This fact breaks people. Humans will worry about death for their entire lives. And why shouldn't they? It's the end, after which comes the unknown. No one knows what happens when you die, but leaving this earth scares us. So we believe something actually happens when you die - you go to heaven, a paradise similar to earth, or you become reborn.
What probably happens when you die is similar to our personal experiences of the year 1856. Nothing. Everything ends.
But for Bojack Horseman, and for many others, he doesn't want his life to end, especially not at this point in it. So, he imagines closure. His brain has a lucid dream where he meets all his dead friends, and they tell him they forgive him. They all leave him, and prepare him for his turn. It's a pretty good way to go out, given the event itself.
But this closure isn't real. Bojack is drowning in a pool, and there is an overwhelmingly large chance that he is going to die. The View From Halfway Down, as expected from Bojack-level writing, expertly hints at the real outcome of this episode. He can't remember what's happening, a black-as-death liquid keeps dripping on his head, his food and water taste like chlorine, he is with those who have already died, a bird dying before leaving a house is an omen of death, and so on and so forth. Even more clever details are dropped as special little Easter eggs: the paintings are all from different places, and behind more warped as time passed; Bojack takes Sarah Lynn to the house, much like he took her to her death; and, for an extra kicker, it is revealed he is drowning 17 minutes in - exactly how long he waited while Sarah Lynn was dying before calling an ambulance.
At the same time, the content itself is brilliant - a final, grandiose goodbye to those who died, and phenomenal conversations on death, legacy and true selflessness between wonderfully charismatic and engaging personalities (all made up in Bojack's head), as well as the haunting portrayal of Bojack's impending and terrifying doom. Herb is awesome, Sarah Lynn is tragic, Zach Braff is hilarious, and Secretariat/Butterscotch Horseman is endlessly interesting. And that poem, man, that is absolutely impeccable.
Bojack still lives, though. Watching through to the end credits shows this - his heart is still beating. Whether that's what he deserved or not is obviously left up to discussion, but I still like how we're given reasons that he should live - he is remorseful, he holds himself accountable for mistakes, and as the final phone call makes clear, he just wants to know that his loved ones are ok. I'm absolutely fine with Bojack living on, and giving my one of my favourite final episodes of all time.
Bojack Horseman will still die. But he has time to make his life good again. And maybe, just maybe, it'll finally work.
Review by CookieGodBlockedParentSpoilers2021-05-10T12:49:00Z
We're all going to die.
This fact breaks people. Humans will worry about death for their entire lives. And why shouldn't they? It's the end, after which comes the unknown. No one knows what happens when you die, but leaving this earth scares us. So we believe something actually happens when you die - you go to heaven, a paradise similar to earth, or you become reborn.
What probably happens when you die is similar to our personal experiences of the year 1856. Nothing. Everything ends.
But for Bojack Horseman, and for many others, he doesn't want his life to end, especially not at this point in it. So, he imagines closure. His brain has a lucid dream where he meets all his dead friends, and they tell him they forgive him. They all leave him, and prepare him for his turn. It's a pretty good way to go out, given the event itself.
But this closure isn't real. Bojack is drowning in a pool, and there is an overwhelmingly large chance that he is going to die. The View From Halfway Down, as expected from Bojack-level writing, expertly hints at the real outcome of this episode. He can't remember what's happening, a black-as-death liquid keeps dripping on his head, his food and water taste like chlorine, he is with those who have already died, a bird dying before leaving a house is an omen of death, and so on and so forth. Even more clever details are dropped as special little Easter eggs: the paintings are all from different places, and behind more warped as time passed; Bojack takes Sarah Lynn to the house, much like he took her to her death; and, for an extra kicker, it is revealed he is drowning 17 minutes in - exactly how long he waited while Sarah Lynn was dying before calling an ambulance.
At the same time, the content itself is brilliant - a final, grandiose goodbye to those who died, and phenomenal conversations on death, legacy and true selflessness between wonderfully charismatic and engaging personalities (all made up in Bojack's head), as well as the haunting portrayal of Bojack's impending and terrifying doom. Herb is awesome, Sarah Lynn is tragic, Zach Braff is hilarious, and Secretariat/Butterscotch Horseman is endlessly interesting. And that poem, man, that is absolutely impeccable.
Bojack still lives, though. Watching through to the end credits shows this - his heart is still beating. Whether that's what he deserved or not is obviously left up to discussion, but I still like how we're given reasons that he should live - he is remorseful, he holds himself accountable for mistakes, and as the final phone call makes clear, he just wants to know that his loved ones are ok. I'm absolutely fine with Bojack living on, and giving my one of my favourite final episodes of all time.
Bojack Horseman will still die. But he has time to make his life good again. And maybe, just maybe, it'll finally work.