Season Review: BoJack Horseman Season 3

How does this season stack up against the others? Find out in our review of the ENTIRE season.

Spoilers Below

Over the past few years Netflix has blown up into a sensation and changed the way people watch movies and TV forever. People can now watch some of their favorite shows and movies at their own convenience with no commercials for a low price every month. They upped the ante a few years ago with the introduction of Netflix originals like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. Not only were you able to watch shows you already love from network television, but now Netflix was creating content you couldn’t see anywhere else. The real eyebrow raiser was that the content was good… really good. Netflix Originals are constantly in the conversation at the Emmy Awards and has even made some traction at the Oscars.

There is something for everyone on Netflix and lovers of animation have some great picks to choose from with F is for Family, Voltron, and perhaps the best of them all: BoJack Horseman.

This past weekend Netflix released the third season of BoJack Horseman for your viewing pleasure. After binging the season and taking some time to think about it, it’s easy to say that BoJack has another strong season on it’s hands. How good was it? Read on to find out. Careful for spoilers.

As the season opens it appears that some stars are aligning for BoJack, but only some. His passion project, Secretariat, is on the cusp of being a major hit and may even land BoJack some Oscar attention. Unfortunately he’s unable to appreciate it because it was only his likeliness that was digitally added to the film. BoJack is working through his encounter with Penny, an under aged girl that is the daughter of BoJack’s former love.

Season three is a strong season because just like season’s one and two, it isn’t afraid of taking risks. It’s one of the funniest shows on Netflix while simultaneously being one of the most dramatic. It’s a show with a lot of gray areas. While BoJack’s life works in some aspects, you can see that it’s crumbling in other areas. Drugs, sex, and cynicism have robbed BoJack of his lust for life. He longs for the days of his sitcom Horsin’ Around, because that’s when things were most simple for him. The entertainment industry hadn’t chewed him up and spit him out quite yet.

This season we saw flashbacks to 2007. Sort of an odd time in BoJack’s life, it isn’t really a time in his life we’ve looked at before. In 2007 we see that Horsin’ Around has been finished for eleven years and BoJack is now attempting to get another project up and running. We see that there is still some drive in him, but we also see this is where the spiral possibly began for him. At least it’s where it gained a lot of momentum.

The supporting cast weren’t treated like supporting characters this season. All of the major supporting characters had arches this season. Todd reunites with an old flame and gets a business up and running, Princess Carolyn finds time to start dating but also hits a rough patch in her career, and so on.

Overall, this was an excellent season. Things slow down a bit in the middle of the season and it’s more about the laughs, but it makes for a balanced viewing experience. The show is a dramedy and when the show goes to dark places, it goes really dark. So having a few episodes in the mix that just make you laugh and highly needed. While I don’t think this season was as good as season two, I do think it stands above season one. We see these characters develop, stories move forward and we learn more about BoJack’s past. There were plenty of laughs to be had and interesting episodes like Under the Sea where very few words are said, but an intriguing story can still be told.

If you haven’t given BoJack Horseman a fair watch, I recommend jumping on board now. It’s an experience that will give you a ton of laughs but also throw some dark and dramatic punches. Not many shows will make you think about your place in the universe quite like BoJack will. A powerful season with a powerful ending. I already can’t wait for season four.