I know that the previous episode is clearly the one getting more critical acclaim and I do get it, but this episode was also a very well-crafted piece of writing. Especially those last few minutes, which were really intense...
[6.5/10] This is kind of a weird episode, but let’s start about what I liked.
First off, I liked the sideways humor the show’s so good at. Using the frame story of Diane’s psychiatrist and her wife to gives the adventures of BoJack & co. through a tilted lens is a great conceit. Conversations between an angsty zebra and Princess Diana, plus a hand-faced Todd and pulsating fog version of Princess Carolyn is all just weird enough to make me laugh, and the show doubles down on it in very funny ways. Plus, Flippy the dolphin and his chittering subtitles cracked me up, and Mr. PB’s revelations about his parents dying played for surprisingly good laughs.
I also liked the Todd/Princess Carolyn story (which is, explicitly, the lighter B-story). The two of them arguing over who stole whose string cheese and who needs an office, and the insecurities that underlie both concerns made for some wacky but amusing comic hijinks and a solid heartfelt moment. Plus the whole setup and payoff with Todd reaching for his pen was capital-D Delightful.
But man, I have mixed feelings about the Diane/BoJack story here. It feels a little like season 1 BoJack, which is maybe the point, but the whole situation with Diane asking for space and BoJack responding by nabbing her psychiatrist is really odd, in a kind of outsized loony way. I get what the show’s going for -- where BoJack is selfish and oblivious to Diane’s needs to the point that she lashes out -- but this is a really strange way to dramatize that.
At the same time, I have even more mixed feelings about Diane’s reaction. Her writing BoJack’s real life confession into the script, and blindsiding him with having to read/perform it on set feels vindictive and likely to cause a lot of problems for both of them. Knowing this show, those problems will be explored in depth, but still, it seems like a hurtful thing to do that is harsh in a way Diane isn’t usually. I’m curious to see what the show will do with it, but initially, it rubs me the wrong way, both as a character choice and as a culmination of a kind of oddly-tuned plot in the episode to begin with.
Overall, the A-story here is off enough to raise an eyebrow, but the comedic and creative structural stuff make it worth it.
SCORE: 8.5/10
A good point for the initial narrative structure. The change to a zebra in the opening was a good call. Then it continues the whole episode, nice. Flippy the dolphin was a great character too.
The whole Todd and Princess Carolyn story was shit. Not only uninteresting but it seems so completely out of character for Todd that it made absolutely zero sense. The fourth wall breaking comment about B-stories and how that's seems like the most normal way to have a conversation was a very good one, and the only justification for this whole story.
On the small stuff, I like the constant reminders that Mr Peanutbutter is really a dog and the farm bit was great.
As for the main story, Bojack is clearly a mess unable to cope with his mother's death. But Diane has her own problems and can't handle that. What he does to her is very insensitive but not really intentional. But what she does to get back to him, wow. It's totally intentional and incredibly cruel. Not only to him, but this is filmed, it will go on TV, and whatever happened that she doesn't know, "the girl" might see it in the future. It probably shows that Diane is in a much darker place following her divorce than we would think (weird because despite her complaints and wanting space, we only see her focused on Bojack's story and why he didn't talk to her about it). So if this is not a revenge, but just a plot to make him talk to her about it, that's actually even worse.
This show is just so freaking amazing
as a single child with parents who never understood me, and theres no one i can talk to. bojack have become my therapy.:sob::sob::sob:
wtf even was that lol
My reaction at the end of most episodes is "Awwww, poor everyone, they're so messed up"
Shout by EdrickBlockedParent2018-09-20T19:39:13Z
A creative episode of course, but sneaking the twist through multiple plot lines (and the self-irony of having a "B-side story") is what makes it truly amazing.