"It's going to be great, as it always is, from my perspective."
July 1, 2016 3:48 PM Subscribe
"I don't know why it's so hard for you to believe I could be happy." The official trailer for season three of Bojack Horseman is out now, following the release of the teaser trailer in May.
Bojack Horseman previously: 1, 2, 3 and in FanFare.
I really, really love this show. I watched the entire first season over and over again on repeat during a particularly depressing time in my life.
posted by gucci mane at 4:30 PM on July 1, 2016 [11 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 4:30 PM on July 1, 2016 [11 favorites]
I hated it when I watched the first season initially. For whatever reason it didn't click for me and then the second season came out and I decided that I wasn't really interested in watching it.
And then I downloaded it out of nothing more than boredom and because I was feeling kind of glum and wow. Completely clicked. I want that third season right now, I could mainline it all just tonight. It's like a nice slice of bittersweet chocolate cake and when it hits the spot, it really hits the spot.
posted by Neronomius at 4:34 PM on July 1, 2016 [3 favorites]
And then I downloaded it out of nothing more than boredom and because I was feeling kind of glum and wow. Completely clicked. I want that third season right now, I could mainline it all just tonight. It's like a nice slice of bittersweet chocolate cake and when it hits the spot, it really hits the spot.
posted by Neronomius at 4:34 PM on July 1, 2016 [3 favorites]
Not sure if I'm in the minority here, but after last season's penultimate episode I can't bring myself to care about a person as revulsive as Bojack anymore. He crossed a line that makes it impossible for me to want to watch his actions any further.
(Not bringing this up to shit on the show, which is superbly made. I'm genuinely curious, however, if other people had the same reaction as I did.)
posted by rorgy at 5:06 PM on July 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
(Not bringing this up to shit on the show, which is superbly made. I'm genuinely curious, however, if other people had the same reaction as I did.)
posted by rorgy at 5:06 PM on July 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
This one's going to break us, and we're going to love it.
Like feeling raw at the end of an episode but being unable to resist bopping your head to the closing theme song even if you're crying.
posted by Room 641-A at 5:32 PM on July 1, 2016
Like feeling raw at the end of an episode but being unable to resist bopping your head to the closing theme song even if you're crying.
posted by Room 641-A at 5:32 PM on July 1, 2016
The first two seasons had lighthearted first halves followed by dark, emotionally crushing second halves. I wonder if they will follow that pattern again. I liked the dark endings way more, so my first instinct is to hope they ditch the fluff... but maybe it is necessary to make the sad parts hit maximally hard?
posted by scose at 6:02 PM on July 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by scose at 6:02 PM on July 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
I think those mid-season mood shifts are very much in keeping with living with bipolar disorder.
posted by turaho at 6:27 PM on July 1, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by turaho at 6:27 PM on July 1, 2016 [4 favorites]
rorgy
I'm with you on that. Unless Season 3 reveals what we thought happened didn't happened, Bojack slept with the daughter of his friend. I forget how old the daughter was; Bojack may be a statutory rapist.
He's kind of moved beyond the "asshole" zone. His depression can't be an excuse for everything and anything he does, all to be wiped away if he pulls through.
posted by Sangermaine at 6:50 PM on July 1, 2016
I'm with you on that. Unless Season 3 reveals what we thought happened didn't happened, Bojack slept with the daughter of his friend. I forget how old the daughter was; Bojack may be a statutory rapist.
He's kind of moved beyond the "asshole" zone. His depression can't be an excuse for everything and anything he does, all to be wiped away if he pulls through.
posted by Sangermaine at 6:50 PM on July 1, 2016
Bojack may very well be a piece of shit, but Penny is of legal consenting age. She goes so far as to point this out in response to his objections.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 7:11 PM on July 1, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by Parasite Unseen at 7:11 PM on July 1, 2016 [5 favorites]
I don't think they actually slept together. They were clearly headed in that direction, but were stopped by the friend and Bojack was essentially kicked out of town.
I never really thought we were supposed to like Bojack. He's a cracked black mirror, reflecting back the worst of the chronically depressed, embodying the selfishness and self-absorption that they fear they've become. He's The Depressed Person, made into a television show.
I don't think we're supposed to expect anything approaching warmth or morality from him. He's too fucked up and shitty for that.
posted by Anonymous at 7:13 PM on July 1, 2016
I never really thought we were supposed to like Bojack. He's a cracked black mirror, reflecting back the worst of the chronically depressed, embodying the selfishness and self-absorption that they fear they've become. He's The Depressed Person, made into a television show.
I don't think we're supposed to expect anything approaching warmth or morality from him. He's too fucked up and shitty for that.
posted by Anonymous at 7:13 PM on July 1, 2016
The situation we find BoJack in is meant to be so appalling we're heartbroken and disgusted, but the truth is that we don't know for sure what would have happened if the situation had played out. I almost think it's a blot test for what we the viewers think of him at this point. Obviously, BoJack should never have allowed it to get as far as it did; he should be at least that responsible. He's an extremely damaged person, and that's one thing when you're talking about his relationships with people more or less his peers, but Penny -- a legal adult or not -- clearly looked up to him in a way that means...it's just wrong and hurtful and he should have been able to place her wellbeing before his own, and it's crushing that he fails for even a moment. I am not sure he would have taken advantage of her, but it's awful that this is even in question. That's bad enough. The show almost seems to be challenging us to lose sympathy for BoJack, and I understand why anyone would walk away from watching the rest of it. I am not sure myself whether I'll like him at all by the end of a third season.
But I am still onboard for a third season. For one thing, it's a very funny show when it doesn't focus on the existential nightmare of BoJack's soul. And for another, I want him to be redeemable. There's so much about him that's great; that's why it seems no one in his life ever quite gives up on him, even when he's actively trying to alienate them. I don't think someone like BoJack ever gets well in some miraculous way, but I believe they can get better. And I don't think this is a cynical show that would say otherwise. It's an honest show about how fucked up people can be.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 7:41 PM on July 1, 2016 [11 favorites]
But I am still onboard for a third season. For one thing, it's a very funny show when it doesn't focus on the existential nightmare of BoJack's soul. And for another, I want him to be redeemable. There's so much about him that's great; that's why it seems no one in his life ever quite gives up on him, even when he's actively trying to alienate them. I don't think someone like BoJack ever gets well in some miraculous way, but I believe they can get better. And I don't think this is a cynical show that would say otherwise. It's an honest show about how fucked up people can be.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 7:41 PM on July 1, 2016 [11 favorites]
Not sure if I'm in the minority here, but after last season's penultimate episode I can't bring myself to care about a person as revulsive as Bojack anymore.
That might make you a minority numbers-wise, but I respect the response. And one of the things I like most about the show, that makes it stand out for me, is that it gives me the sense the creators would be too.
There are lots of shows full of pathological assholes these days, but Bojack is the only one I know where the show doesn't ask us to forgive the assholes, or root for them in spite of their assholishness. This is even elevated to text at the end of Bojack's visit with Herb. But the central conflict of the show isn't whether Bojack will succeed despite his myriad faults; it's whether he'll ever truly get better, even a little. Which is why there's still a show even after every season hands him a major success. He's never really earned it yet, so he remains unhappy.
(And for me, there's a lot more going on in the show than Bojack. Princess Carolyn TOTALLY PWNED the end of season 2 and I look forward to watching her take over the world.)
posted by brett at 7:47 PM on July 1, 2016 [12 favorites]
That might make you a minority numbers-wise, but I respect the response. And one of the things I like most about the show, that makes it stand out for me, is that it gives me the sense the creators would be too.
There are lots of shows full of pathological assholes these days, but Bojack is the only one I know where the show doesn't ask us to forgive the assholes, or root for them in spite of their assholishness. This is even elevated to text at the end of Bojack's visit with Herb. But the central conflict of the show isn't whether Bojack will succeed despite his myriad faults; it's whether he'll ever truly get better, even a little. Which is why there's still a show even after every season hands him a major success. He's never really earned it yet, so he remains unhappy.
(And for me, there's a lot more going on in the show than Bojack. Princess Carolyn TOTALLY PWNED the end of season 2 and I look forward to watching her take over the world.)
posted by brett at 7:47 PM on July 1, 2016 [12 favorites]
When I first started watching BoJack Horseman, I thought that the "mature themes" were things like a joke about masturbation. When I continued watching it, I found out that the "mature themes" were things like wondering if you're ever going to be happy again, and whether you even deserve it.
Can't wait for this third season.
posted by DoctorFedora at 8:00 PM on July 1, 2016 [19 favorites]
Can't wait for this third season.
posted by DoctorFedora at 8:00 PM on July 1, 2016 [19 favorites]
Only 21 days until it starts and 24 episodes to re-watch. I was thinking I could re-watch like a human being, one per night, but I guess doubling up a few will be OK.
32 if you count Flaked (also starring Will Arnett) as season 2 1/2. The points above about an unlikeable character in a well-made show I think also apply to Flaked, but without animation and bipedal animals for distance, the character's unlike-ability didn't work for the critics and Arnett also lacked distance (as show creator, not just lead actor) and took that criticism pretty harshly.
posted by morganw at 8:57 PM on July 1, 2016
32 if you count Flaked (also starring Will Arnett) as season 2 1/2. The points above about an unlikeable character in a well-made show I think also apply to Flaked, but without animation and bipedal animals for distance, the character's unlike-ability didn't work for the critics and Arnett also lacked distance (as show creator, not just lead actor) and took that criticism pretty harshly.
posted by morganw at 8:57 PM on July 1, 2016
One of the things that I appreciate about this show is that it gives me a lens to view the things about myself that are less than ideal.
My girlfriend said to me, "You work hard to make the people that you love happy, but you're only interested in making them happy in the ways that you want them to be happy, which aren't necessarily the ways that they want or need."
I said, "I'm not sure what you mean."
She said, "You're Mr. Peanutbutter."
I said, "Oh. Yes. You should have opened with that."
"It's going to be great, as it always is, from my perspective," is almost verbatim something that comes out of my mouth on a regular basis.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 10:08 PM on July 1, 2016 [15 favorites]
My girlfriend said to me, "You work hard to make the people that you love happy, but you're only interested in making them happy in the ways that you want them to be happy, which aren't necessarily the ways that they want or need."
I said, "I'm not sure what you mean."
She said, "You're Mr. Peanutbutter."
I said, "Oh. Yes. You should have opened with that."
"It's going to be great, as it always is, from my perspective," is almost verbatim something that comes out of my mouth on a regular basis.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 10:08 PM on July 1, 2016 [15 favorites]
Time for Season 3 already?! I enjoyed Season 2 immensely, after wondering and worrying if the writers could keep the careful balance of witty, absurd comedy and gut-punch depression. This is an enormously well-done show: the art direction, music, voice acting, script....It's a hell of a show. I don't like BoJack, but I simultaneously both identify with parts of him, and find parts of him repulsive. It's an intriguing mix.
I passed on Flaked due to the reviews, but also because I didn't need yet another TV show about a sad-white-dude-anti-hero. After reading the article that morganw linked to, though, I might check out an episode or two just out of curiosity. I've liked Will Arnett's work for a long time, even though he hasn't been in enough things that properly showcase his chops.
posted by missmary6 at 10:25 PM on July 1, 2016
I passed on Flaked due to the reviews, but also because I didn't need yet another TV show about a sad-white-dude-anti-hero. After reading the article that morganw linked to, though, I might check out an episode or two just out of curiosity. I've liked Will Arnett's work for a long time, even though he hasn't been in enough things that properly showcase his chops.
posted by missmary6 at 10:25 PM on July 1, 2016
Also, the show's character designer Lisa Hanawalt has a new book out, and it's great.
posted by ITheCosmos at 6:18 AM on July 2, 2016
posted by ITheCosmos at 6:18 AM on July 2, 2016
If you'd told me prior to August 2014 that a cartoon about a talking horse would become the most heartbreaking thing i'd ever seen on television I'd have laughed in your fucking face.
posted by dersins at 11:39 AM on July 2, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by dersins at 11:39 AM on July 2, 2016 [5 favorites]
Oh I'm so ready. Bojack is one of my favorite shows ever. Sangermaine: they didn't actually sleep together. They might have been just about to, or it might have just looked like that when Charlotte walked in.
I think the skeeviest sexual thing Bojack has done is sleep with grown-up Sarah Lynn.
posted by lovecrafty at 11:45 AM on July 2, 2016 [3 favorites]
I think the skeeviest sexual thing Bojack has done is sleep with grown-up Sarah Lynn.
posted by lovecrafty at 11:45 AM on July 2, 2016 [3 favorites]
One thing that sticks out for me is how really well cast the show is. Except for Diane, I think Allison Brie is great in it, but I think having an Asian-American actress would have really hammered home some of the identity issues that come up in the show w/r/t to her character. Paul F Thompkins as MisterPeanutButter is a masterstroke, though.
posted by lkc at 11:55 AM on July 2, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by lkc at 11:55 AM on July 2, 2016 [4 favorites]
Bojart Horseblog, stills and extra art from crew members of the show.
posted by Nelson at 8:39 AM on July 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Nelson at 8:39 AM on July 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
Also worth reading: The World According to ‘BoJack Horseman’ [The New York Times]
posted by Fizz at 1:20 PM on July 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Fizz at 1:20 PM on July 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
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