#i watched all 6 seasons of bojack horseman.

[chikinan]

whenever american pop artists sing about fame and los angeles my eyes roll so back into my head i give myself a headache

[imjusthorsinaroundgetit]

Anyone on here watch the bojack dubs? I've seen about 4 of em for season 1 .. and i end up just thinking of todd saying, "How many timese have you watched this episode."

[strandedcrow]

hi friend you're a video essay enjoyer i believe do you have any recommendations people and or videos? need somethin interestin to listen to while tryin to draw

HELLO FRIEND ok so skipping over the obvious popular ones (victorious, roblox oof, defunctland in general, my house.wad, etc) some of my favorites are:

The Downward Spiral of Watching Velma: one that i only found recently, a lengthy deep dive into the shitty hbo velma show so that u don’t have to watch it

How SunnyV2 Ruined Video Essays: also one i found recently, a shorter one which provides a meta analysis of video essays on youtube, also got me back into video essays tbh

How Sponegbob Explored Existential Nihilism: VERY short one (under 10 minutes) but actually neat

I Found Every OSHA Violation in FNAF Security Breach: there are so fucking many

The Biggest Cheater in Clone Hero History Was Finally Caught: honestly it’s been a rocky past couple weeks for the CH community bc just recently Multiple big name players have admitted to cheating so like calling this person the biggest cheater might not even be accurate anymore but like. still a rlly good watch

Bojack Horseman Full Series Retrospective: if you want lengthy here it is (almost 6 hour analysis of every season)

Disney Trash Can Tier List: not rlly a video essay at all however it’s such a random tier list to make and it’s delightful

Dream (Market) - The Infiltration of the Dark Net: literally an insane fucking story one of my absolute favorite barely sociable videos bc the whole story is just so fucking wild

The Dark Side of the Silk Road: one of my other favorites from barely sociable

Explaining: This House Has People In It: one of my favorite youtubers providing a complete analysis of my favorite arg/analog horror project HIGHLY recommend this one btw

DHMIS Explained: another from the same youtuber, but this time with defunctland style production (before defunctland started having these vibes. honestly maybe a little the other way around given this is 6 years old)

Fear of the Deep: nexpo is the third of my horror/unsettling internet history trifecta that i watch in this list (barely sociable, night mind, and nexpo my beloveds), this one was made just before oceangate, but talks about a few different projects that focus on. ig a fear of the deep really

[fuglyjeans]

Ok the first time I watched bojack horseman season 6, it sent me in a pretty bad depression spiral. But I just watched it again for the first time in almost 4 years, and it actually fills me with peace. I think I thought the show was saying no one can change, really; bojack will always be just some shitty selfish horse. He can try to do better, but he can't change the lives he's ruined, or outrun the consequences, and he'll always slip up. That made me so sad.

But now i see it more like... yeah hollyhock cut off contact, bojack goes to prison, Diane implies they'll never speak again, Princess Carolyn implies she won't work with Bojack again in the future etc. But at the same time all of these characters still express love to bojack and thankfulness that he was in their life. Even Todd is really kind to bojack in the final episode, despite having every reason to ignore him forever. They draw boundaries as they should. But there's still compassion.

Even though bojack has arguably lost absolutely everything, he's still able to find a little joy in prison putting on a play. And those people will still probably say hi to him from time to time... and after he gets out of prison, who knows, maybe he'll make more progress and find new people, start better relationships. He was already on the up and up... he relapsed, but honestly that happens. Before his relapse he'd been sober for like a year which is pretty amazing.

bojack is messy and his progress is slow. He's deeply flawed and no one is obligated to stay in his life, no one has to respect him after all the shitty things he's done. But what brings him true peace is being honest with himself about that... no memoir or dream role or Oscar win or long-lost sister or university can replace the peace of just being real. Taking accountability. I think by the end bojack is at least starting to realize that and commit it to memory.

I also think it's tempting to feel like post-rehab bojack is all better, he's a new bojack, it's unfair that the reporters and interviewers come after him to ruin his life after he'd just fixed it. He's not the same as Vance Waggoner!! But that's the thing.. even though it's hard, even though it feels unfair, bojack still has the choice to do better. He didn't have to do the 2nd interview. He didn't have to teach at hollyhock's school without asking her if that would be weird. He didn't have to do Horny Unicorn, he didn't have to go back into that party after reading hollyhock's letter. He didn't have to go on one last bender, break into his old house, call Diane and nearly kill himself. It's understandable that he did. It's painful and horrible. But every single time, he could have chosen to walk away, ask for help--maybe not from Diane or PC or Todd, but surely Mr Peanutbutter or he could have just checked into the ER for monitoring. And that would feel sad and humiliating and lonely but he would survive and come out knowing he didnt ruin things this time, even if he felt alone. Its ok to be alone. But he didnt do that... so even though i understand why "new bojack" fucks up again.... it WAS all still his own choice.

I could talk abt this show forever lol God

[ismellpestilence]

Things to watch if your favorite show is being affected by the WGA strike

This is everything that I have watched and enjoyed. They are by no means perfect shows. This includes complete series, cancelled series, and series that are still in progress. Feel free to add your own recommendations.

Only Murders in the Building (Hulu; currently on season 3)

Murder mystery dramedy set in a wealthy NYC apartment complex

Staring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomes as three residents who decide to make a podcast about the murder

The cast has great chemistry and the twists are compelling

Gravity Falls (Hulu/Disney; ended after 2 seasons in 2014)

An animated show about a pair of fraternal twins who spend the summer with their con-man great uncle in a weird, monster filled town

Absolutely iconic children's show.

Dead End: Paranormal Park (Netflix; cancelled after 2 seasons in 2023)

Animated YA show about two teens, an exiled demon, and a pug, that all work at a haunted theme park and are investigating the disappearances of some of the staff

Similar in style to Gravity Falls

Sadly cancelled by Netflix, but there's also the graphic novels to enjoy

Reservation Dogs (Hulu, ended after season 3 in 2023)

Coming of age dramedy about four Indigenous teens living on a reservation in Oklahoma as they mourn a friend who died and dream of running away to California together

Made by an all Indigenous writers, directors, and main cast

Scrubs (Hulu; ended after 8 seasons 2010)

Workplace comedy about staff at a California hospital

Praised as the one of most medically accurate medical show

Very much a 2000s comedy. Humor can be jarring/mean by today's standards

What We Do in the Shadows (Hulu, currently on season 5)

A mockumentary following 4 vampires and their familiar that live on Staten Island as they go about their boring, pathetic lives

Makes fun of the "cool, sexy, edgy" vampire trope

Based on a 2014 movie of the same name

Dead to Me (Netflix, ended after 3 seasons in 2022)

A traumedy (trauma comedy) following a woman who's husband was killed in a hit-and-run and the perpetrator who lost her own partner and secretly befriends her

It's funny about what happens but does deal with some heavy topics so definitely look into that before watching

The Owl House (Disney; ended after 3-ish seasons in 2023)

About a young girl who wanders into the Demon Realm and decides to stay there and become of witch instead of going to summer camp

Celebrates being the weirdo and being kind to people

Made by many of the same people who did Gravity Falls

The Office (Peacock; ended after 9 seasons in 2013)

Workplace mockumentary about some bizarre people who work in a boring office space

Features a lot of cringe/second-hand embarrassment based humor

Based on the British limited series of the same name

Very much a 2000s comedy that can at times be just plain mean. Season 1 is the worst season by far so if you can get through it the character become way more likeable

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (Netflix, ended after 5 seasons in 2020)

An animated fantasy about a young soldier who simultaneously discovers that her side is the aggressor in the war and that the planet has chosen her to be it's legendary protector. This forces her to leave the only home she's known and her childhood friend to fight for the rebellion, who she thought were her enemies

A remake of the 1985 He-Man spinoff series

Very "defeat them with power of friendship and also this sword you found in the woods"

BoJack Horseman (Netflix, ended after 6 seasons in 2020)

An adult animated comedy about a self-centered, washed-up 90s sitcom actor (who is a horse) as he struggles to become famous again and break out of his destructive habits

Satirizes Hollywood, media culture, and American politics

One of those shows where you aren't supposed to admire the main characters

Big trigger warnings for this one. Seriously.

Good Omens (Amazon Prime, currently on season 2)

Follows the misadventures of a demon and an angel, a witch's descendent, two unskilled witch hunters, a sex-worker, and the antichrist and his friends as the antichrist grows into his power and brings about Armageddon, all set to Queen songs

Based on the 1990 book by Neil Gaiman and Sir Terry Pratchett

The fandom focuses a lot of the shipping side of the show but forget all of that if you plan to watch it

Season 2 wrecked me

Gentleman Jack (HBO Max & the BBC; cancelled after season 2 in 2022)

Based on the real diaries of Anne Lister, a wealthy lesbian in 1830s England who is looking for a wife and to expand her business enterprises

Sadly HBO pulled away and the BBC couldn't afford to make another season without them. What was made is still worth checking out.

Our Flag Means Death (HBO Max; currently on season 1)

A pirate workplace comedy/romcom that loosely follows the real life of Stede Bonnet, a wealthy landowner who ran away to become a pirate due to a mid-life crisis. He wants so badly to be a pirate captain but is far from qualified for the role.

"Traditionally, piracy is a culture of abuse...floggings, keelhaulings. And my thought is, "Why?" And also, what if it weren't like that?" really is the thesis of the show

(Edit) omg I cant believe I forgot:

Avatar: the Last Airbender (Netflix; ended after 3 seasons in 2008)

An animated children's fantasy series in which people can manipulate one of the four elements, and their peacekeeper, the Avatar, can manipulate all four. After being frozen in ice for 100 years, the 12 year old Avatar learns that the Fire Nation has begun a war that he must stop by next summer

Literally the blueprint for the modern animation that we enjoy today. IDK what else to say. It's iconic

Hilda (Netflix; ended after 2 seasons and 1 movie in 2021)

An animated children's fantasy series set in a world full of Nordic folk creatures

After spending much of her life living in the woods with her mom and her pet deerfox, Hilda is upset to learn that her mom now wants to move to Trolberg, a walled-off city where Hilda fears there is nothing interesting to do. She quickly discovers that there is just as much magic and wonder in the city as there is in the woods.

She's voiced by Bella Ramsay and the animation is beautiful. It's all all-around good vibes show.

Interview with the Vampire (AMC; currently on season 1)

After the first interview in the 70s that ended in disaster, Louis de Pointe du Lac reached out to Daniel Molloy and demanded a do-over. He goes back to his life as a black businessman in 1910s New Orleans and the complicated relationship between himself and Lestat de Lioncourt.

It's actually gay enough this time you guys.

I'd also like to add:

The Bear (FX/Hulu; currently on season 2)

A dramedy about a New York chef who inherits a failing sandwich shop after his older brother commits suicide.

Sometimes a found family isn't all sunshine and unicorns. Sometimes its a lot of screaming and resentment and cussing each other out.

It's a very stressful to watch so it's not for everyone, but if you're the type who finds that cathartic then you should give it a watch.

The Sandman (Netflix; currently on season 1)

Begins in 1916 with the capture of the god of dreams by a greedy sorcerer. After he escapes he must rebuild his realm and repair the damage done by his absence.

Trying to describe this show is really, really, difficult. It would be easier to describe what this show isn't.

Based on the DC comic of the same name by Neil Gaiman.

[crooked-wasteland]

Hazbin Hotel Liveblog: Dad Beat Dad

We are back to finish this. Real life got a bit in the way, but I do seek to write something rather big about this series and media literacy in general, but before i really can, i need to finish. Additionally, there are no more Vivienne Medrano-written episodes from here on out, which I am interested to see. I am watching these alone from this point, and sober, so I do apologize that they may not be as entertaining, or maybe they will be more so since you will see the active participation of my brain this time around.

Vaggie is sleeping like she is sitting at a desk. The way she wakes up is going from a slouched position to sitting upright like she’s the anime protagonist by the window at the back of the classroom. I immediately had to pause and laugh.

I didn’t even recognize Vaggie’s voice when she asks if Charlie is good. Goodness, After Angel Dust’s voice was so out of character last episode, I legitimately thought Roman just stopped trying for the rest of the series there for a minute. I actually had to start the scene over just to physically see who was talking.

I’m fascinated by the writing for Charlie this episode because instead of talking about things happening that were actually important, we focus on the things she did. It feels selfish of her to really only attribute the things she personally has done, all of which didn’t help at the time or were actively harmful to those around her. Additionally the idea that the hotel “isn’t working” is confusing. In what way is it not working? What is it Charlie thinks is supposed to show it working? There is entirely no clear idea of what “working” would be to Charlie. And instead of actually expanding on the idea of what this very nonspecific idea of failure is, they immediately use the situation to lazily introduce another character in Lucifer. It just reminds me of Carmella and how Sir Pentious’ out of character paranoia was just a segue to her being introduced through her arms dealing.

Side note, but this episode is written by Rachel Kaplan who wrote two episodes for Bojack Horseman. Specifically Season 5’s Ancient History and season 6’s A Little Uneven, Is All. I definitely feel Kaplan has solid comedy chops in her writing, but both of her episodes in particular really thrive in regards to her female characters. In Ancient History, for example, the story heavily focuses on Hollyhock and Princess Carolyn with sprinkles of Todd and Emily. The way Kaplan writes women in Ancient History is refreshing in media. She embraces HollyHock’s fragile mental and emotional state and how trauma has attached itself to Bojack in her mind. Despite Bojack not being the one to have harmed her, things that are fundamentally associated with Bojack are triggering. And you see how having such a sheltered and loving upbringing as HollyHock made her less resilient to the dysfunction that Bojack has horrifically normalized in his life.

Kaplan really does excel in writing for her female characters and I’m curious to see how she handles this episode. I see the similarities in writing such as Mr. Peanut butter asking for the rights to a happy birthday gift card that happens to be made by Ralph’s company to instigate their engagement for the episode. However, Bojack continued forward with Birthday Dad as a legitimate outcome and subplot within the series from that point forward. The point being that utilitarian writing is a necessary form of writing, but due to how little Medrano as a director focuses on the specifics of the story it results in the writers hired onto the team to struggle with very little to actually work with. How well this episode goes definitely feels like a canary in the coal mine for how much behind the scenes work was actually put into the female cast and series as a whole. If there is some strong foundations at least in the planning, Kaplan can probably make this episode one of the best ones, whereas if she is being left to build on sand, I believe the episode will feel hollow at its core.

While Kaplan is the writer for the episode, Medrano has self-identified as having written portions as a director, and it shows. On twitter she identified herself as having written the interaction between Lucifer and Alastor, and it completely broke the flow of the scene. I was starting to get into the feel of the episode for a second, Charlie was starting to feel like a person and her and Lucifer had a back and forth dynamic that was detached but affectionate and rather sweet. The visual direction also had improvements with more interesting compositions to tell the story and the silence felt less robotic. It started to get a flow only for Alastor to act as a massive pothole. I hypothesize that Medrano is highly protective of Alastor as a character and thus monopolizes his writing. Ironically it works well alongside her own personality she has displayed. Alastor is a very self-absorbed individual with entitlement who uses bravado and abuses to project this sense of power while being extremely insecure. It must be comforting to write what she actually knows for once.

Lucifer becoming an insecure manchild ruined any goodwill I was starting to build towards him. He went from being insecure in himself to suddenly projecting that insecurity outward onto Alastor and it immediately hollowed him as a character. The sudden screaming that wasn’t a part of his mannerisms until he’s demanding attention is a Medrano staple of what she thinks comedy is. It sounds like Medrano herself screaming for attention when threatened by someone with legitimate accomplishments and talent taking control of her show.

The issue with the large time skips and much ado about nothing going on in the actual episodes is why Alastor’s behavior is so confusing. Him being endeared to Charlie both seems in character when place in context with the pilot, and grossly out of character when it is not anything we have seen since. In fact, the series has made a point to emphasize this malicious side of him to, I guess, make him appear more “cool” and it disrupts any coherent idea of actually who he is.

So Alastor has not a single line for about two minutes after Lucifer requests to get to know the other members of the Hotel, and then this song. I’m so disappointed in this song. Lucifer distanced himself from Alastor and is introduced to the other sinners, and instead of having this song be what it clearly should have been: Lucifer singing about how he feels about Sinners and how foolish he finds Charlie’s quest because, you now, look at them. Lucifer has a first hand experience in Heaven and it would be reinforcing his character by reminding the audience that he himself is also in Hell to be punished. And his punishment is the very Sinners that Charlie loves. Like, there is so much interesting content to be pulled out of this ad explored. Instead, out of nowhere, Lucifer is just hyperfixated on this one sinner for no reason. That one second scene of Alastor doting on Charlie being grounds for this song-battle just makes Lucifer look insecure, petty and pathetic, which is also how Alastor looks. These two now are the same exact character and it is soul sucking. This episode was genuinely the best one yet, but Medrano is so infatuated with her own tumblr sexy man that it resulted in both of these characters becoming less interesting almost instantly. And I genuinely enjoy Lucifer’s singing and personality, and there was so much you could have done to really make this work. It almost worked. It’s so unfortunate that no one involved higher up had the experience or desire necessary to pull this together by keeping a tight control on an amateur and weak director.

I was informed that this is an unpopular take, but as a character I like Mimzy. Granted I’m only in so far as her being introduced to Lucifer, but she seems fun. Not really digging the idea of her backstory or her accent however. The issue is she has a very New England accent but was supposed to run in the same circles as Alastor when he was alive. So it would negate Alastor’s supposed Louisiana roots and life-long heritage because its very clear that Mimzy is from the North East. Flappers were primarily located in modern liberal areas like that of New York and Chicago with its money and socialite society providing them their primary source of income. The south, even in places like New Orleans, was still heavily segregated which resulted in stark social and economic expectations between social circles that Alastor and her never out have been able to bridge in 1920s Deep South. While there was a flapper movement in the 1920s, the society of the south was far more rigid and oppressive. And Mimzy's design flies in the face of historical context as the Flapper style and much of the 1920s was about being slender and boyish, the flapper style hinged on this androgynous look with shapeless and less restrictive clothing. Trying to make Mimzy sexy through tight clothing is the antithesis of Flapper culture. Taking into account Alastor’s supposed black American ethnicity, her line “Mixed company” comes off overtly racist, even if appropriate to her time period.

Mimzy’s animation on the bar. I had to pause and laugh again. There isn’t even any animation, she just slides across the screen as a static image with only her face being animated. Anyone who claims there was no rigging used in the animation process is a liar.

Niffty’s mouth movement in her line “Not for long” does not, at all, match the dialogue and I am curious what the original line was supposed to be.

This feels like an ego trip or Medrano. She really thinks Alastor is an interesting character and pushes this idea of how “badass” we are supposed to find him. Instead it reads like. Severely insecure OC (TM) and she really wants everyone else in the roleplay to be obsessed with him.

It shows how little Medrano understands the use of music in musicals. Typically speaking, you want the emotional heights to be the content of the songs, so by not having Lucifer’s song be about how much Sinners suck (which, again, would have made way more sense for the lead up and context of where the song was placed. In the script) it reduces his opinions about sinners to be unimportant compared to his own ego. It isn’t even about Alastor’s relationship to Charlie as the comparison to them both being “father figures” only appears in the middle of said song. This whole reminder about how he sees Sinners being an afterthought undercuts the idea that he even cares about Charlie at all. It has muddled the entire concept because you have one writer who knows where the emotional beats should be, and the other overly obsessed with her own wish fulfillment and ego. It is fascinating to watch this tug of war where one person is genuinely trying to make the characters their own people and build into them human connection and feelings while the other is so fixated on spectacle and her own identity being the focus of the show that any character groundwork is bulldozed in favor of aesthetics and attention. It’s actually almost heartbreaking to watch. It shows how, on every level, Medano has ideas that could work, but neither the ability nor desire to follow through, and the pitiful lack of security to allow others to really bring these ideas to fruition. It highlights how little the existence of this show is about telling a story and how it really is just all about Vivienne Medrano having a show.

The writing around Alastor is grossly unfocused and amateur. Husk warns him about the damage Mimzy brings with her, Alastor tells him to mind his business. Then he fixes her issues and tells her she needs to seek redemption or leave. And just like how the song is clearly played as a show to make Alastor appear like he cares, his interaction with Mimzy is (I think) also meant as a show. He doesn’t mean anything of what he says, but it is to just reinforce this facade for Charlie, right? Here’s the thing, I don’t know for sure. Based on the writing, it just feels like odd whiplash. It is a direct contradiction to what he said not minute before and it seems like Medrano wanted it played deceptive, but it lacks all feeling and buildup that it is just flat. If you read duplicity into the scene, your only evidence and reasoning is that nothing makes sense. When the clues to the direction of the story is that nothing is adding up, it’s a child’s concept of deception. It feels like a child telling themselves what they think is clever to some fictional idea of an audience in their head. It feels like a child brainstorming their story and how they will trick their viewers without understanding how human interaction works. And in regards to the idea of it being intentionally meant to be confusing, I can only paraphrase HBomberguy on his video covering the BBC Sherlock: If you don’t give the audience the tools to solve the mystery, you didn’t make a mystery. You are more in love with the character than the story and everything else, including quality, be damned.

The issue with Lucifer saying how Heaven never listened to him makes no sense to his character and story. If anything, he should be on the side of Heaven. HE is the one who didn’t listen, gave humans fee will and now he sees how much they suck. This whole stance he has doesn’t even line up to his own character. The way this should go is “Heaven didn’t listen to me, AND I WAS WRONG.” Like, Heaven and their rules, they were right. Lucifer’s hatred for Sinners is because Heaven was right. He thought they would be creative and loving when free, but he was wrong. They are sadistic, selfish, and cruel. Even in their altruism, they constantly put themselves first. This scene could have redeemed Loser Baby and show how Husk enabled Angel and not actually sought to help. How Husk’s empathy comes from a selfish place of superimposing himself over another person by making any sort of comparison between him and Angel before he shows even a sliver of care. There was so much here you could have fixed if you just had any idea of what story it was you were telling, if any story at all. Is Kaplan still even involved with the script at this point?

I think this episode gave me depression. This song could have been so powerful, but Charlie’s portion is jarring and doesn’t have any context to really comprehend what I am supposed to feel or understand. “Wishing it was me”, Wishing what was you? Wishing what? - Okay mid-typing i think i understood the context and this sucks. She means Lucifer was literally telling he stories and Charlie had an imagination. Like, not stories about his life or heaven, I mean fairytales. And she is literally singing about how, as a kid, she had an imagination. Like that is somehow special? And the reason this is so confusing and poorly placed is because Lucifer is singing about how much he wants to protect her from Heaven. But none of it adds up. He says he did this himself, which alludes to him also trying to redeem sinners and Heaven beat him down for that, when everything else suggests that this idea Charlie has is legitimately new. But the way it tries to combine these ideas completely loses the plot, the character relationships, the motivation, the world building. Angels in the Vivziepop universe have free will. Lucifer had to have free will to gift free will, and it is seen that the other angels choose to conform over stepping outside of that box. So Charlie being Lucifer’s child is not taught imagination, that’s a given and inherent trait of angels. And her whole “you inspired me” portion of this song falls face first flat because… imagination is inherent. It also means that free will is, in fact, just having an imagination. And heaven shows that angels can very much just choose to conform and how free will is a choice, but an imagination isn’t a choice. This just brought the whole suspension of disbelief crashing down. There is so much here to talk about in terms of media literacy and messaging and what is the meaning Medrano is trying to convey, but none of it works and it would be way too long for a live blog. As it is, this one episode has lasted me 2 hours.

Let’s talk credits a moment: Anyone else notice how Stephanie Beatriz is first to be credited? She is the highest paid actor in the show. She charged a lot of money for her very minor role and it shows in order of credits who is credited first. Right after her is Alex Brightman who had three, maybe four, lines throughout the episode. Then Keith David who had about as many lines as Stephanie. Kimiko Glenn is even paid more than the main actress Erika Henningsen, and now you know why she only has about 3 lines per episode. This cast drains the financials of this show and the evidence is front and center at the credits.

I am just so disappointed. Before Lucifer enters the hotel 5/10. After Alastor: 0/10

[hazelnut-u-out]

I think an interesting facet of the storytelling of Rick and Morty is the way that you’re intended to view Rick as a main character. It’s inarguable that both Rick and Morty are the main characters of this show (although, season 6 left Morty feeling a bit neglected, in my opinion). That being said, there are some things that I’ve found interesting regarding the way that Rick is intended to be perceived.

Generally, when you’re consuming a piece of fiction, there is a compulsion to like the main character. At the very least, you’re used to empathizing with them on most things. Now, I’m obviously not trying to say that main characters can’t be bad people. That wouldn’t exactly be a generalizable statement. In fact, I think that it is a marvelous tool in fiction to follow a protagonist who is very obviously doing the wrong thing. Main characters are allowed to be villains.

I guess what I’m getting at here is that I’m used to liking main characters as people (not just their presence on the page or screen, dialogue, or personality) even when they’re consumed by a villain arc. I really loved the tonal shift that took place in the last episode of season 6 of Rick and Morty, because they really challenged me on that. They flipped the script, in a way.

(Disclaimer: I love Rick. I'm just angry with him at the moment.)

I think the only other piece of media I’ve consumed in the genre that I’ve felt executed this same earth-shattering disappointment of being denied a main character you like was Bojack Horseman. Bojack is the main character. He’s funny, charismatic, empathetic, tormented. As the viewer, you want to like him. You’re waiting for a reason to be able to love him, but… it’s never enough. It never comes. No matter how many grand gestures he attempts or how well the groundwork is laid out for a redeemable character, as he says, “You have to be dependably good.”

That fundamental dissonance is something that I can’t help likening to Rick.

All the pieces are there, but he can't quite put them together.

I’ve even found myself waiting for the moment Morty gets to deliver a confrontational monologue to Rick with the same emotional significance of Todd’s.

“You can’t keep doing shitty things, and then feel sorry for yourself like that makes it okay. You have to be better.”

I truly felt, for the first time, that I wasn’t supposed to like Rick. I was supposed to hate him. ‘A Rick in King Mortur’s Mort’ and ‘Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation’ were both episodes told quintessentially from Morty’s perspective. This meant that, of course, I loved Rick’s screen presence, what he offered the narrative, his dialogue, and comedy; but also that I found myself hating him as a person. I was so angry with him.

These were episodes told from the perspective of a victim, but with the gift of adult/outside perspective on the situation, which Morty doesn’t have.

It was truly a brilliantly executed narrative device. As the viewer, I was begging Morty not to go down into that lab. I was urging Morty to realize that none of this is normal or acceptable or something he had to go along with.

On the other hand, Rick is a deeply tormented character that is incredibly easy to empathize with, but it’s very clear that he’s not who you’re meant to be rooting for anymore.

With all of this in context, it makes more sense to me why Morty was pushed to the background to highlight Rick’s growth as a character. It’s a lot easier to empathize with an abuser- to feel bad for them and be on their side- when you’re consuming a narrative about their healing from their warped perspective. It’s a lot easier to like them as a person when you’re not facing the direct consequences of their actions on their victim.

I think that’s why there’s something so eerie about the ending of ‘Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation’ to me. It left me feeling nauseous and anxious; consumed by this anxiety from watching an unknowing child fall victim to circumstance, manipulation, and abuse.

Rick’s drunkenness in that final scene isn’t played for laughs, like in the pilot or ‘The Rickshank Redemption,’ nor is Morty’s hesitance. There’s this harsh reality that he isn’t frantically stumbling and running away in terror, like he did in earlier seasons. Instead, he’s just uncomfortable. This is something he’s used to. His normal is dealing with his grandfather’s drunken, violent mania. His normal is accepting his role- his destiny to be a sidekick.

This shot of Morty’s face is actually what reduced me to tears while watching the finale. There is something so unsettling about this look of, ‘Nothing has changed.’ Something heartbreaking.

Rick’s role is to fuck Morty up, and Morty’s role is to forgive him for it.

And Morty is accepting his role…

For now.

It’s a harsh reality to accept that your beloved protagonist is destined to become a villain, and I can’t help but feel that we’ve rounded a corner with this series where Rick is fated to be the villain in Morty’s story.

Evil Morty and Rick Prime might be the facetious faces of the ‘big bad,’ but I have this sinking feeling that our bad guy has been hiding in plain sight for a long time- whether or not it’s his intention.

[beyondtheegress]

HUGE POST ABOUT EUPHORIA

Euphoria is a crazy ass show

*Disclaimer: these are just my own opinions, and I might discuss spoilers so beware!*

I've seen Euphoria a few times but haven't had the chance to watch it recently. And this recent rewatch has got me thinking.

1) The main thing, the large majority of the reason I like this show is the visuals. You have the admit the actual filmmaking is beautiful. So many shots are visually stunning and iconic. So much creativity was happening surrounding the show, especially in the makeup world. The way the show looks is the main reason I turn it on, just being honest. It's fun brain candy until it makes you want to kill yourself.

2) I think the choice for Rue to verbally narrate was a masterful decision. Of course she can be unreliable within her own story but outside of herself she is generally all-knowing about the other characters' stories; she is sardonic and sometimes provides relief for the audience. I liked it.

3) Honestly the representation was kinda nice. They never actually pointed and screamed that someone may be different from the white heteronormative standards. Everyone just existed and had no real issue with identities. (Nate excluded but we'll get there)

4) I never liked Jules and her inability to ever communicate a single emotion in a non-destructive way. But to be fair they BUTCHERED Jules' character in season two. Cal's whole story is so depressing; just made me sad. Love Maddie, she's so herself I think she's one of the strongest, most sure characters. Cassie really needs therapy. Kat's focus was super weak which was disappointing because she had a really fun personality. I actually really like Lexi, she's the most normal. FEZCO, I love that character; he actually has interesting motives and he's got a good heart.

5) Nate Jacobs. He is so incredibly frightening. His behavior is much more extreme than just feeling repressed. He broke into a man's house, beat him within an inch of his life, showered and dressed in that man's clothes, and then took his gf on a date (who he later physically abuses and puts a gun to her head). He is wired wrong, he enjoys having power over other people and he's dangerous.

6) The music is addictive.

7) The whole second season is absolutely bonkers and makes very little sense. I'm aware there was a lot going on behind the scenes and unfortunately I think that bled through on screen. The second season is just so DISORGANIZED. Characters get forgotten about for extra titty shots, it's kind of obnoxious.

8) Everyday I worry about that big bag of pills and the fact Rue owes an emotionless drug lord thousands. And her mom/friends got riiiiiid of it!!!! That shit is so scary. That was a loose end that desperately needed tying up.

9) WHY the fuck was this set in high school. The age thing was just a plot device and nothing more; it added very little. There's almost zero paternal consequences and how often do you hear any of the characters talk about class or homework?? Like that's all you do in high school. This should have been set in college. Not even to mention the massive amounts of graphic sex that's supposed to be between teenagers. College. Should've been college.

These are just my opinions! It's fun to debrief after watching something that has tons of plot holes, problems, and toxicity.

{This show paired with Bojack Horseman make for grade A emotional self harm 😅}

[spopsalt]

This was a longer post than I expected, spoilers for Bojack Horseman under the cut but for the TLDR: Bojack Horseman is a much better show than spop since it shows trauma realistically, has better humor, better story, know Bojack is a bad person and he gets called out on it.

On the last season of Bojack and it astonishes me on how much better it is when compared to spop, it's great on it's own and when compared to spop, it's a masterpiece! First of all, it actually shows trauma realistically! One example I would like to use is Penny, she was 17 and saw Bojack like a father figure of sorts, she lived with her family for months and trusted Bojack. Everything seemed fine until she propositioned Bojack, Bojack first does the responsible thing and shuts her down. But then he gets rejected by Charlotte, the girl's mother and Bojack's old friend. He doesn't tell her about what Penny tried to do for some reason, long story short they kiss but Charlotte rejects Bojack due to her having a family and Bojack trying to get her to run away with him. He was in a low place and saw Penny on the boat, she asked him again and he said "Go to bed Penny." it seemed like he rejected her again but we came to a horrifying realization. We hear stuff falling and then see Bojack lying down while Penny is undoing his bowtie. This is one of Bojack's lowest moments and it shows Penny's trauma. One example is when Bojack thought she looked fine, and she was, she healed from the trauma, then Bojack showed up again and all the old wounds opened up again. Another example is with Gina, one of Bojack's girlfriends whom he strangled. She is now traumatized whenever someone touches her neck due to that experience. Another one is Hollyhock, Bojack actually wasn't a shitty person here. His mother laced the coffee she drank with drugs and so she overdosed and got sent to the hospital. Later when she visits Bojack and sees medicine in his house she assumes he is trying to drug her, freaks out, and sends them to the trash disposal. I could go on and on but you get my point. We actually get time to see their trauma. Their trauma isn't just ignored or swept to the side for Bojack. And his trauma was shown realistically too! It's amazing how much better Bojack is compared to spop, I understand they are two very different shows, one being an adult cartoon with 6 seasons and another being a kid cartoon with 5 seasons. Now I will give spop some credit. It showed trauma accurately with Adora and Catra but everyone else's trauma gets ignored. That's why I'm so glad we have Bojack. It can be hard to watch at times but it shows it accurately and it is so important. Second of all, it knows Bojack is a bad person and people call him out on it. Many of Bojack's old friends, Diane, Princess Caroline, and Todd have called him out on his behavior. It also shows that abuse is no excuse for being a horrible person when Todd says "It's not your childhood or the shitty things that happen to you in your career it's you." This may seem small but with spop it tries to make everything Catra did okay because she had trauma when that's not the case. Third of all the humor. Now the humor is...ehhh it's ok. It's not the best thing in the world buttt I did laugh more times than I laughed while watching spop so that's good! Last of all. The story, now the story is really good, many of the bad things Bojack did in his past were brought up, and we see him multiple times try to improve himself but it seems like every time he takes one step foward he takes multiple steps back. This is very realistic to how it is. You can try and try but sometimes you end up spiraling by to where you were before. Bojack Horseman is really important and though it can be hard to watch at times, I'm glad it exists.

[itsalsoanoun]

House, MD was the most popular show on TV for a long time, but its early move to Netflix by mail changed the fanbase in a good way that predicated the great changes in the House Renaissance.

Because House is an antihero whose flaws are highlighted by the arc of the show over time more clearly than they are within individual episodes, people's understanding of the show, as it was coming out, was dramatically different if they'd watched it in order vs. watching episodes out of context. Unless they'd started watching at the beginning, most people who had cable either loved or hated the show for character flaws that House's arc meant to criticize. Similarly to Merlin and Lost, I think House MD would have been even more popular at its reception if it had come out a couple years later when streaming was more universal.

Related - House, MD reruns on cable did more harm than good. If people watched an episode of House MD out of context, having never seen the show, they were almost always shocked that I enjoyed it. House only visibly learns a lesson maybe once per season, so first-time viewers didn't know House was an antihero. For all they knew, House could have been a live adaptation of Seth McFarlene's show of the month. A CBS spokesperson, David Poultrack, even blamed the show's 2007 decline in viewership on "continuing storylines" that "viewers fear [that] they may have forgotten" (housemd-guide).

Bojack Horseman explores similar themes with a similarly antiheroic main character to House, but fewer people mistake Bojack for being a good guy - I argue - because there's no way for someone to decontextualize an episode Bojack on accident. No one's first episode is (made up example) S15e8.

When I finally convinced (a minority of) my friends who'd previously criticized the show to watch House MD in order, even the ones who didn't love it understood why I did. Netflix wasn't popular in my area until idk, maybe season 5 or 6 was coming out on cable? and that shift to streaming services has only benefitted the show's reception over time.

My family was extremely early to adopt Netflix (and rip the contents of the DVDs to keep lmao) and the House Renaissance on tumblr is both nostalgic and rejuvenating. It's exactly what I wanted so badly as a kid when the show was coming out - a community of people who love House MD as much as I do, and understand the grander story for what it is 🥰

[insufferableprotagonistpoll]

Propaganda why Bojack Horseman is insufferable:

I get that him being insufferable is a big part of the show and I think that it's done very well but that still means he sucks. He has done so many shitty things to do many people throughout his life, but a lot of the time, he refuses to take proper accountability for it, either finding a way to deflect or, what I feel is more frequent, just accepting that he's a shitty person for it and wallowing in self hate instead of properly working on himself. Season 6 is thankfully a point where he properly decides to change, but he does still suck a lot beforehand, and those tendencies are still part of him, causing them to be put on display later (ie. The second Xerox of a.Xerox interview). He's just somebody who fucks people over and takes a long time to be willing to change enough to not fuck the next person in his life over

Weirdo groomer who uses his trauma (and status in Hollywood) as an excuse to be an awful person and expects to just be cool with the crap he pulls.

Yikes!!

look. i get the point is that he's fucked up & selfish & makes bad decisions, & i know later in the show there's lots more introspection and its supposed to get really deep & stuff, but i had to stop watching in the first season because i couldn't stand him being on screen

literally ruins the lives of everyone around him

Propaganda why Walter White is insufferable:

It annoys me to watch this man succeed despite majorly messing up all the time in ways that would get him caught/killed. The premise of his character is interesting enough: a very intelligent man so completely drenched in toxic masculinity and pride that he continuously sabotages himself and ends up in ethical dilemmas because he couldn't accept help. I usually like villain protagonists and complex characters who girlboss too close to the sun, but after Walter fully embraces his role as a career criminal he becomes so one-dimensional I can't seem to care about his problems anymore. (The other characters really carry the show.) Also it feels unrealistic how much everyone lets him get away with for "being smart" and that nobody hates him enough to turn him in.

everything is wrong about him. truly the most insufferable mc ive ever seen and there still are people who think he's a good role model

literally if he could've just gotten over himself for 15 seconds the whole show would've been moot. horror show of a man.

[bojackhorsemanobviously]

I watched bojack in 2022 here are my thoughts on the show in honor of the s1 anniversary

BJ/Sarah lynn: Yeah i saw that coming a mile away it didnt gross me out like a lot of othersbut. it sure was weird cause every flashback he saw as what 8 years old? weird. i don't consider it nonconsenual as it felt s5 tried to imply, cause sarah lynn is a fully grown adult but man it was def weird / also through most of it bojack was a complete sucker/.. but man the woodyallenvibesbestrongheresigh

didn't like PB/Diane on rewatches how he goes about throwing a big party after knowing diane hates them when she says YES: Big Red Flag.

am i wrong for thinking that the show doesn't give enough agency to some of the women characters, cause Jessica Biel was just insane im not gonna pin it all on PB for why that relationship soured, katrina i got feel more for but ms cannibal justnahfam. and screw ana/angela too. him going to seek closure from his abuser will always be gross..

I was mad at bojack for 2 days after the penny episode. Bojack Chris hanson wants a word with you.

And yet I still want to hug him whenver I see his sad horsy face.

I didn't like the reporter stitx shrugs.. seeing bojack also get better only for it tocrash down was a bummer to watch..

its intersting how he treats his life as a sitcom tho even up till season 6 the many faces of depression/ escape to LA/ Prickly Muffin/Too much man.. boy tries so hard to life a sitcom life of course its gonna blow up in his face.

Notice how Todd however getts to mostly live a zany sitcom life?

Hank the hippo makes me eye more than just bill cobsy

sarah lynn/sobs at jenneate and all the abuse in hollywood in general glad the kids are doing sober tho.. as miley/lindsey /britney are doing well..

sharona never should have given bojack that spiked orange juice

watching bojack in his 30s/50s near angela im just, man this guy has ZERO backbone its sad

PB: gay for Bojack

Fav quotes: This penis has been inside this vagina

Everyone Deserves to be Loved

Made me cry ugly tears: Bojerb/ Bodiane

Hate: Beatrice horseman

fav: Bojack probably obvious.

fav episode: I think bojack hates the troops is pretty funny.

its cool how his flashbacks have a sitcom vibe to it.

I feel i try to border on not excusing bojack but understanding how itcan be so hard to be anything than what he became cause his parents gave zero love zero esteem and he was set up to fail at relationships. clearly he hatese himself bec too bad for him ne bascially became his parents alcholicsm, advantage of women, insulting hisson i mean friend Todd similar to how bea treated him.

I don't like the plot for sarah lynn death as i feel its take to much responbility off a adult women who had a wall full of drugs , found the heroin and took it of her own free will.. and prefer the ide of bojack being at fault for just being a enabler..

sarah lynn predicated it well that she would hang out with enablers and die young, speaking of enablers im annoyed at pc for inviting bojack to her buisness party and trying to get him back in the hollywood spotlight like why girl just why??

love todd/bojacks ending it was very sweet

i suppose thats all i have to say ... this is just a ramble of my scrambled brain thoughts of the show.. xd.

[thediamondarcher]

hey you like Bojack Horseman right. well a few months ago i watched the first 3 aand a half seasons and two days ago i started watching again and now ive finished it. what do i do now

I'm so happy more people are watching BoJack :')

and I don't really think you want my advice on what you should do because the first time i finished the last episode i literally started to play the first episode of season one all over again while crying (i had to pause the last scene many times because i started crying, then paused it, then stopped crying, then playing it again and then starting it again. and this happened like 6 times...)

[atlantus]

MY TOP 10+ SHOWS BELOW THE READ MORE- I CANT SLEEP AND I WROTE THIS LIST FOR A FRIEND LAST WEEK AND IM POASTING IT

I feel like it's too complicated to make a favorites list, because some of my favorite things are objectively bad. A lot of factors were considered when judging: whether it's good, made well, acted well, written well had a strong clear poignant message, the artistry, the craft of story telling, characters, whether i enjoyed myself watching it, etc. I feel like I could have made a top comedy or animation or sitcom or whatver list but these are my FAVORITES what I think is the best thing ever

1. The Good Place

2. Avatar the Last Airbender

3. Community*

4. Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

5. Grace and Frankie

6. Workin’ Moms

7. Sense8^

8. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

9. Insatiable **

10. The Politician**

11. The Magicians**

12. Kim's Convenience

13. Veep %

14. Schitts Creek

15. FUTURAMA

16. GLOW

17. Kevin Can Fuck Himself ##

18. Carol and the End of the World

19. Malcolm in the Middle

20. Galavant ++^

21. After Life<

22. Bojack Horseman

23. Killing Eve

24. Orange is the New Black

25. Raising Hope ^

26. Scrubs

27. Wakfu

*perhaps it's not as good as the others right behind it like production wise or story wise but it's hard to compare everything. Community won out bc it's funny cinsistently, I even like the bad seasons,

**would be higher if it was actually good, like these can't beat all these other amazing fucking shows. I love Magicians more than Insatiable and The Politician (and a lot of other things), but they are objectively better shows, everything, writing, acting, production, everything. since community slotted so high, I had to move some of these treasures lower

++I thought this would be higher

^I bet if more of this was made it would rank higher

##new obsession alert! Fan-fucking-tastic take on the genre, I bet it will move up over time. I just watch it for the first time last month and I've watched the rest of these shows multiple times (I love rewatching and rereading)

<I know it's ricky gervais but this is one of the most beautiful and accurate portrayals of grief and the anger that accompanies it that I have ever seen and it has me dying of laughter everytime I watch it. Would rank higher if he wasn't such a hateful man but it really taints the message of the show.

%would win top comedy, but this is my list of favorites?

[8-evil-annoying-catboys]

i like how what diane has to say at the premiere of philbert in s5ep10 of bojack horseman was clearly a meta comment about bojack horseman and irl people’s reactions to it and how the show says time and time again how bojack is an awful person over and over again, who repeatedly gets people hurt or even killed in sarah lynn’s case and yet there are still men who watch this show and identify with him and completely miss the point of what the show is actually trying to say about him. even through season 6 and him finally getting help. and i feel like… like, the show doesn’t want you to think that bojack is past the point of no return. they repeatedly hammer in the idea that there IS no point of no return. no matter how many awful things you do, you can always choose to be a better person than you were yesterday, and you SHOULD. and they acknowledge that “being good,” reliably striving to be the best, most kind and compassionate version of yourself, is HARD WORK, but it’s worth it. it takes work and it takes a whole lot of social support to maintain. we see in season 6 that a lack of that support can cause someone to fall back into old habits fast and hard. i think season 6 provides a really succinct critique of the way that society views addicts and the stigma surrounding addiction, without glamorising drug abuse either. it’s implied through characters like todd that drug use in moderation isn’t inherently unhealthy, but the show CLEARLY demonstrates that once you hit a certain point, you have to control yourself. the show hammers in the idea that you have free will and you NEED to exercise it to be as kind as you possibly can not just for the benefit of those around you, but for your own benefit, too. and yet there are STILL people who watch this show and miss all that, because they just think bojack himself is so funny and relatable, and “we’ve all done terrible things… we’re all terrible, and therefore we’re all okay.” which is NOT true or the point of the show. but so many people watch TV without trying to analyse it even the slightest bit, and so they believe that line is true because bojack, the ~main character~ of this story, said it. but there’s like 5 consistent main characters in this show and bojack is the only one who is truly a fucking villain. and the saddest thing is seeing it made clear that he consistently CHOOSES to be a villain, and then seeing fans relate to him who think that making bad choices is an immutable law of their nature as a person.

[interestingturnofthetables]

Am I crazy or does BoJack Horseman feel like a Hollywoo(d) AU of HouseMD?

I had this thought during season 6 of House as a joke but since then I’ve kept thinking about it more seriously. There’s a strange amount of similarities, especially in the main character’s roles and arcs throughout the series.

I’m sure I don’t need to point out the similarities between House and BoJack. I’ve you’ve see both shows you’ll know. (If you haven’t seen both shows you should watch them)

There definitely no way that all the other characters equal out to each other but I’m certain that

Princess Caroline = Cuddy

Dianne = Wilson

and I can’t be sure but I have a feeling deep in my soul that

3. Mr Penutbutter is Chase (this one is for sure a loose tie and idk who the other fellows would match up with exactly. they’re more a conglomeration of BoJack’s ‘enablers’ or other acquaintances ig. Mr PB just reminds me of season 1-3 Chase. Plus he’s blond so. There’s that)

They’ve both got the mid/late series rehab arcs and the end of series prison plot line. Both have their main character’s best friend (Wilson/Dianne) who’s been a people pleaser to the main characters destructive behaviours through the whole series finally do/decide something for themselves at the end of the shows. (They also both end with shots of these 2 together. But that’s more just a long-term show finale thing ig)

‘Hollyhock being BoJack’s half sister’ is kind of ‘House’s dad not actually being his biological dad’ coded imo. It’s in the same ballpark of twists that affect how the main character views their fathers.

Cuddy and her adopted daughter Rachel? Princess Caroline and her adopted daughter Ruthie. With the other coincidences in similar storyline’s this one is just a little crazy to me ig.

The only main BoJack character I can’t figure out is Todd. He partly reminds me of Wilson but Dianne makes a lot more sense for reasons I’m not bothered to explain in a silly goofy tumbl. He could be another jumble of House’s fellows but that personality of Todd’s is very unique compared to any House characters and im willing to call it an AU’s use of creative liberties.