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Intermediate Scene Study w/ BoJack Horseman is the ninth episode of Season 6 of the Netflix original series BoJack Horseman, and the 69th episode overall. It premiered with the rest of Part 2 of Season 6 on January 31, 2020.
Synopsis[]
When BoJack starts teaching an acting class at Wesleyan, Hollyhock puts some boundaries on their relationship.
Plot[]
BoJack is seen rehearsing his first lecture at Wesleyan University in the mirror. He then leaves his room and rides his bike to the lecture hall. In the classroom, he writes his name on the board and continues to practice.
There is a cut to BoJack's first day of class where he introduces himself to his new students. He proceeds to ask the class what is acting and everyone raises their hands at once. BoJack calls on a few of them and they each give their interpretation of what acting is.
A student named Helena expresses concern that the class is becoming too theoretical and another student asks him what acting is. BoJack acts like he doesn't know what acting is and then pretends to be leaving the class in defeat. He then turns around and tells them he's not quitting, he was just acting. He then tells the class they are dismissed and a student points out there is an hour and twenty minutes left in the lecture. He then once again tells them he was acting. A different student tells BoJack he sounded serious. BoJack retorts that instead of judging his acting, he should judge the students instead.
Tawnie then suggests they could show him the scenes they were working on in the previous semester. The students then show him their scenes and he gives them pointers of where they need to improve. They wind up working overtime and being twenty minutes late to their next class. BoJack then dismisses them for the day.
In BoJack's office, he is talking to a student named Whitfield. He tells Whitfield they've been in class for six weeks and questions him on how it has been going. Whitfield says he thinks he's crushing class so far. BoJack tells him he admires his confidence but, he should take other classes besides acting as a safety net in case acting doesn't work out. Whitfield misunderstands and tells BoJack he will prove to him that he is a wonderful actor. BoJack simply shrugs and says okay to this.
Later, when BoJack is at an AA meeting, Whitfield shows up with a shopping cart filled with bottles of alcohol. He tells the people at the meeting he is a drunk. BoJack for a second believes Whitfield is an alcoholic, and says he had no idea. Whitfield says alcohol took everything from him. BoJack finally realizes Whitfield is trying to impress him by acting. BoJack apologizes to the other people at the meeting explaining Whitfield is one of his students. Whitfield continues to act while BoJack says this performance is disrespectful to those who are at the AA meeting to get help. Whitfield concludes his performance and the AA members applaud.
At a rugby game, BoJack cheers on Hollyhock, who is playing, from the stands. BoJack sees women tossing women in the game and doesn't understand that is how the game is played. Another spectator in the stands explains that is how the game is supposed to be played. After the game, BoJack congratulates Hollyhock on playing really well. She tells him he doesn't have to come if it's not his thing. BoJack says he's happy to support her and she reiterates it's okay if they are doing different things. BoJack asks if Hollyhock wants to get something to eat.
Hollyhock tells him she is going to a bar with friends to celebrate since her team won the game. BoJack offers to come along, and she tells him he shouldn't since there will be alcohol and underage girls there. He questions what that has to do with anything and Hollyhock simply responds that she is stating a fact. BoJack tells Hollyhock she's cool and she thanks him as she walks off.
In class, BoJack asks Tawnie if she understands why Hollyhock is now into playing rugby. Tawnie tells him she doesn't get it and Hollyhock became super aggressive after spring break and decided that rugby was what she was all about. Tawnie asks BoJack what they can do about that. BoJack tells her that he is going to get on board with Hollyhock playing rugby.
At another game, BoJack continues to cheer Hollyhock on. He learns what a "try" means in rugby from the Snowy Owl.
Later, he is seen reading up on the sport to understand how it's played. He goes to cheer Hollyhock on for several more games.
Unbeknownst to BoJack, Hollyhock has quit the team all of a sudden. He finds out and goes to her dorm and confronts her by asking her why. She replies she has realized she is in college to learn and wants to focus on school. BoJack then protests rugby was their thing. Hollyhock retorts her thing should be being a student and his thing should be being a professor. BoJack questions if she's feeling okay. She hesitantly tells him she'll be at his showcase before shutting the door.
In his office, BoJack gets a call from his accountant Gaz. Gaz tells him he noticed BoJack spent a lot of money on rehab last year. Gaz then suggests BoJack will be fine if he makes another movie. BoJack says he's not working on another movie as he is now a college professor. Gaz sounding shocked asks him if he hates money. Gaz then suggests unloading some assets and suggests BoJack sells Elefante.
BoJack says he'd love to get rid of Elefante but he doesn't know who'd buy it.
At Mr. Peanutbutter's house, Mr. Peanutbutter is explaining to Pickles and Joey Pogo his plan for getting even with Pickles so that Mr. Peanutbutter and Pickles can get married. Mr. Peanutbutter then gets a phone call with an offer to buy Elefante. Joey offers to go into business with him and Mr. Peanutbutter takes the offer.
In class, BoJack tells Terry he can't use an old man's voice for every character. Terry explains the voice is his gimmick. BoJack says that in show business they cast real old men to play old men characters. Terry then runs out of the room telling BoJack he'll show him. BoJack tells him not to and that they still have twenty minutes of class left.
At BoJack's AA meeting, Terry walks in and starts doing his old man routine. BoJack once again explains that Terry is one of his acting students trying to impress him and apologizes for it. Whitfield then comes in and joins the act, pretending to be Terry's son. Terry then hugs Whitfield concluding their act and the AA members applaud them.
Later, in class, BoJack has Princess Carolyn teach the class the business side of acting. The students ask her various questions about getting discovered. A student named Stan, who was sitting in the back, and the only one not asking a question catches the eye of Princess Carolyn.
After class, Princess Carolyn asks BoJack about Stan and tells him she thinks he's got the looks and potential. She then tells BoJack she wants to sign Stan and BoJack counters he needs to finish school as he is a Sophomore. Princess Carolyn states this is perfect because he's a legal adult who looks young and therefore can play roles that other young actors can't because they keep going to rehab or getting in legal trouble.
BoJack once again states he thinks it's a bad idea. Princess Carolyn then says they should let Stan decide for himself.
In BoJack's office, Princess Carolyn tells Stan she wants to be his manager. BoJack tells him L.A.'s not going anywhere and that he needs school to keep him grounded. Princess Carolyn tells him he has a great opportunity and he's done with school. BoJack tells Stan that one day he'll realize that these were the last days he was truly free and in the brutal world of show business there is nothing to protect him. Princess Carolyn tells him he will get a Birthday Dad jacket for being in the show.
BoJack once again tells him the campus is a safe space and that throughout his whole career he wanted to get someplace like where they are and he didn't know it and not to make the same mistake he did. Princess Carolyn then offers Stan a chair with his name on it. He then gets excited and runs over to Princess Carolyn who tells him he's a good boy and they are getting his teeth fixed.
Todd is walking with Ruthie around campus where he passes by a female student in a lab coat who is standing by a table with marshmallows. In a lab, the student puts a marshmallow on a plate in front of Ruthie. Todd eats the marshmallow. The student explains the marshmallow was for Ruthie. The student explains that if Ruthie abstains from eating the marshmallow for fifteen minutes she'll receive a bigger reward than the marshmallow.
Todd then calls his girlfriend Maude and asks what he should do with the marshmallow. She advises him to eat it, as he doesn't know what the world will be like in fifteen minutes. Todd then eats the marshmallow. He then calls Maude again realizing what he did. Maude suggests going to the cafeteria for a new one. Todd rejects this idea and asks Maude what marshmallows are made of. She tells him she thinks they are made of chemicals.
Todd then decides to take Ruthie to the chemistry lab where he bursts in on a male chemistry student. The student tells Todd he is trying to cure brain cancer. Todd then tells him that's not important right now and if he doesn't produce a new marshmallow a psychiatrist will get mad at Ruthie. The student then tells Todd he is tired of the soft sciences wagging the dog in conversations of behavioral development. He then decides to help Todd concoct a new marshmallow to teach them a lesson.
Todd and Ruthie then take the new marshmallow back to the experiment room. The experimenter comes back in the room and tells him he failed the experiment because she knows he ate the marshmallow. He produces the new marshmallow from his pocket and puts it on the plate in front of Ruthie.
Suddenly, a man barges in and says Todd has won the school. He introduces himself as Willie Wesleyan and says he needs someone to take over the school when he sheds his mortal skin. Two female students walk in to get him, apologizing, saying they were doing LSD research in the next room. Everyone except Todd and Ruthie leave and Todd says "So this is college."
In BoJack's office, a student named Amy walks in. BoJack expresses concern that the showcase is coming up and Amy seems tired all the time, she's been forgetting her lines, and also has been missing a lot of class. Amy promises to prove she can be better.
Amy then shows up at BoJack's AA meeting. Due to the past experiences of students showing up to impress him, BoJack misunderstands and tells Amy AA is a serious place for people who want to get help. She then runs off crying and BoJack looking guilty realizes she actually wanted to get help for real.
At the night of the showcase, Todd asks Diane how her book is coming along. She hesitantly tells him it's a funny story.
Backstage, BoJack sees the seat reserved for Hollyhock is empty and wonders where she is. The students tell BoJack they are ready when he is. He tells them to dim the lights. BoJack heads out and introduces the show saying the students have come a long way and he's proud of them. The performance begins. BoJack then heads backstage again and calls Hollyhock. She does not pick up the call. He then heads to her dorm and she tells him she forgot about the showcase. He tells her people came from California and Chicago to see him and that he is upset she couldn't come across campus to see him.
Hollyhock tells him it was her world before he got there and he could have asked her before taking the position. BoJack then says that his sister could have supported him and Hollyhock says they don't really know each other. She continues to say they both had lives before they met. BoJack says he doesn't want to be that person that he used to be and then apologizes for coming to Wesleyan before asking Hollyhock if it was OK and admits it was selfish of him. Hollyhock accepts this apology.
BoJack tells her he doesn't have to come back next semester if it's too weird having him around and he can get a different job somewhere else. Hollyhock tells him Tawnie said he was a really good teacher and it could be fine with her if he comes back next semester. BoJack then tells her he needs to get back to the show. She tells him they need to take their relationship slow which BoJack agrees to.
BoJack then runs back to the showcase as Terry is finishing his act. The students then tell him to join them on stage. One of them hands him flowers and BoJack thanks everyone for coming. The students then take a bow.
BoJack suddenly gets a call from Charlotte and he goes into a panic seeing her number on the screen of his phone. He heads outside to take the call. He answers and Charlotte angrily demands he stops the reporters from talking to Penny. Charlotte says she does not want herself or her daughter to be included in whatever's happening. He questions what reporters and says he has no idea what she's referring to. She tells BoJack to figure it out before hanging up.
BoJack is seen nervously hyperventilating after his phone conversation with Charlotte.
Cast[]
| Actor | Character | |
|---|---|---|
| Will Arnett | ... | BoJack Horseman |
| Amy Sedaris | ... | Princess Carolyn |
| Alison Brie | ... | Diane Nguyen |
| Paul F. Tompkins | ... | Mr. Peanutbutter |
| Aaron Paul | ... | Todd Chavez |
| Asif Ali | ... | TBA |
| Julia Chan | ... | Pickles Aplenty |
| Jocelyn DeBoer | ... | TBA |
| Echo Gillette | ... | Maude |
| Aparna Nancherla | ... | Hollyhock |
| Hilary Swank | ... | Joey Pogo |
| Geraldine Viswanathan | ... | Tawnie |
| Olivia Wilde | ... | Charlotte Carson |
| Jaboukie Young-White | ... | Terry |
Trivia[]
- One of the students in BoJack's class can be seen browsing Newgrounds on their laptop during class time. It is worth noting, however, that the current layout of Newgrounds looks very different than what is shown on the student's screen. Instead, the website is depicted as it appeared circa 2013, when the website was more popular.
- This is the last physical series appearance of Hollyhock. Her voicemail is later heard in The Horny Unicorn:
- Hollyhock’s voicemail says "Hey, it’s Hollyhock! Leave a message, if you’re a hundred."
- A cat student wears a hoodie that reads "Abercrombie and Fish," a parody reference of the real-life brand Abercrombie and Fitch.
- This episode takes place over the spring semester at Wesleyan, setting this between January-May 2020.
- Whitfield's mention of Stanislothski is a reference to Konstantin Stanislavski, founder and director of the Moscow Art Theatre and one of the fathers of psychological realism in theatre.
- BoJack’s office has a head statue of William Shakespeare as a bear, and posters for A Bleatcar Named Desire (ASteetcar Named Desire) and Cinématographe Lumibear (Cinématographe Lumière).
- The marshmallow experiment Ruthie and Todd partake in is based on the real-life Stanford marshmallow experiment was a study on delayed gratification in 1972 led by psychologist Walter Mischel, a professor at Stanford University:
- In this study, a child was offered a choice between one small but immediate reward, or two small rewards if they waited for a period of time. During this time, the researcher left the room for about fifteen minutes and then returned. The reward was either a marshmallow or pretzel stick, depending on the child's preference.