Opinion Piece- BoJack Horseman or How a talking horse will make you cry
Who knew that a show about a talking horse could offer such a deep look into what depression and mental illness is like from all sides?
For the last few years, I've been consistently championing BoJack Horseman, Netflix's weirdest sounding animated show. It's about a middle aged actor who used to be a big star as a the lead on a sitcom in the nineties but now we're twenty years on and he's not got any further purpose. Also, half the characters are anthropomorphic (animals that act and dress like humans). The first half of season one is pretty generic and then suddenly takes a really depressing turn as we realise that all along, this is actually a show about depression and existential angst. Who are we, does the past define us, can we ever truly move on with our lives? They're all heavy questions that have been snuck into the show and with the fourth and possibly most emotional season behind us, now feels like the perfect time to look at the show.
As I mentioned earlier, what makes a lot of the emotional moments is, ironically, a Trojan horse approach. By being primarily a comedy (and an excellent one at that), BoJack is able to sneak up the tragic moments on the audience. Take for example a joke about auto erotic asphyxiation. When first introduced, it just seems like another one of the shows entertaining crass jokes except the punchline two episodes later is that a guy kills himself doing it. A family reunion all seems to be going well, the fish out of water element is producing comedy and then two of the characters have a sit down and talk about how their happiness is a front for the fear inside and that one of them hasn't told anyone about their cancer diagnosis. By slipping in these emotional punches into comedic moments, the show braces you for what's to come, which believe me, is needed.
What also makes the emotional beats of the show work so well is their general relatable nature. Now, this takes a step back from any of the more dramatic parts of the show, I'm pretty sure most people haven't seen someone die from auto erotic asphyxiation and aren't famous TV stars. That said, there's something about the existential angst that the show focuses on that is universal, because if you have enough time to read this blog, you have very few real issues in your life. Like I mentioned before, much of this is done through jokes (a favourite example being "I have plenty of time to do all those things" cutting to two days later and then "Damn it, I didn't do any of those things") but the show as a whole is interested in what do you do with your life when you have everything. Like Mr Peanut Butter, you can pretend it's all fine. Like Todd, you can busy yourself with mindless tasks. Or like BoJack, you can continue to do nothing of worth and feel like a piece of shit.
The reason that this post should exist especially after season 4 is because of the big and deliberate emotional moments that the show lays out for the characters. A pattern has emerged and been noticed by most fans that the penultimate episode of each season is almost always the most depressing episode, not just of the season but often of the year. I'm going to get into spoilers for the show now so if you haven't seen the show, I can't recommend it enough. It's not just depressing, it's really funny too, I swear. So anyway, it starts in season one with BoJack realising what a horrible person he is to everyone that loves him, specifically Diane. It ramps up in season two with BoJack needing the love of his old flame so much that he ends up sleeping with her daughter. Season three seemed to have reached peak depression as the episode is just one giant bender that ends in the death of Boajck's surrogate daughter Sarah-Lynn, except then you reach season 4. The episode "Times Arrow" is a single episode set inside the mind of Bojack's ageing mother who is currently suffering from dementia. Not only do we see how awful an illness like this really is to live with but we understand the reasons why Beatrice Horseman did all these horrible things to her son. She wasn't a bad person, she was just as confused, lonely and afraid as her son is today. In many ways, that is the greatest tragedy; the realisation of how akin the two are, yet how distant they've grown.
I know I've made it seem like the show is wall to wall depression but it really isn't. Unlike some shows that use the half hour episode length and occasional jokes to create a pretense of comedy, BoJack Horseman is legitimately one of the funniest shows around right now. It just also manages to be one of the saddest, speaking to the audience in a way that not many dramas could actually get away with. If you haven't got on board yet, I highly recommend it. You'll laugh, then you'll cry and then you'll do both at the same time.
For the last few years, I've been consistently championing BoJack Horseman, Netflix's weirdest sounding animated show. It's about a middle aged actor who used to be a big star as a the lead on a sitcom in the nineties but now we're twenty years on and he's not got any further purpose. Also, half the characters are anthropomorphic (animals that act and dress like humans). The first half of season one is pretty generic and then suddenly takes a really depressing turn as we realise that all along, this is actually a show about depression and existential angst. Who are we, does the past define us, can we ever truly move on with our lives? They're all heavy questions that have been snuck into the show and with the fourth and possibly most emotional season behind us, now feels like the perfect time to look at the show.
As I mentioned earlier, what makes a lot of the emotional moments is, ironically, a Trojan horse approach. By being primarily a comedy (and an excellent one at that), BoJack is able to sneak up the tragic moments on the audience. Take for example a joke about auto erotic asphyxiation. When first introduced, it just seems like another one of the shows entertaining crass jokes except the punchline two episodes later is that a guy kills himself doing it. A family reunion all seems to be going well, the fish out of water element is producing comedy and then two of the characters have a sit down and talk about how their happiness is a front for the fear inside and that one of them hasn't told anyone about their cancer diagnosis. By slipping in these emotional punches into comedic moments, the show braces you for what's to come, which believe me, is needed.
What also makes the emotional beats of the show work so well is their general relatable nature. Now, this takes a step back from any of the more dramatic parts of the show, I'm pretty sure most people haven't seen someone die from auto erotic asphyxiation and aren't famous TV stars. That said, there's something about the existential angst that the show focuses on that is universal, because if you have enough time to read this blog, you have very few real issues in your life. Like I mentioned before, much of this is done through jokes (a favourite example being "I have plenty of time to do all those things" cutting to two days later and then "Damn it, I didn't do any of those things") but the show as a whole is interested in what do you do with your life when you have everything. Like Mr Peanut Butter, you can pretend it's all fine. Like Todd, you can busy yourself with mindless tasks. Or like BoJack, you can continue to do nothing of worth and feel like a piece of shit.
The reason that this post should exist especially after season 4 is because of the big and deliberate emotional moments that the show lays out for the characters. A pattern has emerged and been noticed by most fans that the penultimate episode of each season is almost always the most depressing episode, not just of the season but often of the year. I'm going to get into spoilers for the show now so if you haven't seen the show, I can't recommend it enough. It's not just depressing, it's really funny too, I swear. So anyway, it starts in season one with BoJack realising what a horrible person he is to everyone that loves him, specifically Diane. It ramps up in season two with BoJack needing the love of his old flame so much that he ends up sleeping with her daughter. Season three seemed to have reached peak depression as the episode is just one giant bender that ends in the death of Boajck's surrogate daughter Sarah-Lynn, except then you reach season 4. The episode "Times Arrow" is a single episode set inside the mind of Bojack's ageing mother who is currently suffering from dementia. Not only do we see how awful an illness like this really is to live with but we understand the reasons why Beatrice Horseman did all these horrible things to her son. She wasn't a bad person, she was just as confused, lonely and afraid as her son is today. In many ways, that is the greatest tragedy; the realisation of how akin the two are, yet how distant they've grown.
I know I've made it seem like the show is wall to wall depression but it really isn't. Unlike some shows that use the half hour episode length and occasional jokes to create a pretense of comedy, BoJack Horseman is legitimately one of the funniest shows around right now. It just also manages to be one of the saddest, speaking to the audience in a way that not many dramas could actually get away with. If you haven't got on board yet, I highly recommend it. You'll laugh, then you'll cry and then you'll do both at the same time.
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