Episode Highlights - Bojack Horseman Season 4, Episode 4: Commence Fracking

Last time we met Hollyhock, the adorable horse teenager who might be Bojack's daughter. She's on a quest to find her mom, while Mr. Peanutbutter runs for governor and Diane tries to reconcile his pro-fracking position with her own principles. One of these missions will end in hopeful tears. One of them will end in pent-up, angry sex and broken electronics. They're both wild rides.

THE HIGHLIGHTS:

• Princess Carolyn’s “iOvulate” bracelet… voiced by Harvey Fierstein. “Hello, I’m Harvey Fierstein. Let’s put a baby in you!”

After a day of failed attempts to find her birth mom, Hollyhock breaks into tears... and we get to see that she's actually had a super healthy and functional upbringing with her 8 dads in their committed polyamorous gay relationship - unlike the rest of the Horseman family. Bojack isn't quite as in touch with his, or anyone else's emotions.

Bojack, awkwardly: “There, there.”Hollyhock: “You are so bad at this!”Bojack: “Well what do your dads say when you cry?”Hollyhock: “They say it’s okay to cry and that I shouldn’t feel bad about feeling bad.”

...Kind of makes you wish someone had said this to Bojack as a kid. This feels like the moment where he decides he wants to be in her life, and give her a better life than his parents gave him. She already has eight loving dads, but maybe he can still help her find what she's searching for. Maybe.

Hollyhock to Bojack, sarcastically: "I'm sorry it's so unpleasant for you to interact with women you were shitty to."

Take no prisoners, horse-girl.

• And we end with some surprisingly intense anthro-dog/human action as Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter engage in some energetic angry sex. After their argument boils over into furniture-wrecking, it turns into... this. You don't see this kind of commitment to human/canine-humanoid relations every day (but if you're watching this show, you may actually want to).

THE HOWLERS:

• Bojack's attempted-and-interrupted “1999” flashback and song. Hollyhock doesn’t need it.

Hollyhock, after accidentally setting the microwave ablaze: “Should we do something about the fire?” Bojack: “Just leave it. It’ll tire itself out eventually.”

• Officer Meow-Meow’s big NOOOOO at Princess Carolyn and Ralph having sex in his squad car.

Bojack, desperately trying to think of a convincing name for Hollyhock's possible mom to keep her from leaving: “Car-la. Mercedes. Benz…Brown.”

This is the second time he's made up a name on the spot so he could spend more time with someone he liked: he told Ed the dragonfly from the premiere that his name was Hambone Fake-name-ington. He's convincing as ever here, and just as crap-filled. Sweet, though, in a way.

THE HEART-PUNCHES:

Bojack to Tilda Madison, who aborted her Bojack-induced pregnancy: “You don’t want any little Bojacks floating around. The last thing the world needs is more of this garbage.”

Hollyhock isn’t amused, especially when he muses, “if we could go back in time and prevent it…”

And when they meet up again that afternoon, they have the following exchange:

Bojack: "Hollyhock, it's okay to want a mom."Hollyhock: "No it's not! Because that means my dads aren't enough for me! And they are!"Bojack: “I know I just met you, but I gotta tell you, if you have any of the old Horseman gunk bouncing around in that brain of yours… give up on looking for enough. Because it will never be enough.”

Lots of punches here. Bojack would know what it's like to want a (positive, loving) mom, for one. And given what we know of his family, it really seems like they're genetically predisposed toward mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, mania, general dysfunction/abuse, and addiction. Enough that Bojack often wonders if he's actually capable of happiness - and we can hear that he already wants better for her.

The end of the episode has another one.

Mr. Peanutbutter at the beginning of his fight with Diane: “I hear what you’re saying, and I’ll try to be more conscientious of your needs.”

Sound familiar? It's the couples-counseling conflict resolution technique they learned last season. Even super upset with one another, it's nice to hear him trying. Until...

This was kind of hard to watch. Their fight is pretty brutal, only made worse by the fact that they’re both trying to do what they think is the right thing. They break each others’ stuff - computers and beloved Good Boy gift-mug from Robert Blake... and, mild spoiler, this is never mentioned again. They have some more angry sex in future episodes, and do have another big conflict, but this is a pretty bad fight to ignore. Another sign that their relationship isn't the greatest right now? Hopefully some resolution is coming.

BLINK AND YOU’LL MISS:

• The top articles at GirlCroosh? “These Soups Will Enrage You,” “Celeb Butt Hacks,” “Sixty-Nine Days of Sixty-Nining,” and “I Used Sex Lube As Lip Gloss.” Fine reading.
• Inside Diane’s closet, she has five identical green jackets. Finally, a logical explanation for cartoon characters wearing the same clothes every day.

• Todd’s hoodie is on display on some store-window mannequins!
• Diane’s article, “The Case Against Mr. Peanutbutter," was only on-screen for a split second… so I just had to pause and read it, and here it is for you:

“We live in troubling times. Our democracy has been hijacked at the highest level by hordes of grinning idiots: cults of personality, two-bit flimflam artists, and entertainers in empty suits who are less interested in addressing the many crises facing our world than they are in fame for the sake of fame and power for the sake of power. More than ever, what California needs is a leader with vision, a seriousness of purpose, and a righteous unwavering dedication to justice. What we are being offered is Mr. Peanutbutter.First, a story: my husband got two tickets to the ballet.”

…Well, I kind of want to know where that story goes. And secondly, ouch. This might fall under “heart-punches” too.

• Some terrible foreshadowing: Bojack slept with Marcy, the founder of his fan club. She pretends to be Hollyhock's mom for a while, and shows them a very creepy burn-book of Bojack's other one-night stands... and drew x's over their eyes, among other things. No spoilers, but... we'll see creepy faces with black scribbles over them again in this season. We certainly will.
• Some real-life-relevant scrolling news lines: “Bipartisan committee puts forth plan to continue to ignore Flint water crisis,” and “Muslim kills at open mic night, christian kills at grocery store.” Stone cold as always.

And that's all I got for this one!