Jackson Ball reviews the ninth episode of Netflix’s BoJack Horseman season 2…
After the high-paced nature of the previous episode, ‘The Shot’ takes the opportunity to slow things down again so everyone can recuperate themselves. The episode also acts as yet another reminder that BoJack Horseman is not only fantastic comedy show, but also a deeply affecting drama.
Spoiler Ahead – You Have Been Warned!
Episode 9 finds BoJack (Will Arnett) facing difficulties in his professional life. Back on the set of ‘Secretariat’, BoJack fears that his chance to deliver a nuanced, artistic performance is about to be taken away from him by interfering producers. Clearly satirizing the current ‘committee-over-auteur’ attitude in Hollywood, the episode features the Lennie Turtletaub (J.K. Simmons) stripping the film of its more controversial scenes to appease ‘test audiences’.
Desperate to save the film, BoJack hatches an unbelievably elaborate scheme to shoot one of the removed scenes in private, hoping that the finished product will dissuade the producers from scrapping it. The devised plot descends into an Ocean’s 11-esque heist scene, with his ‘elite team’ naturally consisting of Princess Carolyn (Amy Sedaris), Todd (Aaron Paul) and Mr. Peanutbutter (Paul F. Tompkins). The whole debacle becomes more and more ridiculous, in a typical BoJack Horseman fashion.
One of the real highlights here is the return of a Season 1 guest character, and a fan-favourite at that. For BoJack and company’s plan to go smoothly, they need to enlist the help of a criminal mastermind. Yes, you guessed it; ‘Character Actress Margo Martindale’. It’s a great treat for those of us who have been fans of the show since the beginning, and it shows a bizarre level of progression for the series.
The grand crescendo of all this zaniness is a surprisingly moving moment from the show’s titular character. Without going into too much detail, we see BoJack breakdown in private. It’s a difficult moment to endure for the audience as, while we all know that he is a deeply troubled and depressed character, this is really the first time we’ve seen him crumble into tears like this.
It becomes clear that BoJack’s motive for becoming so career-oriented is to escape the difficulties in his private life. This acts as the solid theme of ‘The Shot’, as evident elsewhere by the actions of Diane (Alison Brie). Like BoJack, Diane has also taken the plunge professionally by traveling across the globe to ghost-write for famed philanthropist Sebastian St. Clair (Keegan-Michael Key).
What is interesting is how honest and open both BoJack and Diane are in this episode. At separate points during ‘The Shot’, both clearly acknowledge their current predicaments, whilst simultaneous implying that their problems are someway self-inflicted. This admission of fault, at least in BoJack’s case, shows how far the characters have come since the start of Season 1.
Best ‘Animal-Based Gag’ of the Episode: The episode opens with a flashback between Secretariat and President Nixon, in which Nixon’s real-life cocker spaniel Checkers gets the anthropomorphic treatment, becoming more of a smooth-voiced henchman than a pet.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=8k_v0cVxqEY
Originally published August 17, 2015. Updated April 13, 2018.
