 350 | * When first visiting her, he believes she's just pretending not to recognize him, just like that time he botched a choir solo. |
| 351 | -->'''[=BoJack=]''': I had to get a ride home from the pianist, who liked to tickle a lot more than just the ivories. When I made it home unscathed, she said "[[AbusiveParents Huh, I guess no one wants you]]." |
| 352 | * Hollyhock and Beatrice have an understated moment while they're alone in the nursing home. People have been telling Hollyhock since she was a baby that she looks like [=BoJack=]. While it's not stated outright, Beatrice is either also thinking of [=BoJack=], or, given Hollyhock's lineage, she's thinking about Butterscotch. |
| 353 | -->'''[=Beatrice=]''': I can't believe you came back.\ |
| 354 | '''[=Hollyhock=]''': Who, me? Or [=BoJack?=]\ |
| 355 | '''[=Beatrice=]''': You look just like him... |
| 356 | |
| 357 | [[AC:Stupid Piece of Sh*t]] |
| 358 | * The entire episode we're treated to [=BoJack=]'s [[InnerMonologue internal thoughts and monologues]] and [[HisOwnWorstEnemy they constantly bring him down and mock him]]. Bringing up how he's ruined all his past relationships, and how he's already ruining he relationship with Hollyhock. The worst one comes near the end of the episode. |
| 359 | -->'''[=BoJack=]'s Mind:''' You're ruining her. You know that, right? [[ToxicFriendInfluence No matter what, your poison is already in her]]. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption There's nothing you can do.]]\ |
| 360 | '''[=BoJack=]:''' That's not true!\ |
| 361 | '''[=BoJack=]'s Mind:''' Yeah it is, you stupid piece of shit! You're a real stupid piece of shit. And everywhere you go, you destroy people. Of course your mother never loved you, what did you expect?! [[MyGreatestFailure That's why Sarah Lynn died]]. [[ThisIsUnforgivable That's why Charlotte will never forgive you]]. What are you gonna do to Hollyhock? '''''What are you gonna do, asshole?!'''''\ |
| 362 | '''[=BoJack=]:''' '''''SHUT UP!''''' |
| 363 | * In a fit of jealously, depression, anger, or some combination of all the above, [=BoJack=] goes on a rant against his dementia addled mother over her sudden affections towards a small doll, which [=BoJack=] proceeds to throw of a balcony specifically to spite Beatrice. If the encouragement and cold satisfaction from his inner monologue is not enough, the sheer anguish resulting from Beatrice as she screams and collapses on the floor in tears is heartbreaking, if not horrifying. It gets even worse after watching the penultimate episode of the season. |
| 364 | ** Leading up to this, [=BoJack=]'s InnerMonologue continually contradicts what he ''actually'' says and does, up until the final moment... where it says "Do it." |
| 365 | ** And then there's the doll itself, as Beatrice believes it to be an actual baby, and plays the role of a DotingGrandparent to a T. [=BoJack=] is ''furious''. |
| 366 | --->'''[=BoJack=]:''' Oh, I know! What if, for 18 years straight, I just tell it how worthless it is every day, how it embarrasses me, how [[ResentfulGuardian my life would be better if it was never born]]? |
| 367 | *** And later, after he'd promised to find the doll, his InnerMonologue comes back with a vengeance. |
| 368 | ---->'''[=BoJack=]'s Mind:''' This is what you do. This is what you ''always'' do. This is why Mom loves Doll more than you. And she's right. Doll never hurt anybody. Doll wouldn't throw ''you'' over the side of a mountain. |
| 369 | *** And this isn't helped by Hollyhock humoring her by saying [[AbusiveParents Beatrice]] is "such a good mother". |
| 370 | *** An easily missed line during [=BoJack=]'s rant is when he suggests Beatrice "leave [the doll] in its crib to cry when it's hungry and wet." Considering [[AbusiveParents the kind of mother]] Beatrice was, it's not hard to believe ''this actually happened to [=BoJack=].'' Worse, this form of neglect is proven to be extremely damaging to a child's ability to form strong attachments to other people in later life, which explains a lot about [=BoJack=], really. |
| 371 | * The last line of the episode. It's clear that the moral of the story is the opposite of the one that's said. |
| 372 | -->'''Hollyhock:''' [[UsefulNotes/{{Depression}} That voice, the one that tells you you're worthless, and stupid, and ugly]]...?\ |
| 373 | '''[=BoJack=]:''' Yeah?\ |
| 374 | '''Hollyhock:''' It goes away, right? It's just like, [[EmoTeen a dumb teenage girl thing]], but then it goes away?\ |
| 375 | '''[=BoJack=]:''' [[LiesToChildren ...Yeah]]. |
| 376 | ** Even worse, [=BoJack=] had promised a few episodes ago that he wouldn't lie to Hollyhock anymore, but this is something he really doesn't want her to worry about. |
| 377 | |
| 378 | [[AC:Underground]] |
| 379 | * Diane sobbing about how she's never satisfied with her life: |
| 380 | -->'''Diane:''' Why can't I be happy? Am I ''busted''?\ |
| 381 | '''[=BoJack=]:''' No, it--\ |
| 382 | '''Diane:''' I ''am!'' I'm a pit! I'm a pit that good things fall into! |
| 383 | |
| 384 | [[AC:Ruthie]] |
| 385 | * Princess Carolyn's ''[[TraumaCongaLine awful]]'' day. In short order, Courtney fired her as her manager, her necklace broke (and she found out that it was not, as she had thought, an old family heirloom, but a fake-gold costume piece purchased at a JC Penney), Judah lied to her about an offer from Charlie Witherspoon, causing her to lose faith in her trusted NumberTwo and fire him, and worst of all, she had a miscarriage (later revealed as her fifth), goes on a drinking binge and breaks up with Ralph. Oh, and the cute, distant-future FramingDevice? All in her imagination. While on the phone with [=BoJack=], she says that after a bad day she likes to imagine a distant descendant telling her story in the future. BreakTheHaughty in its purest form. |
| 386 | ** Notably, this is the ''only'' time we've seen her cry on-screen. |
| 387 | ** And her reason for being so stubborn about having a biological child? Her mother had had ''twelve'' children, and she doesn't want to feel like a failure for being unable to have one. |
| 388 | ** The whole episode also makes "[[Recap/BojackHorsemanS3E06BrrapBrrapPewPew Brrap Brrap Pew Pew]]" a ''lot'' HarsherInHindsight as a result: Princess Carolyn has repeatedly tried to settle down and have a family and lost every single one of the babies she's conceived. Diane, who is HappilyMarried and can presumably carry a baby to term, gets pregnant entirely by accident and aborts it. To PC, it's not just DramaticIrony, it's ''unfair!'' |
| 389 | * Watch Judah's face as Carolyn is firing him. She accuses him of rejecting Charlie Witherspoon's offer due to his desire to work at a smaller agency, because he's weird and doesn't get along with other people. The look on Judah's face when Carolyn calls him "weird" is one of pure hurt. This is the same guy who, when he made personalized Christmas cards for her, wrote in his own that she was proud of him. He's probably been called similar names his entire life, and to have someone who's opinion of him he obviously values do the same really hurts him. |
| 390 | ** Even worse when you [[RewatchBonus rewatch their conversation in Season 3 when P.C. mentions the idea of selling Vigor]] - Judah ''nearly'' tells her about the offer, but opted not to. Hearing his rationale in this episode makes perfect sense - he was looking out for ''her'' best interests, not the company's, and felt that she was in too vulnerable a position at that point to make a decision she would be satisfied with later. |
| 391 | * TheReveal at the end. Through the entire episode, the framing device is Ruthie, a cat girl living about 200 years in the future, doing a report on her ancestor, Princess Carolyn, for a day in which she faced a lot of adversity, but overcame it and landed on her feet. The episode starts off by painting this like it's a ForegoneConclusion that everything works out for her, despite the TraumaCongaLine she endures. But then, you make it to the end, and she's on the phone with [=BoJack=], and she tells him how she handles having bad days like this and how she lands right back on her feet. She imagines her great-great-granddaughter reporting on her, telling her class all about the adversity she faces, and proudly reporting on how she endured it and made it through to the other side. [=BoJack=] wonders how this helps her. PC replies it doesn't, [[HappyPlace but it makes her feel better.]] And the episode ends. Ruthie was never real, there is no ForegoneConclusion. Easily one of the worst {{Downer Ending}}s in the series. |
| 392 | |
| 393 | [[AC:lovin that cali lifestyle!!]] |
| 394 | * [=Bojack=] is unable to see Hollyhock throughout his entire time at the hospital. Not only because he's not her legal guardian but, because when her eight fathers arrive, they accuse him of overdosing their daughter with amphetamines. As a result, they forbid him from ever seeing her anymore. |
| 395 | * [=BoJack=]'s self-loathing is so pervasive that when Hollyhock appears to have overdosed on something from his stash, he immediately registers it as the foregone conclusion of him destroying any good relationship in his life. What's worse, we see his resulting panic attack from his POV, complete with the high-frequency sound cutting out and him eventually collapsing on the floor of his bathroom as he hyperventilates. |
| 396 | * The revelation that it was actually Beatrice spiking the girl's coffee with weight loss powder is too much for him. Hollyhock was the ONLY reason [=BoJack=] considered the relative kindness he showed his mother this season, and to find out her regressive and toxic attitude about weight (which he accidentally reinforced earlier on) put the girl in the hospital? The best person in his life nearly destroyed by what he sees to be the worst? One can hardly blame him for putting her in another, less pleasant, home. |
| 397 | * [=BoJack=] rounding on Beatrice when he finds out what she's done. She looks confused and frightened and asks "Where's Crackerjack?" |
| 398 | |
| 399 | [[AC:Time's Arrow]] |
| 400 | * The whole episode is told from Beatrice's memories. Because of her dementia, however, details become glitchy, and most people in the background are missing their faces. The unstable environment is a jarring, tragic look into the mental workings of somebody who can't trust their mind anymore. |
| 401 | ** Watch the family portrait - it shifts from Beatrice, Butterscotch and [=BoJack=]'s family portrait to the one of the Sugarman family very fluidly. |
| 402 | * Young Beatrice getting bullied on the playground and getting pushed off the slide by her fellow schoolgirls. One insult they stick to is [[WeightWoe calling her fat]], which leads to her growing up to be severely weight conscious, taking "pretty pills" and downing the weight loss supplements that lead to Hollyhock's fainting spell. |
| 403 | * Beatrice is ready to marry Corbin Creamerman, who she genuinely begins to develop feelings for. Corbin cares about her and connects with her DaddyIssues and love of learning... but because of her pregnancy she rushes back to Butterscotch. Of course, they talk up a nice life in California, with Butterscotch writing his novel and Beatrice caring for the infant, but [[ForegoneConclusion we know that won't be the case.]] |
| 404 | * Young Beatrice getting scarlet fever, resulting in her [[SecurityBlanket favorite doll]] getting burnt in front of her due to having the disease on it, with her dad [[LackOfEmpathy barely caring]], just telling her that "crying is stupid". This is explains her volatile reaction to [=BoJack=] throwing her doll out the window in episode 6. |
| 405 | ** And just to rub salt in the wound, her father obliquely threatens Beatrice with a lobotomy of her own if she's unable to keep her emotions in check. |
| 406 | ** A more subtle example: when Joseph begins admonishing Beatrice for crying, she reaches out to him for comfort...and he ''backs away from her''. Even if it's due to her having Scarlet Fever, that's ''harsh'' given the context. |
| 407 | ** What's worst, this whole traumatic event (as well as her inability to get him to stop crying as an infant) set into motion her telling [=BoJack=] never to cry, [[TheChainOfHarm inflicting him with his own depression]]. |
| 408 | * After her maid Henrietta gets pregnant by Butterscotch, Beatrice has to be CruelToBeKind and tell Henrietta that she ''has'' to give the baby up for adoption when it's born, knowing that the girl will just make the same mistakes she did if she doesn't. |
| 409 | ** Henrietta's anguished pleads to hold her baby after giving birth as Beatrice takes it away, knowing that Henrietta will become attached if she does. Her scribbled-out face [[NightmareFuel engulfs the screen]], giving the viewer a perfect illustration of her anguish. |
| 410 | * In the end, [=BoJack=] is unable to bring himself to curse out his mother like he (and [[CatharsisFactor the audience]]) had hoped he would, feeling at this point it would be pathetic of him to bully a frail, senile old woman. Instead, he [[LetThemDieHappy lets her die happy]] by sitting with her and telling her that they're at the summer home in Michigan, surrounded by loved ones and having a wonderful evening rather than rotting in a wretched nursing home. |
| 411 | ** Unfortunately, he doesn't realize she was never allowed to have ice-cream - when he asks how it tastes, she doesn't know how it's supposed to taste. So she lies to him one last time by saying it's delicious. |
| 412 | ** Special mention goes to Will Arnett and Wendie Malick's [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct amazing performances]] for their respective characters. Malick truly sounds like a woman who's mind, body and soul have been worn with age and experiences, the weight of which still sit heavily on her chest. Every word sounds as if she's ready to cry. Arnett, meanwhile, nails [=BoJack=]'s begrudging but otherwise sincere empathy. |
| 413 | * The fact that even after everything Joseph [[AbusiveParents did to Beatrice]], she actually ''defended'' some of his actions, even calling him "a man who knew what marriage meant" and attending his funeral. In short, Joseph died peacefully, without receiving [[KarmaHoudini any sort of punishment]] for his [[HeManWomanHater less]]-[[ControlFreak than]]-[[TheSociopath savory]] actions. The only karma he got was that his business eventually foundered with no heir, meaning he had no lasting legacy. |
| 414 | -->'''Joseph:''' I promise, one day [[DramaticIrony this will all be a pleasant memory]]. |
| 415 | * When Butterscotch confesses to having gotten Henrietta pregnant, what follows is the only moment on the show where he comes across as remotely sympathetic. The look on his face and his voice are that of a man who, for probably the only time in his life, is having to come to terms with just how toxic he is: |
| 416 | -->'''Butterscotch:''' I know you hate me, Bea, but please... think of the poor girl. |
| 417 | |
| 418 | [[AC:What Time Is It Right Now?]] |
| 419 | * Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter. After taking a random vacation before settling into their new house, Diane finds that PB has built her a "Belle Room" based on her childhood fantasy of having a library [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast just like Beast gifted Belle in the movie]]. Diane, however, is '''furious'''. On top of hating grand gestures (remember the D incident from season 1? Or the huge, multi-themed, surprise party for her 35th Birthday?) she feels betrayed because as long as it remained a fantasy, [[HappyPlace it remained hers and hers alone]]. This drags out the issues at the core of their relationship -- Diane's independence chafing against PB's all-in devotion. It comes down to the fact that regardless of everything they've been through together, the many sweet moments they share, and how much they may genuinely love each other, their relationship is never, ever going to work. Diane puts it the most succinctly. |
| 420 | -->'''Diane:''' You know, sometimes I feel like our marriage is [[CallBack a Magic Eye poster]].\ |
| 421 | '''Mr. Peanutbutter:''' I love those things.\ |
| 422 | '''Diane:''' I know. And it's messy. And at first glance, it doesn't seem to make any sense. And it's hard to figure out! But sometimes if you squint at it just right, everything lines up and it's the most perfect, beautiful, amazing thing.\ |
| 423 | '''Mr. Peanutbutter:''' Yeah. I know what you mean. \ |
| 424 | '''Diane:''' But... ''(bursts into tears)'' ''I'm so tired of squinting.'' |
| 425 | [[/folder]] |
| 426 | |
| 427 | [[folder:Season 5]] |
| 428 | [[AC: General]] |
| 429 | * [=BoJack=] spends quite a bit of time trying to build up Gina's self-confidence, as she had [[JadeColoredGlasses seemingly given up on being anything but a second- or third-tier performer]] on shows that never go anywhere. Despite the failure of her musical audition, his help brings them closer, and they begin a relationship and her performance on the show starts getting her noticed. Gina herself states that it's the first time someone from her work has actually cared about her for longer than their show stayed in production. Of course, [=BoJack=] ruins their relationship in the end, nearly chokes her to death on set because he was high and psychotic. She wants nothing to do with him beyond contractual obligations, and then their show gets cancelled anyway. |
| 430 | ** Aside from that, [=BoJack=]'s growing addiction to painkillers, which culminates in the above due to the hallucinations he's going through, but prior to this (and just moments after dropping Hollyhock off at the airport), he becomes so desperate for his fix that he drives into a busy intersection in the hopes of getting taken to the hospital and being given more. |
| 431 | * It's subtle, but [=BoJack=]'s interactions with Hollyhock and Diane really show how [[NoSocialSkills incapable]] he is of [[ItsAllAboutMe reciprocating love]] like a normal being: Hollyhock and Diane visibly expect a hug when he picks them up from the airport and she drives him to rehab respectively, but they never get one and are visibly saddened by this. It highlights that while [=BoJack=] really did learn a lot and managed to become less sheltered, [[RealMenHateAffection he's still got miles to go]]. |
| 432 | * Princess Carolyn becoming a producer causes her to start treating [=BoJack=] as a resource she needs to exploit rather than as a friend. Despite [=BoJack=] only joining the project because PC forged his signature, she berates him when he brings it up, and then starts him on his pill addiction road by forcing him to see a dodgy doctor instead of healing his injury after the stunt failure. |
| 433 | * Beatrice Horseman passes away during this season. And [=BoJack=] clearly has trouble processing the fact that he's grieving for her, despite everything she did to him. Beatrice may have been a [[AbusiveParents terrible mother]] to [=BoJack=], but she was still [[WhyCantIHateYou the only mother he had]]. |
| 434 | * [=BoJack=] and Diane's friendship crumbling down throughout the season. |
| 435 | |
| 436 | [[AC:Trailer]] |
| 437 | * The preview shows that just like in the premier of Season 2, [=BoJack=]'s newfound happiness was a fleeting moment in his life. Hollyhock is worried he might be an alcoholic and he appears to have a sleep disorder. |
| 438 | -->'''Diane:''' ''You say you want to get better, but you don't know how.'' |
| 439 | ** The saddest part of the trailer has to be [=BoJack=] [[TheAlcoholic trying to regulate his drinking]] while filming his new show, with lines drawn on a bottle of vodka for how much he's allowed to drink that particular day. Any recovering alcoholic will tell you that just because you regulate your drinking (or at least act like you can) doesn't mean you don't have a problem. |
| 440 | |
| 441 | [[AC:The Dog Days Are Over]] |
| 442 | * The ending scene, which reveals why Diane was sobbing with grief at the beginning at the episode and why she went to Vietnam to begin with. If you thought watching Diane cry in "What Time Is It Right Now?" when she realizes that she and Mr. Peanutbutter aren't going to work out was rough, this is one hundred times worse. While the divorce papers are being finalized, Diane attends a party at Mr. Peanutbutter's house, convinced that she's cool and carefree now, and that she and him are capable of having a normal platonic relationship. Then she sees him kiss another girl, and she just ''breaks.'' |
| 443 | -->'''Diane:''' The ''real'' reason you go to Vietnam is because you accidentally see your soon-to-be-ex-husband kiss someone else. At first you think, "Oh, it's a fling. Whatever, they're drunk, it's a party." But then he puts his hand on the small of her back exactly the way he used to do to you. It means, "I've got you," and when he did it to you, it made you feel safe. And you realize he will never do that to you again. And it breaks your heart, again, after your heart was so broken you thought it could never get any more broken. You thought it was safe, but it still, somehow, finds a new way to break. Because, even though you're the one who asked for this, [[AndThenWhat now that you've got it, you are completely adrift]], with no compass, or map, or sense of where to go, or what to do. So you go to Vietnam. You think you might find community, a connection to something bigger, but, you don't. In fact, you feel even more alone than you were before you left. But, you survive. You learn you can survive being alone. |
| 444 | |
| 445 | [[AC: [=BoJack=] The Feminist]] |
| 446 | * Just the fact that Vance Waggoner can be likened to any number of male celebrities who get a slap on the wrist for being louts creates a pretty depressing sense of perspective. |
| 447 | ** Vance Waggoner is an excellent DeconstructiveParody of celebrities who are horrible even by basic decency standards. If anything, the way he's even able to slime his way into Hollywood's graces by spinning his artful expression of being a caitiff nugget of shit into a harmless "profitable scumbag" perception is nothing short of horrifying. Even worse, while his humiliation (when it happens) is satisfying, his family and friends are often dragged along with him, with his family often caught in the crossfire of his scandals and victims to his violent behavior. |
| 448 | |
| 449 | [[AC: The Amelia Earhart Story]] |
| 450 | * It's another Princess Carolyn episode, folks. [[TraumaCongaLine Strap in.]] |
| 451 | ** It begins in a dumpy house with PC watching a movie she's memorized by heart. She's less than a foot from the screen, reciting every line as Amelia Earhart says it. Her mother then berates her for not ever watching anything else, and when Princess Carolyn says she'd be interested in watching something else, her mother then asks, "You think I'm made of tapes?" [[NeverMyFault Hooo, boy.]] |
| 452 | ** Cutie intercepts Princess Carolyn's mail, mocking her for thinking she could ever get into a college, and then [[TheResenter guilt-trips her into even thinking of abandoning her mother.]] |
| 453 | ** Princess Carolyn's first relationship falls apart when she gets pregnant. [[ForegoneConclusion She then loses the baby.]] [[KickTheDog Which her mother blames her for, because "miscarriages don't just happen".]] PC begins sobbing and just starts screaming "I'm sorry" over and over again. It's extremely hard to watch. |
| 454 | ** Cutie tells Princess Carolyn she got into UCLA, telling her she's "free now", but at the last minute begs her to back out. Princess Carolyn still leaves and the last we see of her mother is her crying in the airport. |
| 455 | ** The agency calls to tell her that [[ShaggyDogStory Sadie isn't going to go with her for the adoption, so she's back to square one again.]] |
| 456 | |
| 457 | |
| 458 | [[AC: Free Churro]] |
| 459 | * The episode in its entirety gives us [=BoJack=] painting us another picture of his home life, his parents' miserable marriage, and his failures to make either of them happy, with the acknowledgment that neither of his parents' deaths made him feel anything. |
| 460 | ** The worst is when he relates how he could relate so well to Diane after her father passed away. |
| 461 | --->'''[=BoJack=]:''' You know what it's like? It's like that show ''Series/{{Becker}}'', you know, with Creator/TedDanson? I watched the entire run of that show, hoping [[GrowingTheBeard it would get better]], and it never did. It had all the right pieces, but it just-- it couldn't put them together. And when it got canceled, I was really bummed out, not because I liked the show, but because I knew [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot it could be so much better]], and now it never would be. And ''that's'' what losing a parent is like. It's like ''Becker''. Suddenly, you realize you'll never have the good relationship you wanted, and as long as they were alive, even though you'd never admit it, ''part'' of you, the ''stupidest'' goddamned part of you, [[HopeSpot was still holding on to that chance]]. And you didn't even realize it until that chance went away. "[[MeaningfulEcho My mother is dead, and everything is worse now]]." Because now I know I will never have a mother who looks at me from across the room and says: "[=BoJack=] Horseman, I see you." |
| 462 | * The opening treats us to a [[SarcasmMode lovely scene of]] [[AbusiveParents Butterscotch driving a young [=BoJack=] home]]. [=BoJack=] had clearly been left outside in the cold for quite a long time, and he sits wordlessly as his father tosses abusive language at both him and his mother. Butterscotch's rage is normally quite loud, but here it sounds much more passive and...depressively realistic. |
| 463 | * The entire episode showcases [=BoJack=]'s FreudianExcuse, as he consistently relates his circumstances to TV shows, even mentioning ''Series/{{Maude}}'' by name. |
| 464 | -->'''[=BoJack=]''': All I learned about being good, I learned from TV. And in TV, flawed characters are constantly showing people [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther they care]] with these surprising grand gestures. And I think that part of me still believes that's what love is. |
| 465 | * "My darling mother gave the eulogy. My entire life, I never heard her say a kind word to OR about my father, but at his funeral, she said, [[SincerityMode 'My husband is dead, and everything is worse now.]]'" |
| 466 | ** Beatrice [[ICouldaBeenAContender threw away her chance at a wealthy life and a happy relationship]] to follow Butterscotch under the hopes that they could be a happy family. Much like [=BoJack=], she never got a good relationship out of it, and her husband died without ever giving her that chance. [[ShootTheShaggyDog Her life was worse knowing for sure that she gave up so much for a relationship that only amounted to heartache.]] |
| 467 | * For a good portion of the eulogy, [=BoJack=] keeps mentioning Beatrice's last words as being ''"I see you."'', trying to figure out if she meant them as a sign of love, resentment, or simple recognition to him as a person. Towards the end, he [[EurekaMoment abruptly realizes]] that she was reading a sign at the hospital: they were in the '''''Intensive Care Unit''''' (ICU). He has no concrete proof that she ''was'' reading said sign out loud, but it doesn't matter -- this is the conclusion he arrives at, and for Beatrice, one that makes perfect sense. And it's how he'll remember her. |
| 468 | * The reason for the title - a girl at a Jack-in-the-Box restaurant gave him a [[TitleDrop free churro]] after having ''burst into tears'' upon hearing that his mother had died. At the end of the episode, after some MoodWhiplash about the ''actual'' meaning of Beatrice's last words, he comes to this realization. |
| 469 | -->'''[=BoJack=]:''' My mom died and all I got was this free churro. You know the shittiest thing about all of this? Is when that stranger behind the counter gave me that free churro, that small act of kindness showed more compassion than [[ResentfulGuardian my mother gave me her entire goddamned life]]. Like, how hard is it to do something ''nice'' for a person? This woman at the Jack-in-the-Box didn't even know me. ''I'm your son''. All I had was you! |
| 470 | * His recollection of connecting with his family on the nights his mother hosted a supper club meeting, forcing [[CallBack him to sing "The Lollipop Song"]], and his father would always bang on the door of his study as warning to keep the noise down... but always joined them when it came time for Beatrice to perform her dance routine, implying that it was the same one (and same dress!) from the night the pair met. |
| 471 | -->'''[=BoJack=]:''' And as a child who was completely terrified of both my parents, I was always aware that this moment of grace... it meant something. We understood each other, in a way. Me and my mom and my dad, [[BigScrewedUpFamily as screwed up as we all were]], we did understand each other. |
| 472 | ** The meaning of Beatrice's dance in her special dress, if indeed it is the one from the night she met Butterscotch, tells the audience the connection without [=BoJack=] ever getting the chance to find out: that dress is the one she had been wearing when [=BoJack=] was conceived. Butterscotch appreciated that moment because it represents the idealized image of what life with his wife and baby might have been like if he'd invested himself into them instead of trying to force the intellectual world to love his work. Just like [=BoJack=], Penny, and Harper... |
| 473 | * [=BoJack=] barely mentions it, but Butterscotch died a rather pointless death in the end: cracking his skull open after tripping during a duel with a critic who didn't like his novel (or so he said, everyone doubts the kook actually read it). It also turns out that in spite of everything his father sacrificed to write it, [=BoJack=]'s never read it. "Why would I give him that?" |
| 474 | * This line, which sums up many a DysfunctionalFamily perfectly: |
| 475 | -->'''[=BoJack=]:''' All three of us were drowning, and we didn't know how to save each other. But there was an understanding we were drowning together. |
| 476 | * Though it was PlayedForLaughs, the ending is still pretty depressing considering the fact that [=BoJack=] gave his entire raw, emotional eulogy at the wrong funeral. |
| 477 | * At one point he mentions Herb Kazzaz and Sarah Lynn. While he's able to bring up Herb's death, he can't bring himself to talk about Sarah's death. |
| 478 | -->'''[=BoJack=]''': It was written by my friend Herb Kazzaz who's also dead now. And it starred this little girl named Sarah Lynn and-- ''(closes his eyes, unable to speak about her any longer)'' --and it was about these orphans... |
| 479 | |
| 480 | [[AC:INT. SUB]] |
| 481 | * The fact that [=BoJack=] so ''clearly'' wants to talk about his mom's death (which, given the last episode, he clearly has a lot of), but is afraid of directly asking for sympathy and had to (badly) act like he doesn't need anybody to talk to him, and they either take him at face value or don't even find it worth trying. Additionally, he really does do well in therapy, but can't own up to actually calling it therapy because he's in such denial of his own emotional vulnerability. |
| 482 | |
| 483 | [[AC: Mr. Peanut Butter's Boos]] |
| 484 | * It's hard not to feel sad seeing the tolls Mr. Peanut Butter's actions take on his wives because he fails to be a good husband by being inattentive and constantly not learning from these mistakes. |
| 485 | ** It's particularly notable when seeing how Katrina used to be, as perhaps the change from fun and cheerful to cynical and cold is the most dramatic. |
| 486 | * Diane is [[ClosetGeek excited to meet [=BoJack=] Horseman]], and he's the only person who understands her extremely convoluted costume[[note]][[Film/TheHangover Baby]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bjorn_Borg Bjorn]] [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Borg]][[/note]], so when he asks what she wants, she babbles and stammers and she confesses directly how much she loved his show growing up. [=BoJack=], however, is receiving the phone call from his mother that his father had died, so he brushes her off rather callously. Mr. Peanutbutter's reassurance to Diane after she laments about what "an ass" she made out of herself while meeting [=BoJack=] is not to worry, because he promises that there's no way [=BoJack=] [[ForgottenFirstMeeting would even remember meeting her in the first place]], is also a little disheartening. |
| 487 | ** [=BoJack=] receives a phone call that his father had died. He promises his mother that they'll figure out his father's funeral, and ends the call with a heartfelt "I'm sorry". He goes inside and immediately begins angsting over how he doesn't feel anything about it. |
| 488 | * The contrast between Diane in 2009 and Diane in 2018 shows how much she became a shell of her former self. She went straight from a meek and gentle girl who was so excited to meet [=BoJack=] to a cold and jaded woman who now wants nothing to do with him. |
| 489 | |
| 490 | [[AC: Head in the Clouds]] |
| 491 | * As much as [=BoJack=] probably needed someone to [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech call him out on his past mistakes]], watching Diane confront him about what happened in New Mexico can be uncomfortable, especially when it's clear that [=BoJack=] doesn't want to talk about it. And then Diane brings up [[MyGreatestFailure Sarah Lynn...]] |
| 492 | * [=BoJack=] grabs Diane's arm to stop her from leaving, but immediately lets go when she says he's hurting her. Considering what [=BoJack=] does to Gina [[HarsherInHindsight in the next episode...]] |
| 493 | |
| 494 | [[AC: The Showstopper]] |
| 495 | * The entire strangulation scene, [=BoJack=] has no idea of what he's truly doing because of his addiction. Gina can be heard choking out "Please stop". Mr. Peanutbutter and Princess Carolyn becoming visually distressed witnessing it unfold. There's also the fact that if Mr. Peanutbutter never intervened, ''Gina could've been killed'' and [=BoJack=]'s life would've taken a much more tragic and awful turn. |
| 496 | * The ending of the episode. In his drug-induced hallucinations, [=BoJack=] climbs an ethereal staircase to a wide-open void. There, he sees the promotional balloon of himself as ''Philbert'' staring back at him. It's dead quiet. It's like [=BoJack=] is having to stare down every horrible thing he's ever done, in the form of something that represents the one thing he had going for him in a long time. '''In other words, that thing is judging him.''' And the credits lack the "Back in the nineties..." song, instead having a very quiet and eerie piano piece. It's a MoodWhiplash from the NightmareFuel tensity of the episode, and it really feels like [=BoJack=] is once again realizing that he will never truly be able to make up for everything he's done. |
| 497 | * During the "Don't Stop Dancing" sequence, the line "When you go" is marked by the stage changing to the planetarium and the actress portraying Sarah Lynn dancing away while [=BoJack=] futilely reaches for her. When he can't, he just drops his head and covers his face. |
| 498 | |
| 499 | [[AC:The Stopped Show]] |
| 500 | * After the last episode's moment of [=BoJack=] strangling Gina, thus ruining ''yet another'' relationship for good, this episode reveals something that just makes it a thousand times worse: ''[[AddledAddict [=BoJack=] doesn't remember any of it]].'' Up until Princess Carolyn shows him, he's genuinely worried for Gina and confused about what exactly has happened. While we've seen [=BoJack=] make his (''very'') bad choices and then deal with the guilt and consequences, this is a sharp contrast. [=BoJack=] has to deal with the guilt and consequences of something he ''can't remember doing.'' His addiction was no one's fault but his own, but the fact that even Princess Carolyn--who has always been the one to tell him to get his crap together and push him on his feet--shows genuine concern for his mental state really says that [=BoJack=] has officially ''cracked.'' |
| 501 | ** The first half of the episode is an ominous but somewhat amusing "cover up" plot, with Princess Carolyn trying to get [=BoJack=] to cooperate without specifically detailing what he's done. When he eventually pushes to see what happened, [[SympathyForTheDevil her reaction to him]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone witnessing his assault]] makes clear this wasn't just for pragmatic reasons, she wanted to spare him the AwfulTruth. |
| 502 | * While it counts as being Awesome and Heartwarming at the same time, the fact that [=BoJack=] spends the episode not only soft-spoken and not even snarking until the end, he (for the first time in the series) asks to be held accountable for what he's done. He wants to come clean to the press about what he's done to Gina, and when that fails, begs Diane to write an article about ''everything''--including the encounter with Penny (although he asks Diane not to mention Gina in the article because he wants to respect her wishes of not being known as "The Girl who got choked by [=BoJack=] Horseman). While always aware of it, [=BoJack=] has truly realized that he is an awful person and he wants to be held responsible for it. The episode ends with him going to rehab for real help. He, Diane, and the audience know that it's not going to solve every single one of his problems, but no matter what, [=BoJack=] is never going to be the same if he follows through. |
| 503 | * Before the interview which tries to lift the cloud of controversy surrounding them, [=BoJack=] offers to come clean about the choking incident, but Gina says that she'll lie about what happened. No matter how much she wants him punished, ''Philbert'' was her big break, and she can't afford to have the show cancelled now because of what it means for her future. Even so, Gina makes it perfectly clear that she'll only be cordial to [=BoJack=] onset, and that she wants nothing to do with him ever again. [=BoJack=]'s resigned sigh about how he ruined a perfectly good thing -- ''again'' -- because of his rash decisions is heart-rending. |
| 504 | -->'''Gina:''' You physically overpowered me, and if there were any justice, you would be in jail right now. But my career, after so many failed attempts, is finally starting to take off. I am getting offers, and fan mail, and magazine columns about what a good actor I am. People know me because of my acting. And all that goes away if I'm just the girl who got choked by [=BoJack=] Horseman. [...] I don't want you to be the most notable thing that ever happened to me. I don't want you to be the question I get asked in interviews for the rest of my life. You need to do this for me, okay? Because I just want this to be over.\ |
| 505 | '''[=BoJack=]:''' Can we talk about it, maybe after the interview?\ |
| 506 | '''Gina:''' No. I will be civil to you on set when we have scenes together, but otherwise, I never wanna think about you again. |
| 507 | ** And yet, ''Philbert'' is cancelled anyway for other unrelated reasons. Gina may have other offers, but how viable they may be and whether they stand after getting the ax is never revealed. Either way, she has lost something by simply getting involved with [=BoJack=]. With Hollywoo. With any golden-plated dreams she may have once had. |
| 508 | * Mr. Peanutbutter takes Pickles to the restaurant she works at, working up the courage to tell her that he cheated on her (multiple times, in fact) with his now ex-wife Diane. After finally building to a head, Mr. Peanutbutter seems like he's going to tell Pickles the truth... and then suddenly asks her to marry him. Considering what impulsive decisions [[ATragedyOfImpulsiveness lead to on this show]], one can't help but feel this is going to end in heartache for the both of them. Diane's earlier HannibalLecture to Mr. Peanutbutter about how he always dates young, immature girls whom inevitably outgrow him apparently didn't stick. |
| 509 | * The final scene of the season, in which [=BoJack=] goes to a rehab clinic. It's a rather BittersweetEnding since at least [=BoJack=] is finally going to admit he needs help, but it takes him ruining yet another relationship with someone to do it. |
| 510 | ** BJ and Diane rehearsing what he's gonna say: |
| 511 | --->'''Diane's version:''' You say, "Hello. I am [=BoJack=]. Horseman, obviously. You've probably heard of me. I'm very famous. So sober me up, please!"\ |
| 512 | '''[=BoJack=]'s version:''' "Hello. I am [=BoJack=] Horseman. Obviously, you know who I am, because I'm very famous, and [[DeadpanSnarker also we called ahead]]. And I am here [...] [[SincerityMode because I need help]]." |
| 513 | ** Diane makes it clear about her complicated feelings with [=BoJack=] in the same scene, detailing a story about her best friend in high school, Abby. Despite all they'd gone through together, Abby ditched Diance after becoming popular, but Diane was still there for Abby when her mom got really sick. The same now applies to [=BoJack=]. |
| 514 | --->'''Diane:''' I hated her. And I'll never forgive her. But she was my best friend. And she needed me. And I loved her. Now, here you are. And I hate you. But, you're my best friend. And you need me. |
| 515 | *** To make things slightly worse, notice which part of the line ''isn't'' repeated. |
| 516 | *** If we go by that, ''two'' lines aren't repeated: the first one shows how low [=BoJack=] has fallen from Diane's view, to the point of doing this favor to him of all people out of the simple empathy one can feel for someone else, regardless of whether they like them or not. [[HeartwarmingInHindsight The other, however]]... |
| 517 | *** [[FromBadToWorse Ready for the punchline?]] As [=BoJack=] leaves, Diane looks his way [[WhatYouAreInTheDark and her expression changes.]] She goes from deep in thought to angry to sadly smiling to simply looking sad. Then, she gets back in the car and drives away. She may not say it, but even with all that's happened, even with the horrible stuff he's done, Diane still cares for [=BoJack=]. She no longer knows if she should, but she ''does''. |
| 518 | *** There's also her weak FutileHandReach gesture as she stands outside....Yeesh, not to dissimilar to Hollyhock's AirHugging earlier in the season. |
| 519 | *** We end the season on Diane stomping out her cig and driving into a tunnel, and with her earlier admission that she feels like human garbage, her depression doesn't seem to be getting better anytime soon. |
| 520 | * While it's small potatoes in comparison to everything else (and doubles as rather hilarious), Todd taking his sex robot out to a beautiful field and putting him down is actually pretty sad. |
| 521 | -->'''Henry Fondle:''' I LOVE YOU...FATHER... |
| 522 | * Flip’s reaction to the forced cancellation of ''Philbert'', with his hands anxiously shaking and reaching to pour himself a drink as he tries to [[TryingNotToCry calmly but desperately]] reassure Princess Carolyn that the show’s legacy isn’t over... only to realize she’s [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere already jumped ship]]. As [[TheScrappy unbearably shitty]] as he may be, not above putting his cast through hell for his own artistic benefit, it’s surprisingly tragic to see Flip’s creative vision forced to fold before it really even had the chance to stick around, [[BittersweetEnding despite the toxicity it created for [=BoJack=] and crew]]. Then Flip [[MoodWhiplash sorta goes off tangent]] and is convinced [[TomatoInTheMirror he was Princess Carolyn the whole time]]. |
| 523 | [[/folder]] |
| 524 | |
| 525 | [[folder:Season 6]] |
| 526 | [[AC:General]] |
| 527 | * [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOGxOQxXjdo The trailer]] confirming that Season 6 will indeed be the series' last. |
| 528 | * Just to hammer home the fact that the show's coming to an end, the title sequence this season shows all of the most devastating moments in the series: Herb calling out [=BoJack=], the starry sky from Sarah Lynn's death, the glowstick balloons from [=BoJack=]'s trip to New Mexico, [=BoJack=]'s old destroyed home, [=BoJack=]'s mom in the awful retirement home, and the press release of Philbert. |
| 529 | * [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osY929PCs2o The trailer for the second half.]] Safe to say that the journey to the end won't be easy for the horse from ''JustForFun/HorsinAround''. |
| 530 | ** There is one particular shot of [=BoJack=] holding a letter from Hollyhock, while having shaky hands. This does not bode well for the two's relationship, since the mid-season finale had Hollyhock seemingly learn about [=BoJack=]'s less than stellar attitude back then. It's made even worse when another shot has Diane, Todd and Princess Carolyn attending [=BoJack=]'s theatre play, with an empty seat next to Diane. The implications may be clear... |
| 531 | *** The second half of the season confirms the worst to be true. |
| 532 | |
| 533 | [[AC:A Horse Walks Into Rehab]] |
| 534 | * Right off the bat we get a flashback to right after Sarah Lynn's death, where we learn that [=BoJack=] lied about being involved. He promises himself he's going to make changes in his life...then immediately downs a bottle from his car. |
| 535 | ** In this scene, we see Sarah Lynn's parents, especially her mother, cry over their loss, with her mother blaming herself. The sad part is that there is truth to that, [[AbusiveParents her mother being the one who pushed her into show business.]] Then Sarah Lynn's stepfather claims it's nobody's fault, which is also upsetting, given the [[PaedoHunt implications about his relationship with her,]] yet he [[NeverMyFault seems to feel no shame regarding her mental issues or death.]] |
| 536 | * This episode treats us to various flashbacks explaining the source of [=BoJack=]'s alcoholism, and we see that it really is not ''entirely'' his fault as he seems to insist, but a variety of stressful factors that go further and further back into his life, punctuated by the transition of a burning film reel as if [=BoJack=] is trying to block these memories out. |
| 537 | ** Early in the days of ''Horsin' Around,'' [=BoJack=] gets nervous doing a kiss scene with [[Creator/CindyCrawford Cindy Crawfish]], until his hairstylist Sharona offers him some spiked orange juice, which helps him get through the scene. |
| 538 | ** He visits a WildTeenParty and nearly has a panic attack, causing him to flash back to his own high school party where he was bullied by everybody, except one girl, Katie, who was nice to him. He decides to try to drink against his better judgement, and ends up the life of the party because he makes fun of everyone else. However, he makes fun of Katie, getting everyone to laugh at him but causing her to run off crying, severing his chance with someone who liked him for who he was. |
| 539 | ** As a child, he catches his father having sex with his secretary, so Butterscotch gives [=BoJack=] a Jack and Coke. The young horse ends up passed out and asleep, Butterscotch driving him home, telling him his mother would be disappointed in him and insisting [[LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain they don't tell her about anything that happened that night.]] |
| 540 | ** Finally it flashes back to him being a very young child, lying alone after his parents, now passed out from drinking, had a party. He sneaks a drink of vodka, then curls up next to his sleeping mother. |
| 541 | * Jameson is a self-sabotaging, unreliable young girl, [[TheWoobie but it's hard to not feel bad for her.]] She lost her mother to cancer and her father remarried, and seems convinced that her dad hates her for not being part of his "perfect family." Then she finds her best friend making out with her boyfriend, who berates her for being a "mess" who has to return to rehab so often, which causes Jameson to break down crying, convinced that she may as well drink, until [=BoJack=] convinces her otherwise. Then we actually meet her father, learn that she's been constantly breaking out of rehab, that her father ''does'' care about her, and most importantly, the "new baby" she's been expressing jealousy towards? [[TeenPregnancy It's her own baby.]] [=BoJack=] lies that she broke out to see her baby, but her father doesn't believe it. |
| 542 | |
| 543 | [[AC:The New Client]] |
| 544 | * Princess Carolyn is utterly worn down. Between Mr. Peanutbutter's increasingly erratic behavior and her lack of experience in actually raising a child, her life seems to be collapsing around her. You know it's serious when Vanessa Gecko of all people has to give her a pep talk. |
| 545 | * Speaking of Mr. Peanutbutter, he actually feels guilty about cheating on Pickles, to the point that it's damaging his work ethic, which is the main thing that's kept his career afloat despite his many bad business decisions. No wonder he's so eager to get rid of the guilt. |
| 546 | ** Vanessa Gecko is shocked when Princess Carolyn inadvertently confesses that she's always hated the latter, and says [[OneSidedRivalry she never hated Princess Carolyn]]. |
| 547 | ** The episode ends with Princess Carolyn coaxing her baby to sleep, using some tongue twisters. They laugh together as Untitled Princess Carolyn Project settles down. She then tentatively tries out a name: "[[CallBack Ruthie]]," the name that she hopes her descendant would carry. The baby seems to like the name, and Princess Carolyn gives a peaceful smile. Cue the ending song being a lullaby arrangement of "Back in the '90s." Many viewers reported bursting into tears on seeing this scene. |
| 548 | |
| 549 | [[AC:Feel-Good Story]] |
| 550 | * Diane had finally found a satisfying career exposing corporate misdeeds, and it all goes up in smoke after Girl Croosh is sold to Whitewhale, for no other reason than because Stefani wanted more money. |
| 551 | * Diane nearly tanks her burgeoning relationship with Guy because after everything that happened in her marriage to Mr. Peanutbutter and her friendship with [=BoJack=], she has trouble letting someone in. |
| 552 | |
| 553 | [[AC:Surprise!]] |
| 554 | * The episode starts with a montage of Pickles making videos, first with makeup tutorials, then all the way up to livestreaming. The second-to-last one is of Pickles in the present day, about to hop out into the living room after a date with Mr. Peanutbutter, when Mr. Peanutbutter says that he has [[InternalReveal something to tell her]]. The last livestream is of Pickles crying, saying the wedding is off. The poor girl just looks ''devastated.'' |
| 555 | |
| 556 | [[AC:A Little Uneven, Is All]] |
| 557 | * We get another flashback where [=BoJack=] treats young Sarah Lynn horribly. First he complains about her being in his dressing room, and when she complains her stepfather is [[PaedoHunt "being weird,"]] he says that isn't his problem. Then he lashes out at her for expressing she misses Herb, retorting Sharona's reminder that Sarah Lynn is only ten by claiming ten is basically an adult in Hollywood. They leave her alone in the dressing room where she gets ahold of [=BoJack=]'s vodka and her mother demands to know who's responsible, leaving [=BoJack=] to once again decide whether to take the fall, or dodge responsibility at the expense of someone who cares about him...[[ForegoneConclusion guess which path he chose.]] |
| 558 | * Diane struggles to begin writing her memoir, but seems to be on a good path later, typing vigorously on her laptop. [[WhamShot Then we see what she's actually been writing.]] |
| 559 | --> [[MadnessMantra I am terrible. I am terrible. I am terrible. I am terrible. I am terrible...]] |
| 560 | |
| 561 | [[AC:The Kidney Stays in the Picture]] |
| 562 | * Dr. Champ ends up falling off the wagon and completely relapses back into alcoholism thanks to [=BoJack=] holding onto to Jameson's contraband vodka that he accidentally drinks. [=BoJack=] ends up checking him into a completely separate rehab facility, but Dr. Champ still ends up parting with [=BoJack=] on negative terms. He blames [=BoJack=] for potentially ruining his reputation and likely tanking his marriage as well, since Champ had promised his husband that he would not fall back into his vices after [[NoodleIncident what happened with their daughter]]. [=BoJack=] ends up accepting this without much argument due to his role in Champ's fall. |
| 563 | * We meet Todd's stepfather Jorge, and see that they have a very shaky relationship in which Jorge is deeply disappointed with Todd's whimsical lifestyle while Todd feels disrespected and resents Jorge disrupting his family dynamic. Jorge comes to Todd hoping to get a kidney for his comatose mother, and Todd seems [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness unusually averse]] to talking about her in depth. |
| 564 | |
| 565 | [[AC:The Face Of Depression]] |
| 566 | * As soon as [=BoJack=] walks back into his house, visions of every bad thing he's done there ([[CallBack his fight with Gina, his abuse towards Todd, yelling at Diane that he's never going to change, throwing his mom's doll out the window, etc.]]) flood his mind, appearing in every corner of the house, and he's too sober to avoid them now. |
| 567 | |
| 568 | [[AC:A Quick One, While He's Away]] |
| 569 | * While in New York, Hollyhock meets [[TheBusCameBack Pete Repeat]] at a party, and the two of them hit it off. And then they get to talking about alcohol while hanging out on the fire escape, [[InternalReveal leading to Pete to tell Hollyhock]] about a bad experience he had [[Recap/BojackHorsemanS2E11EscapeFromLA at his prom]], when he and his girlfriend were ditched at the ER when "some shitty guy" caused her to get alcohol poisoning. What's more, Pete admits his surprise to have learned that this guy is actually a famous actor... And although it's clear the dots are connecting in her head, [[AwfulTruth the episode ends with Hollyhock wanting a name, which Pete starts to say...]] |
| 570 | ** Pete admits to Hollyhock that while Maddy did survive the alcohol poisoning, the incident had traumatized him for quite a while afterward. It's very likely this is why he has a psychiatrist that taught him techniques to get through anxiety attacks in the first place. |
| 571 | * Gina is still clearly traumatized from being choked out by [=BoJack=] last season, having a small FreakOut when her costar dips her while filming a dance scene due to his hand being on her neck. What's worse is, due to her keeping the incident under wraps, her director discourages Kelsey from hiring her for the superhero movie because Gina is "[[ThePrimaDonna difficult]]". Worse still, this is the last time we see Gina in the series, so we never know if she ever got better or not. |
| 572 | ** On a brighter note, Kelsey apparently hired her anyway. She can later be seen on a billboard for Fireflame playing the titular role. |
| 573 | * Since her last appearance, Kelsey Jannings has now been blacklisted from any major Hollywoo project, being relegated to directing corporate commercials. The only way for her to rebound her career is to compromise her beliefs, sell out and direct the next superhero blockbuster. (Luckily, she was able to convince them to her more complex version of the story, so it not a complete sellout). |
| 574 | * One of the subplots is about two investigative journalists digging deeper into the circumstances surrounding Sarah Lynn's death. As they begin to unravel what really happened, and [[{{Cliffhanger}} as their trail at the end of the episode leads them to Tesuque, New Mexico]], you can't help but feel worried about [=BoJack=]... especially since these journalists are clearly planning on publishing their findings. |
| 575 | * It seems that Sarah Lynn's mom, despite (or possibly because of)[[StageMom all the damage she]] caused Sarah Lynn as a child, is still racked with guilt about her death, and desperately calls the news every other day to try and see if there's more information to her case. |
| 576 | ** Despite that concern, though, she's DramaticallyMissingThePoint regarding Sarah-Lynn's final voicemail, [[CallingTheOldManOut where Sarah-Lynn drunkenly castigates her]] over [[WellDoneSonGuy nothing ever being good enough for her]], but her takeaway is "What an angel. She just wanted me to be happy." [[EveryoneHasStandards Even Sinclair and Banks are taken aback by this self-denial.]] |
| 577 | |
| 578 | [[AC:Intermediate Scene Study w/[=Bojack=] Horseman]] |
| 579 | * After avoiding him the entire episode, [=BoJack=] finally manages to get a dialogue with Hollyhock in the end where she tells him about a friend she has a fight with, but whom she still loves. She tells [=BoJack=] they're in a fight too, but is unable to tell [=BoJack=] that she loves ''him'' anymore. This might also serve as a tragic parallel to the season 5 finale where Diane had a very similar dialogue, telling [=BoJack=] about a friend who treated her badly but who she still loved, and now [=BoJack=] had treated her badly, but she doesn't tell [=BoJack=] she loves ''him''. That not only Diane, but also Hollyhock, who ''has'' told [=BoJack=] before that she loves him, isn't able to say those words to him anymore, might be the most heartbreaking consequence of [=BoJack=]'s actions to him personally. |
| 580 | |
| 581 | [[AC:Good Damage]] |
| 582 | * Even though Kyle noted on the phone last season that he hadn't noticed any big changes with his family, Penny's complex trauma and Charlotte's guilt are still very clear in their final appearance. Paige and Max track Penny down for her side of the Sarah Lynn story. Penny opens up about Oberlin, shocking her mom, and Charlotte tries desperately to keep Penny from telling the reporters everything. Penny worries because [=BoJack=] is still out there, but Charlotte worries they'll lose control of the story once it's out there, people will focus on the mistakes they made and notes Penny's apparent panic disorder. During this exchange, we also learn Penny keeps a photo of her prom in a box under her bed, because she couldn't bear to throw it out, though it gives her confusing feelings. |
| 583 | * Diane's panic attack after going into withdrawal from stopping her anti-depressants, crying that she's terrible and deserves everything bad. |
| 584 | * Ivy Tran is a PerpetualSmiler. She only frowns once; when Diane is having a breakdown about how she can't write her memoirs. Ivy does what she does with her retail store clients; goes over, and starts comforting her. Even so, Diane isn't completely sold on selling Ivy Tran to Princess Carolyn. |
| 585 | * Diane's little rant to Princess Carolyn about the ''Ivy Tran'' story she wrote. Though it's clear a part of her wants to write it over her memoirs, to the point where Princess Carolyn could tell she was having fun writing it, Diane's still hesitant. Because then it means that the lasting damage caused by her AbusiveParents means nothing, that she got nothing out of it. This is a rather unfortunate truth; people have bad childhoods, shitty things happen, and it's generally meaningless. |
| 586 | --> '''Diane''': That means that all the damage I got isn't [[TitleDrop good damage]]. It's just damage. I have gotten nothing out of it and all those years I was miserable was for nothing. I could have been happy this whole time and written books about girl detectives and been cheerful and popular and had good parents, is that what you're saying? What was it all for?! |
| 587 | * Princess Carolyn's expression during Diane's rant. At first, she's in business mode, preparing to recruit one of the horse's students, and giving a pep talk to Diane about how she knows that Diane enjoys writing the ''Ivy Tran'' books. Then Diane rants about how her childhood trauma was for nothing and she could have been happy. Princess Carolyn knows all too well what it's like living with an abusive parent, and has likely asked herself the same question on why she's not happy. She honestly says that she doesn't know if Diane could have avoided all the suffering in her life, but Ivy Tran made her happy, and she wants to share it with Ruthie, as either a book or a movie franchise. Diane's book made little girls like Princess Carolyn feel less alone, and that's why she connects with it. |
| 588 | |
| 589 | [[AC:Sunk Cost and All That]] |
| 590 | * Pickles leave Mr. Peanutbutter to go on tour with Joey Pogo, after a couple episodes building up their emotional connection. Mr. Peanutbutter encourages her to go and have fun, and she mentions planning the wedding when she gets back, but he clearly knows it's over and this is goodbye. |
| 591 | * There's also the fact that he gives the reporters everything they need to destroy [=BoJack=], while thinking he's helping his good friend. His well-meaning obliviousness ends up with tragic consequences for [=BoJack=]. |
| 592 | * Paige and Max project very heavily into the emotional relations between Pickles and Joey Pogo, making it abundantly clear that they have feelings for each other. Paige, refusing to double-cross her fiance, cuts the story at Sara Lynn's death, instead of establishing the pattern like she wanted, just to get away from Max. [[TheAlcoholic Max]] is so heartbroken by this that [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness he can't even bring himself to drink once she leaves him. ]] |
| 593 | |
| 594 | [[AC:Xerox Of a Xerox]] |
| 595 | * [=BoJack=] came so, SO close to actually looking sympathetic despite his involvement in Sarah Lynn's death, but his AttentionWhore personality and desperate need for validation once again ruin things for him when he agrees to a second interview, not knowing that one of the reporters had talked to the interviewer just before, and gotten her in contact with Doctor Champ, who gave away all of [=BoJack=]'s dirty secrets as petty revenge, leading to his entire history with not only Sarah Lynn, but pretty much every single woman he hurt in the entire series being exposed. He ends up being portrayed as a predatory monster and his life falls apart completely. |
| 596 | ** In addition, [[TheReveal everybody (including the audience) learns one detail about Sarah Lynn's death]] that he'd never before made clear: ''[[MoralEventHorizon she wasn't dead yet, and he waited]] '''[[MoralEventHorizon seventeen minutes]]''' [[MoralEventHorizon to call for help because he was too concerned with coming up with a good alibi]]''. It's said that if he'd called the paramedics earlier, they could have saved her. Even after a night where he admitted to truly loving Sarah Lynn, he threw away the chance to save her life so he could cover his ass. |
| 597 | ** A small one, but despite [=BoJack=] and Sharona getting some closure in "The Face of Depression", as soon as [=BoJack=] suspects Sharona told Biscuits Braxby about the incident when Sarah Lynn got drunk as a child (it was really Dr. Champ who told her), he immediately tries to throw her under the bus. It really shows that despite his growth, he still hasn't changed that much to not try and cover his own ass. |
| 598 | * The look on Princess Carolyn's face after [=BoJack=] states that Sarah Lynn was not like those other girls (he dated) because he loved Sarah Lynn. Princess Carolyn was one of those "other girls", and [=BoJack=] basically admitted that he never truly cared for Princess Carolyn even after all that she's done for him. |
| 599 | * Princess Carolyn's parting words to Bojack before she drives home. You can tell just by the resignation in her voice that she's finally done with him. |
| 600 | -->"I think you have three hours before this interview airs and your world changes completely. You should think about how you want to spend that time. I'm going home to my daughter." |
| 601 | |
| 602 | [[AC:The Horny Unicorn]] |
| 603 | * The episode opens a few months after the previous one, showing that things went downhill ''fast'' after the second interview, to the point that [=BoJack=] is now an utter pariah in Hollywoo, and probably the rest of the world as well. It's so bad that even the people at his ''AA meeting'' want nothing to do with him, despite the entire point of the group is to be a place without judgment. The only people who are still willing to talk to him on friendly terms are Mr. Peanutbutter, Vance Waggoner, and a bunch of douchey fratboys, which doesn't help at all, since Waggoner hasn't changed one bit and drags [=BoJack=] along for his horrible behavior. [=BoJack=] also lost his house and most of his money in the lawsuits Sarah Lynn’s parents and the Xerox Corporation (due to [=BoJack=] referencing Xerox in his first interview) put him through. |
| 604 | ** Speaking of the AA meeting, sharped eyed viewers may notice one person missing in the group: Sharona. Her lack of presence in the group speaks volumes of how much [=BoJack=] hurt Sharona with his false accusation, [[KickTheDog along with him outing her as an alcoholic on TV]]. It gets worse knowing that Sharona never makes another appearance again, and whether she attends another AA meeting after this is left up in that air. |
| 605 | * When Todd throws a housewarming party for the apartment that he and Maude moved into, [=BoJack=] hears about it and he attempts to show up. Todd quickly refuses to let [=BoJack=] into the party because he doesn't want to risk anything bad happening, especially because he's expecting his mother to show up and hasn't talked to her in ten years. |
| 606 | ** To make matters worse, Todd's mother doesn't even show up, meaning [=BoJack=] was denied the party for nothing. Also sad on Todd's end, since he threw together that party ''just for her''. |
| 607 | * '''[=BoJack=] loses Hollyhock.''' He receives a letter from her earlier in the episode after she doesn’t return his calls, and while the audience never gets to see what's in it when he finally reads it, he's utterly floored and devastated by its contents; you can even see him losing his breath because of it. What's worse, is after he confessed it was just nice to hear her voice on an answering machine, she even wound up disconnecting her phone so he couldn't contact her in any way. |
| 608 | ** It's also upsetting from Hollyhock's perspective. She's gone through hell and back in her fairly short time with [=BoJack=], putting up with his [[InnocentlyInsensitive instinctive rudeness]] and clingy behavior, as well as the incident with his mom and breaking the law to get him drugs. Then she finds out he may have done creepy things with girls ''her own age,'' as well as leaving somebody to die from an overdose and abandoned a teen who got alcohol poisoning because of him ([[FridgeHorror likely triggering news for her, considering her own overdose in his house even though it wasn't his fault it happened]]), as well and ''countless other things'' he's done to women he has power over. This caused the realization that, as much as she cares about him, she barely even knows him at all and can't risk him getting her into further trouble. |
| 609 | ** The episode ends with [=BoJack=] relapsing after reading Hollyhock's letter. |
| 610 | |
| 611 | [[AC:Angela]] |
| 612 | * After losing almost everything else in his life, [=BoJack=] is finally forced to give up ''Horsin Around'' too, as the show [[OvershadowedByControversy got completely tainted by his actions]], and the network wants to recut it and re-release it as 8-minute episodes centered only on the other characters so they can still profit off it, but can't without [=BoJack=] agreeing to be bought off for good. Desperate for money, and wanting some lasting legacy for Sarah Lynn, [=BoJack=] agrees. %%InUniverse |
| 613 | ** Angela returns, and reveals that she was bluffing back when she got [=BoJack=] to agree to have Herb fired from the show. She's completely unapologetic and hasn't changed at all, still insisting IDidWhatIHadToDo, and mocks [=BoJack=] for thinking he's any better than her. |
| 614 | * [=BoJack=] breaks into his old house and proceeds to stumble around it in an intoxicated stupor. In the midst of a ''Horsin' Around'' DVD binge, he comes across his screen test for the show in the bonus features. He's shown coming into the part with Herb's moral support despite his nerves initially getting the better of him, and it culminates in [=BoJack=] turning off the TV as his younger, happier self is offered the role. The episode ends on a particularly haunting contrasted shot of [[ThousandYardStare [=BoJack=] staring silently at his reflection in the screen]], all too aware of [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1_07.png what he's since become:]] alone, penniless, despised, and above all else, '''''[[DespairEventHorizon broken]].''''' |
| 615 | -->'''Young [=BoJack=]:''' Perfect! Yeah, y-you think we got it? |
| 616 | -->'''Herb:''' (''happily'') [[DramaticIrony Buckle up, buddy]]. ''[[DramaticIrony Your life is about to start!]]'' |
| 617 | [[AC: The View From Halfway Down]] |
| 618 | * [=BoJack=] combines Secretariat and Butterscotch in his mind, and the result is an odd combination: while he's physically presented as Secretariat, the voice is Butterscotch, and the character is able to switch between the both of them as far as thoughts and failed dreams. As a result of Secretariat's amiability, Butterscotch is able to communicate to his son, for the first and final time, that he truly loved him, ''and'' Beatrice, but ultimately knows that [[HateSink who he was as a person]] meant that he would never be able to credibly claim so, he was ''terrified'' [[RealMenHateAffection of showing that kind of vulnerability]], and was convinced [[HeelFaceDoorSlam it would have been pointless to attempt it]]. Whether you interpret it as Butterscotch posthumously reaching out to his son, or an excuse of [=BoJack=]'s admittedly confused desire to be connected to the parents he was terrified of, they're both tragic. |
| 619 | * This episode reveals that not only was [=CrackerJack=]'s death devastating, setting off cycles of abuse for generations, but it was unnecessary. He ''volunteered'' for the army for a desire to serve his country, and was completely unqualified for it; his only confirmed kills in combat were from a friendly fire accident, and he never helped free a single person from the concentration camps. Though it should be noted all of this is taking place in [=BoJack's=] mind, who never met Crackerjack, so this information can be debatable. |
| 620 | * [=BoJack=] seems to have realized that what he did to Sarah Lynn was awful. Before she starts her show, he tries to apologize. [[RejectedApology Sarah Lynn shuts him up and says it's not his time to talk]]. |
| 621 | * The meals everyone is having at the dinner inside [=BoJack=]'s mind is the last thing they ate before dying. Not a meal necessarily, just the last thing they ate. Corderoy's is the lemon he had in his mouth when he accidentally hanged himself, Herb's is the peanuts that killed him, [=CrackerJack=]'s is an army c-ration, Beatrice’s is a nursing home meal on a plastic plate, and Sarah Lynn is a fast food meal from her and [=BoJack=]'s final binge. And [=BoJack=]'s is a bottle of chlorinated swimming pool water and a plateful of pills. |
| 622 | * Really, just the entire "show" everyone puts on in general before stepping, or falling through, [[NothingIsScarier the pitch black doorway]] and vanishing forever. |
| 623 | ** Sarah Lynn puts on a dance and song number, and her final words are "Don't stop dancing..." |
| 624 | ** Secretariat's poem, [[MidSuicideRegret which is about his suicide]] and includes the episode TitleDrop, which devolves into terrified stammering once he reaches mid-fall. The Black Door appears right behind him -- slowly getting closer each time as he gets more and more scared -- and Secretariat ultimately falls backwards through it as he finishes the last line of his poem, complete with a haunting DeathCryEcho. |
| 625 | ** Beatrice and [=CrackerJack=]'s duet, with [=CrackerJack=] performing a DarkReprise of the song he and his mother used to play, as Beatrice performs an interpretive ribbon dance, which he ties to his waist before literally dragging her into the door with him. |
| 626 | ** Herb is the last to leave, and has some parting words for [=BoJack=]. |
| 627 | --->'''[=BoJack=]:''' Is it terrifying?\ |
| 628 | '''Herb:''' No, I don't think so. It's just the way it is, you know? Everything has to end. The drip finally stops. ''(sticks his arm into The Black Door)''\ |
| 629 | '''[=BoJack=]:''' See you on the other side.\ |
| 630 | '''Herb:''' ''(with sadness in his voice, as the darkness creeps out the door and slowly consumes him)'' Oh, [=BoJack=], no... [[CessationOfExistence there is no other side]]. This is it. ''(is eaten entirely by the darkness)'' |
| 631 | * [=BoJack=] insists that he can't be dying, because he remembers getting out of the pool and making a phone call to Diane. Finally, we find out it went to voice mail, and [=BoJack=] went back into the water after leaving a final message on her phone. The episode ends with the sound of a flatlining heart monitor... |
| 632 | |
| 633 | [[AC: Nice While it Lasted]] |
| 634 | * The HopeSpot at the beginning for [=BoJack=], when he wakes up in the hospital, realizing that he's still alive... only to find that he's handcuffed to the bed, with a disgruntled Officer Meow-Meow Fuzzyface guarding him. He might not be dead, but breaking and entering was the final straw, and he's finally hauled to court for everything he's done. |
| 635 | ** The young son of the family who bought [=BoJack=]'s house becomes an overnight celebrity after appearing on a talk show talking about the experience of finding [=BoJack=] in the pool, and articles about his rising stardom appears alongside the ones about [=BoJack=]'s legal troubles. Anyone keeping track would know that the same thing that happened to Sarah Lynn and countless other child stars is likely about to repeat themselves with him. |
| 636 | ** The fact that [=BoJack=] admits that he deserves the KangarooCourt trial he received, with a jury made up of former enemies, as well as a sentence of 18 months in a maximum security prison. He says prison helps him stay sober, and gives him a routine as well as a purpose. Heck, when Princess Carolyn pulls strings to let him attend her wedding, he considers going back to prison because it's safe and familiar, and he won't have to face his past. |
| 637 | ** If you look closely at the jury during [=BoJack=]'s trial, you'll see that literally every single one of them is someone who had their life ruined or were otherwise negatively affected by [=BoJack=]'s actions throughout the series. [=BoJack=]'s past reprehensible behavior has truly caught up to him in the worst way possible. |
| 638 | * [=BoJack's=] AttentionWhore ways resurfacing when Princess Carolyn mentions that The Horny Unicorn is likely to be a hit. He calms down eventually, but one thing is clear: even after all the trauma and all the change, he'll never get over that one FatalFlaw. The look on Princess Carolyn's face at that moment makes it even sadder; you can see that as much as she loves [=BoJack=], she's afraid of letting him too far back into her life because of the chance that he could relapse. |
| 639 | * We never hear anything about Hollyhock's whereabouts, confirming that she's truly gone from [=BoJack=]'s life once and for all. Keep in mind, she's the only family member he had left, and one of the only people he truly cared for. So when she leaves [=BoJack=], he lost not only a family member, but also a part of himself. |
| 640 | ** James Hunt of Screen Rant best describes this; |
| 641 | ---> "Hollyhock doesn't appear again in [=BoJack=] Horseman, and while she's presumably still attending the University, we don't know if things will ever be resolved between her and [=BoJack=]. We can perhaps assume, then, that her letter was saying as much; drawing a line under their relationship, explaining what she knew of his actions, and that she no longer wanted to be a part of his life." |
| 642 | * "Hey, wouldn’t it be funny if this night was the last time we ever talked to each other?" |
| 643 | ** While it's never outright stated, it's heavily implied this is the last time that Diane and [=BoJack=] see each other, moving on with their own lives. At least for [=BoJack=], however, he's able to have one thing that sets it apart from other people that he lost: closure, as well as accepting Diane's decision. He and Diane speak with one another for the last time, and then just stare at the sky together. A bittersweet end of such a heavy series. |
| 644 | ** The song played, "Mr. Blue," represents [=BoJack=] and Diane's relationship as a whole; while they know that they'll always remember each other, and that they're better off for having been friends, they have to move on. |
| 645 | ** Diane has a vent about trusting that [=BoJack=] would be okay when she left for Chicago, and then he calls her drunk and suicidal, putting all the responsibility on her if he takes a swim or not. |
| 646 | * The finale as a whole had a fair few lines that could be interpreted as LeaningOnTheFourthWall about [[EndOfSeriesAwareness the show itself ending]], including [=BoJack=] and Todd's conversation about whether [[WordOfGod what the artist put into the art]] or [[DeathOfTheAuthor what the audience gets out of it]] that matters? |
| 647 | [[/folder]] |
| 648 | |
| 649 | [[folder:Horsin' Around]] |
| 650 | * During the Christmas special, the Horse tries to convince Sabrina that Santa Claus is real and will give you what you want if you're good. Sabrina then asks if Santa can bring her parents back. The Horse goes OhCrap. Sabrina appropriately goes into HeroicBSOD when on Christmas Day she gets a letter supposedly from her parents and says that's not the same. |
| 651 | * Sabrina saying that Olivia told her that you get pop quizzes at school, and she goes DramaticallyMissingThePoint as in the quiz makes you pop. She then hides under the breakfast table in her pajamas, refusing to come out for chocolate chip pancakes. (To say nothing of what the Horse's ''actor'' said to Sabrina's actress in between takes of this scene, which would mess her up off-camera.) |
| 652 | * The SuddenDownerEnding: the Horse developed a heart attack, just as the kids are entering teenage years, and the doctor on call lambasts them for not loving him enough. Then a Child Services agent shows up to return the trio to foster care. You can't blame the Stage Audience for giving a BigNo. |
| 653 | * ''Ethan Around'' would have retconned the Horse's death, so that he grew old and supported Ethan taking in three young foals. It meant Olivia and Sabrina also grew up with their dad and gotten happy endings. Thanks to the show getting canceled before it could even become a pilot, the horse is still dead. |
| 654 | [[/folder]] |
| 655 | |
| 656 | [[folder:Promotional Material]] |
| 657 | * In preparation for season 5, [=BoJack=] binge-watched the entire show, and live-tweeted his thoughts. While this leads to many heartwarming and funny moments, it also means that [=BoJack=] is forced to confront his biggest failures again. Whenever he sees something he isn't proud of, (The bitter end of his and Herb's relationship, Sarah Lynn's death,) his response is just to get more alcohol. Even worse in hindsight of what happens in season 5. |
| 658 | [[/folder]] |
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