Rating: 5/5
Bojack Horseman is constantly controversial in my mind- I flop between hating him because he’s an asshole, to feeling terrible for him because his life is falling apart, before I realise that’s entirely his fault and flop back to the first opinion, but nothing conflicted me more than season two, episode 11: Escape from L.A. The whole episode follows him as he basically grooms the daughter (Penny) of his ex-girlfriend, Charlotte. The episode received widespread acclaim, and leaves Bojack in a difficult spot, as well as leading on to a number of events later on in the series. The way that the grooming plays out through the episode is expertly done- weaved in to look like normal Bojack/friend of parent behaviour, before becoming increasingly more manipulative and concerning until the final, ill-fated moment. Penny’s willingness to cooperate is directly associated with the self-esteem boost provided by Bojack treating her like an adult (one of the major hallmarks of grooming). Other methods of grooming are seamlessly added in, with them keeping a number of “little secrets” together, and repeated phrases like “you’re so grown up for your age” and “you look just like your mother” helping Bojack to bring Penny further into his trap. The question of whether this was intentional is up for debate- he could have just been lonely, and found Penny as a source of comfort in his chaotic life, but even that does not excuse his behaviour at the end of the episode. Although the animation feels like it draws away from the seriousness of the topic, Netflix still does a five-star job of handling it, and makes their star even more of an asshole that everyone hates. Despite this, the viewer is still left with hope for him; as no matter how disgustingly he behaves, there might always be room for redemption.
