Summary
- Bojack proves he's not a monster by saving a wedding, returning a baby seahorse, and ing Todd's asexuality.
- The show never held back on consequences for Bojack's actions, but he showed internal growth throughout.
- Bojack's moments of redemption prove he's capable of doing good, even though he was held able for his bad deeds.
Throughout the course of Bojack Horseman's turning point, but there were other times when Bojack truly tried and succeeded at being a good person.
Bojack Horseman is considered Bojack Horseman because of how self-destructive and selfish he could be, but he had his fair share of noble deeds. While Bojack would pay the piper for what he had done, Bojack had shown some internal growth as a person throughout the show.
10 Fixes An Engagement He Almost Broke
Season 3, Episode 5, "Love And/Or Marriage"
Bojack unintentionally makes a bride reconsider her marriage to her wife-to-be after his cliché speech about love completing people. To save the wedding, Bojack comforts her by telling her that she should settle while finding someone she's attached to, or she'll risk becoming lonelier and more miserable as she ages, which features one of Bojack Horseman's saddest quotes. While the speech makes Bojack realize how alone he truly is, his words save the wedding. Bojack could have said Tenishia's cold feet weren't his problem since she chose to have second thoughts, but Bojack was willing to bum himself out to save a marriage.
9 Returning A Baby Seahorse To His Father
Season 3, Episode 4, "Fish Out Of Water"
While doing a tour for Secretariat during the Pacific Ocean Film Festival, Bojack suddenly finds himself stuck between a rock and a hard place when he's left alone with a baby seahorse underwater with no idea where he is. From there on out, Bojack does everything in his power to help and protect the baby seahorse in his efforts to return him to his dad while not being able to speak. Bojack ultimately succeeds in the mostly dialogue-less episode, but in one of the sadder twists, he realizes he felt nothing inside when it was all over. Even though he wasn't rewarded for his good deed, Bojack did something he knew was right.
8 Wants To Do Kelsey's New Movie After Getting Her Fired
Season 3, Episode 8, "Old Acquaintance"
Bojack had always felt guilty for inadvertently getting Kelsey Jannings fired when all they wanted to do was make the dream Secretariat movie they wanted. Bojack gets his chance when he lets Kelsey know that he's onboard for her new movie Jelle Belle, a movie that will feel real, as she put it. While it doesn't end well, Bojack, for once, does more than say he is sorry. He actually earnestly tries to make amends with someone he unintentionally wronged. Even though their time working together was brief, Bojack felt a strong enough connection that he jumped at the first chance to work with her again.
7 s Todd's Asexuality
Season 4, Episode 3, "Hooray! Todd Episode!"
Bojack is among the first people whom Todd confides in regarding his asexuality. Desperately wanting to make amends with Todd, Bojack lets Todd know that it's okay for him to be asexual. While Todd lets Bojack know that he still hurt him, he reveals how good it feels to be open about being asexual after Bojack's encouragement. Even though the two weren't on the best , Bojack's helps Todd pursue his sexual orientation. This would not be the last time Bojack would help Todd out in his dating game.
6 Tells Hollyhock Her Inner Negative Thoughts Will Go Away
Season 4, Episode 6, "Stupid Piece of S***"
After spending the day dwelling in self-hatred thoughts, Bojack hears from Hollyhock that she, too, has a voice in her head that tells her negative things in one of Bojack Horseman's saddest moments. When she asks if those thoughts go away as she ages, Bojack assures her that they do. Sure, it's based on a lie, but Bojack does this because he doesn't want what he thought was his daughter to not end up like him.
5 Tells Todd How Much He Means To Him
Season 2, Episode 12, "Out to Sea"
Just as Todd is about to escape the improv cult with Bojack's help, the cult leader Copernicus reminds Todd of what Bojack has done to him over the years. When it looks like Todd is thinking it over, Bojack gives an impromptu speech about why Todd is his best friend, convincing him to go with Bojack. At this point, Bojack had already been treating Todd better, but this was the first time he truly let Todd know how much he valued him.
4 Agreeing To Do Philbert After Princess Carolyn Forced His Signature
Season 4, Episode 12, "What Time Is It Right Now?"
Even though they had cut ties, Princess Carolyn forces Bojack's signature in the heat of the moment after the show Philbert happens to share the same name as her miscarried child, risking her career. When she tells him what she's done, he decides to do the show despite not knowing anything about it. Princess Carolyn has a laundry list of how often she stuck her neck out for Bojack. Bojack returning the favor for once showed he truly cared about her. After doing so, he even encourages her to pursue being a mother, as he knows firsthand how good of a mom she would be.
3 Finding An Asexual Partner For Todd
Season 6, Episode 7, "The Face of Depression"
Todd may have been one of the people that Bojack hurt the most, but even after Todd has kept his distance from him, Bojack wanted to do right by him. Knowing that Todd is asexual, Bojack refers a cashier who he deduced shared Todd's sexual orientation to Todd's asexual app. Bojack is on a quest to make amends with the people he hurt over the years, and Todd benefits the most from it. Todd finds the love of his life because of Bojack. While the two would never become best friends like before, Bojack truly wanted to make Todd happy for how loyal he was despite Bojack's abuse.
2 Finding Hollyhock's Mother
Season 4, Episode 12, "What Time Is It Right Now?"
The big mystery in season 4 was discovering who Hollyhock's mom was. It was revealed in the previous episode that Hollyhock was, in fact, not Bojack's daughter, but his half-sister. When Bojack finally gets a clue about who her mother is, not only does Bojack figure out his half-sister's real parentage, but he also gets her mother's info so that Hollyhock will get in touch. Above all else though, Bojack doesn't even want to take credit for it, as he just wants Hollyhock to get closure. His actions can be attributed to Hollyhock being happy, like any big brother would.
1 Choosing To Comfort His Senile Mother In Their Last Moment
Season 4, Episode 11, "Time's Arrow"
Bojack had long-standing and understandable contempt for his abusive mother, Beatice. In fact, when he found out she wasn't going to live much longer due to her Alzheimer's, he originally planned to cuss her out the first moment she snapped out of her Alzheimer's, even if it was for a brief moment. When Bojack finally gets his shot when Beatrice terrifyingly asks him what's happening, he makes up a fake setting to comfort her in one of Bojack Horseman's saddest episode endings. Despite the fact that Beatrice inflicted more damage on Bojack than anyone, he decides to make one of his final moments with his mother a peaceful one.
Bojack realized over time that being a good person requires effort, which wasn't exactly for him to do, but he was at times willing to do it. In the end, the bad deeds Bojack outweighed the good, but the amount of good Bojack did prove he wasn't beyond redemption. Even though Bojack was rightfully held able for his actions in Bojack Horseman, he showed that he was clearly capable of doing good when given the chance.
Bojack Horseman can be streamed on Netflix.
