Floating From Reality | "The Showstopper" Explained

SPOILER WARNING FOR SEASONS 1-6 OF BOJACK HORSEMAN
The Showstopper is one of the most tragic episodes of BoJack Horseman, and like many other episodes, it represents a huge turning point in BoJack’s life. As BoJack’s vices tighten their grip, his life starts to bleed into the fictional life of his TV counterpart Philbert, and Vice versa. As his guilt overwhelms him, his paranoia worsens, and like so many other times in his life, he drives away the people closest to him. But the episode is brilliantly constructed, a fever dream that blends aspects of his life, his tv show and his history into one incredible show stopping performance. In a lot of ways, The Showstopper is a culmination of all of the mistakes that BoJack has ever made, and how the weight of that guilty conscience violently crashes down on him, and the people around him.
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[@superchamploo1155]

I actually saw the balloon as a callback to when Todd said "Its you"

[@Johnny2Cellos]

Love that!

[@shockingheaven]

Yes! I saw that too

[@ctons]

I always thought it represented how he finally sees himself, unlike Beatrice in the Free Churro episode.

[@danfitzgerald7276]

Yeah, he ascended the stairway to heaven expecting to see his (dead) parents, expecting to blame them for his shitty actions. But as Todd says, “it’s you.”

[@chadkennedy7855]

@@danfitzgerald7276 And that's why Tuca never do shitty actions all her life.

[@RustySshackleford]

I battled opioid addiction and this episode is spot on when portraying what it’s like when one is battling addiction. When you’re stoned to the gills, like Bojack is, you do things you wouldn’t ever dream of doing when sober. I’m proud to say I’m six years sober, btw.

[@Johnny2Cellos]

Congrats! That’s huge

[@missconstruct6968]

That's amazing, man! Congrats ✌🏼

[@sftrkrt07]

Congratulations! Keep it up!

[@trustedroot]

opioid addiction tore my family apart. it's so hard to see someone when they're high like that. I'm so proud of your sobriety

[@melodys9188]

I'm proud of you too heck !!!!!! Now that's an accomplishment :)))))

[@cherryrose8853]

I just realized that the board for Philbert in the opening forms Bojack's face. He's been looking for himself the whole time. God I miss the little details in this show.

[@CreamIceMs]

Oh my God what great attention to detail! I hadn't noticed that! And the blue post it is a tear :(

[@zer0w0lf94]

Same here.

[@khaiphan9636]

Holy shit

[@auser8262]

damn

[@johnkobebalod3499]

I feel the "Don't stop dancing" sequence can also be seen as a meta-commentary of the show itself, pointing out the irony of BoJack selling his sadness as a brand which is exactly what this show is doing. Much like the rest of this season being a commentary on why you shouldn't identify with toxic male characters like Walter White, Don Draper or BoJack himself and why you shouldn't use BoJack's actions as a way of justifying your behavior. EDIT: Also could you do a video on Nice While It Lasted? I feel like a lot of people misunderstand that episode and it doesn't get the love and recognition it deserves

[@Johnny2Cellos]

Nice While it Lasted will be my FINAL BoJack episode breakdown :)

[@chadkennedy7855]

@@Johnny2Cellos Not going to happen... #LetMeIn

[@SaltpeterTaffy]

I can't imagine anyone having ever thought "Bojack Horseman does it, so it's okay." The entire series is an unglamorous portrait of his self-destructive cycle of abuse. That characters like him ought not to be identified with is assumed. That you single out the males suggests that television needs more toxic female characters for people not to identify with.

[@SaltpeterTaffy]

@Eric Lee Are you trying to say that people don't identify with the female characters of BoJack Horseman?

[@KD-ou2np]

@@SaltpeterTaffy alright I guess you've never read a comment section filled with bojack apologists? You don't have to imagine it, it exists

[@darkninjafirefox]

The show itself might have ended but there's always more to find with each watch

[@z609gaming]

There’s always more...show

[@nightstrider15]

Life *is* a never ending show my friend.

[@chadkennedy7855]

@@nightstrider15 I hate you.

[@d.6781]

@@nightstrider15 it ends when we die

[@CSTX4PREZ]

@@d.6781 your line was ‘except the minor detail that it ends’

[@jaxoncallan878]

Do not stop making these bojack breakdowns. Love what you’re putting into this series

[@Johnny2Cellos]

I'll definitely keep making these!

[@chadkennedy7855]

@@Johnny2Cellos Try "The Telescope" and "Still Broken."

[@franciscoduran4618]

And Stupid Piece of Shit and/or Good Damage

[@carterkruse6471]

@@Johnny2Cellos can you do free churro please?

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@franciscoduran4618 that's my favourite duology in the show

[@intensetrims7024]

“You tried to kill me! That’s usually a series wrap on a friendship.”- Bojack to Eddie in The Old Sugarman Place

[@marvelsomething1952]

An extra thing with the balloon. It kinda looks like he's walking up the stairs to heaven, but instead of acceptance he gets judgment. The untethered BoJack looks at him completely plainly and uncompromisingly. It's the culmination of all his guilt.

[@penisslayer4206]

never thought about that but it’s a really REALLY good observation

[@TriforceWolf93]

I love that he loved Hollyhock so much, he never once suspected her of betraying him even during a bender, despite knowing a LOT about the way he’s lived his life and private details that could have ended his career.

[@steamysimmer]

I think you're definitely spot on with the balloon representing his untethering to reality. But I also think that the balloon, being literally an advertisement for Philbert, is a manifestation of bojack's commercialized and inflated (pun intended) ego. His whole life has been devoted to other people's consumption and entertainment, and now he is staring that fact right in the face: a hollow, larger than life version of himself that is nothing more than an advertisement for a tv show. (edited for grammar and clarity)

[@efoxkitsune9493]

Love your take

[@katherinesue2926]

love it when people intend their puns. 10/10

[@gaborsophie3347]

This also really ties into "his" performance on Secretariat. The public loves the empty shell of the bojack that's in the movie, while the actual bojack never acted for it.

[@melodys9188]

d a m n .

[@melodys9188]

@@gaborsophie3347 D A M N . f r ick

[@RadioOppy1]

I also find it interesting Gina is dressed as Judy Garland from her song “come on get happy” I feel like this means something...

[@kaylenejantjes8113]

Ah, what does it meeean? Is it irony?

[@Danny-fy9it]

Well Judy Garland's career was plagued by her drug use, that could be directly representative of Bojacks drug problem in season 5 along with his self destructive tendencies.

[@hkazu63]

@@Danny-fy9it Judy is actually a great parallel to BoJack, and even Sarah Lynn, in real life, as a person whose parents pushed her out onto a stage for a long time. Like Sarah Lynn, she was only 3 when her family put her at the front of her sister’s band. She had a very distant bad damaged relationship with her mother bc she was a stage mother who constantly pushed her career and was believed to tear her down at times to push her success. Her fall into addiction was different, as her management put her on drugs to deal with weight fluctuations, but it still led her to be addicted to drugs and alcohol for her whole life. She was pushed constantly to work and work and work, until she was a tired, broken version of herself, sometimes ending up distant from most of her loved ones, and eventually sinking into mental trauma and addictions until she accidentally took one too many.

[@chadkennedy7855]

This is why this episode gives adults nightmares.

[@10-2productions9]

“Nothings certain but the curtain.” The only truly inevitable thing about a life is that it ends.

[@sammy1659]

i find it interesting that when gina gets free of the choking she said "what the fuck is wrong with you" and then on season six when we see gina again (in the red dress) her co-star says the same thing to her and after that, she touches her neck.

[@chadkennedy7855]

She lied to the public, which gets her into trouble...

[@KD-ou2np]

@@chadkennedy7855 ???

[@chadkennedy7855]

@@KD-ou2np What's wrong with you idiots?! She lied during the interview to cover up the goddamn truth and she get away with crime!!! She should be in jail for this!!!!

[@teddy-1965]

@@chadkennedy7855 I’m seriously curious what you think Gina should be in jail for?

[@chadkennedy7855]

@@teddy-1965 She's can't lied on live TV. If she does, she could put her friends and family in danger.

[@jacobk6371]

What I find most interesting is that although Bojack has used many, many drugs none of them were a genuine addiction that caused such a huge problem for him. The pills provided the perfect cover for him to indulge in his addictions without coming off as problematic showing that he has absolutely no self control and at this point doesn’t identify that what he is doing is wrong.

[@asadsabir7718]

that's a really good point and I wonder if this effect spills into real life. The opioid crisis is maybe exacerbated by it legality

[@WolfbloodJakeWilliams]

Throughout most of the show, Bojacks morals are largely defined by how people see him; if nobody sees him do something wrong, it isn't wrong, he only confronts his actions when someone sees them, and runs away from anything that can stay secret (Sarah Lynn, Arizona, etc). Who is is vs how he is seen is his biggest conflict, and after season 6's end brings the two into sharp and sudden equality, when Bojack is seen for what he's done, he reaches his lowest low and possibly then his highest high. Ironically, maybe Diane was wrong, and she should have done a takedown of Bojack and held him accountable, without an image to hide behind Bojack may have done more healing earlier on, and before making later mistakes.

[@bernardsoul5186]

I mean, alcohol is super highly addictive, but yeah, the painkillers have more psychoactive and dissociative effects, so it creates a different kind of conflict for this season.

[@andieallison6792]

@@asadsabir7718 oh stop. There is no "opioid crisis".

[@KD-ou2np]

@@andieallison6792 wtf? Who told you that? Its a huge issue in every state in the US.

[@maricopa_today8619]

When bojack can't differentiate between reality and the TV show it reminds me of the anime movie Perfect Blue.

[@sunnywestside4210]

love this comparison!

[@Scarshadow666]

That was my first thought while watching this episode as well (and even some of the themes of Perfect Blue are similar to Bojack Horseman too)!

[@Alex-oo3rv]

Am I the only one who has watched the Truman Show? Like walking up the blue stairs? Confusion from fiction and reality? The ending is an obvious reference to the Truman Show(sorry for my anger, I’m just really confused how literally no one caught this)

[@Scarshadow666]

@@Alex-oo3rv That is a good point! I've heard of the Truman Show having that along with similar themes. I'll admit, the Truman Show has definitely been on my to-watch list for a long time and haven't gotten to it yet (there's so many shows/movies to see, lol). ^^;

[@emmawilde7808]

bojack nearly strangling gina to death was the moment i realized he was completely irredeemable. it brought to life every woman’s worst fear- that someone who supposedly loves you will kill you- and i have never been able to see bojack in the same light. idk what people say… there’s no coming back from this. he would’ve killed her if there wasn’t a crew watching

[@heyizz]

For me it was the boat. But you have a very good point. Especially in a society where the number one cause of death for pregnant women is homicide. It strikes me how differently we can see Bojack from many men. For them they're watching their own mistakes, for us it's seeing the consequences of those violent actions that directly affects our gender in a society that denies it while ironically celebrating it.

[@watching7721]

Playing with perspectives is something Bojack does a lot. The only reason we don't see him as irredeemable most of the time is that we get a special insight into why he is the way he is and later on how he can be better. Moments like these are effective because we break from seeing from his eyes and see how he appears to others. Though I personally wouldn't call this irredeemable per say (I know cases of warlords with extensive lists of atrocities turning over a completely new leaf), but that is just my perspective informed by my beliefs and experiences

[@shockingheaven]

When I saw that scene of BoJack confronting the balloon, all that came to my mind was "It's you", just that line. We kept seeing that balloon whenever BoJack was feeling paranoid, so to see him facing it meant he was also facing the person who was sabotaging him.

[@chadkennedy7855]

That's why he got himself sabotage because of those damn drugs and his mother's death. So show some respect for god sakes!

[@nightbirdflyingg]

i feel like he imagined gina as singing because his guilt made him think that she hated him, and that no matter what he did, she was going to end up like all of the other people he hurt; and he was right:(

[@chadkennedy7855]

Tuca never hurt people including her best friend Bertie and you know that.

[@coleschneider1184]

I thought the balloon was wholly representative of addiction. it was untethered after his major fallout with Diane, which for BoJack was extremely significant because Diane is so much for him. He sees it when he doesn’t have control. After his most violent “rock bottom” (even thought think the point is that he doesn’t have one), the showstopper moment, he consciously greets the balloon and acknowledges his issue. Diane then brings him to rehab, and he’s “holding on to the balloon” he’s in control. Great video!

[@Johnny2Cellos]

That’s a really great take

[@chadkennedy7855]

But was it too little too late? The answer is yes...

[@chadkennedy7855]

@@Johnny2Cellos Stop Dancing, brother! We must fight the MPLA!!!!

[@chadkennedy7855]

@@Johnny2Cellos But like you say: the damage has already been done...

[@FrostyPhoenix62442]

The BoJack analyses always blow my mind

[@Em0lga]

I feel like the ladder scene was also a reference to Jacob's Ladder, in that movie the protagonist struggles to understand what is real and what is not while having several hallucinations just like Bojack does. Only once he accepts the truth of his own reality and his past he is able to move on, and this is shown by him climbing up the stairs. It's a really good movie if you want to check it up, it also inspired one of the endings of Silent Hill 1 and some of its overall aesthetic/atmosphere.

[@claws2129]

"Even when things are going well Bojack's mind continue to prepare for the worst case scenario..." That sounds so familiar it's scary. Feeling like everything good is just going to ripped away at any moment. Can't be happy for expecting to lose it.

[@TSBASSIST]

Every time I see one of your vids on Bojack, I immediately want to go back and rewatch the entire series. Excellent work on this one!

[@xlayer5]

Same tho

[@Just_niaxx]

Where would you go without your popsicles dancers?! Kills me every time for some reason 😂

[@santiagoelguero8458]

This is, in my humble opinion, the BEST and most tragic episode in the entire show. Every time I watch it, I get this horrible feeling in my chest, which is what bojack is probably feeling. It's insane how the writers can make you connect to such an awful character, so much as you feel the larger-than-life dread that all of the series' narrative and his drug abuse have led to.

[@lalaicyling8429]

What makes it so jarring is that this is one of the 3 times they show blood in the series

[@chadkennedy7855]

What was the first?

[@lalaicyling8429]

@@chadkennedy7855 When Sarah Lynn stabbed herself

[@chadkennedy7855]

@@lalaicyling8429 Oh, I see... that's unfortunate. In front of her boyfriend?

[@lalaicyling8429]

@@chadkennedy7855 Yes. In front of Andrew Garfield 🤣

[@chadkennedy7855]

@@lalaicyling8429 Too bad he didn't sue Todd and Mr. Peanutbutter after he got injured while he enter that silly Halloween store in January.

[@matti.8465]

Is it weird that I spend a lot of the video DREADING the moment we got to the part where Bojack does....that to Gina?

[@chadkennedy7855]

This moment is more disturbing as I thought.

[@ScrewVevos]

I always interpreted the balloon as bojacks struggle with disassociation. We hear him say it multiple times throughout the show, especially in xerox of a xerox, that he feels like he's watching someone else live his life. As someone's who has dealt with disassociation, it's terrifying to feel like there's this person pretending to be you and you can't do anything to change them. I think the balloon is meant to be the real bojack, representing how he feels like he's just watching this fake version of him live his life from 1000 feet up in the sky, powerless to change the bojack on the ground. When bojack climbs the stairs, he must confront the "real" him. I think you're interpretation is more accurate to what the showrunners were going for. But from the moment I saw that last scene, I fell in love with it. Never have I seen something portray what it's like to become so distant from your own life so clearly. Whatever anyone gets out of the scene, it's amazing just how much impact it has on bojack, and the viewer.

[@chadkennedy7855]

"You did a bad thing and I'm going to tell." - Bray Wyatt

[@carterkruse6471]

He is one of my favorite wrestlers yowie wowie!

[@chadkennedy7855]

@@carterkruse6471 Let me in!

[@carterkruse6471]

@@chadkennedy7855 HURT HEAL

[@chadkennedy7855]

@@carterkruse6471 Imagine during his Firefly Funhouse stagnant, Bray beat up a puppet that looks like BoJack with a sledgehammer showing Netflix why he pathetic and a drunken piece of trash.

[@carterkruse6471]

@@chadkennedy7855 that would be pretty cool actually, merry Christmas 🎄

[@katieoconnor123]

i personally saw the last scene with the balloon as bojack realizing that it wasn’t philbert who choked gina, who was constantly paranoid, who was addicted to pills. he saw the balloon and realized that philbert is just a character, something that isn’t real, something as simple as a balloon. and if he’s looking at what philbert really is, then he realizes he’s bojack, and everything he has done until that point is what bojack has done.

[@jessherman3096]

Also.... Gina is wearing the same outfit as Judy Garland from her song “Get Happy” from the film Summer Stock. Who also eventually died from an overdose later in life.

[@AlexRodriguez-jk1sd]

My interpretation of the balloon was that after going over the deep end with strangling Gina, he finally has to come to grips with the reality that his inflated ego is just a facade and now his true self is realizing how he is so small compared to what he thinks the world thinks of him

[@doubleace11554]

9:10 At 8:50 when Bojack is concerned about something that could ruin everything the ballon appears I think it represents the fact that is Bojack himself that takes himself down, that tries to sabotage himself. Like Todd said "it's you"

[@ashwilliams1725]

Woah I'm lucky this was in my recommendeds

[@JoeyDanks]

Holy hell, these breakdowns are insane. Never really noticed how much I missed. It makes me appreciate the show even more.

[@nanaki1990blox]

You know what that ending shot reminds me of? Whenever I see mass murders on the news I wonder, what's wrong with these men? BoJack is completely detached - he's completely lost it. And he almost became one of those murderers.

[@xravenexe]

i think this episode brought me comfort because as you said as long as theirs drama and conflict the curtains won’t fall. now that the show is over, I hope bojacks life has no more conflict.

[@femmeviews]

Wait...more Bojack content? Yes Please!! 🤩

[@DIke-qj6mb]

At the end of this video I noticed that the ballon of bojack popped and crashed down on the real bojack. It could just be me but it seems like this could be referencing the failed stunt bojack tried to perform but got brutally injured, making him addicted to the pain killers. When Johnny 3 cello said that the only thing that’s ruining bojack, is bojack it makes makes more heart breaking to know that the thing destroying bojack is him self.

[@dedriajelks9262]

I really appreciate these videos. They gave me a whole new perspective of the episodes. Keep up the good work bro.

[@Johnny2Cellos]

Thanks Dedria!

[@dedriajelks9262]

@@Johnny2Cellos I really hope you are doing Downer Ending soon. That's my favorite episode.

[@chadkennedy7855]

@@dedriajelks9262 Too disturbing...

[@theoneandonlynutzley1946]

Always thought Bojack’s “itch” was also referencing the notorious itching that comes with opioid abuse

[@realsadegg7246]

I miss this show so much.

[@meowmachine9147]

I do too, I wish we had more of it but I'm also happy they didn't drag it out for more seasons than it needed and thus lowering the quality of the seasons. It ended when it showed have imo

[@realsadegg7246]

@@meowmachine9147 Oh I totally agree! I dont think it ended prematurely at all or anything like that. I'm not the hugest fan of the literal way the show ended, but I'm appreciative we got an actual concrete ending and not a cliffhanger from being cancelled. For me, things just haven't felt the same since it ended, if it makes sense. I quote literally grew up with this show, the first season came out when I was in high school!

[@chadkennedy7855]

@@realsadegg7246 this shows should have move to Hulu for the 7th season.

[@prettyface146]

“But what do they have in… COMMON?” gets me every single time

[@wyngabe3530]

im currently in a 6 year long fentanyl addiction and I have been watching this same video for 3 and a half years now, this video has been the one constant in the aspect of understanding and the first bit of help I remember when I was abandoned by all family and peers around me and I was stuck in rehab with nothing but myself a hospital bed and a tv with youtube and Hulu, Netflix, Hbo + etc. obviously having no money or subscriptions had to rely on YT and thats where I found this channel, thx Johnny

[@yuhhbaby3179]

Well done brother/sister

[@AudiiN1]

I like the idea that the big floating bojack is like him viewing himself nearly in his pool horse painting and how the one looking down on the other trying to reach the edge of the pool before drowning, much like the view from halfway down. and how bojack was now pushing everyone away even more and making more mistakes that are horribly detrimental to his relationships and all leading him to nearly drowning in a pool because of one more bender

[@Cksow]

God, thanks, this day became much better now

[@Jai137]

Should add that what Bojack is paranoid about, is most likely his role in Sarah Lynn’s death

[@Anhtique]

I don't think 17 minutes was really known during this

[@Jai137]

@@Anhtique yeah, but it recontextualises his actions as that of Bojack being afraid the truth of Sarah Lynn coming out

[@angelle050801]

I would love to see a video on the funeral episode! It honestly left a huge impact on me as someone who grew up in an emotionally abusive household and I connected deeply with the fears of what I might think after my parents are gone

[@RikuMasamune]

Each of these deep looks, I learn something every time. This is why I love BoJack so much... all the hints and nods to future events, past events... It's one of the best Netflix originals!

[@Jasper-ee1zl]

I love this episode, partially because I'm a sucker for unstable reality type stories but also because I have anxiety disorders and PTSD that mean I've experienced some of this same type of paranoia and this is *exactly* what it feels like.

[@lisaanspake835]

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS VIDEO AND I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED! 👏🏻. This whole episode reminds me of the old saying “Life imitates art...” Bojack is running from himself. He doesn’t want to admit that his addictions and vices has gone too far... and that’s a lot to say considering we are talking about Bojack. He has always dealt with his depression, and alcohol however, up until this point we have not seen Bojack get this paranoid and detached from reality before for this long. This is the turning point for him, he can’t function. He’s in denial.. that’s why he thinks his life is going so “well”. To me Bojack finally going up the stairs, and coming face to face with the ballon is Bojack finally facing himself, his vices and his drug problem. It’s at this point he kinda of in some way realizes he went too far.. he needs help. He keeps telling himself that’s things are fine and under control because Bojack has always to some extent made a comeback from the things he has done. However, I personally feel that in this episode the balloon following him is a representation of his subconscious mind telling him that he needs to face his reality and get help.... it’s kind of fitting that he has to go up a flight of stairs to the “sky” to finally face himself because it’s almost like he has to come face to face with his “higher self.” Also thanks for pointing out the color difference between when they’re on the show Philbert, and when he’s just Bojack. I didn’t realize that the first time I watched the episode. It’s a good call. 👍🏻

[@JohnSmith-bn5mi]

A lot of season 5 is very meta in how the wroters saw the reception of Bojack the show. They didn't want anyone to think this sort of behavior was... acceptable. That because you acknowledge your toxicity, you ARE better. A lot of that is brought to a head here in this episode. Examining the repurcussions of Bojack's choices and screaming at you that he's a bad person, who might want to change, but doesn't.

[@carolinashoemaker5938]

I like how Bojack's attempts of "protecting people from himself" fail and the season ends with him going to rehab. The concept of "protecting people from yourself" is not a helpful one, for you or the people around you, you victimize yourself but you free yourself of the actual work and responsability of growing and changing. It's in essence what Todd expresses in season 3 when he drops his f-bomb, it is not enough to feel bad about yourself, you have to be better. I like that for all of Bojack's attempts, at the end the only solution for him is to put the actual work and get better.

[@rustedkeys4609]

5:08 I love the detail that the cast shown here are all humans, a meta reference to how Bojack's life is literally a show played by human actors. It's both metaphorical and literal in his situation.

[@Johnlindsey289]

This episode was like Perfect Blue

[@ddsjgvk]

I think this is also the only episode to show blood. When Bojack gets hit with the blow up Bojack.

[@marvelsomething1952]

Nope. There's blood in downer ending.

[@thatrondude]

Also in s1 ep3 when Sara Lynn stabs herself

[@chadkennedy7855]

@@thatrondude In front of her boyfriend.

[@thatrondude]

@@chadkennedy7855 in front of critically acclaimed British actor most known for his role in the amazing Spiderman 1 and 2 Andrew Garfield.

[@ddsjgvk]

@@thatrondude right she lost a lot on blood on the nice drive

[@locojake11]

My guy, how are you so good at making reviews? I’m genuinely floored by every Bojack review you’ve done

[@fragileparadox8658]

You just make me love this series so much more ive watch all 6 seasons twice now and didn’t even notice half of these details

[@Bioshocking12]

The fact that Diane untethered the balloon is interesting to think about. It happens just after her interaction with BoJack where she tears him a new one. Diane holds up a mirror to BoJack when he’s being horrible

[@happyfinnwhale5780]

Geina also dressed like judy garland in summer stock ' get happy' throughout the musical number. Another person who was utterly destroyed and irreversibly dammaged by the entertainment industry but was and remains and icon despite the sadness of her life.

[@straiferl8736]

Only 2 dislikes? That’s a testament to you on the quality of your videos. Love ur analysis of bojack, makes me love the show even more than I did upon my first viewing

[@unknown_limes]

I think this episode's f-bomb is the best in the show. Just about every other time before this, it's a dramatic, climactic moment that builds up to that specifically, but they underplayed it here in a way I adore. Showstopper is my personal favorite f-bomb because the word is not what we focus on in the moment. We're too busy staring at the screen because "holy shit, he just did that."

[@pjcinema5600]

I love the imagery of the balloon. It’s so ambiguous and haunting

[@aeshra2837]

Tons of great comments on the symbolism of the balloon already, but I just wanted to contribute how it also brings to mind imagery of Hockney's "Portrait of an artist", only with the positions reversed. I definitely think it has a lot to do with apathy, narcissism, and confronting your own personal struggles.

[@deathless17]

The landline reference, how he says he likes it in case he starts floating away. In “The view from Halfway down” he calls Diane from a landline.

[@SXJAYSX]

Man idk how this channel isn't more popular yet! Love your stuff 😊

[@ManicShorty]

I love the way you weaved episode names into the analysis

[@allusionsxp2606]

I always interpreted the balloon as all of Bojack's mistakes coming back to haunt him. This sort of harps on to the guilty conscious thing, no matter what you do you cannot escape your past.

[@danielt.miranda2107]

I always thought that the balloon Bojack was supposed to foreshadow Bojack’s attempted suicide in S6, with the stairs having that water-blue color and the balloon having a “drowned” pose

[@slayervamp]

I took the balloon above him at the end as a callback to “Free Churro.” It was his way of saying “I See You” like he thought his mother was saying to him!

[@delicateghoul]

This episode triggered me in a way that no other media had done before. The first season of Bojack aired when I was in an abusive relationship, and the person I was dating legit bragged about how similar they were to Bojack. By the time this episode aired we had long been separated, after so much physical and emotional abuse culminating in homelessness and an unprecedented-in-my-county extended restraining order, and the scene with Bojack strangling Gina fucked me up. I hope my ex watched that episode and felt just as sick as I did, but I know they probably didn't feel any guilt. This also probably explains why I was disappointed that Bojack didn't die the penultimate episode, I craved the catharsis of finally putting to rest all the pain that relationship caused me

[@BBWahoo]

oh god, if a guy compares himself to rick sanchez or bojack, that is a huge red flag

[@delicateghoul]

@@BBWahoo for real. It was already a bad situation at that point so it was just one more thing in the "wow you really are just awful" bucket

[@besterjester]

9:10 i dont think ive ever heard you talk about the parallels this show has with the truman show and i think itd really be worth talking about!

[@syrazie]

the blue wall with the blue stairs reminds me of the truman show. in the truman show, truman was always being watched and his life was meticulously planned out. he was unknowingly performing his entire life and when he finally realized that he was performing, he longed to stop. truman eventually goes up blue stairs on a blue wall and gets to a door at the end and opens it. that's what i thought of immediately when i first saw that episode.

[@lostmybadger]

Interestingly in the musical sequence, Gina is also dressed as Judy Garland in Summerstock, another star who famously had her career and life destroyed because of the pressures of fame and substance abuse. Knowing the Bojack team, that was definitely an intentional reference.

[@DoctorDogma]

Bojack Horseman must be one of Johnny's Favorite shows of all time

[@RedDeadDepressionist]

The balloon is definitely a hallucination, because the real balloon arrived on the island character actress and fugitive from the law Margo Martindale was stranded

[@rosenrot234]

I have chronic pain. For a few years I ended up abusing my meds. So this episode was pretty rough to watch. Your brain flares with anger if you don't get your fix. I'm glad my new doctor got me to finally cut those meds out of my life. I do miss the numbness sometimes during pain flares. But I'm just glad that side of me is mostly gone.

[@user-ih5vp9wx7d]

When I finished Bojack Horseman I felt bad for a week. It's a show that kept getting darker and darker. I was watching it every night and when you watch the showstopper it's one of the times you realize that everytime something goes well in his life there's something to pull him down. He wanted to put order in his life. Reduce alcohol, but was taking drugs because of a stupid accident. And what makes Bojack so great is that even in this ocean of despear he was trying to swim.

[@chadkennedy7855]

Luckily Tuca never do drugs or alcohol and she never hurt people including her best friend Bertie. Also I stopped watching that stupid show...

[@chadkennedy7855]

Boring... let's talk Tuca!

[@quinnh421]

the stairs against the blank backdrop definitely gave me truman show vibes

[@bigboy3714]

I wonder if Gina would have still been recognized for Kelsey’s movie with Courtney Portnoy, if Bojack did come clean about everything in the interview.

[@redpie7048]

I noticed that many TV shows have certain stages in their history. (Numbers in quotation marks, since different Show stages can occur at different stages) Stage 1 - "The first 3" seasons, which are equally loved by fans and are most often considered the golden era of the show. Stage 2 - "4th" season, which gains cult status, and its finale is usually hailed as the best episode of the show, sometimes it is thought that after this season the show should have ended. 3rd stage - "5th" season, beloved mainly by new fans, among old fans there are also quite a few fans of this season, although it is among them that a group appears who believe that it was from this season that Show began to slide. 4th stage - "6th" season, hated by the majority at first, but later many are indifferent to it, although it also gains its fans. Very often it is after this season that a group appears that believes that the series began to slide after "5". 5th stage of the seasons after "6th", they are generally treated normally, although they have their own lovers and haters. The 6th stage is the final of the series that is either loved or hated by many. There are incidents where this latest episode either "Kills" the show, or after that the show is ranked as a masterpiece. I personally never understood this. I hate the "Gotham" and "HIMYM" final episodes, but I never regretted watching those shows. I love the final episode of "Code Geass", but the whole show didn't really work for me. So, I think that even though "Bojack Horseman" ran 6 seasons, it ended on "3rd".

[@Johnny2Cellos]

This took me a minute to decipher haha

[@redpie7048]

@@Johnny2Cellos ??

[@acebee46]

I much prefer the later seasons

[@safkaesque]

i like how the thing just lurking beyond the horizon, is him. 8:50

[@PhilospherDjPsychologist24]

9:04 I think the balloon in this shot is meant to evoke the painting in Bojack's study 9:41 I think Princess Caroline said was some "post modern take on the tale of narcosis" the guy who fell in love with his reflection in the water. In the painting it's a horse watching another horse tread water, and it was like bojack watching himself drown, like how he cant. help himself. But the idea PC is bringing up is that even though it is painful and terrible situation, it comes in part out of a self absorption to. fixate on yourself and your flaws

[@heathermorton2759]

You know I just started watching the show and I've been watching alot of these episodes of yours and now I'm hooked

[@KevFrost]

I thought the post strangling hallucination was reminiscent of the end of the Truman show, but instead of finding the door to reality he finds a bloated fake representation of himself

[@umbraivt]

Always love a good depression horse video 🙃

[@Eizlem]

At 11:14 this actually looks extremely similar to the wall the final scene of the Truman show. But, contrary to Truman, Bojack does not escape and choose his own life. He just, doesn’t stop dancing.

[@alexagranov]

I think that the balloon represents that no matter what he does, he will always be faced with himself. A call back to the tar pit in season 2 and his relationship with Todd being ruined in season 3 (“it’s not the drugs or the alcohol, it’s you”)

[@chadkennedy7855]

Okay, first of all, that season 1 and second BoJack grew up in a messed up family.

[@alexagranov]

​@@chadkennedy7855 the tar pit is also brought up in season 2 when Bojack and Charolette are talking

[@alexschneider1667]

I love this episode, it’s so damn underrated

[@natalyamartirosyan]

It’s so unfair that you don’t have at least 200 thousand subscribers. Your content is really good.

[@Johnny2Cellos]

I'LL BE THERE SOON

[@natalyamartirosyan]

@@Johnny2Cellos good luck! And keep up the brilliant work!

[@chadkennedy7855]

@@Johnny2Cellos It's time to stop dancing and fight the MPLA!!!!! Fight my brother!!! FIGHT!!!!!

[@ryszakowy]

the moment bojack faces the balloon was for me more like "now you're just like balloon, epmty inside and alone"

[@TheSimpsonsTheory]

Another great video Johnny! ✌

[@aammooeebbaa]

The final scene of this episode reminds me Todd's line from season 3, "It's you."

[@kassandraalberico4965]

I love these videos, they talk about the show with the seriousness that I viewed it

[@smintili]

While a quite superficial observation, it’s also very interesting to me that Bojack wearing his character’s costume even when he’s not on set of the show is something he tends to do, as is shown throughout this episode as well as multiple flashbacks to his time on Horsin' Around, where we see Bojack wearing the same sweater as The Horse from HA. Viewed in context of your analysis here it could be seen as him having the (sub)conscious need to always give a performance, whether he’s on TV or in real life.

[@peytonnewell9146]

yesssss bro this is my favorite episode so far and i’m happy someone finally analyzed it !!

[@ryanduffy6089]

I think the Bojack balloon represents the commercialization of himself and his image. Gina sings about how his face is put on billboards and his sadness is sold as a brand, and the balloon is basically just a giant advertisement for Philbert. Bojack has a hard time separating his self-worth from his work, and the balloon represents that. The balloon is much bigger than Bojack himself, and when it's popped it comes down and injures him. I think Bojack seeing the balloon throughout the day references his work life encroaching on his personal life as he's unable to get the show out of the back of his mind

[@mimih242]

without an audience and a reason to dance, he can't cope. its his biggest coping mechanism and the one he's been dependent on for so long. he has almost always lived in a sitcom-like fantasy. he acts to cope.

[@tahniadias8762]

Wow and he used the landline to call Diane in the end. So she can help him to keep grounded .. from floating away

[@bubonic019]

How Todd told Bojack off is similar to the Philbert storyline. In the finale, it's revealed it's Philbert who's choking people to death. Not anyone else, just him. In a previous episode, Todd angrily tells him; "You are all the things that are wrong with you. It's not the alcohol, or the drugs, or any of the shitty things that happened to you in your career, or when you were a kid. -It's you-."