Liam Hoofe reviews the season four finale of BoJack Horseman…
Well, this is it, the final stop on what has been a whirlwind of a season for BoJack Horseman. The show has come a long way from those opening few episodes 4 years ago, and the future looks very bright for the show. BoJack is one of the finest and most underappreciated shows on television and season 4 has been arguably its strongest season yet.
” It’s just really hard to need people,” Princess Carolyn tells BoJack mid-way through ‘What Time is Right Now?’ It’s a statement that echoes so many of the themes that BoJack has explored this season, and the season finale offers a glimmer of hope for so many of the show’s characters. BoJack has needed his Mom’s love his whole life, his Mom needed her father’s love and now BoJack, and Carolyn, and so many of the show’s characters just need someone, anyone, who can make things that little bit better for them.
After the last episode, business has returned to usual in Hollywoo. Todd is up to his crazy adventures, Mr. Peanutbutter and Diane are trying to get their life back together, and Princess Carolyn is still trying to recover from losing her child and breaking up with Ralph. What BoJack understands, more than most shows on TV, is that drama in the show doesn’t need to be constant. Yes, this is the season finale, but it doesn’t need to have big dramatic moments to make it work. To borrow a quote from the season, Time’s Arrow marches on and people just grow and adapt to the troubles they have to deal with.
The season closes itself out with a much more contemplative look at the characters here, offering, for the most part, a slightly more optimistic look into their futures. Princess Carolyn is trying to get Philbert off the ground, BoJack has, unwillingly, signed on to work on the project, and Todd has begun a new business new venture, and potentially a new romance.
The one storyline that does come to a head here, though, is the one between Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter. The tension between the pair has been brewing all season and it comes to a tragic head this episode. After planning their new dream home, the couple decides to go on a spontaneous trip to Hawaii to clear their heads. On the journey, Diane tells Mr. Peanutbutter that she had always dreamed of having a Beauty and the Beast inspired living room.
Mr. Peanutbutter, in a last-ditch attempt to make Diane happy, makes her dream come true. The couple arrives back to their new home and he has had builders come in and transform their living room into the room from Beauty and the Beast. Except, Diane breaks down. It’s a moment of realisation for her. It was never the room she wanted, it was the moment. That moment when The Beast and Belle fall in love, where they are willing to give everything for each other and face whatever the world has to throw at them. Being faced with the literal rendition of her dream makes her realise how deeply unhappy she is. The scene ends with the two sat in separate chairs, crying, and facing a future without each other.
Finally, after such a long, and often dark journey with BoJack, season 4 ends with perhaps his most optimistic scene yet. After discovering that Hollyhock is not his daughter, but in fact his sister, BoJack spends the episode trying to right his wrongs and eventually manages to put Hollyhock in touch with her mother. The season closes with the two sharing a phone call as Hollyhock sits in the airport waiting for a flight to meet her Mom.
The two joke about airport prices before Hollyhock and BoJack laugh about him not being up to the task of being a father. She tells him that she already has eight fathers and he laughs, though he is clearly struggling with it. Then she utters the final line of the season ‘But, I’ve never had a brother’. BoJack looks startled, he smiles, and the season closes. It’s a beautiful moment and one that presents a real glimmer of hope for the character.
BoJack has stumbled so much because he always lets people down. He has, whether he intended to or not, hurt everyone of his friends in some way and he can’t help but hate himself for it. A sibling could be exactly what he needs. A relationship where he doesn’t have to do anything he doesn’t want to. The two characters, who’s similarities have becoming increasingly clear as the show has worn on, are equally as dependent on each other, they both have shitty parents and they both have their own demons to contend with. BoJack may finally have found someone that he can rely on. It’s the perfect way to wrap things up.
BoJack season 4 has been one hell of a ride. Everything about this show has been perfect this season. It has managed to walk that fine line between drama and comedy expertly throughout, offering us fascinating character insights, while also managing maintain its zany humour and lovable characters. It’s an exceptional season of TV, that has been, for my money, the best series of 2017 so far.
What did you think of Bojack Horseman Season 4? Let us know in the comments below, and let Liam know on Twitter, here- @liamhoofe
