Today, we continue our slide into existential dread and confusion on Bojack Horseman. Yesterday’s episode had Bojack dealing with the death of his old friend Herb and trying to come to terms with the meaninglessness of death. And yes, this is still a cartoon about a talking horse. On todays episode, we have four separate storylines, all involving couples. It’s Diane’s birthday and Mr. Peanut Butter has thrown her a surprise party. After they get into a fight about whether or not Tony Curtis is dead and Diane starts screaming at Mr. Peanut Butter, the party awkwardly disbands. Princess Carolyn leaves with Todd and sees a child who looks remarkably like her boyfriend Vincent, causing her to confront her him and take a hard look at their relationship. Meanwhile, Bojack and Wanda take a hard look at their brand new relationship. Elsewhere, Diane and Mr. Peanut Butter, you guessed it, take a hard look at their relationship. And Todd facilitates two phones falling in love.
Before I get started, I want to make a correction. Yesterday, I said that the bear at Herb’s funeral was his wife. As several commenters pointed out, Herb was actually gay and the bear was his nurse. That’s my bad, I haven’t watched the first season since it came out and had completely forgotten that. As to why I thought the bear was wife, I guess I’ll blame that on being distracted by Henry Winkler…
Weak? Yeah, I guess you’re right… onto some thoughts!
1. Wanda and Bojack actually seem like a pretty solid team
The biggest surprise of this episode might be that this new relationship is on the most stable ground of any in the series. I think it was Diane who pointed out in the last episode that they get along so well partially because Wanda was in a coma for so long that she’s basically stuck in her 20’s. Stunted development? That’s the number one compatibility trait for someone like Bojack! The way they make up excuses to get out of the party is priceless. “We have a prior engagement-” “Party!” “Yes! An engagement party!” “For our friend!” “Named Prior!” “Right! It’s a Prior engagement party!” These two are really on the same wavelength.
2. Is Tony Curtis dead?
Tony Curtis, the insanely talented film star of the 50’s and 60’s, was the focus of Diane and Mr. Peanut Butter’s fight. He didn’t believe her when she told him he was dead, so he wanted to look it up. But she was upset that he wouldn’t just believe his wife. But… is he dead? Yes. Yes he is. He died in 2010. Thank god we can put that nugget to rest.
3. LITTLE VINCENT!
FINALLY. It took, what, like seventeen episodes, but there he is. Out of his trench coat. It’s the Vincent that we knew was there all along. I’m surprised, actually. And maybe just a teeny bit disappointed. I thought it was going to turn out that Vincent was part of some race that just looked like two children in a trench coat with a broom and mannequin hands. In this universe, it wouldn’t be that out of the ordinary, would it? But Princess Carolyn is still fooled. She thinks it was Vincent’s son that was walking around with what she assumed was Vincent’s wife. What follows is a pretty decent Mrs. Doubtfire-esque back and forth switcheroo in which Princess Carolyn never really gets that she’s being duped. It does lead to the end of their relationship, though. Now the only question is who was Vincent standing on top of? Maybe Princess Carolyn will fall in love with that child.
4. Of course Todd would get saddled with a sentient Siri
While Todd is waiting for Princess Carolyn to get done talking with Vincent, he starts a conversation with his phone’s AI, a sort of Siri stand in. They start talking and Todd is put in the uncomfortable position of explaining to a newly aware being the concept of love. But when she asks if her and Todd are in love, they are interrupted by Princess Carolyn’s work phone, who expresses his undying love for Todd’s phone. And now he has to make the phones kiss (which was one of the few laugh-out-loud moments of the episode). Poor Todd. His little adventures go to some of the weirder places on this show. It was almost like the plot of Her in miniature. Too bad we didn’t get to see Todd in Joaquin Phoenix’s high waisted pants. Oh, well…
5. I like this format
This is new for the show. Having each of the characters pair up and have separate storylines is something we haven’t seen from Bojack Horseman. It allows for the writing to focus on individual relationships and flesh them out a bit. This episode might have been a little light on the laughs, but it made up for it by letting us get to know these characters a little better. Mr. Peanut Butter especially is turning into much more of a three dimensional character. His sadness at having to see Diane leave on her globe trotting expedition is kind of heart breaking. Poor guy just wants to be with his wife. And it allows us to spend some time with Bojack and Wanda, who are showing signs of being really perfect for each other. And Lisa Kudrow is really amazing as Wanda.
6. Wanda’s joke is the best thing about this episode
While Bojack and Wanda are driving in the car, she starts telling him a joke. I won’t spoil it here, but the punchline is really, really good. It’s not laugh out loud funny, and like Wanda says, it’s a thinker. Go watch this episode. It’s worth it just so you can steal that joke and impress all your friends at parties.
7. This season is all about struggling to find one’s purpose
I continue to be surprised at how philosophically dense this show is. I say again, this is a show about a talking horse. Yesterday, we got a line about how most people die for no reason and how that’s okay. All the enlightened characters seem to be less panicked about how to make their mark on the world while everyone else is struggling to “find their purpose.” In this episode, Diane admits that she’s unhappy in her life, which is a bit of a blow to Mr. Peanut Butter who, to his credit, takes it in stride. Diane really wants to make sure her time on earth counts. While Bojack is trying to make his mark as a big time film actor and Princess Carolyn is trying to be the best agent in Hollywoo, Diane wants to go to war torn parts of the world and help as much as she can. But while it seems like she has the most spiritually pure reasons for trying to leave her mark, the show points out that wanting to leave a legacy is ultimately a selfish endeavor.
8. How old is Mr. Peanut Butter?
This is a troubling question. While him and Diane are having their conversation about getting older and finding their place, she mentions how it’s crazy that she’s now 35. He jokes saying that he is too, but then says he’s serious that he’s an old dog and he’s set in his ways. But how old is he actually? Do dog years come into play in this universe? Is that just a joke about not being able to teach an old dog new tricks? I can foresee a future episode where maybe Mr. Peanut Butter has to be put down because he’s so old. That’s the crazy thing about this series. A main character being killed is not outside the realm of possibility. it could be that Mr. Peanut Butter is just getting old and Diane could outlive him by many, many years. Yeesh, that’s a downer.
9. This.
10. Is… is that actually Paul McCartney?
Early in the episode, Mr. Peanut Butter mentions in passing that he got Sir Paul McCartney to hide in Diane’s birthday and jump out to surprise her. The last gag of the episode is him jumping out to an empty house and grumbling about how he bought a new suit and everything. My first thought was that there was no way that was actually him. It didn’t even sound like him. But I was wrong. Oh, yes. I was very wrong.
Check out earlier thoughts on Bojack Horseman below!
10 Thoughts on Bojack Horseman – Still Broken
10 Thoughts on Bojack Horseman – Brand New Couch & Yesterdayland
