My journey with BoJack Horseman began purely as an accident. Here I was, bored out of my mind in quarantine, surfing through Netflix as one does, when a somewhat disturbing illustration of a horse appeared on my television. I was mildly intrigued, but I continued with my search, flipping through the same phony smiles of famous actors. Then the cartoon appeared once more… and my journey began.
I watched BoJack Horseman for the first time at one of the lowest points I’ve ever been in. I was in a new period of grief and dealing with unprecedented times with COVID-19. I was unmotivated and often motionless. I won’t lie, it’s not like the cartoon worked like some miracle drug, making me jump from my bed, ready to take on the day, but it created a space where I could find comfort in myself and my sadness. As the show progressed, there were times when I had to turn the TV off when a story hit too close to home. Yet, the beauty of the show lies in extrapolating and exploring each aching emotion and struggle. The show is constructed so that you can continue to laugh with the characters as you grapple with their somber obstacles, obstacles you’d never witnessed or considered in light of your own life.
The show prevailed as one that delved beyond scratching the surface. Not only does BoJack Horseman blur the lines between comedy and drama, but the show exhausts the grim reality revolving around the new, harsh, and developing political culture in the United States in a hilarious way. Throughout the show, we come to find the protagonists faced with an array of moral dilemmas as they navigate through evolving societal constructs and individualized passions. We are faced with Diane’s character — an individual driven by goodwill to add her own touches of humanity to the world — often specifically to BoJack.
As the show follows the horse — who resembles a privileged, wealthy, and famed male — we slowly unravel his past traumas and ongoing insecurity-driven longings that make him such a cynical and impulsive individual. We inevitably become BoJack’s “cheerleaders” as our understanding of his past and current behaviors evolve and become evident in light of his troublesome experiences and trauma-filled childhood.
BoJack Horseman isn’t an easy show. It delves into many hefty topics, including trauma, addiction, mental illness, death, and sexuality.
So why is BoJack Horseman a masterpiece if it covers such colossal subjects?
If I had understood the dark nature of the show before watching the series, I probably wouldn’t have begun it. Now that I have completed the experience, I am thankful that I did. The various plotlines revolving around the protagonist, BoJack, and his various peers, friends, and loved ones include a beautiful range of hardships, self-discoveries, evolving relationships, and personal pursuits. However, these stories are dissected satirically, allowing the audience to find comfort in understanding themselves in relation to the character’s journey and individualized struggles. BoJack Horseman revolves around a society built for humans, animals, and human-like animals. This society is a seemingly similar parallel realm that mimics the same fame and technology-driven society that many have grown to idealize.
The show begins after BoJack’s prominence in a 90s sitcom called Horsin’ Around where he grapples with his identity as a “has-been,” attempting to reach further fame while juggling alcoholism. However, his cynical nature paints a comedic outlook on his life and the 21st century style society he lives in. He criticizes the media and barks at glorified celebrity culture, the very lifestyle he falls victim to. He reveals an aspect of himself that we have all experienced as we often come to ridicule the popularity-driven world we live in, and we ironically fail to reflect candidly on our actions.
So, BoJack Horseman is a big hypocrite, but we follow his story and all the messy, yet beautiful, relationships he attempts to keep throughout his remaining years. Such relationships dealt with BoJack’s chaos while simultaneously leading complex lives, just like BoJack.
“Life’s a b*tch and then you die”
– BoJack Horseman
“Sometime’s lifes a b*tch and then you keep living”
– Diane Nguyen
Throughout the show, you discover each character’s flaws, truths, scars, and beauty. While you know the show is fictional, you can’t help but find pieces of yourself in all characters. And while you may find comfort in yourself, it’s a long and sometimes cyclical journey, one where you find yourself challenged by your own flaws and traumas. And yet, you march onward. You keep living.
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