Written by: Alison Flierl & Scott Chernoff
Directed by: Matt Mariska
Air date: July 17, 2015.
As the first celebrity guest on Mr. Peanutbutter's new game show, BoJack thinks it'll be a cakewalk.
He is mistaken.
"Let's Find Out" contains examples of:
- Accidental Misnaming: Daniel Radcliffe constantly mispronounces BoJack's name, calling him "Chadwick Boseman" or "Jock-jack Door-slam". This bites him in the ass later. Though it can also be Malicious Misnaming since he remembers everyone but BoJack.
- Adam Westing: Daniel Radcliffe guest stars as a rather self-aggrandizing, big name star who's accustomed to the pamper of Hollywoo and has borderline Yaoi Fangirl tendencies.
- The latter may also count as an Actor Allusion to one of Radcliffe's more controversial roles involving stallions.
- Anticipatory Breath Spray: Done by Mr. Peanutbutter just before kissing BoJack.
- All or Nothing: The final round, along with Double the Dollars.
- The Announcer: Mr. Peanutbutter, cracking up the ham up to eleven.
- Arc Words: Game shows don't allow the special contestants (i.e: celebrities) to keep the money for themselves, since they make plenty already. It is all for charity, and Mr. Peanutbutter has to hammer it to BoJack that it is exactly that. For charity.
- Armor-Piercing Question: "Why don't you like me?" - Mr. Peanutbutter, to BoJack. Which leads to...
- Armor-Piercing Response: "I'm jealous... I... want to feel good about myself, the way you do. And I don't know how. I don't know if I can."
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Wanda is introduced to an iPad (containing a second screen app showing live tweets about the game show) while getting caught up with 30 years worth of technology. She gets lost in this marvel throughout the episode, but still [occasionally] pays attention to the game show.Wanda: Oh, cool! I love stupid bullshit like this.
- Audience Participation: In-Universe. This is one of the requirements of the game, with the audience chanting the name of the game's sections and knowing exactly what's going to happen, despite this being the first episode. BoJack starts wondering how's is that....
- Audience Surrogate: When not being a jerk, BoJack can raise some good points about the logic of the game, especially since it often includes Moon Logic Puzzles, rigged competition and biased audience, making him some sort of an In-Universe Meta Guy.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Her personality notwithstanding, being a person who woke up from a 30-year-old coma, Wanda is still a network TV executive. This side of her bares its fangs (or, in her case, talons) when she responds to Mr. Peanutbutter's hesitation to patch things up with BoJack, shortly after their all-too-real confrontation centering the dog's wife and BoJack's ghostwriter, Diane.Wanda: You want to host a game show where everyone feels bad at the end? You can get in your little car, drive to Santa Monica and pitch it to AMC. But these people want resolution, okay? So you get your little butt back on that stage and you resolve.
- Big Damn Kiss: A variant occurs between BoJack and Mr Peanutbutter.
- Butt-Monkey: Deconstructed. The climax of this episode is a "The Reason You Suck" Speech directed at BoJack from Mr. Peanutbutter, bluntly telling him that BoJack has been mistreating him for years despite efforts to be friendly.
- Celebrity Edition: Hollywoo Stars and Celebrities: What Do They Know? Do They Know Things?? Let's Find Out! is always this (including the celebs winning money for charity), but this episode ups the ante with the introduction of a "big celebrity" to duel against BoJack: Daniel Radcliffe.
- Clue, Evidence, and a Smoking Gun: Mr. Peanutbutter explains how he found out that BoJack had kissed Diane—there were roadside cameras along the highway viewing the deed, he had some friends on the highway patrol who might have watched, and, being his wife, Diane felt the need to tell him upfront instead of hiding it.
- Cue the Rain: Happens midway through the episode. Literally, not only as a staged decision of the people at control, but also as a meta sign that things are going to get serious between Mr. Peanutbutter and BoJack.
- Designated Monkey: In-Universe, this is how BoJack's treated through the episode, with most of the difficult tasks being given to him while big star Radcliffe is left with the easy ones. Invoked and Justified since it's clear that Radcliffe's the audience favorite and the game has been rigged to allow him an easy victory.
- Did You Think I Can't Feel?: Mr. Peanutbutter tells BoJack that he's perfectly aware of all the shade BoJack has been throwing at him, saying that he treats him "like a big joke."
- The Dog Bites Back: Almost literally. Mr. Peanutbutter finally confronts BoJack about what a dick he's been to him, all these years.
- That said, the insult that prompted said Dog Bites Back moment actually comes from BoJack finally retaliating after Mr. Peanutbutter acted like a unrestrained Jerkass to him, and blithely ignoring BoJack trying to tell him he's really being a dick all episode.
- While part of him had it coming for what he had done to Mr. Peanutbutter, BoJack endures quite a lot of humiliation in this episode. Then the game turned on his favor and, well, see below.
- Downer Ending: Out of pure spite that Daniel Radcliffe didn't remember his name, BoJack deliberately answers the million-dollar question wrong. The giant bag of money—which was supposed to be for charity—is set on fire. Cue credits. It's played for dark laughs, though.
- Dramatic Drop: Wanda drops her tablet when BoJack throws the game.
- Dynamic Entry: Mr. Peanutbutter enters the stage by coming out of a enormous prop of his head while the sound of a howl is heard in the background, much to the audience's delight.
- Easily Forgiven: Mr. Peanutbutter learns before the episode that BoJack kissed Diane. In a subverted sense, he is on the fence about forgiving him so soon, but Wanda enforces this on him because the general audience for lighthearted shows is used to quick resolutions.
- Entitled to Have You: Platonic version. Mr. Peanutbutter may want BoJack's friendship, but BoJack has made it painfully clear for years that he doesn't want to be Mr. Peanutbutter's friend, yet Mr. Peanutbutter utilizes the biased crowd to pressure BoJack into accepting his friendship against his will anyway.
- Everyone Has Standards: Daniel Radcliffe spends the entire episode being a smug, narcissistic celebrity who never remembers Bojack's name and is perfectly fine with letting the latter be constantly humiliated during the contest. While he's clearly annoyed when Bojack later pretends not to remember his name as payback, even he is genuinely horrified that Bojack would sacrifice money for charity in order to do so.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: The game show's title is all you need to know about its premise.
- Facepalm: Princess Carolyn does one when BoJack intentionally gets the last question wrong.
- Failure Gambit: BoJack deliberately answers wrong the last question about Harry Potter to piss off Daniel Radcliffe and make him lose the money he had gained. Too bad it was for charity.
- Game Show Appearance: Naturally.
- Game Show Host: Mr. Peanutbutter is a letter-perfect example.
- Green-Eyed Monster: As it turns out, Bojack's this towards Mr. Peanutbutter, since the Labrador was Born Winner while he's a sad sack Born Unlucky.
- Grey-and-Grey Morality: No one comes off looking well this episode. Mr. Peanutbutter grabs the Jerkass Ball hard with his "playful ribbing" as a game show host, Daniel Radcliffe is a condescending "too important to remember you" celebrity to BoJack, and BoJack crosses the line insulting Mr. Peanutbutter about Diane going to Cordovia and burning a million dollars intended for charity just to spite Daniel Radcliffe for forgetting his name. Meanwhile, Todd competes for a pen he doesn't even want to spite Mia the apprentice who's been working hard for such recognition for her chosen career for years (going so far as to trick her into giving him the pen by feigning sadness only to engage in Unsportsmanlike Gloating), although Mia started it by being a complete bitch to him first. Even Wanda couldn't give a hoot about how much humiliation and abuse BoJack faces on national television so long as he gets her good ratings.
- Homage: The episodes opening Walk and Talk and the subplot going on backstage pay homage to Aaron Sorkin's shows that aren't The West Wing, namely Sports Night and The Newsroom. Mia also kicks off her final speech to Todd with "not for nothing, but ...," a bit of Signature Style that Sorkin uses frequently.
- Insane Troll Logic: The show runs on J.D. Salinger and Mr. Peanutbutter's demented whims.
- Jerkass:
- Mia McKibbin, J. D. Salinger's apprentice and sidekick behind the controls is dismissive, rude and condescending towards Todd through the episode. This is justified due to Mia being The Ace at what she does and seeing Todd as an annoying pest.
- Todd becomes one at the end by scamming Mia into giving her Salinger's pen by faking sadness. Then, to hammer it home, he messes around in the makeup department and flips off J.D. when he calls him out on it.
- Princess Carolyn, while not as bad, easily berates BoJack for his performance in the game show so far, while BoJack is clearly trying his best.
- This is probably the worst you've seen of Mr. Peanutbutter since "Our A-Story Is A D-Story", with the dog embracing all the tropes you can think of about sadistic hosts and deliberately setting the game in favor of Daniel Radcliffe.
- Speaking of Daniel Radcliffe, his Adam Westing here makes him a rather unsympathetic douche who not only has the stack and the game on his side, but also disrespects BoJack, not even bothering to remember his name despite having met before!!
- BoJack, for the most part, avoids it in this episode, aside from some moments here and there, like insulting Mr. Peanutbutter over Diane leaving for Cordovia because she was tired of their marriage or briefly engaging on some Unsportsmanlike Gloating when he finally reaches Radcliffe in term of points. Making up for it, he provides the biggest dick move of all: get even with Daniel by failing the question on Harry Potter and losing, causing the money destined for charity to be burned, per the game's rules.
- Jerkass Ball: Mr. Peanutbutter, who plays up his role as the ruthless Game Show Host just a little too much for BoJack's liking.
- Karma Houdini: Mr. Peanutbutter never has to answer for relentlessly trolling or humiliating BoJack all episode, question why he keeps trying to force his friendship on an unwilling BoJack or address why BoJack might not like him (his Bitch in Sheep's Clothing moments or repeatedly ripping off his show and ideas); BoJack alone is made out to be the bad guy and forced to apologize.
- Kissing Discretion Shot: The (out-of-universe) audience's vision of BoJack's and Mr. Peanutbutter's kiss is obscured by J.D. Salinger's head. Hilariously subverted a little later when he moves and a brief glimpse of them making out is seen.
- Laser-Guided Karma: While BoJack deliberately misremembering who starred in the Harry Potter movies and letting millions of dollars intended for charity is beyond petty, considering what a relentless Jerkass Daniel Radcliffe has been to him all episode and how much Trolling he's endured, it can hard not to blame him, or feel darkly satisfying.
- Losing Horns: Naturally, this being a game show episode.
- Love Triangle: The BoJack/Diane/Mr. Peanutbutter triangle comes back with a vengeance.
- Mr. Peanutbutter reveals that he's known this whole time that BoJack tried to kiss Diane. This is part of why he's been treating BoJack so poorly—it's coming out of his anger at the general lack of respect that BoJack has always dished his way.
- This episode also introduces the possibility that Mr. Peanutbutter may have feelings for BoJack—at least, judging by the sheer amount of feeling that he puts into the kiss.
- Malicious Misnaming: Daniel Radcliffe remembers everyone but BoJack all episode, including minor set workers he saw once several years ago, but acting too important to remember someone as lowly as BoJack. (Then again, given what a narcissistic jerkass BoJack is to most people he meets, it might be hard to blame Daniel Radcliffe in this case...)
- Meta Fiction: While Bojack Horseman is no stranger to this trope, this episode is full of it, due to this being an episode poking fun at the harebrained concepts of a game show, with Mr. Peanutbutter as the Large-Ham Announcer and BoJack as the hapless contestant and Audience Surrogate who lampshades the sheer insanity of the show's tests. It also works as one for itself, since there are common references and meta jokes about the making and behind-the-scenes of a show with J. D. Salinger and crew playing the demented creators and writers controlling the audience to their whim.
- Never My Fault: Yes, BoJack is a jerk to Mr. Peanutbutter at the best of times and his dig during the show crosses the line, but Mr. Peanutbutter himself never has to address why BoJack might not like him (like ripping off his show, stealing credit for the Hollywoo Heist, or grabbing the Jerkass Ball hard this episode), or consider that maybe BoJack doesn't owe Mr. Peanutbutter his friendship just because Mr. Peanutbutter wants it. BoJack is a jerk, therefore he owes Mr. Peanutbutter his apology and his friendship.
- The Oner: The entire Cold Opening is this.
- Product Placement: In-universe, since it's a game show.
- The Reveal: Mr. Peanutbutter reveals to BoJack that he knows about the horse kissing his wife back in "The Telescope". While this was the last straw, it turns out Mr. Peanutbutter as been upset with BoJack turning down his friendship for a good long while.
- The Rival: Understanding BoJack's Take That! to Daniel Radcliffe when answering the final question is dependent on the viewer knowing about the fake rivalry in real life between the latter and Elijah Wood.
- Sealed with a Kiss: This is what helps BoJack and Mr. Peanutbutter even the score, so that they can move past BoJack's betrayal and be friends again.
- Shipper on Deck:
- Daniel Radcliffe gives off this impression; he's overjoyed when Mr. Peanutbutter and BoJack actually take him up on his suggestion that they kiss to even the score.
- The whole audience is excited about seeing them kiss; there's even one member who hollers out "KISS HIM!" Hell, even J. D. Salinger gets a little emotional.
- Sound Proof Booth: BoJack steps into a soundproof booth to write his essay question.
- Spotting the Thread: While BoJack is on a losing streak, Princess Carolyn steps into the Sound Proof Booth and lets him in on a little secret: when Mr. Peanutbutter's excited, his ears flop up. This is how BoJack gains control of the game.
- Studio Audience: A pretty biased one — they love Mr. Peanutbutter and loathe BoJack.
- The Oner: The cold open.
- Troll: The whole show is trolling BoJack, really. But Mr. Peanutbutter and J.D. Salinger are the main culprits.
- Unexpectedly Obscure Answer: The show loves these. Inverted with Daniel Radcliffe's questions, which are ridiculously easy.
- Wham Line: "Elijah Wood."
