Have You Seen BoJack Horseman Yet?

I will keep this one short just because, in all honesty, I don’t know where to start on this one. There are so many reasons to watch this show; if you haven’t, you’re missing out on a masterpiece. I don’t use that word lightly, either. Genuinely this show is in a category of its own. It’s funny, quirky, has drama – so much drama – and it’s real. Even though this is about fictional, animated animal and human characters in a fictional Hollywoo – no, I didn’t forget the D at the end – it is so authentic and unique. Without further ado, let me explain my reasons for watching this show.

I started this show in 2015 after the first season had finished airing. I was in a bit of a void at the time as I’d just finished binge-watching Rick and Morty season two, and I didn’t know what to do next. Rick and Morty was random sci-fi with emotional moments sprinkled in (looking at you, season two, episode three). That episode emotionally wrecked me at that point, which I know is silly because it’s Rick and Morty; when season two aired, it wasn’t that deep. I was looking for something to grasp onto because I was a little depressed. I’d just graduated high school and didn’t have anything planned out for my prospective future while all my friends and peers were getting jobs and moving to college. I was sad and wanted something I could latch onto to feel a little bit better, knowing I wasn’t alone.  

I wanted to watch something that captured the feeling of Rick and Morty. After searching for shows similar enough in tone, I stumbled upon BoJack Horseman. I was skeptical and first because the reviews were a mixed bag, but in my desperation or state of defeat at the time, I gave in. After all, it was something to do to distract me from my life, not going anywhere and not having a life’s purpose.

I confess, watching the first season, I didn’t get the hype others were raving about. It was interesting enough to keep me going, but it didn’t match my expectations set by its online community. It was average, nothing special in the first season. However, the show morphed into its own when season two and every season after aired. I didn’t understand it on the first watch, but I got it as I rewatched the episodes while waiting for the release of new seasons. With the help of YouTube and other blogs and articles, I understood the scope and character more thoroughly. I realized that the characters, BoJack, Todd, Diane, Princess Carolyn, and everyone else, all tried to deal with the cards they were dealt, albeit in different ways. And it makes the show so smart and relatable because these characters stop feeling like they’re in a front and start feeling like real people. You can’t help but relate to or at least understand why they are the way they are. Why do our protagonists do what they do in their lives, and how it affects others? Their actions have real consequences.

BoJack Horseman was and still very much is cathartic for me. I think I can watch the show repeatedly, not get bored, and find new meaning within its episodes. Find something I missed before. It reminds us that we all have demons and choose how to deal with them. Whether we choose to sit and wallow in the garbage and turn it into a landfill, find random shenanigans and hijinks to get into, become a workaholic, or be a negative Nancy, you have choices. And, of course, you will have consequences – some good and some bad.