BoJack Horseman: Still Broken

July 31, 2015 6:59 AM - Season 2, Episode 3

A funeral brings the cast of Horsin' Around back together and sends them off on a treasure hunt. Princess Carolyn talks her way into a jam and into the paws of Mr. Peanutbutter who decides to have some fun at her expense.
posted by Atreides (12 comments total)

I was distracted and wasn't watching this episode very closely, but was Mr Peanutbutter really yanking Princess Carolyn's chain, or was he sincerely and earnestly interested in hearing about her history with Herb?
posted by 1970s Antihero at 7:06 AM on July 31, 2015

It seems to me he's modeled on a golden retriever, so I think he generally is inclined to think the best of people, without irony. I take everything he says at face value. Pun sort-of intended.
posted by tempestuoso at 7:19 AM on July 31, 2015 [1 favorite]

I felt like there were some visual cues that Mr. Peanutbutter was aware that Princess Caroyln was there to schmooze, behavior he explicitly stated he thought was horrendous - and likewise, when he kept egging her on, I think there were indications. It's just he did it in a manner that made it appear that he was naively asking her for more, when in truth, he was punishing P.C. for it.

Then there's the weird parallel between Mr. Peanutbutter's prominence at the funeral and the fact that the funeral was for a person killed by peanut allergies.

Horsin' Around really did a number on its stars.
posted by Atreides at 9:32 AM on July 31, 2015 [2 favorites]

Check out this school essay from 1994 by Lisa Hanawalt.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 11:06 AM on July 31, 2015 [11 favorites]

"How did Bradley Hitler-Smith get his name?"
posted by Pronoiac at 10:26 PM on July 31, 2015 [4 favorites]

I get the impression that Mr. Peanutbutter genuinely means everything he says, that there's no room for irony, sarcasm or snark and, like tempestuoso commented, that he thinks the best of people.

Was it just me, or was there an hint that Sarah Lynn had been the victim of (sexual) abuse by her stepfather?

On a lighter note, there are lots of great background jokes in the series, there was a bit from a flashback where Herb is cutting out a review for Horsin' Around, which he pastes in his Scrap Book:

Horsin' Around ~ Bad show now worse
Writer - Brian Botfly

Not to be a neigh-sayer but this family sitcom is so saddled with lame horse-themed puns it might have to be put out to pasture. Ratings remain stable despite the unbridled mediocrity of the acting and hackneyed, half-assed writing. The syrupy plots should be sent straight to the glue factory. If wishes were horses, beggars would beg to watch a different show. Frankly, the pony gags tend to yield diminishing returns and the mane attraction of this rodeo is the talented young actress Sarah Lynn, whose performance might truly shine if she were given better material. Skip this season and change the channel to a horse of a different color.

THIS SHOW HAS TOO MANY HORSE PUNS!

posted by bjrn at 7:02 AM on August 1, 2015 [8 favorites]

Writer - Brian Botfly

I might be the only one who didn't get it, but on a hunch I googled:

Botflies are an unfortunate byproduct of caring for horses. They are a frequent source of irritation for horses, especially during the hot months of late summer, ...

(Don't google unless you like maggots.)

Then there's the weird parallel between Mr. Peanutbutter's prominence at the funeral and the fact that the funeral was for a person killed by peanut allergies.

Of all the great things this show does, it's this very specific kind of irony I love the most. It's like Mr. Peanutbutter, an actor, telling his fellow actor, a horse, to break a leg.
posted by Room 641-A at 8:04 AM on August 1, 2015 [5 favorites]

FWIW, I thought Mr. Peanutbutter was being straightforward too--I could have sworn there was a bit where he was upfront about just being there to schmooze.

I am strangely fascinated by minor characters, and thought it was very sweet that Joelle was in Herb's corner after he was fired. Also that she took his advice in the short term (being nicer to Sara Lynn) and the long term (doing serious acting work).

I loved that after all the fantasies BoJack harbored about life with Charlotte in Maine, she was only there for a month or so and actually made her home in New Mexico.

I liked Herb's escalating series of tweets, and the "Henry Winkler, who we all remember from that one episode of Law and Order: SVU" running gag

Also, that ending just killed me. I can't think of any other TV show that makes me laugh so hard and then just devastates me with sadness the way that BoJack does.
posted by creepygirl at 7:41 PM on August 3, 2015 [2 favorites]

Creepygirl, it's about at 14:20 when PB shamelessly admits he's there to schmooze, within earshot of Henry Winkler.
posted by fizzix at 1:18 PM on August 5, 2015

Ah, thanks, fizzix. That was such a Mr. Peanutbutter kind of thing to do: he's being appalling, but at least he's upfront about it.
posted by creepygirl at 7:01 PM on August 5, 2015

I enjoyed spotting a discarded Baby Sinclair puppet lying near the Urkel machine in the alley.
posted by HeroZero at 1:37 PM on August 11, 2015 [1 favorite]

Fighting like cats and dogs...
posted by sweetmarie at 11:54 PM on March 18, 2016