Hey, everyone. This is a series where I will be sharing my thoughts as I go through a show everyone in my circle recommended for the first time. It won't be exactly a first impression as whatever episodes I talk about will be watched at least three times before sharing these thoughts
Episode 1 - The BoJack Horseman Story, Chapter One
I have to say, this episode might be the worst good pilot I have ever seen. I am not saying it is bad, I am just saying it is the least good pilot I have ever seen.
The show was all over the place, with Family Guy-like cutaway gags and flashbacks within flashbacks, and those flashbacks had cutaway gags. I really hope this is not a habit the show will carry on throughout the remaining episodes. The episode starts by letting us know this is not your typical sitcom, then goes on to do everything in a typical sitcom.
The best thing I could say about this episode is that the ending was done right, as repetitive as the formula might seem with BoJack opening up a little.
My rating: 6/10
That's good for a pilot episode, not the best. But, it is good. Pilots are messy as creators and executives often aren't sure where everything would go.
Episode 2 - BoJack Hates the Troops
It feels like this episode and episode 1 are the same episode essentially.
The episode explores the life of a washed-up celebrity with alcohol and drug abuse as he attempts to write a book about himself. The book can be seen as his last attempt to chase relevance or be his redemption while committing awful mistakes in the current time and avoiding any real feelings that would make his book worth time.
Honestly, the last paragraph was cut and pasted from the episode 1 segment. I didn't even need to edit it. I did that to have something to say here other than the wordplay was funny.
Episode 2 ends the same way episode 1 does with BoJack starting to open up about his life to Diane, his ghostwriter.
My rating: 6/10
As a second episode, this would have gotten a worse rating but apparently, this episode was the original pilot so it gets a passing great.
Episode 3 - Prickly Muffin
This was better, barely. It was an actual introduction to the messiness of BoJack's life. How the theme of him being a horrible influence since fame was seen clearly in this episode. Sarah Lynn was introduced which created a juxtaposition for BoJack as a character. The theme of him being a horrible influence along with the theme of him committing horrible mistakes overall shined through this episode.
I am glad to see the cutaway gags are getting less and less as the season is going by with them getting a better goal. However, the comedy in this episode did try to be too edgy and fell a bit flat at times. It was hard soaking up events in this series when they were told in such an exaggerated fashion.
My rating - 7/10
If it wasn't for BoJack's speech in the early episode it would have been a 6 as well. But that speech created a theme that was well followed through. It gave meaning to BoJack and Sarah Lynn's actions.
Another scene I liked was BoJack remembering a scene from his old sitcom with Sarah Lynn as a lesson while something worse has happened in real life for Sarah Lynn. It established the idea of how trapped in fame both are.
In Conclusion
I hate the idea of having to sit through a lot of bad episodes for a show to pay off. BoJack Horseman's first three episodes weren't exactly bad, but as a person who watched each episode several times to write this post, it wasn't at all a good experience. Episode 3 gave me a little bit of hope for the show, but overall, there's still a long way to go.
