You Need to Watch Bojack Horseman

A mere two days after the last season of Bojack Horseman was released, I watched the entire show over a second time. Now, my younger sister is knee deep into season three with no means of escape, and I still rewatch old episodes while pretending to get work done.

With a 93% Rotten Tomatoes rating, Bojack Horseman is a masterpiece among adult animated entertainment. But what makes this show different from similar ones like Family Guy, South Park, or Big Mouth?

The answer lies in how Bojack Horseman married two often separated concepts in entertainment: lighthearted character misadventures and nuanced evaluation of real world issues. Not to mention that both of these are done with the most intelligent writing that I have ever seen.

Kooky Character Misadventures

Following vulgar misadventures is a staple of adult animated entertainment. Seeing the off color situations that our tiny 4th grade South Park characters get into, the odd planets the duo on Rick and Morty stumble upon, or the puberty monsters that the poor children in Big Mouth face is the cheap and effective humor that we crave after a long day of our boring and stressful lives. If done right, a show's use of delivering knee-slapping, "oh-my-god-did-they-really-do-that?" shock value among its unbelievable adventures can spur viewers to watch an episode again, and again, and again.

One prominent display of cleverly written wackiness is when a character's sex robot, Henry Fondle, was able to land in a position as CEO of the company "WhatTimeIsItRightNow.com" purely through sexual innuendos, leading to countless hilarious exchanges such as this one:

Henry Fondle: I want to be on top of you.

CEO: There's no one on top of me! I'm CEO of this company.

Henry Fondle: That's my favorite position!

CEO: Well you can't have it!

Henry Fondle: Give it to me!

Todd Chavez, the creator of this robot, is perhaps the show's best example of the misadventurous character archetype. Throughout the show, he gets kidnapped by a Mexican cartel, directs a rock opera, explores many business ventures including that of "clown dentistry" and an asexual dating app, becomes the President of Ad Sales, works as full-time nanny for another prominent character's baby, accidentally finds himself as the Governor of California, and engineers Henry Fondle (of course). Although regarded as lazy, he stumbles into more opportunities of entrepreneurship and success than any of us will see in our lifetime: and it's hilarious to see how he fares with them, which is why my sister and I watch his wild predicaments over and over again.

A Slap of Reality: You Can't Run from the Truth

Underneath the lovable antics of characters like Todd is where the real genius of Bojack Horseman shines. Beyond its bubbly exterior, the show tackles issues of substance abuse, mental health, and sexuality with imperfect characters.

For instance, the protagonist, Bojack Horseman, is revealed from the onset of the show to abuse a variety of substances including heroin, prescription pills, and vodka. Furthermore, he is rude to his friends, lives recklessly, and generally never considers the consequences of his actions.

In other adult animated shows, this may just be brushed off as the typical traits of a protagonist. Rick forces Morty into all sorts of situations he doesn’t want to partake in, but Morty stays by Rick’s side regardless. Cartman is an asshole, but the fourth graders in South Park stay friends with him anyways. Homer Simpson is without a doubt selfish, but that doesn’t result in his wife leaving him!

A common theme: these shows are too light-hearted to include consequences for character’s actions. And that makes sense! Most people tune into adult cartoons for a good time, not a deep character study. But reminding viewers that actions have consequences humanizes the characters in a story (even if it’s a story about animal people), and incorporates important lessons.

Bojack degrades and treats Todd like shit countless times, and while Todd forgives him initially, he eventually cuts off their friendship. Bojack’s commitment issues and general asshole-ness lead to some women breaking up with him and others having their lives destroyed by him. Even small comedic details like that of Bojack throwing junk off the top of his hilltop house eventually leads to Felicity Huffman, the woman that lives under him, to require him to work on a shoddy show with her for forgiveness. Unlike other shows, where the main character merely remembers his/her actions in the current episode, Bojack's guilt remains throughout all six seasons, bubbling into a heart wrenching climax two episodes before the finale.

Other characters also find themselves face to face with depression, anxiety, and guilt. At points, they even run from their problems (literally) in hopes that a new city, state, or country would allow a shred of relief from their past selves. Bojack Horseman uncomfortably reminds us viewers that there are real consequences to our actions, regardless of how small or silly it seems.

But the show goes one step further. The writers made sure that these same characters eventually face their past, regrets, illnesses, or themselves. Soon enough, Bojack Horseman goes to rehab and apologizes to everyone he hurt. Furthermore, his sins come out and he suffers (and survives) through the consequences. One character acknowledged their depression and sought antidepressants to treat it, and another character that cheated on his fiancée gathered the courage to confess. Yet another character came to terms with their sexuality.

Many viewers shared their stories of how the normalization of mental health, abuse and treatment in Bojack Horseman led them to seeking out help themselves, a testament to the strength of the characters in this show. Viewers connected deeply with this non-human protagonist, something similar shows fail to do even with their human counterparts.

In short, the silliness of Bojack Horseman is what reels viewers into the show...

...but the poignant characters and nuanced storytelling is what makes it, by all accounts, a masterful work.