Bojack Horseman Returns Soon – Watch These Four Great Episodes
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On September 27th, Bojack Horseman – arguably Netflix’s best-ever original show, with some competition – announced that it will return for its sixth and final season October 25th. It’ll then return for this final season again January 31st – the 16-episode final season is split into two parts, similarly to Breaking Bad’s final season.
Coincidentally, Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul voices Bojack Horseman character Todd. Paul has perhaps been the Bojack voice actor most outspoken about the show’s upcoming end. In a tweet he sent when the final season was announced, he implied that Netflix, rather than Bojack creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg, decided to end the show. Some have even wondered if the backlash to Netflix’s cancelation of the beloved, Bojack-associated show Tuca & Bertie led to Netflix pulling the plug on Bojack before Bob-Waksberg would have liked.
Whether Bojack’s team saw a longer future for the show or planned to end it now, the series has given viewers much to be proud of. If you don’t have time to binge the entire first five seasons before the sixth season kicks off October 25th, watch these four great episodes to get an idea of what this simultaneously surreal and all-too-real show is about.
“Downer Ending” (Season 1, Episode 11)
The first handful of Bojack’s season one episodes were widely panned. Viewers who stuck around for what came after, however, got to enjoy deeply moving, thought-provoking episodes such as “Downer Ending,” in which Bojack Horseman (Will Arnett) and his former Horsin’ Around co-star Sarah-Lynn (Kristen Schaal) embark on a drug-addled frenzy. Bojack’s drug-fueled fantasies of a happy life and family and heartfelt apology to writer and main character Diane Nguyen (Alison Brie) elevate the episode past a typical sermon on addiction into a welcome look at the warm heart behind the cold exterior.
“Let’s Find Out” (Season 2, Episode 8)
In the zany, always faintly dark world of Bojack Horseman, a new game show titled Hollywoo Stars and Celebrities: What Do They Know? Do They Know Things?? Let’s Find Out! completely tracks (and “Hollywoo” isn’t a typo – it’s among the strongest of the show’s many recurring gags). What might be less expected is how badly Bojack, a guest on the show, sabotages things. Bojack’s deep-seated anger and unhappiness take center stage as his rivalry with the show’s host, Mr. Peanutbutter (Paul F. Tompkins), boils over into a drastic, awful action broadcast live on TV.
“Fish Out of Water” (Season 3, Episode 4)
This episode is likely the closest that Bojack Horseman has ever come to high art. Fewer than three minutes of audible dialogue can be heard throughout the underwater episode, during which Bojack’s head is contained in a spherical oxygen tank. Instead of focusing on the film festival for which he first went underwater, Bojack embarks on a journey to return a baby seahorse to its father. After he returns to the festival, the episode’s main plot twist is revealed in a way as satisfying as it is hilarious.
“Free Churro” (Season 5, Episode 6)
Among the constants of Bojack Horseman is how Bojack’s strained relationships with his parents, especially his mother, have impacted his poor mental health. In “Free Churro,” Bojack eulogizes his mother after she passes earlier in the season. His speech is nothing like a standard eulogy, nor is the episode’s nearly back-to-back pair of shocking, darkly hilarious ending twists.
What are your favorite Bojack episodes? Sound off in the comments!