Bojack Horseman, a Netflix exclusive adult, animated television series, has entered its sixth and final season. The first eight episodes of season six, in addition to the previous seasons, are currently available on Netflix. The final four episodes are due to be released by Jan. 31, 2020.
Bojack Horseman follows the story of a washed-up, former TV actor as he struggles to cope with drug addiction, past trauma, and a deeply flawed personality. The twist in this series is that roughly half the cast are humanoid animals, Bojack included, and this affects the story’s universe in a variety of interesting ways.
The show is a mixture of comedy and drama, with its brand of humour being a mix of puns (mostly animal-related), absurdism, and black comedy. The more serious scenes focus on interpersonal relationships, the callousness and fickleness of society, and, most of all, characters struggling (and often failing) to overcome personal demons.
Season six begins with Bojack in rehab. This will not come as a surprise to those familiar with the series. What is surprising is that treatment actually seems to be sticking. Bojack has made many previous attempts at getting his act together, but always backslides sooner or later. As episodes and seasons pass without lasting progress, viewers begin to wonder if he can ever change.
Bojack himself realizes this and is reluctant to leave the controlled environment of the rehab centre, fearing he will revert back to his old ways. Yet, it seems Bojack may have actually turned a corner. He has given up drinking altogether, is apparently starting a new career, and is making an effort to set things right with the people he has hurt over the years. Even so, past experience leaves the audience with a sense of tension, wondering if he can really keep it up this time.
Still, even if Bojack really has changed for the better, and for good, it may not matter. Bojack has hurt many people, and at least a few of them will be unwilling to forgive him. The latest episode ends on a cliffhanger where a character Bojack cares deeply for is about to learn of something especially heinous that he did (or rather, almost did) in a previous season. This, and other developments, point toward a final reckoning where Bojack will have to face the full consequences of his past actions.
In a season five episode, Bojack observes that “There’s always more show.” His statement has both an in- and out-of-universe significance. Bojack means this as an explanation for how things never get resolved, either in TV shows or in real life. Shows cannot decisively answer all questions nor solve all problems because otherwise there is no conflict, and without conflict, the show cannot continue. The previous seasons of Bojack Horseman are like this, with arcs rarely beginning or ending at the beginning or ending of seasons, and past events and plots often come back to affect the present.
Season six, however, is different. It is already stated to be the final season, and soon there will be no more show. I think this points to one of two things: either Bojack will die, or he will finally get a “happily ever after.” Personally, I suspect the latter, but considering the show’s tone and events in the season so far, it is hard to be sure.
Bojack Horseman is not for everyone, and I myself struggled to get into it at first. Whether you like the series or not will depend on how much you relate to the characters and conflicts, and whether you enjoy the show’s particular brand of humour. However, I suspect that the final resolution to Bojack’s story will retroactively make or break the series.
