Bojack Horseman 1x2 ❲No Sign-up❳

The episode ends with BoJack delivering a half-hearted, sarcastic apology on air, then immediately undoing it by calling the troops "dummies." He loses. But the audience is left feeling that maybe, just maybe, the system is the real problem. "Bojack Hates the Troops" is the episode that told early viewers: This is not a show about a funny horse. This is a show about a depressed intellectual who happens to be a horse.

This is the core thesis of the episode—and perhaps the entire series. The modern media landscape doesn't allow for "and." It only allows for "or." You are either with the troops or against them. You are either a hero or a villain. BoJack, the depressed nihilist, tries to exist in the gray area, and he is crucified for it. What makes this episode brilliant is that BoJack is unambiguously correct. The show goes out of its way to make Neal a petty, entitled jerk. Yet, the audience in the studio boos BoJack. His agent, Princess Carolyn, advises him to apologize. Even Diane, the intellectual love interest who agrees with him privately, tells him publicly that he is wrong. BoJack Horseman 1x2

The topic? BoJack publicly criticized a film where Navy SEALs shoot innocent civilians. In the clip, BoJack muttered, "Ugh, don’t they know the troops are the good guys?" The media spins this into "BoJack Horseman hates the troops." The episode ends with BoJack delivering a half-hearted,

But because Neal is in uniform, he is untouchable. Mr. Peanutbutter, the consummate host, shuts down BoJack’s logic with a devastatingly simple rebuttal: "You can't just say 'I'm pro-military, but I didn't like that movie.' You have to pick a side." This is a show about a depressed intellectual