BoJack Horseman season 6 review: A goodbye
By Paige Bergen
It’s time to say goodbye to BoJack Horseman. The sixth and final season was added to Netflix at the end of January 2020. Spoilers ahead!
I have been struggling to write this BoJack Horseman season 6 review because there is so much to say about the captivating and unfortunately endearing BoJack Horseman.
We have seen him go through countless pitfalls and redemptions that it’s hard to believe in the overall good in him. And, yet, I still believe. Because humans (and horses) make mistakes. We rise and we fall and we get back up again.
At Princess Carolyn and Judah’s wedding, Todd and BoJack watch fireworks on the beach together. While the pair talks, Todd points out a deeper meaning to the silly song, “The Hokey Pokey.”
He says, “You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around. You turn yourself around. That’s what it’s all about.”
In that one seemingly nonsensical Todd train of thought, the whole theme of BoJack and possibly point of life is summed up.
We may falter and mess up in colossal ways. BoJack certainly has, from Penny to Sarah Lynn, and more, but if we work to change and grow and fight for the good that’s within ourselves, then that’s not for nothing. In fact, it may be everything.
That being said, just because a person changes, it doesn’t automatically give them a free pass.
In the next scene, BoJack and Princess Carolyn dance with one another. BoJack confesses that, before he arrived at the wedding, he had imagined this scenario where Princess Carolyn got cold-feet and ran off, but BoJack was able to catch her.
Princess Carolyn laughs with Bojack, quipping back, “And then what? I’d run off with you?”
BoJack responds, “No. I would talk you into going through with it, and it would be like a symbol of how much I’ve grown that I could let you go.”
But in the end, it’s Princess Carolyn who does the letting go, and both she and BoJack are better for it.
The dance wraps up with BoJack saying, “If I do decide to get back into the business when I get out of prison, I’m gonna need representation.” He smiles at her. “Someone who can look out for me, help me make the right decisions, keep me out of trouble.”
Princess Carolyn smiles back at him warmly, saying, “I can recommend some excellent people.”
In other words, she forgives him and even loves him, but it’s not her job to take care of him anymore.
In the final scene, BoJack finds Diane smoking on the venue’s rooftop. The conversation starts out light-hearted, but takes a turn when Diane says, “I wish I had my phone, so I could play you the last voicemail you left.” The one before he went swimming.
She goes on to grimly say, “I wish I could have been the person you thought I was, the person who would save you.”
BoJack states what he now knows. “That was never your job.”
“Then why did you always make me feel like it was?” Diane says, “I don’t know. Maybe it’s everyone’s job to save each other.”
What Diane says is true. We have to believe in the good in people and do our best to build each other up. However, when someone spends years tearing you down, it’s time to say goodbye. For Todd, Princess Carolyn, and Diane, BoJack is this someone.
I believe Bojack has changed for the better and he deserves forgiveness, but at a distance.
As Diane and BoJack sit on the rooftop admiring the night sky, Diane says, “I think there are people that help you become the person that you end up being and you can be grateful for them even if they were never meant to be in your life forever.”
I’m grateful for BoJack Horseman, even if he wasn’t meant to be in my life forever.