Bojack Horseman is a show about people who run away from their problems. Bojack is the prime example of this. He is a washed up actor, only known for a family sitcom in the 90s. He has crippling alcoholism, and hurts everyone around him. Typically, he lacks any semblance of self awareness. BoJack is met with feelings of guilt, anxiety, and fear when eventually he confronts his emotions and takes inventory of the damage he’s done to other people. He consistently reaches the next “rock bottom,” but these feelings prove too difficult to deal with. Nothing changes. He creates a facade of confidence, but in truth, no one hates Bojack like Bojack. Depression and self hate make up his identity.
In the season 2 finale, Bojack returns from a long break from his typical life, steeling himself against the barrage of abuse he will undoubtedly receive from all of the responsibilities he abandoned, and people he left hanging. However, he quickly finds this is not the case; the movie he starred in, Secretariat, continued filming using CGI. His mooch friend has begun living a comparatively healthy lifestyle after moving out of Bojack’s abode. The people in his life were better off without him. This realization hits Bojack hard, but the emotions aren’t new to him.
After attempting to change various silly things to make his life better, Bojack takes up jogging. Bojack, along with many other characters of the show, have the tendency to want to change the situation, not themselves. This is small, but it’s huge; taking up jogging is the first time Bojack has tried to better himself in a long time. It’s difficult; he’s badly out of shape. A strange jogger that appeared in the background throughout the season gives him this advice as Bojack lays on the ground, contemplating quitting: “It gets easier… Every day it gets a little easier… But you gotta do it every day — that’s the hard part. But it does get easier.”
The show of Bojack Horseman is a hole that keeps digging itself deeper. This line is the single ray of sunshine, and because your eyes are adjusted to the darkness that is Bojack, it feels nearly blinding. After adjusting to it, it’s still almost disheartening. There is no miracle cure. This is the lesson of Bojack Horseman. Horrible situations can’t make you change. Other people can’t. Often, as shown in the show, they are too wrapped up in their own issues. The change has to come from within. It’s hard, and consistency is the name of the game. It gets easier. But you gotta do it every day, that’s the hard part. But it does get easier.
I agree with the majority of your analysis of Bojack. I'm not entirely sure what you meant by saying the show is a hole/"this line is the single..." (mostly I didn't get what you referred to as this line). To me, the most blinding aspect of Bojack which requires mental readjustment is the absurdity. The premise of the world is absurd; humans and animals live together yet they all behave as humans with occasional 'fourth wall breaks' that reference inherent traits of certain animals (ie. Mr. Peanutbutter hating the mail man). Chickens that seem like humans raise other chickens to be butchered. Yet, in this world of absurdity that centers around a mostly animal cast, the writers manage to dig to the core of the human experience. In order to receive the full gut-punch that is Bojack Horseman, the viewer must acquiesce to this blinding absurdity. ***Great show, great analysis!
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