The telescope episode was what clicked with me. I was quite enjoying Bojack before episode 8 but that episode was...man, that was when the show went from being entertaining to incredible.

I don’t think Bojack is really a show where you can cherry pick episodes to watch. Each season has its own specific emotional arc, and there’s a lot of subtle and gradual character work that accumulates slowly and builds to emotionally explosive finishes. I think you miss out on that well-honed plotting and…

One of the things that makes BoJack such a great show is that he’s never let off the hook for his terrible behaviour.

And honestly, even the pilot is pretty funny on a rewatch.

The show definitely saved going really dark for later, but that’s not a bad thing. I think it works that the show starts off pretty vapid, before kicking you in the urethra. That way the urethra kick is far more powerful.

I don’t think that anyone thinks that Bojack is a “Deep Person” and if they do they are severely misguided. It indicts his actions and behavior while showing that there aren’t always easy answers to things and also showing the true scope of what depression can be like.

since streaming series were still something review sites were sorting out in those days

Yeah, I was actually hooked on Bojack when I watched the first episode, and I watched the series after all the “hype”. I think the pilot did a good job of setting-up Bojack’s character, miserable & all.

I think what I appreciate the most about this show is how thoroughly it delves into Bojack’s issues—his depression, addiction, narcissism—without ever handwaving the awfulness of his individual decisions, or implying that his mental illness/health negates how toxic he can be to other people. Much of that is also…

I’ve already communicated my thoughts on the matter above, but watch the first season. It gels after a bit. And even if you don’t like it, it beats posting on Kinja.

Yeah, it took a few episodes to find its stride, for sure, but after that, whoa. It’s consistently one of the smartest, cleverest, funniest, and darkest shows I watch. It isn’t for everyone, but if you can handle questioning your entire self-worth over and over while watching anthropomorphic animals and humans…

It’s also easy to see how quickly the show could have never evolved beyond its origins. A lot of shows begin from the same sort of post-modern, nihilistic POV. It’s easy in hindsight to catch elements of greatness to come, but it certainly wasn’t inevitable by any stretch.

Bojack is a show that I found right when I needed it most. Such an insanely, surprisingly good series. It takes the best traits of Arrested Development and Archer (silly yet deep characterizations, rich world-building, inside jokes INSIDE OF inside jokes, call-backs upon call-backs and foreshadowing future jokes), yet…

I think the first couple of episodes of Bojack don’t gel on their own; if it was a weekly the ratings drop would have been horrendous. I think that it’s the sort of thing were later episodes actually make the old ones better via context; upon rewatch they always work better.

The pilot is bad, but the series course corrects as early as episode 2. I was a fan right from the start and was really confused by the critical reaction,it seemed like none of the reviews at the time (and to a large extent, the audience reaction) went deeper than that pilot.

It’s definitely one of those things like Agents of SHIELD where you can look back and appreciate its humble origins once you realize what they were aiming for or heading towards the whole time. Those early episodes are definitely not the peak of either show but they are definitely more interesting and pallatable in…

Oh man, I did not notice the “Diane lives in Los Angeles with a dog” line before. That’s great.

Bojack is a wonderful show that eases into its greatness rather than starting out strong. I was initially put off by early mixed reviews and was genuinely disarmed by how affecting it got late in the season.

I remember the contemporary reviews absolutely brutalized the first couple episodes. I admit it stumbled a bit out of the gate, and I’ve never liked to accuse a writer of not “getting” a piece of entertainment as a means of justifying my own enjoyment. But man, the AV Club just did not get Bojack at all in the…

I won’t forget the AV Club shitting on <i>Bojack Horseman</i> very early and, this review feels like a like try to soften/validate those early reviews. Personally, I think that first episode works really well. I don’t think Bojack really improved so much as we, the viewers, learned how to appreciate it. We were…