6x09 Intermediate Scene Study w/ BoJack Horseman

[8.5/10] What a way to kick off the final half-season! It’s great to see BoJack get to be in his element for once. He’s clean. He’s in a supportive environment He is uncertain of himself but assuredly good at his job and helping young lives rather than hurting them. It is a joy to see him be so good at teaching, in a way that almost surprises himself. It’s a cliché, but there’s still something heartening about the way that BoJack puts his all into helping these kids, and even gets a benediction from Tawny that he’s a great teacher.

It’s also a hilarious setup for the episode. Maybe it’s just my status as having once been a theater kid, but I got such a kick out of all the gags involving BoJack’s overzealous pupils. The peak of this is the great “rule of three” gag with his students interrupting his AA meetings. The comic escalation is just brilliant, with the first kid doing a weird take on Flight, the second one trying to make the old man voice his “gimmick” and mixing in both the prior kid and a touch of There Will Be Blood, only to go for a left field punchline with the student who really did want to treat her drinking. Hilarious scenes! And there’s some great bits of classic BoJack wordplay like the lines about Doubt and Proof. All-in-all, the episode really wrung the humor out of the “BoJack as teacher” premise.

It also found excuses to check in with the rest of the cast. Mr. PB, Pickles, and Joey Pogo going in on a restaurant together at the same time they’re enacting Mr. PB’s insane plan to repair their intimacy is a promising setup. I particularly like the gags about how they’re rushing into it and the resolution that there must be better examples of being both one’s boss and husband than Ike and Tina Turner.

We also get a great Todd misadventure, which manages to build in insanity in that trademark Todd way with hilarious riffs on the famous marshmallow experiment, tensions between soft and hard sciences, and even an out there Willy Wonka homage. It’s classic Todd chicanery.

There’s also a nice bit for Princess Carolyn, who’s trying to cast one of BoJack’s students in “Birthday Dad”. For one, her arrival provides more great opportunities for humor, whether it’s BoJack’s students doing more of the “comment rather than a question” routine at her guest lecture, or the tug-of-war over the student’s future turning into a regular quest to get a dog to come over to you. But the show also uses it for pathos, with BoJack warning Stan against going to LA and losing his freedom and making the same mistakes he did. It’s a nice blend of humor and self-awareness and regret on BoJack’s part, vindicating how happy he is to be here.

The show manages that same blend of comedy and pain in BoJack’s interactions with Hollyhock. It’s heartbreaking how close and supporting BoJack wants to be as a big brother, and how put off Hollyhock is after the revelation in the last half-season about what happened with Penny. She’s understandably leery about BoJack being around her college-aged friends, and it creates a sense that she doesn't really know this guy who’s suddenly very close and very involved in her life.

On BoJack’s side, it’s both funny and pitiable. His efforts to connect with Hollyhock through rugby are a big laugh, especially when he’s looking up textbook definitions to better understand it. But at the same time, it’s sweet how hard he’s trying, and again, heartbreaking how it’s failing for reasons he doesn't understand. Their heart-to-heart after Hollyhock misses his production is a really well-written scene, with understandable motivations on both sides of the table. But it’s particularly rough because BoJack doesn't understand why Hollyhock’s pulling away, and she feels too awkward and uncomfortable to tell him. As hinted in the last episode, it’s a great instance of BoJack having turned a corner in his new life, to where he’s a better person, but still haunted and slow-release hurting those close to him through his mistakes in his old life.

Speaking of which, the show rocks BoJack’s world off its axis with a call from Charlotte, demanding that he gets these reporters off of her and Penny’s back. It’s a reminder of what is, sadly, not the worst thing BoJack’s ever done, but one that’s still pretty awful, coming back to haunt him, just when he’s found safety and security, in a way that feels both deserved and pathos-ridden.

Overall, this is a hilarious episode that manages to check in with all the major players (even Diane, briefly), while still building on character relationships and real life pain in the best BoJack way.