The curtain finally falls: Three of my favourite episodes from BoJack Horseman
My bar for BoJack Horseman wasn’t set very high when my friend introduced the show to me as one that follows the life of an animated celebrity horse. Yet who knew that anthropomorphic animals in star-studded Los Angeles would grow to give me the most intense bouts of existentialism, make me question my morality and mortality while still somehow warming my heart and making me cackle. Hilarious yet equally haunting, BoJack truly hits the perfect note between showcasing ugly realities in a rather absurdist way and reflecting the beauty of life, regardless of how tainted it may be.
As the curtain falls on the show after 6 seasons, I thought it would be nice to revisit some of my favourite episodes from this show as a little homage to some of the moments that really stuck with me.
Every episode is truly a masterpiece in itself but these were some of the episodes that I recalled right off the bat the moment I completed the last episode and began reflecting on the show. (The episodes listed are also ones that are objectively not as hard-hitting — aka the second last and last episodes from the later seasons)
So arranged in no particular order, here are three of my favourite episodes from this heck of a show.
1) The Amelia Earhart Story — S5E5
C’mon ! what other gals’ got the get-up-and-go to tame those savage sun beats and become their queen !
I guess the most effective way to do it is to do it !
These are dialogues from the Amelia Earhart VCD that Princess Carolyn grew up watching knowing each and every word to. Frankly, I believe these dialogues sum up the core of what we know of Princess Carolyn — A headstrong and capable Hollywoo agent who is always on her toes and who isn’t afraid to face the heat. However, who lies behind this LA big shot is what the episode explores. We not only get a glimpse into PC’s past but we also see her current struggle in trying to impress Sadie (the mother of the child she intends to adopt) In short, we are let into seeing a much more vulnerable side of PC that lies behind the tough cookie that she is.
In a flashback sequence, we see that PC becomes pregnant at 18 and consequentially is willing to sacrifice her future and get married into her boyfriend’s family who run a successful business. Unfortunately (or in hindsight, fortunately) she suffers a miscarriage while also learning that she is accepted into UCLA. It’s a timely awakening and PC finally gets clarity. PC’s eyes are fixed on her future and carving a path for herself. And they have been ever since. As Amelia Earhart flies over the ocean, PC flies to newfound freedom in LA.
What I found so moving about PC’s story was the growth we get to see — from a domestic darling to a ruthless career lady who priorities herself. PC cherishes her freedom and realises the importance of being there for herself first. That is why in the present when Sadie’s boyfriend randomly comes up to her and half-heartedly confesses his love and proposes marriage, PC advises Sadie to do what she truly wants :
Do what you want to do. Don’t live your life for Strib, your baby or anybody else
Given PC’s backstory, these words ring almost like a mantra PC swears to live by. Yet, the irony is that while PC is certainly an independent and accomplished agent, her life is almost entirely dedicated to other celebrities and she hardly has any choice but to dance to their tunes. Even when she isn’t on the sets, her work doesn’t leave her. But for once, we see PC not treating her life like another project. She reaches out to Sadie because she truly wants to raise a baby — not with the zest of an agent, but with the love of a mother. Even while the adoption doesn’t work out in the end, PC’s tenacity and ability try her best regardless of the result and regardless of uncertainty is admirable.
2) That’s too much, Man ! — S3E11
I’m going in for the kill and into the main crunch of this episode — Sarah Lynn’s death.
The scene begins with a commentary of the Solar System and Bojack and Sarah Lynn sink into their seats. When BoJack internalises how small we are compared to the history and vastness of the cosmos, he comments :
See, Sarah Lynn? We’re not doomed. In the grand scheme of things, we’re just tiny specks that will one day be forgotten. So it doesn’t matter what we did in the past, or how we’ll be remembered. The only thing that matters is right now. This moment. This one spectacular moment we are sharing together. Right, Sarah Lynn? Sarah Lynn? Sarah Lynn?
A BoJack whose default state is cynicism is seen to cling onto hope for a split second. However, the optimism of the scene is crushed when we realise that Sarah Lynn may not have shared that moment with Bojack after all. In fact, we as an audience just like Bojack, are unaware of the precise moment of Sarah Lynn’s death. Just like how our lives are but fleeting flashes in the grand scheme of things, Sarah Lynn’s death also occurred within a brief unnoticed second. After living a life underlined by her iconic image and bold lifestyle, her death is ironically not even close to a faint whisper.
I think it’s safe to say that we did expect things to turn awry with Sarah Lynn at one point, so the question was really a matter of when. In the same episode, Sarah Lynn finds out that she won an Oscar. For such a prestigious level of acclaim, she does not even feel an ounce of joy. In fact, she finds herself disgusted at what she and her life has become.
Before her death her last words were, “I wanna be an architect” and even in the observatory, she isn’t as fascinated by the stars as she is by the dome structure.
Sarah Lynn’s death is one of the most heartbreaking scenes in this series for me. She didn’t choose the Hollywood life as much as it was thrust upon her by her mother — who hooked up with an agent to land her daughter a role — and the business itself which was quick to capitalise on her lustre and suck her into a world of glitz and glamour. Who can blame her for not being able to follow what she really wanted to do when all she ever knew was to survive and thrive in showbiz? Even her death was something she unknowingly strutted into when she casually agreed to go on a bender with BoJack without being aware of how dangerous it was going to be. At the heart of it, Sarah Lynn was an unfortunate victim of her circumstances. She was manipulated by an industry that used her to profit and was revered by fans who didn’t know Sarah Lynn for any more than the icon that she was. While her legacy for the girl she was on the screen lived on, the essence of Sarah Lynn that was buried deep within vanished without ever being realised to anyone but herself.
3) The Dog Days Are Over — S5E2
After seeing Mr Peanut Butter move on with Pickles shortly after their decision to get a divorce, Dianne makes the choice to go to Vietnam to get a break.
I personally am pretentious enough to love tropes revolving around characters travelling or connecting back to their roots in an attempt to do some soul searching. Ideally, as any soul searching or finding purpose trope would play out, the main character usually goes to a foreign land and explores parts of herself she never knew existed. She may or may not find love but she would certainly come back, a new person, revitalised, refreshed and ready to take on the world. But this isn’t a regular show and Dianne isn’t a regular character so I was excited to see how this would play out. As Dianne explores Vietnam, the format of the episode follows the format of the article she writes for her lifestyle magazine: 10 Reasons to go to Vietnam. It follows a rather optimistic take. Go to Vietnam to be a tourist, connect to your roots, have a work-cation, find a new you etc. which, is frankly what anyone could hope for on a self-proclaimed soul searching journey. But as we all know, Dianne’s vacation albeit very entertaining was not the most fulfilling or spiritually insightful trip. Barely anything changed and Dianne was in fact left more dishearted and acutely aware of her loneliness than ever before. Perhaps that is why in the last minute of the episode, her monologue resonates deeply.
Because even though you’re the one who asked for this, now that you’ve got it, you are completely adrift with no compass or map or sense of where to go or what to do. So you go to Vietnam.You think you might find community, a connection to something bigger but you don’t. In fact you feel even more alone than you were before you left. But, you survive.You learn that you can survive being alone.
Dianne made the choice to get a divorce, yet the idea of being alone isn’t easy for anyone, let alone for Dianne who sees Mister Peanut Butter move on so quickly. It’s easy to say that companionship isn’t necessary for life which, while maybe true in theory is still a bitter pill to swallow and a harder reality to live. The fear of loneliness is one we all inherently have and that fear is masterfully presented in this episode.
More than that, what struck a chord with me was Dianne’s struggle to find meaning in what she does. Dianne’s idea that going to Vietnam would enable her to form meaningful connections and somehow heal her from her misery was something that hit me. As someone who does lean towards airy-fairy notions about the universe working out for you and how everyone and everything has a purpose, life can seem pretty underwhelming when you hardly get anything meaningful out of a terrible situation and in fact, feel even more lost than you were before.
In Dianne’s case, she is harshly confronted with her loneliness and the uncertainty of her life ahead. Despite all of this, if there’s one thing Dianne knows for sure, is a simple fact that life goes on and that you can survive. You survive, you accept and you move on and maybe, for now, that’s enough.
