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BoJack Horseman

Season 1

By Alexandrea CallaghanPublished 11 months ago 5 min read
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While we are talking about character or plot driven stories we have to talk about another show that helped me make breakthroughs in therapy, BoJack Horseman. When we talk about shows that deal with mental health this absolutely has to be on the list. A comedy that confronts every personal struggle you’ve ever had in a way that is fun but gut wrenching. BoJack Horseman is one of the rawest, most powerful pieces of media that exists and I saw this with no hyperbole. It changed my life.

So here we go…

Also I will always forget that this is a Netflix original series because it's way too good for Netflix to have produced. It opens with an interview where we immediately see how off color BoJack is, obviously it takes some time to get into how messed up her really is but in the opening scene hes just another washed up celebrity.

One of the best things about this show is that it's heart and it's comedy are both very direct. Things that end up being funny are really just BoJack being really vulnerable but whats happening around him in that moment and his delivery lighten it up enough that it seems funny.

“Most people don’t even get to do the Brady Bunch version of the thing they want to do with their lives”

The funny part about BoJack going off about the troops not being heroes is hilarious because everything about that whole rant was correct. Most people are jerks, the military has the highest single industry sexual assault statistics of any other industry in history. Most troops are in fact jerks and not heroes.

The show is great at depicting how media and news outlets prioritizes stories. BoJack is in the middle of a rant full of incredibly great commentary and the reality tv crew interrupts him to catch Mr. Peanut Butter with a bucket on his head.

The MSNBC reporter covering a new education bill was interrupted by BoJack horseman news.

It's so hard rewatching this show knowing what happens. BoJack immediately being happier with Sarah Lynn around is so sad to me because I know where their relationship goes. And you also start to see BoJack wanting to care about somebody, he wants to connect with something but they are both so drugged out that emotional connection definitely isn't there at the beginning of their re-connection.

Sarah Lynn and BoJack hooking up has always been just horrible, it's so uncomfortable which is the point but it's still so upsetting.

The foreshadowing in this show is also so on point, but it's also so aggressive.

BoJack realizing that he has feelings for Diane is so heartbreaking because you can see how badly he wants to share his feelings for her but he’s so terrified of someone actually getting to know him and risking actually getting close to somebody. He even said that when he left her a message, letting someone get to know you is scary and he was still trying.

The other thing that really sticks out especially early on is how much Caroline cares about and loves him. She is always there for him, she goes out of her way to help him and get him a job when he asked for one and her agency was about to drop him.

BoJack trying to mend fences with Herb is also an incredible storyline. It also introduces Charlotte which upon rewatch really hurts, it just feels all crunchy. The flashback episode is great because it obviously establishes BoJack’s past relationships, but it also does a great job at showing us how far BoJack has fallen. He was a sweet, dedicated actor with close friends who didn’t drink because he wanted to be clear headed. And we see what he’s become.

This show has such brilliant commentary, when Herb gets caught and it comes out that he’s gay the “protest” that ensues is spot on, it makes no sense and it is absolutely ridiculous. BoJack turning against Herb seems to be the real turning point in his life. Like obviously he and Herb had grown apart, and fame was starting to go to his head but actually making the decision to throw Herb under the bus was the straw that broke the camel's back.

His interaction with Herb was really heavy, Herb really didn’t care about being fired from the network or even that BoJack didn’t fight harder for Herb but he was upset because BoJack just left him and forgot about him. He never called, they didn’t stay in touch BoJack just ran with his fame and left his friend.

BoJack kisses Diane (who is engaged to Diane), which ends up confusing her about her feeling for Mr. Peanut Butter which she was clearly already having doubts about. And BoJack actively tries to find ways to sabotage their wedding. He realizes however that Diane has made her choice and that it's not about him. They kind of lose contact in the next couple of months, and their reunion is really awkward.

BoJack reads Diane’s book and honestly he was completely right with his reaction, she was hired to ghost write a memoir and she didn’t do that, she wrote all of his shortcomings down and it was about her and her writing and had nothing to do with helping BoJack and maybe that’s who he is but that wasn’t for her to decide to do, she fucked up he had every right to be mad and her reaction was fucked up too. Diane was wrong, and she was being both a bad friend and a bad person. Him firing her was completely warranted.

BoJacks drug trip is very telling, he sees himself as washed up, he sees himself living with Charlotte and having a family, living out his life happy and settled down. He wakes up in a parking lot, in the rain and coming to causes him to apologize and confront why he hated Diane’s portrayal of him.

The first season finale opens with BoJack Horseman’s hero Secretariat committing suicide. And it ends with BoJack getting a role playing him in a movie about his life which clearly sends him into a kind of existential crisis.

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About the Creator

Alexandrea Callaghan

Certified nerd, super geek and very proud fangirl.

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