Netflix's BoJack Horseman is one of the funniest and most clever comedy series out there. It not only delivers some of the most inventive and creative jokes and characters, but also has a lot of reflection on the nature of celebrity, and whether fame can truly deliver happiness. One of the key elements of the show is social commentary, and much of the humour comes from that. This season doesn't pull any punches when it comes to tackling issues, and it's absolutely ruthless when it comes to attacking the entertainment industry.
It certainly tackles the issue of abortion more efficiently and tastefully than the Twilight saga did.
As a protagonist, Bojack Horseman is a complicated one, and one who is constantly facing development. This season follows Bojack after a huge success - starring in a film about the life of Secretariat - and how he's handling the rocky road to a possible Oscar nomination. We get to see BoJack in entirely new situations, such as award shows and press junkets, and he brings his usual level of sarcasm and self-destruction to all of it. This season continued his story of attempted self-actualization, and events of this season really felt like a culmination of everything that's happened so far. As a character, BoJack works so well because everything doesn't just work out for him. In fact, almost everything goes wrong for him, constantly. Throughout the whole season, I just kept waiting for something to work out for him, but it never did. Even when it seemed like something had worked out, there was a twist to it, and BoJack just keeps sinking and sinking. But bad things don't just happen to him; he causes just as many problems for himself, usually as a result of trying to solve a problem.
The side characters didn't face as much development, but they ultimately serve as a contrast to BoJack more than anything. The voice cast is, as always, fantastic. Aaron Paul has come the furthest since season 1, where it kind of seemed like he didn't have the whole "voice acting" thing down yet. All of the side characters had really come into their own by the time the season ended, and some new, interesting characters are also introduced. As always, my favourite is Paul F. Tompkins as Mr. Peanutbutter (yes, Peanutbutter is one word), and he also provides the voices for many other characters. I recognize quite a few of them from the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast, so if you're a fan of him or the podcast, you'll find lots to enjoy. There's also a large amount of guest talent, and they were all great as well, most notably Weird Al Yankovic as Captain Peanutbutter.
Relatability is something that BoJack Horseman does very well, without feeling pandering. It just presents a very realistic view of the world. It also uses real-world situations in creatively comedic ways, like a newspaper customer service rep acting as a therapist to make BoJack keep his subscription. The world of BoJack Horseman is so insane, but it's also grounded to reality. This season had more stand-out episodes than ever before. One episode in particular, which takes place in an underwater city, was amazing. It was, for the most part, completely without talking, so the comedy came only from visuals. Visually, the show is only getting better and better, and the animation was a big step up this season.
BoJack Horseman really shines when it goes after emotion, and this season had some of the more heartfelt moments of the entire show. Even though these are cartoon characters, there's something about how they're written that makes them seem so human. The show really is an emotional roller-coaster, and it hits far more lows than highs.
I think the reason why I connect with this show so much is that I think about a lot of the same issues that BoJack does. Whenever I finish a season, I feel really depressed, because it makes me think about my own life just as much as I do the lives of the characters. I'm always looking for happiness, and I'm not sure how I can find it. No matter what I do, it always seems like there's always some way that I can ruin it for myself. This show just speaks to me in that weirdly specific way, and although I haven't been alive for as long as Bojack "has", the show speaks to something that I think everyone can relate to on some level.
I didn't think a show about a cartoon horse would make me cry, but I guess that's just what my life is.
It certainly tackles the issue of abortion more efficiently and tastefully than the Twilight saga did.
As a protagonist, Bojack Horseman is a complicated one, and one who is constantly facing development. This season follows Bojack after a huge success - starring in a film about the life of Secretariat - and how he's handling the rocky road to a possible Oscar nomination. We get to see BoJack in entirely new situations, such as award shows and press junkets, and he brings his usual level of sarcasm and self-destruction to all of it. This season continued his story of attempted self-actualization, and events of this season really felt like a culmination of everything that's happened so far. As a character, BoJack works so well because everything doesn't just work out for him. In fact, almost everything goes wrong for him, constantly. Throughout the whole season, I just kept waiting for something to work out for him, but it never did. Even when it seemed like something had worked out, there was a twist to it, and BoJack just keeps sinking and sinking. But bad things don't just happen to him; he causes just as many problems for himself, usually as a result of trying to solve a problem.
The side characters didn't face as much development, but they ultimately serve as a contrast to BoJack more than anything. The voice cast is, as always, fantastic. Aaron Paul has come the furthest since season 1, where it kind of seemed like he didn't have the whole "voice acting" thing down yet. All of the side characters had really come into their own by the time the season ended, and some new, interesting characters are also introduced. As always, my favourite is Paul F. Tompkins as Mr. Peanutbutter (yes, Peanutbutter is one word), and he also provides the voices for many other characters. I recognize quite a few of them from the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast, so if you're a fan of him or the podcast, you'll find lots to enjoy. There's also a large amount of guest talent, and they were all great as well, most notably Weird Al Yankovic as Captain Peanutbutter.
Relatability is something that BoJack Horseman does very well, without feeling pandering. It just presents a very realistic view of the world. It also uses real-world situations in creatively comedic ways, like a newspaper customer service rep acting as a therapist to make BoJack keep his subscription. The world of BoJack Horseman is so insane, but it's also grounded to reality. This season had more stand-out episodes than ever before. One episode in particular, which takes place in an underwater city, was amazing. It was, for the most part, completely without talking, so the comedy came only from visuals. Visually, the show is only getting better and better, and the animation was a big step up this season.
BoJack Horseman really shines when it goes after emotion, and this season had some of the more heartfelt moments of the entire show. Even though these are cartoon characters, there's something about how they're written that makes them seem so human. The show really is an emotional roller-coaster, and it hits far more lows than highs.
I think the reason why I connect with this show so much is that I think about a lot of the same issues that BoJack does. Whenever I finish a season, I feel really depressed, because it makes me think about my own life just as much as I do the lives of the characters. I'm always looking for happiness, and I'm not sure how I can find it. No matter what I do, it always seems like there's always some way that I can ruin it for myself. This show just speaks to me in that weirdly specific way, and although I haven't been alive for as long as Bojack "has", the show speaks to something that I think everyone can relate to on some level.
I didn't think a show about a cartoon horse would make me cry, but I guess that's just what my life is.
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