BOJACK HORSEMAN S1:E7-REVIEW

 BoJack is desperate for love and he knows just the cat to cure him.



While the show definitely displayed shades of depression before, I feel like this is the episode that truly pulls that rug under the feet of viewers who thought they were just getting an adult comedy. Make no mistake, this episode leaves you feeling sad for our leads, a lot of mistakes have been, some of which cannot be cured so easily, because life is complicated. Sure, we open this episode with a silly joke about BoJack getting drunk on his agent's lawn, but by the end, we are not given an absurd joke, we are left with an uncertainty over what has transpired. We learn what leads to this ending in the next episode, but we are also given an issue that is never fixed, in short this episode feels like a big shift for what we expected out of the show.

Let's back things up a bit, to the plot. BoJack is convinced Princess Carolyn is his one true love, determined to make her feel the same, BoJack continuously bugs her at work, just to prove his love. Princess Carolyn quickly realizes he only feels this way because of Diane, ignoring his advances. Things get complicated as Princess Carolyn's agency merges another agency, which includes a rival agent, Vanessa Gecko.

Desperate for her affection, BoJack quits working for Princess Carolyn, as an earlier statement of hers suggested she would only date him if he stopped being her client. It's a move that results in quickly cutting the plot thread involving the paparazzi birds, which is cut in a pretty funny fashion as BoJack's new agent knows how to deal with blackmail.

Eventually Princess Carolyn is beaten down emotionally, enough to accept BoJack. End of the episode right? Not exactly, as Princess Carolyn accepts the affection, BoJack gets a call from his old producer, Herb Kazazz, a cancer stricken former friend who demands BoJack meet him. The call leaves BoJack shaken, not wanting to do anything romantic anymore. 

Does the episode end with a resigned BoJack, no, once more, we get more of Princess Carolyn. After a failure from Vanessa Gecko, Princess Carolyn is tasked with finding BoJack a job, which she succeeds in. Yes, the episode keeps going. After a call with BoJack, Princess Carolyn is met with more disappointment as he no longer wants to do anything. Princess Carolyn stares out in failure as it all ends.

There's  certainly some forgettable bits here, but the episode's emotional sequences more than make up for that. This is a great episode, one that feels like the closest thing to an actual tonal shift for the show, a shift that has truly made it a stand out show.

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Written by Octaviano Macias