Director:
Writers:
Raphael Bob-Waksberg (creator), Alison Tafel
Stars:
Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie
“Stupid Piece of Shit”
This episode gives us a look inside Bojack’s head, giving us a taste of his self-loathing and self-destructive thought patterns. Ever since meeting Hollyhock, Bojack has started to wonder how much of himself has been passed onto his daughter, and it seems like a fair amount of Bojack’s neuroses have carried throughout his lineage.
One issue this show always seems to address is the effects of the passage of time, and the cycles we’re all doomed to repeat. Bojack is a 90s sitcom star struggling to relive his past. At the same time, watching his mother relive raising a baby sparks a furious reaction in Bojack.
Hollyhock gives Bojack the perfect opportunity to make peace between his past and his present, but is he willing to do the work to put his demons to rest?
******
“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t
TV REVIEW: BOJACK HORSEMAN – SEASON 04 – EPISODE 02
Director:
Writers:
Raphael Bob-Waksberg (creator), Kate Purdy
Stars:
Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie
Review by Mary Cox
“The Old Sugarman Place”
Bojack is back! The second episode of this series sits somewhat uncomfortably for me. “The Old Sugarman Place” seems to be jumping back a little from the weight and drama of the previous season, but it’s right now, it feels the direction of the show is kind of still in limbo. Bojack Horseman is half-in and half-out of being a serious drama.
In the flashback scenes with Bojack’s grandparents, the recurring “it’s the past, so everyone is sexist” jokes start to wear a little thin. This isn’t because the repeated references to “womb problems” are offensive or in bad taste, but it’s that the jokes are somewhat one note. After the fourth or fifth antiquated riff, this episode starts to somewhat literally beat a dead horse.
Bojack’s grandmother getting lobotomized at the end of the episode is melodramatic and out of place. This scene is clearly supposed to be evocative of Rosemary Kennedy, the younger sister of JFK who was famously lobotomized against her will, but certain tragedies don’t translate when it comes to cartoon horses. Touching on such a dark and serious topic would be okay if it wasn’t just a throwaway moment in a flashback, but the way Bojack Horseman handles this scenario makes the weight and tragedy of the lobotomy somewhat cheap and unnecessary.
Clearly, there exists a balance between comedy and tragedy, and in the past, Bojack Horseman has successfully walked that line. However, things aren’t looking so hot based on how the content of this episode has been handled. There’s a chance that the flashbacks at the Sugarman cabin will have some greater thematic significance later in the season, but I’m not holding my breath.
******
“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t
Festival Reviews 