BoJack Season 5: Controversy, the End and the Pursuit of Perfection

[Notedelarédaction:Larevuesuivantecontient[Editor'sNote:Thefollowingreviewcontains[Notedelarédaction:Larevuesuivantecontient[Editor’sNote:Thefollowingreviewcontainsspoilers for "BoJack Horseman" Season 5, including the end.]

BoJack Horseman is responsible, as is BoJack Horseman. At the end of a remarkable season, the two-footed eponymous horse launches into a rehab center with the help of her friend Diane (Alison Brie). BoJack (Will Arnett) spends his season 5 trying to improve, but his best efforts are compromised by unavoidable circumstances (the death of his mother) and past mistakes (almost lying with a teenager). Towards the end of the new episodes, he breaks and chokes on his female partner Gina (Stephanie Beatriz). So he is lucky to have a friend who can invite him to get help.

In a sense, Raphael Bob-Waksberg's series did not have such a friend. Of course, he has never committed narrative sin as obnoxious as BoJack did, but he only received encouragement despite crossing a rocky terrain. The original Netflix has been critically acclaimed in each of its five seasons. Aside from the first year, which was sabotaged by critics (like this one) who did not know what to do with the first six episodes, black comedy earned enough raves to justify the switch to autopilot; to continue to follow his drunk and narcissistic antihero without wondering what the viewers were getting away from his ever more painful adventures.

"BoJack" Season 5 is built around personal responsibility. More metaphorical and insightful than ever, Netflix's best series reflect the growth of his star by accepting controversial associations and taking steps to ensure they do not become the same as they do. This year's "thing" is explicitly "Philbert", BoJack's new crime drama that is so dark that he uses "darkness as a metaphor for darkness". But the question of representation and standardization (or by) problematic men. It may be clear to some what separates "BoJack", "Mad Men," and "Breaking Bad" series about nasty men who do bad things to look cool, sounding or attracting the public for the wrong reasons, but season 5 reinforces these barriers until They are fundamentally impenetrable.

It is therefore normal that Bob-Waksberg gives an honest interview to Slate's Inkoo Kang on the "original sin" of the series: to launch a white actress to play an American-American character. The controversy surrounding Diane has been circulating for some time, but the creator first addressed the problem in 2018, both on Twitter and in interviews. Given Diane's progress in Vietnam in season 5, "BoJack" is ready to solve representation problems as he has done in the past. Dozens of articles will tackle the problem with more interesting perspectives than mine. action taken beyond his character throughout the new season.

Netflix

In the opening episode, BoJack begins to notice similarities between him and his character. "I do not like Philbert," says BoJack. "He's drunk, he's an asshole. I do not want to be him. Of course, he has to be – it's his job – but the show does not do it. "BoJack Horseman" does not have to be "Philbert", and even when the characters start to reflect the worst vices of everyone, "BoJack" draws clear lines between what he does and what "Philbert" becomes . Diane even drew a picture for BoJack to highlight the dangers of normalizing bad behavior.

In fact, every time "BoJack" holds this mirror and recognizes the comparisons, it stands out more from the problem. When Diane draws the painting, she tries to explain why Vance Wagonner (Bobby Cannavale) – a character who begins as a replacement for Mel Gibson but ends up representing so many bad guys – should not be allowed to return to the good graces from Hollywoo. But when Vance is not launched in the series, it soon becomes apparent that the problematic person is BoJack himself. Diane hears BoJack's recording of how he almost slept with a teenager (which goes back to the end of season 2) and as she begins to struggle with who BoJack really is, the audience remembers her many serious skids.

Meanwhile, BoJack's quest for self-improvement repeatedly strikes roadblocks. His work will not let him get away from his dark side. He is attracted to a colleague who does not want to go out with him seriously (at least initially). His mother dies. Hollyhock (Aparna Nancherla) forces him to deal with his pill addiction by accidentally throwing them in the toilet and, oh yes, Bojack is addicted to painkillers. Painfully ironic and real, the crutch on which BoJack sustains to help him through these difficult times becomes his first vice. Not only does he drive him directly into the circulation (to have a legitimate excuse for more pain pills), but he quickly developed drugs, but he can no longer distinguish between role and reality.

That's when BoJack slams. In a power failure, he can not help but choke Gina, even after the director shouted: BoJack and Philbert have mixed into a maniacal criminal. And as it happens so often for rich and famous men, he has given up. Gina will not complain (and will defend it even on camera) because she does not want to be defined by her story. She is finally recognized for her acting game and she knows that if she goes after her abuser, she will always be known for that instead of her job. The career of another woman would be lost because of the violence of a man.

Netflix

We have to see all this so BoJack Season 5 really hits home, just as Diane really needs to look at "Philbert" to understand why it's so dangerous. "I made it more vulnerable, which made it more likeable, making it a better TV show, but if Philbert makes it easier to streamline their behavior, we can not say anything," she says. . . That's precisely why "BoJack" tells this story: illustrate the dangers of normalizing bad behavior by engaging openly with the problem. "BoJack" does not normalize such behavior. On the contrary, he does his best to show the drastic consequences of BoJack's actions. But it can still be very, very funny, and people who just watch for laughter can escape some of their most important points about responsibility. By relaunching BoJack with Gina, the show (again) forces her character to take responsibility.

Once again, Diane gives a speech and, again, she is right. "No one will hold you responsible," she told BoJack in front of the rehab center. "You must take responsibility." The series has already done just that – you could say that Season 5 has been in rehab all the way through, but do not do it. This is a self-assessment in a way that few people demanded, but no one should be surprised to see it. Bob-Waksberg's comedy is constantly, constantly and deeply in tune with his own identity, just as BoJack struggles to be. He was obsessed with being loved, then being considered good, then being good, and only now is he starting to realize that "there are no" bad guys And "good ones," says Diane. "You will never be" good "because you are not" bad "."

The speech actually referred to another moment in Season 2 – its motto, if you will. "Every day it gets a little easier," said the bearded monkey jogger at BoJack. "But you have to do it every day, it's the hardest part." An honest effort towards self improvement is all that anyone can really ask for someone else. This is what we do not see so often from famous men who continue to repeat the same mistakes or who refuse to recognize mistakes when seeking forgiveness. BoJack is on the right track now, and yes, he's already been there. But seeing the effort makes all the difference by being able to identify with his background and show empathy with his struggle.

Before getting into rehab, it's hard to separate BoJack and everything he's done wrong with someone like Vance Wagoner. But it's not hard to see the difference between BoJack and Philbert. The work was done to get better, even if it was already good.

"BoJack Horseman" Season 5 is now streaming on Netflix.

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