BoJack Horseman Season Four, Episode Seven: Underground

Well, we got a Mr. Peanutbutter political storyline that didn't completely suck. This episode of BoJack Horseman was heavy on the silly and light on the critical character moments, but it did give us the long-awaited Bojack/Diane reunion. Despite all the damage there, there's a mutual understanding between these two characters that intertwine them in a way that's deeper than anything Mr. Peanutbutter could possibly be for Diane. Sure, Diane stresses that Mr. Peanutbutter is the best thing that ever happened to her, and maybe she's right, but that doesn't mean that he's always going to be the person that gets her best. It's clear that Diane -- deeply depressed, broken Diane -- only truly gets to be herself around BoJack. Whether the consequences of that relationship make it worth it or not, there's an importance there that can't be overlooked.

The primary plot of this episode, however, involves the main cast along with a glut of Mr. Peanutbutter's boosters getting trapped underground in his house when the fracking done under the foundation causes it to sink into the earth. The survival story has all of the classic elements: collective loss of sanity, discussions about cannibalism, desperate power struggles, and alternating feelings of hope and despair. BoJack Horseman manages to make it entertainingly ridiculous with the arrival of Governor Woodchuck, who has the leadership and organization skills necessary to get the group through the situation. Mr. Peanutbutter, however, quickly turns the crowd on him, which leads to a quick devouring of all of the food and assorted craziness thereafter.

Zach Braff as himself was great in this episode, as the writers both had him desperately search for someone to validate his parking for his Prius (which makes him a good person, dammit!) and played off of his episode-ending monologues from Scrubs. I've also thoroughly enjoyed Andre Braugher's turn as Governor Woodchuck, who offers intermittent dry commentary to the situation once he's taped to a ceiling fan for the heinous crime of trying to lead everyone to survival. And who could forget Jessica Biel's lunacy, in which she gets the entire band of survivors to worship fire?

The "C" storyline, involving Princess Carolyn and Todd and a weird adventure with anthropomorphic ants in the underground was a little too strange for my tastes. Princess Carolyn has been the show's second-strongest character after BoJack since the beginning of the series, but she has been sorely lacking in interesting plots this season. It was Season One's "Say Anything" that began to get us to take her seriously and that episode was the moment that BoJack Horseman transitioned from a goofy romp about an alcoholic horse to a show with deep, fully-formed characters that felt like they really matter. This show needs Princess Carolyn, and not the version who's only on screen to comically negotiate with ants or drop Courtney Portnoy tongue-twisters.

Bullet Points:

• Best one-liner of the episode, at Biel's expense: "Okay, settle down, you future hard Jeopardy question."

• The joke about Whole Foods and gentrification was already made by South Park. I don't know that South Park has elevated to "Simpsons Did It" status, so that sorta feels like robbery at worst, and tired at best.

• Hey, in defense of Season Two of Friday Night Lights, it didn't get to finish properly thanks to the writers' strike. This is sort of a popular punching bag and I don't think it's fair.

• I've been underwhelmed by this season so far and have only truly been blown away by The Old Sugarman Place. I've heard the closing cluster of episodes is great, and I'm very much looking forward to them, but the disappointment is palpable.

Episode Grade: B

BoJack Horseman Season Four, Episode Six: Stupid Piece of Sh*t

We know BoJack Horseman doesn't like himself and we have a pretty good idea what's going on in his head at any given point in the series because of how well-drawn he is. However, BoJack Horseman gave us some audio of his train of thought in "Stupid Piece of Sh*t", and damn, it is intense. Not only do we get to listen to all the crappy things that BoJack says to himself on a second-to-second basis, but the episode provides crude cartoons of what's going on in his head and how his brain processes the people around him. It's a creative and entertaining method of storytelling that elevated what would have been an otherwise mundane episode (save for two great scenes).

The "A" plot of the episode centers around the deteriorating Beatrice asking "where the baby is", so Hollyhock gets her a doll to treat as her baby and Beatrice can't tell the difference. When Beatrice shows love and support for the doll, BoJack loses his shit. He's seeing the treatment that he never got as a kid and it's paining him because he blames so much of his life on his awful parents. He hurls the doll over his deck and Beatrice breaks down in tears. This is going to sound weird because all BoJack did was toss an inanimate object off a cliff, but the show really makes it feel like a baby was murdered. And of course, from Beatrice's point of view, one was.

BoJack is able to get the doll back with the help of Mr. Peanutbutter and gives it back to a less-than-appreciative Beatrice, but then the real problem comes. BoJack has to talk to Hollyhock about how horribly he acted. Throughout the episode, BoJack's train of thought reveals how terrified he is of ruining his daughter and protecting her from him despite something of a growing attachment between the two. He explains to her as honestly as possible that the reason he's not present is because he's a shitty person and it's not Hollyhock's fault. She seems to get that, but at the same time, she reveals that she's got a lot of the same deep insecurities as BoJack. She, too, has a train of thought telling her that no one likes her and that she's stupid and ugly. She asks BoJack whether that's just a teenage girl that'll go away over time, and despite completely believing the contrary, BoJack says that it will. It's a sweet moment in which he decides to protect her innocence. Plus, BoJack doesn't really know whether it will go away for Hollyhock or not. He suspects not because she's his daughter, but everyone is different and there's no guarantee that this state of perpetually feeling terrible about oneself is hereditary.

Elsewhere, Princess Carolyn is forced to work with Rutabaga Rabbitowitz again. They actually make an effective team despite how badly he screwed her over in Season Two and how aggressively they competed with one another in Season Three. Their plan to have Courtney Portnoy marry Todd blows up when the latter realizes that (duh) he doesn't want to have a sham marriage. Rutabaga leaves to take care of his family, but not before telling Princess Carolyn that she'd be "hilarious" at being a mother because of how dedicated she is to her job. Judah kindly reassures her once Rutabaga leaves, which is good because it is revealed that Princess Carolyn is pregnant. Also there was some nonsense with Meryl Streep tossed in there. I'm kinda meh on this whole storyline; so far, the Princess Carolyn material has not been strong this year.

Bullet Points:

• "These are cookies. This is not breakfast. You are eating cookies. Stop it. Stop eating cookies, go make yourself breakfast. Stop it. Don't eat one more cookie. Put that down. Do not eat that cookie. I can't believe you ate that cookie."

• As expected, Beatrice and Tina (the bear-nurse) now appear in BoJack's house in the opening credits.

• "Mom is "totes" into a baby? Is it possible the baby got dipped in brandy at some point? Or cigarettes, or regressive ideas about immigrants?"

• "Also, Eddie Money doesn't do the taking home in "Take Me Home Tonight," so if you're taking me home, then I would be Eddie Money."

• "I got seven kids and a wife who's really into me co-parenting, or, as she calls it, "parenting."

Episode Grade: B+