This is a step back for BoJack, as it's ranked second each of the last two times I've made this list. I did full reviews here of the first seven episodes of the season before finally accepting the idea that I'd come to dread thinking about having to write something meaningful and lengthy about each episode, so I stalled a little bit. There were a few winners among the earlier Season Four, most notably "The Old Sugarman Place", but by and large, the season dragged until the ninth installment, "Ruthie".
Still, even if it didn't ascend to the heights of Seasons Two or Three, Season Four of BoJack Horseman was yet another wild emotional ride. The show typically builds to heavier stuff in the later episodes of a season, and Season Four was no exception. It's just that the ride to get there wasn't quite as fun this time around and several of the non-BoJack storylines dragged along. Those of you who followed my episode recaps know that I didn't care for the "Mr. Peanutbutter for governor" storyline, and as it has in the past, when BoJack Horseman goes political, it tends to lose what makes it special and becomes just another voice in the echo chamber, making the same statements and jokes that you see retweeted into your timeline every day without any additional creativity. There were a few pretty great jokes along the way ("Tonight, we dine on Zach Braff!"), but for the most part it was a storyline I could have done without.
Todd was mostly his goofy Todd self this season, which is enjoyable, but I liked that the show dove deeper into his life as an asexual person. As I've mentioned before, this is an under-explored element in popular culture and it was interesting to see Todd both come to terms with it and explore relationships with other asexual people.
Most of Princess Carolyn's arc this season was forgettable until "Ruthie", one of the more gut-wrenching episodes that the show has pulled on us during its four-season run. The reveal that the happy future was just something she made up to deal with her struggles was the not-so-insignificant cherry on top of watching all aspects of her life come crashing down in sequence (though thankfully, we finally got the follow-up from the Judah/Admiral Witherspoon meeting). By season's end, with some help from Todd, she's able to pull herself out of it and start anew. Overall, I was a little let down with how little I was engrossed with her storyline, but "Ruthie" was damn near good enough to make up for all of the lulls.
Finally, we come to BoJack, who yet again had an excellent season-long arc. They teased us last season with the possibility that BoJack had a daughter, and this season we got to meet Hollyhock, who seems like a good kid but is confirmed to have some of BoJack's unfortunate tendencies, most notably having a voice in her head telling her that she's worthless and stupid and ugly. One of the best scenes of the season is when she asks BoJack if the voice ever goes away, and BoJack doesn't have the heart to tell her the truth -- that the voice has been dragging him down for his whole life.
The root of BoJack's issues, however, is revealed in a series of flashbacks involving the childhood of his mother, Beatrice. To this point in the series, Beatrice has been portrayed as an awful mother who just put BoJack down and treated him like garbage his whole life. That BoJack Horseman was able to turn Beatrice into something resembling a sympathetic character was truly remarkable. She's the way she is because of her father, Joseph Sugarman, who's suddenly the biggest villain of the entire series. Joseph had his wife lobotomized rather than deal with her thoughts and feelings and his attitude towards women and girls essentially poisoned Beatrice. She never had a chance to turn out halfway decent, so it's ultimately Joseph's shittiness that is the root of much of what is wrong with BoJack.
In yet another crazy twist, it turns out that BoJack's father, Butterscotch, is actually Hollyhock's father as well (which is probably for the best, as BoJack isn't much of a parent). In the last scene of the season, Hollyhock and BoJack have a heart-to-heart about this realization, and both approach the discomfort with great maturity that shows growth in both characters. Hollyhock reiterates what she's been saying all along -- that she doesn't need another dad, but then she speaks the line that gives us possibly the happiest moment of the entire series:
"But...I've never had a brother."For just a single moment, all of the pain and sadness that we've seen in BoJack for four seasons is washed away, and the beleaguered horse puts a genuine smile on his face. This was a necessary ending for the season, as we've seen BoJack progressively sink lower and lower over three years and this single moment points to a possible recovery and maybe even a happy ending for the character. I don't know how long BoJack Horseman will be on TV, but I do know that it couldn't go on forever on that trajectory. This points BoJack's life in a new and interesting direction, and for anyone who's gone through this strange, weird, journey of agony with BoJack for four years, the conclusion of Season Four was truly satisfying to watch.
Season Grade: A-
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