BoJack Horseman: Season 2 Review - IGN (2024)

The trap a lot of second seasons find themselves in is trying to recreate all the beats that made Season 1 work. After all, BoJack made some big strides as a character last season and that could easily be undone if the show didn’t know what to do with him now that he has more self-awareness. What works about BoJack Horseman: Season 2 is that the writers clearly went in wanting to build off the story they had already created.

Continuing the themes in Season 1’s finale, BoJack himself starts off this season wanting to change. He has an award-winning biography, he’s been cast in his dream role, and he has a better understanding of his own issues. While his hyper-positivity only lasts for the first episode (in part thanks to a visit from his soul-crushing mother), there is a sense that BoJack has matured since the first season. Oh sure, he’s still selfish and makes huge mistakes towards the end of the season, but his relationship with live-in girlfriend (Lisa Kudrow in one of the stronger new roles) endures through more than one fight. There’s less self-sabotaging on his part and looking back after watching the whole season it’s clear he’s had some progress.

I say “less self-sabotaging” because, well, there’s the “Escape from LA” episode. I’ll avoid getting into the particulars for those avoiding spoilers, but it is … cringe-worthy. It’s supposed to be because BoJack is making terrible choices. I found myself just saying, “Oh no. No no no. BoJack, no.” during the last third of the episode. One of the show’s biggest strengths is being able to show its protagonist do horrible, selfish things and not frame those choices as excusable. There’s no ambiguity to BoJack’s flaws, there’s no “boys will be boys” hand waving. When BoJack falls from the small amount of grace he had built up, he falls hard.

A surprise and delight of this season was getting to see the storylines of both Princess Carolyn and Diane unfold. Last season, their arcs were intrinsically tied to BoJack’s. One of the ways I was worried the show would repeat itself in Season 2 was if BoJack once again turned to these two women as potential (but fruitless) love interests, putting either woman back into that awkward position again. The writers steered away from that, to my great relief, and this allowed for both women to have fuller character arcs.

Princess Carolyn is a character archetype (the take-no-prisoner older female Hollywood agent) who would easily be written one dimensionally by lesser writers. She’s ruthless, but she’s also incredibly vulnerable and cares about doing a good job. When a rabbit coworker (played by Jean Ralphio himself, Ben Schwartz) starts to schmooze her, it’s clear she’s being manipulated and set up for a fall. It also makes her resolution in the season finale oh so very satisfying, especially when he tries to use her age against her. Kudos to Amy Sedaris for pulling off that role so well.

Of all the story lines, Diane’s is the best. We actually got to see Diane fail this season. That’s essentially her arc. From the very first episode of Season 2, her role as an adviser on the Secretariat film set is not appreciated, she struggles with her purpose, and when she finally goes off to do something she thinks is meaningful, it’s a project as vain and useless as anything she’s doing in LA. Diane feels like a fraud and is afraid to come back home to Mr. Peanutbutter and have to explain why she abandoned the project before her trip was done. Alison Brie kills it throughout this season as her character’s sense of self falls apart. Praise also goes to Paul F. Tompkins, who is still hilarious as Mr. Peanutbutter but is given more depth and nuance in Season 2. His marriage to Diane struggles, but the season also shows why they work together.

Not enough can be said about episode 7, “Hank After Dark.” Diane gets targeted by both the media and the public when she casually brings up during an interview that a well-known TV icon has been accused of “things” by his former assistants. While it’s never flat out said, this episode is about the Cosby accusations — the show does very little to hide the fact that it’s clearly supposed to be Bill Cosby. Everything said about Diane for calling the celebrity out and everything said in defense of the celebrity is spot-on for how our culture reacts to women calling this out in real life. The episode does not mess around.

It’s just awesome to see a show with this kind of humor also write women like full characters, you know? Besides Diane and Princess Carolyn, BoJack’s girlfriend Wanda is treated with a lot of care in the story. There’s also beleaguered film director Kelsey Jannings (Maria Bamford). Considering the conversation in the last year about women behind the lens in Hollywood, her addition to the cast of characters was appreciated.

There are some weaker parts to the season. While Todd’s various side adventures continue to be entertaining (I’d pay good money to see Aaron Paul record his lines because his performance is so out there), his shenanigans didn’t tie in as well as the others to the bigger picture. For instance, his last storyline is directly connected to BoJack saving him, doing something good and honorable after the events of the episode before it. However, the season wasn’t really about Todd wishing BoJack appreciated him — if that had been an underlying thread then the rescue scene could have packed a bigger punch. This wouldn’t be a problem for another show or even necessarily for last season, but when so many of the other plot threads are set up so nicely, it’s obvious when one feels a little off.