This post contains no major spoilers for BoJack Horseman Season 6.
When last we saw BoJack, our favorite horse(man) had more or less hit rock bottom. He entered rehab at the end of Season 5 after spiraling into a hole of alcohol and drug addiction that ended with him assaulting a coworker on set. Season 6 picks up where that ending left off, with BoJack working on himself and coming to grips with his bad behavior while the rest of his friends move on through their own storylines.
Those who’ve stuck with the show for the past five seasons won’t be surprised to learn that the new season is every bit as emotionally taxing, side-splittingly funny and beautiful as the seasons that came before. The first part of Season 6 is just eight episodes long and debuts this Friday, Oct. 25, with the second half of episodes to drop in early 2020. Without spoiling anything big, here’s what you can expect thematically as the season unfolds.
Calling back to the events of past seasons
As with past seasons of BoJack, everything in the backgrounds and visual asides matter just as much as they did before, even if they’re just freshly purrfect Princess Carolyn book puns. But one thing the show does more frequently in its eight episodes is harken back—either visually or narratively—to the landmark events of earlier seasons. Big formative periods like BoJack’s childhood, his relationship to Sarah Lynn on Horsin’ Around, and his long-term alcohol use are all touched on in one way or another. Unlike Season 5—where plot mattered in most of the episodes mainly due to intersections between BoJack’s drug use and his show, Philbert—much of Season 6 feels more like a character study. The episodes give us plenty of new information, but much of it contextualizes and builds a richer understanding of those events more than they driving narrative plot points.
The lives of his supporting cast are just as important as ever
As BoJack reflects on his life, we see the supporting characters narratively move on through different stages of theirs. Princess Carolyn now has a (super cute) porcupine baby. Todd further develops his understanding of his asexuality. Diane navigates the world of online media. Mr. Peanutbutter embarks on his new chapter with Pickles. Unsurprisingly, it’s impossible for BoJack to see his friends through their respective struggles and growth periods except through the filter of his own rehabilitation—but that’s something he works on, too.
The show starts to stare down its endgame
Also unsurprisingly, a lot of this season feels like (wildly entertaining) table setting for something bigger next season. BoJack Horseman the series will not go quietly into the night, and meta-textually, that means that BoJack Horseman the character’s final crucible will be his most challenging yet. We won’t spoil what that crucible will be, but by the end of this eight-episode run, the pieces on the board will be set. In the meantime, the season does a great job of staving off the itch for more BoJack before the grand finale.
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