6x10 Good Damage

[7.8/10] I didn’t expect the two stories in this one to dovetail so well. Diane’s tale of trying to write her book is a strong one, full of relatable struggles to impart oneself on the page and a nice dramatization of trying to recover from depression. The subplot about Charlotte and Penny being confronted by those reporters is some necessary plot movement, and a good choice to put some of this from their perspectives, but dragged down a bit by the overstretched His Girl Friday gags at play. But for the most part, the two don’t seem to have much to do with one another.

And yet, the thing that makes both parts of the episode stronger is the thematic connection between the two. Charlotte advises her daughter not to open up to those reporters, because she won’t be able to control the story about Bojack, because it will have personal repercussions for Penny’s mental health and Charlotte’s marriage, and because it will dredge up a lot of stuff that both women felt like they’d been able to move past. But Penny seems to want to do it, if only because it will help other women, warn other people, and most of all, make the pain that they suffered for something. There’s a strong idea there, in taking the things that hurt us and putting them to some use.

But what’s interesting is how the other half of the episode doesn't reject that idea exactly, but at least says it doesn't have to be that way. Diane is torn between writing a confessional series of essays about eh hardships she’s experienced in ife, but also finds herself writing a fun middle grade detective adventure that is lighter, more accessible, and not nearly as dark or challenging.

When that seems to be what the world wants from her, she bristles, because she’s worried that if she doesn't put all the time she was miserable into a book of some kind, it will have been for nothing. She thought that pain made her special, and that by turning that hardship into something brooding and incisive, she could cast a lifeline to other girls like her. But Princess Carolyn reassures that light things, positive things, can be just as good, can still reach people, and seems to get through to her friend and client.

There’s a lot of complexity there, between the two stories. Again, the Penny story is weakened by the fact that we’re still doing the His Girl Friday homage to rapidly dwindling returns. But there’s a legitimate question there, eof whether you protect yourself and your ability to recover from trauma (the concept not the store), or you give it to a machine that wants to sensationalize and publicize it in the name of helping other people and trying to spin that straw into gold.

But what if you think that gold is going to be applied to a cracked vase and that’s what makes it beautiful? “Good Damage” does a stellar job of depicting the tumult going on in Diane’s mind and her writing process. The stick figure drawings and impressionistic sequences confer a scattered quality to the rush of thoughts. But you also get Diane’s insecurities, her efforts to dredge up the worst of her life, her worries that her upbringing wasn't that bad and isn’t interesting, and her straining to turn it into something good so that it will have all been meaningful.

But sometimes misery is just misery. I’m a firm believer in the idea that tough times can be fodder for great works (I believe it was Schubert who said that “great pain makes great art).” But I’m also a firm believer in the idea that there’s value in non-brooding, non-serious, just enjoyable and uplifting art as well. It’s a struggle to put yourself between those two poles, strive to write your personal magnum opus, and find yourself writing Y.A. fiction instead.

It’s also tough to wonder if it’s because you’re on medication that is helping your depression. The show hasn’t forgotten about that struggle, or Guy as a partner. It’s funny to see him joking about everything being “Chicago-style”, and sweet how much he tries to look after Diane. The show does a nice job of balancing the depths of Diane’s struggle here and the pressure put on her by PC with the realization that she has a good support system and people who care about her.

That’s the cinch, though. She’s happier now. She has a partner who’s helping, medication that’s helping, and the chance to keep writing. It’s natural to worry that if you’re not transmuting your misery into something, that all those years you suffered were pointless, something that could cast a pall over the better times you’re experiencing now. There’s a layered complexity to that which is poignant.

The whole episode is poignant (sans the screwball comedy shtick), finding choices for Penny, Charlotte, and Diane, to try to make their past pain worthwhile, even if things are good right now, and cracking under the weight of which side to pick.