Why the Long Face? - A Brief BoJack Horseman Retrospective

[@somnodaur8064]

i love that youtube video essays have inflated so far that 2 hours is considered brief

[@Noba46688]

I’d say it’s more of a sarcasm thing, right?

[@Mvenven]

It’s great for long car rides

[@Kolasheep22]

@@Mvenven definitely, I adore watching long video essays on long carrides! sucks that I dont go on many though

[@5icklund]

I walk for 2 hours everyday, i really fall short on content.

[@adulttail]

@@Noba46688nooooooooooo! Really?

[@hangryhotcakes4253]

Small note, herb wasn't so much upset with the betrayal as he was with the fact Bojack never reached out afterward. What herb really needed was someone to be there for him during that time in his life, a friend which Bojack never reached out to do since he was dealing with the guilt of betraying herb.

[@younglink309]

Of COURSE you used the sneezing photo!

[@RenoReborn]

Until someone makes a 10 hour critique, this brief overlook will have to do

[@kays8976]

I just started watching it. 2 days in and I’m already halfway through season 4. This show really is something

[@milkyoni]

If only you had seen the view from halfway through

[@monishrules6580]

​@@milkyonii saw that view 8/12th of the way in season 1

[@MiLoAnne666]

So, what'd ya think?

[@thesadsamus1]

A combination of my experience with Bojack itself as well as your commentary really made that last comment - Who you are on the inside only matters while you're alive, and what's on the outside lives forever - incredibly poignant, and I can't thank you enough for that.

[@lavenderkitchensink]

I have my therapist, my Prozac, and BoJack Horseman. This has been the trifecta that has helped me heal decades of childhood abuse trauma. Today I turned 45. This sitcom is medicine.

[@johnynoway9127]

...whats the 3rd thing

[@nell3593]

All the “and everything was fine” moments at the end of the first few seasons is such like painful foreshadowing because when you’ve watched it all you know that it all comes back to haunt bojack. Every mistake that goes away comes back. It’s kind of scary thinking that one day every bad thing you’ve ever done in your past will fall in front of you and your new life one day and shatter everything. (DISCLAIMER: Obviously bojack should never have gotten away with the crimes he committed and the abuse of Sarah Lynne and Penny)

[@nell3593]

Finished the whole video!! This has reminded me that it ending with bojack in prison is the most cathartic ending they could have gone with. I’m also glad that he wasn’t on a clean slate with anyone at the end of it all, people may have started to forgive but no one forgot and I think it’s so important that they show that side of it too. And I like that we aren’t encouraged feel bad that he isn’t forgiven because the nuance allows us to understand both sides. Yes bojack is upset that he can’t fix thing. No his victims and the people he’s hurt do not owe him an apology or a place in their lives again. 10/10 show and amazing recap. Will definitely be coming back to this one as a rewatch

[@hobocode]

hi. this helped me keep my mind off my surgery tomorrow. calming and long. I just lost myself in it. thanks.

[@nicsflix379]

Dude the second to last episode “the view from halfway down” and mushrooms sent me into one of the biggest existential crises of my fucking life but I felt it was necessary to come to terms with a possibility of the end of my own existence. But shit man, it was beyond rough in the middle of it

[@sergiorodriguez511]

Whenever Secretariat starts reading the poem, I always get chills and feel cold to my core. I have to go back and listen to it occasionally

[@Lavas_Artistry]

It helped alot of people with suicide, bojack horseman is a masterpiece

[@toonydotloony]

Love this video in general, but the take at 1:20:50 confuses me a bit. I personally think it was very important to the show overall that Bojack be accepting of Todd and his asexuality. A big thing with Bojack is that he defines himself in comparison to worse people and how much better he is than them as a means of justifying his worst qualities. Things like how he looks down on PB for being less self aware or criticizes Hollywood for making people into Bojacks, for example. One of the biggest examples of this comes in the form of his parents, especially his backwards, homophobic father. He holds great disdain for his parents’ politics and expresses this multiple times. Plus, after the thing with Herb, he’d be working off extra guilt of not being understanding in his youth. Him accepting Todd is not only in character based on the events of the show, but I think he wouldn’t be Bojack without that. Having the “correct” political opinions is an easy way out to convince yourself the terrible things you do are justified. You see it all the time in progressive spaces, where men who claim to be super supportive and left leaning are secretly violently misogynistic and abusive to the women in their lives. If bojack was as backwards as his parents, if he wasn’t constantly trying to be in the right, and often succeeding at doing so, the show wouldn’t work. The show is all about how a likable asshole is still an asshole, and Bojack must be likable for that to ring true.

[@viedogaems]

Having Bojack be accepting of sexual minorities as a rebellion against his family's bigotry is an angle I had never thought to examine but one with a lot of merit. Half the appeal of making analysis videos like this is seeing new perspectives from commenters that help to continue the discussion. Thank you.

[@toonydotloony]

@@viedogaems I appreciate your openness to stuff like this! BTW, another point I wanted to bring up - when you discuss The Kidney Stays in the Picture you mention how Bojack Horseman has “never dealt with race before” and cite Chickens as an example of sidestepping and colorblindness, but I simply cannot disagree more. Diane being Vietnamese is EXTREMELY important to her character, and a major part of her arcs in episodes like The Dog Days are Over, which center around her racial and cultural identity. There’s a particularly striking part where she pretends to not understand english just so an american construction worker (literally a bald eagle, not very subtle lol) can act out his mystical asian woman love story fantasy with her. This isn’t even mentioning the cultural coding of the animal characters in the show such as Princess Carolyn - who is very much coded as Jewish through things like the flashback to her family in the old country in Ruthie and the anti-cat holiday the Stilton family celebrates. I don’t blame you for not picking up on a lot of this (though if i’m being completely honest, the Diane stuff was kinda right there), because these nuances are lost on a lot of people, but to call the show lazy for addressing race at all is a bit lazy to me. Once again though, lovely analysis overall, I just think you’ve got a few blind spots. (This is one of the reasons I believe so strongly in the importance of diversity in fields like media criticism - some people might pick up on things like this more than others. I myself am Jewish, and so picked up on Princess Carolyn’s coding right away.)

[@minatoarisatofrompersona3440]

This is an excellent comment

[@niloticnya]

@@toonydotloonyi honestly couldn’t tell that princess carolyn was jewish, except for the stilton family’s holiday simply due to my general ignorance of certain cultures. but i am a first generation immigrant and feel out of touch with my culture sometimes. but instead of being fetishized i simply get shat on for it but i’m glad they went into that

[@fruitsmiles2951]

​@@toonydotloony I so agree with everything you've said in your comment and replies. Couldn't say it better.

[@eirr0rmuziek]

Time's arrow is my absolute favourite episode of this show

[@AceOfSevens]

There's a white supremacist prison gang in season 1, plus multiple references to antisemitism. It didn't come out of nowhere.

[@breezy3154]

its called poltical messages

[@idontknow5971]

Im so glad there is still a discussion on this amazing show

[@sourpatchkids351]

i was just getting ready to rewatch bojack for the 5th time so this video came out at the perfect time lmao. this sad horse show means so much to me, it genuinely helped me come to terms with my mental health issues and (potential) asexuality

[@ButtersCCookie]

Thank you so much! Appreciate you explaining without a gimmick, child like performing or any insulting rendition. Thank you!

[@simonfarre4907]

"Bojack is a petty individual" - until he isn't - and that is what so beautiful with this series. It not only describes and has characters that feels truly human and real and honest, but the small changes are actually visible and makes sense through out the seasons. Had Bojack "been a petty individual" as if that's a character trait that's immutable - he would have *never* given his mom that fake feeling of hope and calm when she had her moment of clarity in the later seasons, he would have told her off like he *sort of wanted to* but realized that, that would have been cruel. The nuances, subtleties and so much else about this series makes it one of the best if not the best series I've ever watched.

[@Johnny2Cellos]

Great video

[@viedogaems]

Thanks. I had a lot of great inspiration.

[@strawberrylemonadelioness]

I've heard this show be called a modern masterpiece

[@raymondsims7042]

I would agree it’s a top 20 show I’ve ever seen

[@chichichichilling4822]

You've really got something here. You’ve got a unique style, and that's saying something with how saturated KZbin is nowadays. Really enjoyed this and all your other retrospectives. I'll be here as soon as the next one drops.

[@tam9856]

I began watching this show in 2021 and I immediately got hooked. I’ve watched several video essays on it and I’m always enthralled. This show does a great job on touching on various topics like depression, addiction, generational trauma, the perils of stardom, self-loathing, workaholism, motherhood, asexuality, codependency and self reflection.

[@RedLuigi235]

Greatest show ever made by fucking miles. For so many reasons. For how many shows can you say its first episode is not only the weakest, but the weakest and nothing comes close? Boundary pushing, supremely funny, incredibly insightful, heart wrenching, and not one fucking Emmy win. The View From Halfway Down and Free Churro lost to the Simpsons and Rick and Morty.

[@RedLuigi235]

I also must posit my (observation? theory?) that 106, "Our Story is a 'D' Story" is the episode where the show really morphs pretty fully into what it is, because from that point it becomes Hollywoo instead of Hollywood

[@Rusty_Raven]

Im never getting over the fact that Vat of Acid beat The view from halfway down

[@saml302]

both robbed especially View From Halfway Down

[@sweett3253]

Supremely funny is a pretty big exaggeration but I agree on all the other points

[@saml302]

@@sweett3253 Congrats Diane and Mr. Peanut Butter Peanut Butter Is One Word

[@reynax1436]

When you started playing Home Resonance wow this video is amazing , going to re-watch Bojack again now that im in a better place

[@McBaller96]

the fact that this video was almost 3 hours long...and I watched the entire thing...and enjoyed every minute of it. The script is so well organized and written. All of your arguments are refreshing, original, and sharp despite the abundance of video essays/theories that've been released since the shows season 2 premiere. I just really, really love this video! I love watching people talk about whatever they're passionate about! i can't imagine how long this took and your zeal is infectious

[@Casterisks]

"a brief retrospective" 2 hours long (nah im just joking but i find it hilarious that there is so much to say that even a "brief" video is over 2 hours

[@woof64]

i love this so much. only 6 minutes in and you have such an eloquent way with words!! the intro abt stories and storytelling was so perfectly structured and expressed something i feel like ive felt forever. i love your calm style while presenting these topics in such a respectful, understanding yet objective and analytical way! i watched this show and really enjoyed it, but you pick up on small things and catalogue them so well its like every point is an "ohhhh i get it now" moment. watching this is a treat so thank you for doing what u do

[@__-tt2ot]

Had a good time with this one; good to hear your thoughts on this horse guy's normal words.

[@doododaadoo8673]

this video gave me the bojeebies

[@jamesgilbert7177]

I listened to this while playing hollow knight! I really enjoyed the analisis. It brought up so many subtle points that I knew, but couldnt verbalize. Thank you for this!

[@roosajarvinen5698]

Gina does actually get the superhero gig. Later on you can see a billboard for the movie where she is the titular superhero, which is nice

[@Jack_Walten32]

i fell asleep with this playing woke up and it was paused but i just pressed play and kept watching it

[@haley551]

Even though you only offered a short discussion of each episode, I thought you were able to provide insights that I actually hadn’t seen in other retrospectives. Connecting the themes of each storyline in an episode, for example. It was really well done and I feel like I understand the show better now. Good job!

[@The-Triumphant-Truth-Talker]

In my opinion, the longer the video, the better. This is excellent. Very smartly written too.

[@777Rowen]

Recently saw all of Bowjack Horseman for the first time and it’s such an amazing show.

[@misschaos4247]

Super amazing retrospective! I adore Bojack to bits, idk how many times I’ve gotten others to watch the show or rewatched it due to showing it to another person, or just returned to it for myself, but it’s a lot, lol. I really enjoyed how you brought a unique perspective & commentary I have yet to hear from a ton of the other retrospectives I’ve seen! :D

[@excalibur2772]

On Todd coming out to Bojack. I don't think Bojack ever would have cared about anything like that.

[@CianaCorto]

I think it stays consistently funny that your voice starts off low, then gets higher and higher and then between different cuts resets to being low again. This happened in the rick and morty one too and I think another one.

[@viedogaems]

you can tell exactly when each recording session began

[@Slagter34]

I love long videos about one of my fav shows. Great video man

[@intellectually_lazy]

thank you! it's like, i heart tf outta j2c -top notch coverage in this field - but he just don't get not all relationships have to be commited and/or monogamous. he gets so heated, for instance, about fry and leela's gray areas

[@deeeeniiiiss]

just finished your morel orel video, and also just finished bojack horseman yesterday....... this is perfect!

[@pickledstache]

Amazing video, love how brief it was.

[@peri_palz]

I’m here way too early, but i’m here for the ride

[@onewhwaiting]

shoutouts to your sources cited in the description - i KNEW i heard maplestory ost

[@bungalowfeuhler1541]

You missed Diane’s relationship with the grip in Vietnam. I found it fascinating.

[@WobblesandBean]

You have THE weirdest contrast in content. I enjoy your longform videos a lot.

[@ProdbyRMLH]

Love this show really puts life into perspective

[@Treeeee2008]

These videos seem long when you look it, but just wait until you're zoned out while drawing or doing homework and you'll realize how short that two hours actually is.

[@nathanielmohn8765]

I love the oblivion background music

[@Malice-and-tragedy]

I love this show and your videos!!

[@darkdemonqueen]

I’m shocked this doesn’t have more views. Is bojack under appreciated or something?

[@KnowledgeSeeker78491]

I'm trying to figure out who's Harry Wrinkler... Was he in a famous show called: Sad Days😂😂😂

[@mayatu5197]

This was said so well, I love your content

[@sxmbxdy]

just started the video but i know its gonna be good

[@solanamccaughen4932]

keep putting videos out like this!

[@delphilashay-el5453]

Ooo gonna be coming back to this later 😊

[@OhHeckYeah]

"Brief" lmao jokes aside this is an awesome analysis 👍👍

[@knuckle12356]

There was some delicate high-pitched chiming in parts of your video's music. Ppl with impacted hearing function could, hearing this background 🎶, be confused as to whether or not there really ARE bells chiming faintly _somewhere_ nearby. Further, it whines much like my tinnitus whines (when it is ACTIVELY ringing in my ears, of course,) resonating similar feelings of discomfort and pressure in my head. I would recommend and request not using music containing bell chimes like we heard in this video. (The kind that are so quiet and high pitched that I'm not certain they're actually real, while at the same time it teases playfully by promising an impending icepick-stab ache behind the eyes as the Hz snake through my mind grapes.) Thank you in advance. Another no no for non-diegetic music in these videos are any songs or musical scores which include police sirens. If you're driving, and your media entertainment contains sirens, you're gonna have a bad time. Srsly; play Ramones' Psychotherapy while driving ~ 15-20 mph above the speed limit. Swallow your heart back down from your throat. Search desperately for cruiser and flashing lights. Love your content. Musical and Tonal differences aside. Your insights are helpful; I don't find myself questioning how you could have possibly interpreted some scene or action the way you did. Solid observations and reasonable conclusions. But you have also tapped into subtle metaphors and symbols in your subjects' episodes, and you do a great job of compiling and synthesizing into the building blocks of a particular show, showing how and why people are a certain way, or how a creator tries to impart a particular world view, etc. TL;DR: You play music with high-pitched chimes in the background and you shouldnt. Also, You like things that I like, and for similar reasons. Your tastes tells me you must be very smart. Your videos tell me you're talented. ✌🏻

[@PFMediaServices]

Just gotta say, IMO this is a pretty good example of how to provide constructive, useful feedback to a creator. Thoughtful, contextual, backed with reasoning, and balanced with positivity. Personally, I wouldn't use words like "should" in a comment like this because it can seem demanding, but that's just me and it's not overwhelming in combination with the rest of your words. ✌️🍍

[@ethanfriedburgars2566]

I really just sat here watching this for 2hours

[@angeliquexo]

Loved listening to this while I was making a complicated dinner. Ps. The maplestory music @ 2:20:35 sent me so far down my nostalgia omg 😂

[@viedogaems]

MapleStory music is super nostalgic for me, too. I can't resist including it when I get the chance.

[@evanthesquirrel]

The real conclusion is so true. VB>R&M across all metrics. Joke density. High concept Sci fi. Pop culture references. Sound track. Number of Brock Sampsons and Dr. Orpheuses. The list goes on

[@cl0p38]

I really liked your video (I watched it in one sitting and paying attention!) but I feel like you didn't mention BoJack's and Wanda's relationship endind, and how she showed that BoJack was attracted pretty much by a 20 year old, at least her naivete, but she was able to see through that with time

[@somerandomguy2316]

2:40:59 “a brief...” bro what? Lmao

[@february4206]

Very offtopic but I love the music choices throughout this video essay

[@nick1481]

thank you for the great video my guy!

[@claired1736]

The oblivion OST in the background was so distracting.. I just kept getting cyrodil flashbacks

[@nittonama3]

very nice, love your retrospectives. have you ever considered doing the oblongs?

[@kahlilbt]

Thanks for joining me on my 100% playthrough of Quidditch World Cup

[@bobertochens]

home resonance is such a good song it distracts from the video

[@Kernwadi]

I remember watching some BoJack Horseman in the past, not the whole series but episode here and there... And honestly I don't remember anything about it, this show just disappear from my mind. With other animated comedy shows like South Park for example, I can still recall moments and jokes from some of the first episodes I've watched about 8 years ago, but I have nothing for BoJack. I'm not saying that it's evidence of the show being bad, it just makes me wonder if it could be any good if I literally deleted it from my memory. Perhaps I should give it another try but I don't know if I want to potentially waste my time.

[@Kernwadi]

I also remember listening to some reviewers who said that the writers kinda killed majority of the serious and drama moments because they tried to force jokes into everything. That would actually explain a lot.

[@viedogaems]

The first few episodes are pretty forgettable on their own - it takes about half a season before the show really starts to show its appeal, so it's not surprising you wouldn't retain anything from the weaker episodes. I also partially blame the release style of Netflix, binging a season of a show at a time makes individual plots blend together which doesn't do any favors for memorability.

[@PFMediaServices]

@@Kernwadi This is the exact same comment you left on another Bojack video and I gotta say, that's an efficient use of a thoughtful response. 😁🍍

[@jerryhayes9497]

I would argue that the simple fact that you are here watching a review of Bojack Horseman and felt obliged to make a comment shows that the show impacted you enough

[@JellyWaltzov]

Morrowind music for "Prickly Muffin" is an interesting choice XD

[@remainsme8790]

i watched it, why did i wake up to see this..

[@webmaristocrat4052]

wewlad this blew up. Congrats

[@miabowen4519]

I ❤ video essays

[@moosetail]

Fantastic video!!

[@afrolovely]

thank you!!!

[@nickanderson1951]

Miss you dad

[@nuclearneo577]

As someone who has watched this show 10 times (four when the second part of season 6 was released, before every new season I used to watch every previous episode to recap) I feel like this video covered a pretty decent amount of stuff you covered that a lot of other KZbinrs don't. So many people just ignore Mr. Peanutbutter which is very lame.

[@anidiotthatplays7468]

LOWK THIS IS FIRE

[@duross101]

And just like that, the algorithm found you XD

[@justintremblay3182]

I caught you using the maplestory music throughout lol. Great video

[@honeyvee5606]

i saw the word brief, thinking maybe 30 minutes 2:40:58 lol

[@averypineda215]

Brief? Very nice.

[@thatonedude9744]

Time to write an original comment… “Brief” Nailed it! No one’s thought of that!

[@viedogaems]

hilarious and original

[@mrpissimus]

love the video ❤

[@chrisgreen8803]

Excellent thanks

[@kutkuknight]

That was beautiful

[@IsaacEyes]

great video!

[@makenzimills2858]

just found your channel 👍👍👍

[@picturethis4903]

great dude

[@picturethis4903]

also substance use* lol

[@picturethis4903]

wild*

[@Espresso_plz]

Love the elder scrolls music

[@rafaelcastor2089]

The "Get cancer, jerkwad" wasn't a "call forward", it was just a callback to what Sarah Lynn told him

[@s.h.3648]

It is foreshadowing as no one knows Herb will actually get cancer- its the first thing Bojack tells Herb in that flashback so I'm not sure what you mean? If anything, Sarah Lynn learned that type of speak from Bojack

[@rafaelcastor2089]

@@s.h.3648 Sarah Lynn literally told Bojack about Herb having cancer back on the bench. Timeline wise it happens later, but it happens after the audience already knows about the cancer so it isn't foreshadowing, it's just a callback joke on something we already know will happen.

[@s.h.3648]

@@rafaelcastor2089 That's true. I wasn't considering the audience perspective. And please pardon the last bit of my comment- I misremembered the timeline. I guess in a way it's a bit of both? Or maybe it's more ironic than either a callback or foreshadowing? 🤔

[@lalitosolano5537]

Why do they always use the sneezing photo - bojack

[@jdmj707]

Subscribing because Morrowind music 💕

[@Nagasakevideo]

This dude sounds just like trey the explainer

[@jimmyjohnjoejr]

Wtf this isn't vtuber songs! This is the normal words but a horse guy show! It's okay though, I like this show and I think this will be a good video

[@williamcatala154]

"Brief Bojack retrospective" The video is almost three hours

[@celinegautreaux8703]

The title: “A brief..” The video length: 2:40:59

[@nuggetkindgudind3548]

nice

[@KaiLikesArt]

“A Brief Retrospective” is also 2 hours and 40 minutes

[@chanimalice3874]

Crackerjack was Honey's son and Beatrice's brother, not Honey's brother

[@junjian8822]

2 things I think you could have improved: 1, CrackerJack wasn't Honey's brother, it was Beatrice's (when you mention that she loses this "love" thing, it made it sound as if he were her lover). 2, you didn't mention the most important thing about "The view from down below", Bojack tries to kill himself. If you didn't mention it because of a potential YT strike, you could have said other things like "un-alive" or "erase himself". This was crucial to understand why he as hallucinating.

[@viedogaems]

I always appreciate informative criticism like this. Thanks!

[@junjian8822]

@@viedogaems Thank you for not taking it the wrong way. I really appreciate the hard work behind this, please don't feel discouraged!