The View from Halfway Down

“	Oh BoJack, no. There is no other side. This is it.	”
—Herb Kazzaz to BoJack Horseman

Introduction

Gallery

Quotes

The View from Halfway Down
Airdate	January 31, 2020
Written by	Alison Tafel
Directed by	Amy Winfrey
Episode guide
Previous	Angela
Next	Nice While It Lasted

Beatrice sarcastically thanking BoJack for the hydrangeas

The View from Halfway Down is the fifteenth episode of Season 6 of the Netflix original series BoJack Horseman, and the 75th episode overall. It premiered with the rest of Part 2 of Season 6 on January 31, 2020.

Synopsis

BoJack reconnects with faces from his past.

Plot

In BoJack’s dream, he arrives at his mother’s house with a six-year-old Sarah Lynn and with a hydrangea plant in hand as a gift. Sarah Lynn questions what BoJack is holding. He responds by saying he believes it to be a hydrangea plant. Sarah Lynn questions whether his mother would like that type of plant and BoJack tells her Beatrice doesn't really like anything.

A younger Beatrice, wearing her debutante outfit, invites them in and Beatrice announces BoJack’s arrival as Sarah Lynn runs into the living room. BoJack gives his mother the hydrangeas and she sarcastically thanks him. She puts the plant on the table as black tar starts dripping on the plant from the ceiling. Beatrice tells BoJack that he arrived just in time as a female Cardinal bird had flown in through the window and they’re having trouble getting her out of the house.

In the living room, the other dinner party guests are other people who have predeceased BoJack; Herb Kazzaz, Corduroy Jackson Jackson, and Crackerjack Sugarman. The other guests including Sarah Lynn are chasing around the bird trying to get her out of the house, seemingly having fun while doing it.

Beatrice’s butler tells her someone is on the phone for her, and BoJack is surprised that Zach Braff is her butler. BoJack tries to explain to Beatrice who Zach Braff is but she simply asks “You mean my butler?” When Beatrice takes the phone call in the kitchen she tells BoJack to help with the bird. BoJack has a brief conversation with Herb who expresses joy at the fact BoJack came to the party. BoJack tells Herb that he kept having a recurring dream about having a dinner party with everyone who had died so he decided to do it for real.

He then has a brief but pleasant interaction with his uncle Crackerjack who tries to help BoJack hit the bird with a pillow until she flies off and Crackerjack moves on. BoJack then has an awkward interaction with Corduroy who asks him if he was still weirded out because the last time he saw Corduroy was when he was “...naked, hanging from [my] iPhone charger, holding a lemon, with a very erect penis despite being deceased in [my] trailer for over an hour." When BoJack answers “Yep," Corduroy tells BoJack that he needs to get over it. When Corduroy tries wrapping a rope that he’s holding around his neck, BoJack sternly stops him and Corduroy stops, stating that he forgot where he was for a second.

Sarah Lynn runs up to BoJack with a fireplace poker, asking if it will help get the bird out of the house. BoJack starts chasing the bird around the living room while the others watch and cheer him on. BoJack chases the bird into the kitchen and she flies out of the window and everyone except Beatrice celebrates. Beatrice informs the group that her husband is going to be late and they are going to start dinner without him. Crackerjack asks if he’s going to be in time for the showcase, and Beatrice says “He better be” and she leads them into the dining room.

Everyone is in the dining room and BoJack is sitting at the head of the table. Everyone is going around the table talking about the best and worst moments of their lives. Sarah Lynn, who has aged up to her eighteen-year-old self, says that the best moment of her life was being asked for her autograph for the first time and since she was so young she didn’t know how to write her name so she just drew a squiggly line. While she’s talking, BoJack is given water. As Sarah Lynn describes giving autographs as being more of a chore after the first time, the house starts to rumble, and BoJack notices black tar forming a pool on the ceiling. When trying to stand up asking what the black tar is, Zach Braff sits BoJack back down and serves him a plate of pills.

Crackerjack says his best moment was when he enlisted in the army. As Crackerjack continues to talk, Beatrice asks BoJack if he’s ready to sing The Lollipop Song in the showcase, and BoJack tells Beatrice that he never makes it to the showcase. Crackerjack continues, saying he didn’t know that enlisting in the army would lead to the two worst moments of his life. Corduroy is surprised by this, saying that he didn’t know that they can pick two worst moments, while Herb tells Corduroy that it’s a conversation, not an assignment.

Corduroy then goes on to say that he has three worst moments of his life that he wants to share and Herb tells him that’s way too many. Zach Braff continues to serve everyone their dinners. Sarah Lynn is given a hamburger and fries, Herb is given peanuts, Corduroy, a lemon, Crackerjack, food rations, and Beatrice low-grade cafeteria food.

Crackerjack goes on to reveal that the two worst parts of his life were having to say goodbye to his mother and watching his general get shot in the face before that very same bullet hit Crackerjack in the head subsequently killing him, and Crackerjack moves his hair to reveal a bullet hole in his forehead. Herb tells Crackerjack that at least his death was instantaneous as Herb recalls the loud drips of his IV from when he had cancer. Suddenly the black tar on the ceiling starts dripping down on BoJack’s head.

The conversation about the best and worst parts in each other's lives

When asked about the best and worst parts of his life, BoJack says the worst part of his life was right before he found himself at the dinner party since he went to Angela Diaz’s house. He interrupts himself by taking a drink of water but he spits it out asking if anybody else has water that tastes like chlorine and asks Zach Braff for different water.

Corduroy asks Crackerjack if he believes his death meant something since it was for a greater cause. Crackerjack says that question is too big for someone like him to answer, while Beatrice tells Corduroy that Crackerjack’s death did mean something saying that her brother gave the ultimate sacrifice. BoJack says that when people valorize the idea of sacrifice, loss, and suffering people tend to internalize the idea that being happy is selfish but sacrifice doesn’t mean anything.

Sarah Lynn, who has aged up to her thirty-one-year-old self, says that sacrifice does mean something. BoJack says that sacrifice in the service of something greater might mean something but questions what’s the good in sacrifice in and of itself. Sarah Lynn says that there is a lot of good to come from sacrifice, saying that she sacrificed a lot and she was “freaking awesome."

Beatrice questions what did Sarah Lynn ever sacrifice and Sarah Lynn said she gave her whole life. Beatrice dismisses Sarah Lynn saying that she died in a hedonistic bender. Sarah Lynn clarifies that she’s not talking about her death but she’s talking about her life, saying that she gave her whole life.

Herb says that if they talk about everyone’s whole life then they are going to be at the table all night trying to steer the conversation back to the original point. Sarah Lynn says that the worst part of her life was the 2007 “Sexually Confident Virgin Tour." She goes on to explain that her manager had leaked nude pictures of her on the internet to get more tour dates added and her mom pointed out every carb she ever ate, but it gave millions of fans a show they won’t ever forget.

As Sarah Lynn continues to talk, the black tar continues to drip on BoJack’s head. Corduroy tells Sarah Lynn that her exploits as a pop star were just a high she chased, saying that it doesn’t compare to Crackerjack’s time in the military, the comparison making Crackerjack visibly uncomfortable. Sarah Lynn turns to Herb hoping that he would back her up. Herb says that he used to believe that the work he did and the joy he brought meant something, saying that he was so close to winning an Emmy before he lost it all.

As the black tar continues to drip, BoJack asks if anyone is noticing the leak. Beatrice says that they’ll get a bucket but since the tar is falling on BoJack he’s going to have to hold the bucket. Herb continues, saying that when he got fired from Horsin’ Around he was able to become his true authentic self being out of the closet as a gay man in the 90s. Sarah Lynn questions what does being authentic has to do with anything. Herb then explains that when he was not hiding behind a façade he was able to be at peace with himself which is when he decided to get into philanthropy.

When Corduroy asked if he could ask Herb something, Herb pokes fun at the fact that Corduroy is asking Herb if he can ask him a question, and BoJack jumps in much to the annoyance of everyone except Crackerjack. Corduroy asks if Herb really got pleasure out of his charity work, and Herb says his philanthropy dwarfed every other joy in his life. Corduroy then goes on to say that it doesn’t count then since he got pleasure out of it then it wasn’t a selfless act, and good deeds are only good if it’s selfless.

As Corduroy talks, Sarah Lynn continues drinking her soda while BoJack plays with the pills on his plate. Herb asks who made that rule up saying that he helped people also going on to ask who cares if it made him feel good. Corduroy then goes on to say that feeling good is inherently selfish. Corduroy then goes on to mention Christ before being interrupted by Beatrice who tells him that she doesn’t appreciate the talk of religion in her house. Corduroy continues, saying that he was constantly trying to feel good and always looking for maximum pleasure, and that was one of the worst parts of his life.

As the tar continues to drip on his head, BoJack says that for him, discovering Corduroy in his trailer was one of the top five worst moments of his life. Sarah Lynn goes on to state that she helped a lot of people and she wasn’t a bad person. Sarah Lynn goes on to accuse everyone of accusing her of being a bad person with their charity work, being authentic, and killing Nazis.

Crackerjack clarifies that he never actually killed a Nazi and all of his kills were friendly fire much to everyone’s shock. Crackerjack goes on to say he never liberated any camps either. He then goes on to reveal that he doesn’t actually know what he did during his time in the military. Just then, Zach Braff hands BoJack a bucket to hold over his head to catch the drips of tar. He also informs Beatrice that her husband has arrived—much to BoJack’s shock. BoJack then claims that his father has never made it to dinner before. Sarah Lynn then asks the group if anyone has ever had a song of theirs played in outer space saying that her hit single, No, No, No (No Means Yes) made its way to Mars. She goes on to say that it has to mean something since she will be remembered.

Just then, Beatrice‘s husband walks in. Although Beatrice was married to Butterscotch Horseman, her husband takes the form of BoJack’s childhood hero Secretariat. Beatrice passive aggressively tells Secretariat that he didn’t miss anything and she asks him why shouldn’t they just bend themselves to his schedule. Secretariat gets annoyed saying that he had already apologized for being late and that he had been running. Secretariat and Beatrice get into a brief argument before settling back into their seats. Secretariat is presented with two sunny side up eggs, coffee, and alcohol.

Herb tells Secretariat that they’re playing the best part/the worst part. Herb says that the best part of his life was doing work in Machu Picchu. He confesses that after he was fired off of Horsin’ Around he thought about killing himself much to BoJack’s dismay. Herb says that he didn’t because the Knicks were having a good season and he wanted to see how the year ended for them. BoJack is surprised, asking Herb what he would’ve done had the Knicks not been having a good season and Herb says he would’ve just switched to baseball. Secretariat admonishes Herb for his lack of follow-through, saying that Herb wasn’t serious about killing himself. Herb goes on to say that he was glad that he didn’t and that when he was in Machu Picchu he realized that there was so much more he could be doing with his life.

Secretariat cuts in and says that the worst part of his life was on August 22, 1973, when he was banned from racing ever again. He goes on to explain that racing was the only thing that made sense to him and since he was no longer allowed to do that he was nobody. As Secretariat talks, BoJack starts eating his pills but ends up spitting them out. Secretariat says that his best part was committing suicide by jumping off of the bridge, going on to explain that it was his choice and he got to go out on his own terms and there are not many people that can say that.

As Secretariat continues by admiring the view while he was standing on the bridge moments before he jumped, BoJack spits black tar out onto the table much to everyone’s amusement. He says it must’ve come from swimming earlier. As he tries to remember when he went swimming, Secretariat tells BoJack not to think about it and asks him what the best part of his life was. BoJack says the best part of his life was when he took a teaching job at Wesleyan University in the drama department and he helped a student work through a scene he was having trouble with.

BoJack goes on to explain that the reason that moment was special to him is it felt good to help someone do something, and he liked it because it reminded him of when he was younger and first starting out in the acting business. BoJack tells Herb that it also reminded him of when the two of them did stand-up at comedy clubs, and that might’ve been the best time of his life. As dinner concludes Beatrice asks if they’re ready to start the show.

Everyone leaves for the theater in the other room, and BoJack says goodbye to everyone. When Sarah Lynn asks if BoJack is coming, BoJack tells Sarah Lynn that this is the part in the dream where he normally wakes up. Sarah Lynn follows the others into the theater saying that maybe BoJack would be able to come to the showcase next time. Zach Braff reaches over and grabs BoJack’s plate before walking off. Much to BoJack’s confusion he’s still in the dream and hasn’t woken up yet.

As BoJack has not woken up from the dream yet he decides to go to the showcase which is hosted by Herb. Herb introduces the opening act which is Sarah Lynn. Before her performance, Sarah Lynn decides to dedicate her performance to BoJack. When the spotlight shifts to BoJack he proceeds to apologize for everything that happened to Sarah Lynn but she interrupts him before going back to the piano to start her song. Sarah Lynn starts to play Don’t Stop Dancing ‘Til The Curtains Call which quickly transitions into a song to the tune of her song Prickly Muffin. Towards the end, the song transitions back to Don’t Stop Dancing ‘Til The Curtain Call. Suddenly a door frame appears and Sarah Lynn walks towards it. As she finishes the song the door opens revealing nothing but darkness.

As she repeats the last two lines of the song twice more “Don’t stop dancing," she holds her breath and falls backward into the darkness behind the door frame and vanishes completely. BoJack runs to the door looking for Sarah Lynn but she’s gone and Herb introduces Corduroy’s aerial act. While Corduroy performs his piece BoJack tries to ask Herb where does the door lead. Herb tells him that he should sit down and he’ll get a chance to perform. Before they can finish the conversation, Corduroy swings himself into the door frame and disappears into the darkness. BoJack sits back down next to Secretariat and Herb introduces Zach Braff. Shortly thereafter, BoJack leaves with Secretariat to smoke.

BoJack and Secretariat walk outside onto a bridge, the same bridge Secretariat jumped off of when he committed suicide. BoJack asks Secretariat what is behind the door and Secretariat ignores the question entirely and expresses annoyance towards Herb, saying that he doesn’t believe that Herb truly found peace when he was in Machu Picchu. BoJack says that he believes Herb but Secretariat assures BoJack that every single person in the theater would go back and live their lives over if they could. He says that peace is someone trying to convince themselves that life has meaning or purpose, and if you do everything the right way then there’s a parting gift at the end.

Secretariat goes on to explain that all that time that the others spent trying to make a name for themselves or do good deeds in the world, landed them in the same place as him as he did none of that stuff. BoJack tells Secretariat that he was the fastest runner in the world and he was an inspiration to millions, but Secretariat says that despite that he ended up in the same place as BoJack. BoJack asks Secretariat if he could go back and do things differently what would he do.

Secretariat says that he wouldn’t have cared so much about everything. Secretariat, speaking in Butterscotch's voice tells BoJack that he did care. BoJack brushes off this sentiment saying that all he cared about was his book, getting drunk, and telling people how miserable he was. Secretariat insists that he cared a great deal about BoJack and Beatrice and he wanted BoJack to love him and respect him but he was so afraid of BoJack knowing that.

BoJack regrets the fact that he and his father never got to speak like that to each other in real life but at the very least they were able to do it before he woke up. Secretariat insists that BoJack really doesn’t get it before tossing his cigarette over the bridge and returning to the theater. BoJack looks over the edge of the bridge and spots the silhouette of his body floating in the pool of his old house. Reality starts setting in for BoJack when he realizes this is the reason he hasn’t woken up yet.

Back at the theater, Zach Braff is about to perform his roller skate routine when BoJack bursts in and tells him to stop the show, asking what is going on. Zach Braff tells BoJack that he’s being rude and he’s about to perform his rollerskating routine. Secretariat and Zach try to get BoJack to calm down, and Zach tries to get BoJack to sit down put BoJack pushes Zach backward and Zach slowly slides towards the open door. As he’s sliding towards the door, Zach expresses regret for all the things he didn’t get to do such as direct his “Backdraft” remake “Zach Braff’s Backdraft," finish his memoir “I Started A Zach Which Started The Whole World Braffing," or license Zach Braff short stack breakfast attack at Shake shack.

Before he finishes he falls backward into the door frame and disappears into the darkness. As BoJack continues to panic, he asks Herb how he got there and Herb replies “How the hell should I know?“ BoJack tries retracing his steps, recalling that he broke into his old house, he was watching the Horsin’ Around Blu-ray, and he drank and took some pills and then he went swimming. Just then the image of BoJack‘s body floating in the pool appears on the ceiling of the theater. Then BoJack remembers he got out of the pool and called Diane. Herb tries to tell BoJack that they’re trying to do a show.

However, BoJack continues to retrace his steps saying that he called Diane and he couldn’t have drowned in the pool if he had gotten out of the pool to call Diane. BoJack wants to finish his conversation with Diane and tries to leave the room to find a phone but the exit disappears. As BoJack continues to panic, Herb invites Secretariat to the stage. Crackerjack tries to calm BoJack down and guides him back to his seat saying that freaking out isn’t going to change anything, while Beatrice tells BoJack that something like this was bound to happen to him sooner or later.

Secretariat takes the stage and starts reading his poem “The View From Halfway Down." When he’s partway through, the spotlight reveals the open door behind Secretariat, but Secretariat assures the audience that he’s not finished yet. When he gets to the part of his poem where he starts expressing regret for committing suicide in the first place, Secretariat starts to panic and the door inches its way closer to him. Secretariat continues to panic saying he's changed his mind as Herb tries to console him. As Secretariat regrets not admiring the view from halfway down after he jumped off the bridge he stumbles backward and falls through the door frame and disappears into the darkness.

BoJack panics and tries to run through the exit, which had reappeared, but he ends up on stage instead. Crackerjack, bleeding through the bullet wound in his forehead, tells BoJack that nothing he does it is going to matter, while a slightly aged Beatrice tells BoJack that all his screaming and struggling isn’t going to pull his body out of the pool and Herb tells BoJack he needs to sit down. Herb tells BoJack that there’s a possibility that somebody’s going to find him and save him and there’s also a possibility that someone won’t.

BoJack asks Herb if anyone’s ever come back from “this place," and Herb tells BoJack there is no “place," his brain is just going through what it feels like it needs to go through and all he can do now is sit back and enjoy the show.

Beatrice Horseman, amidst her ribbon dancing

Herb returns to the stage and introduces Beatrice Horseman and Crackerjack Sugarman. Crackerjack starts to play I Will Always Think of You on the trumpet while Beatrice starts to dance.

Partly through her dance, Beatrice starts dancing with a ribbon baton and jumps into the audience. Towards the end of her dance, Beatrice manages to suspend her self in the air while spinning and her ribbon gets longer. Crackerjack stops playing the trumpet although the music keeps going while his trumpet is suspended in the air.

Beatrice wraps herself in the ribbon as she keeps spinning and Crackerjack ties the end of the ribbon to his waist and jumps into the door frame and disappears. As Beatrice keeps spinning, black tar reaches out from the door frame and consumes Beatrice and she vanishes too. Just then, Beatrice’s ribbon falls to the ground as does Crackerjack’s trumpet and the music stops.

Herb then goes on to introduce BoJack describing him as “The star of ‘Horsin’ Around’ and ‘The BoJack Horseman Show’! ‘Philbert’! ‘Secretariat’! The upcoming ‘Horny Unicorn’! Son of Butterscotch and Beatrice! Husband to no one! Father to none, that we know of! Standup comedian, actor, crippling alcoholic! A talented charmer and a stupid piece of shit.” BoJack then takes the stage and approaches the open door and asks if it’s terrifying. Herb says that he doesn’t think it’s scary saying that everything must come to an end at some point. BoJack says that he’ll see Herb on the other side. As Herb is consumed by the black tar that starts to leak from inside the door, he says that there is no other side and this is the end, before vanishing.

BoJack states that he needs to make a phone call before running out of the theater and through the dining room. As he runs through the dining room on the dining table, he hears indistinct chatter as he’s being chased by the black tar. He runs to the living room and tries to bolt to the exit but the hydrangea plant he had given his mother earlier had mutated and blocked the door.

He runs to the bird he had chased out earlier who had somehow found her way back in the house, telling her that he’s looking for a phone. The bird turns around and her head begins to emerge from her mouth on a continuous loop. As the house continues to fill with black tar, the bird makes its way towards BoJack who takes a poker and chases her into the kitchen. As the bird struggles to make its way out of the window, the black tar consumes her.

BoJack running on the dining table

In a panic, BoJack takes the kitchen phone and Diane answers much to his relief. Frantic, BoJack asks Diane if she’s going to save him since he called her, and he asks if she’s coming to get him. Diane asks BoJack why did he call her and reminds him that she’s in Chicago and she can’t save him. BoJack, seemingly at peace, realizes that when he got out of the pool to call Diane she didn’t pick up the phone and it went to voicemail and after he left her a voice message he went back in the pool.

BoJack leaves the house and walks back onto the bridge as Diane tells him it’s too late and what’s done is done. As BoJack watches the black tar consume the silhouette of his body floating in the pool, Diane tells BoJack there’s nothing she can do as she is not real and nothing that’s happening is real either. BoJack asks Diane what he should do and she tells him it doesn’t matter. BoJack asks Diane that since it doesn’t matter can he stay on the phone with her and she allows him to. As the black tar consumes him he simply talks to Diane about her day. Diane says she had a good day and the black tar consumes BoJack completely. The screen goes black and a heart rate monitor goes flat but then starts beeping again indicating BoJack is still alive.

Cast

Actor		Character
Will Arnett	...	BoJack Horseman, Butterscotch Horseman/Secretariat
Alison Brie	...	Diane Nguyen
Zach Braff	...	Zach Braff
Brandon T. Jackson	...	Corduroy
Wendie Malick	...	Beatrice Horseman
Lin-Manuel Miranda	...	Crackerjack
Kristen Schaal	...	Sarah Lynn
Stanley Tucci	...	Herb Kazzaz

Trivia

• Secretariat and Butterscotch Horseman were blended into a single hybrid character during BoJack's dream sequence. This may be because Secretariat was more of a father figure and role model towards BoJack growing up than his actual father was:
  • Raphael Bob-Waksberg was initially unsure if they could get John Krasinski back to voice Secretariat, however, after seeing Will Arnett's performance for the role they decided to stick with him.
• The idea of an episode with a dinner party with the show's deceased characters was always an episode idea that floated around, and when news came season six would be the last, the crew decided to finally do it and decided it would be perfect as the penultimate episode.
  • Series creator Raphael Bob-Waksburg was also interested in doing an episode where everything took place in a conversation—a concept that was also famously used in Free Churro.
• The dinner party scene so difficult to execute a different storyboard artist was assigned to each character.

• BoJack was noted by episode director Amy Winfrey to be the hardest because he had so much to do.

• Supervising director Mike Hollingsworth revealed the episode, as in BoJack's dream, takes place over thirty seconds.
• Episode writer Alison Tafel wrote The View From Halfway Down poem that Butterscotch/Secretariat read.
• BoJack mentioned having a recurring dinner party nightmare in a session with Doctor Champ in A Little Uneven, Is All.
• When BoJack initially enters the house, the fire in the living room is fully glowing because BoJack still has life in him, but when the tar chases him at the end of the episode the fire has dimmed.
• Considering each person in the dream are people BoJack knows who have died, it's somewhat implied the bird in the dream could have been the one from BoJack's story about 'what happens when a baby bird gets pushed out of the nest too soon" as mentioned in Zoës and Zeldas.
  • Alternatively, cardinals are seen as spiritual messengers. In Cherokee creation stories, the first red bird is the daughter of the sun itself. The Choctaw people believe that the cardinal is an omen regarding relationships. Even the word "cardinal" comes from the Latin word "cardo," meaning hinge or axis, likening the cardinal to the hinge on the doorway between the living and dead.
  • A bird flying into the home also represents foretelling an important message, but if the bird died while in the home it represents death.
  • It could also represent BoJack's heart—first fluttering, then flatlining.

• Beatrice wears the same outfit she wore to her debutante ball, which was also the same night she met Butterscotch and when BoJack was conceived, as seen in Time's Arrow, although her face resembles how she looked during BoJack’s childhood:
  • She also performs an interpretative ribbon dance. BoJack mentioned in Free Churro that at her supper clubs Beatrice would perform a mesmerizing dance while wearing a beautiful dress, likely implying the white gown from her debutante is the one she wore.
• The song Crackerjack plays on the trumpet during Beatrice's ribbon dance is I Will Always Think of You the same special song he and his mother used to play on the piano together.

  

  A side by side comparison of the podium from Free Churro, and the podium from Zach Braff's performance in The View from Halfway Down.

  
  
• The podium, which is present when Zach Braff and all following performances occur, is identical to the podium from Free Churro, when BoJack performs his eulogy:
  • In The View From Halfway Down, the flowers that were present at Zach Braff's performance vanish once Crackerjack and Beatrice begin performing. The podium's design displays a treble clef symbol in the duo's performance.
    • This could possibly be due to the fact that the flowers in Free Churro were only present due to Beatrice's passing, and since Beatrice was the one performing, her flowers vanished and turned into a music symbol, representing their performance.
• In the living room, several paintings or photographs, and objects seen throughout the series are in the living room, including:
  • The blue horse painting from Joseph Sugarman Beatrice gave BoJack is seen in his dream. Later when BoJack tries to escape it appears destroyed from Sarah Lynn's party in Prickly-Muffin in Season 1.
  • The Horseman family portrait , seen in multiple episodes in the Horseman's living room.
  • The Sugarman family portrait , seen in their summer lake house
  • A photograph of child BoJack with his parents at the summer lake house , seen in said lakehouse.
  • A photograph of Crackerjack in his soldier suit , also seen in the Sugarman's lake house.
  • Three photos depicting horse head silhouettes , seen in the Horseman's living room.
  • A photograph of the house from Horsin' Around .
  • The painting BoJack had hanging in his office until The Face of Depression, depicting a horse watching another horse swim in a pool. However, this time the horse has drowned, foreshadowing that BoJack is drowning in his pool.
  • The couch, chair, ottoman, and right lamp from the Horseman living room
• When BoJack tries to escape, the sad horse painting that hung in his family's living room before Butterscotch got a better job for Joseph Sugarman appears. The painting then stretches and grows to become the entrance to the Horsin' Around kitchen. The painting resembles BoJack and could represent his abusive and neglectful upbringing, and how he turned to performing and being funny to escape/be liked, and how this mindset led him to become famous.

• BoJack gives hydrangeas to his mother when he first arrives. In Japanese, the flowers mean "to apologize." This may symbolize BoJack’s guilt over leaving Beatrice in a nursing home to die.
  • To Victorians, the flowers mean "vanity and boastfulness," and were given to people who rejected a love interest and were seen as cold and frigid.
    • Vanity, cold and frigid, and rejecting a love interest is something that fits Beatrice.
  • In other cultures, hydrangeas are seen as a superstition, where you plant them in front of your house your daughter may grow up to be a spinster, meaning an old unmarried woman.
    • Beatrice likely felt trapped in her marriage with Butterscotch since they only came together due to her getting pregnant, and it forced her to give up her life and opportunities.
      • After BoJack presents the hydrangeas to her, Beatrice leaves them in the foyer to let tar drip on them, and when BoJack tries to escape later they have grown larger and have multiplied, trapping him in.
• The kitchen in the house is the same from the house in Horsin' Around, although it contains some aspects from his childhood kitchen.
• Sarah Lynn gradually ages up until the middle of the dinner scene - when she and BoJack arrive she is a little girl when she begins to chase the bird with the other party guests she becomes a pre-teen when dinner first starts she is a teenager at the height of her singing career, and during the middle of dinner she becomes her thirty-year-old self.
  • Thus could represent BoJack knowing Sarah Lynn through all aspects of her life, and her showing up to the party with him might represent him bringing her to death's door, as he was responsible for her death and all the party guests gradually die throughout the show.
  • Some of the other party guests were originally going to change too, such as Herb and Beatrice aging up and down, or Butterscotch/Secretariat switching which character he appeared as, but this idea was scrapped, as it would have been too much going on, and Sarah Lynn was the most fitting character for this concept.
• BoJack's suicide attempt is similar to how he said he wanted to go out in Downer Ending, going for a final swim, and being too tired to swim back so he lets the water take him under.
  • This is also reflected in the narcissus painting where BoJack is no longer swimming but drowning.
  • BoJack also attempted suicide in That Went Well, by letting go of the wheel of his car, but ultimately hitting the brakes after seeing the wild horses run.
  • BoJack is also seen sinking into his pool in the intro, and he almost drowns in It's You after backing his Tesla into his pool and doesn’t attempt to swim back up.
    • In the same episode he gets angry at Diane telling him if he wins an Oscar he’ll be so alone and miserable he’ll want to kill himself, and no one will be around to stop him, with BoJack scoffing at this and retorting back as he’s surrounded by party guests lots of people will be around when he kills himself. In the previous episode, Angela, BoJack was truly alone, having lost almost everyone around him, his fame, his money, and is literally alone in his former house when he decides to drown himself while drunk and high.
      • In this episode and in the other two episodes where BoJack attempted suicide, he found a way out - either by inspiration like with the wild horses or by circumstances, like with the probability of a party guest pulling him out or by him calling Diane begging her to tell him not to go in the pool.
• Beatrice's ash tray from Brand New Couch is seen on a table in the foyer.
• The recurring theme of tar in this episode could be a possible reference to Charlotte saying, "L.A. is like a tar pit" right before BoJack got famous. She mentions in the present day in Escape from L.A. that she believes "you're the tar pit", meaning you cannot escape yourself no matter where you are.
  • The photographs and paintings in the living room ooze tar when BoJack tries to escape, most of them specifically where BoJack himself is.
• The chair BoJack sits in at the dinner scene resembles the inside of a casket, with a soft white background and brown edges.

  

  BoJack's chair

• At the dinner scene, most of the characters were given the last meal and beverage they had before dying, or as Mike Hollingsworth states are "tied into their deaths":
  • BoJack is served a plate of pills, the last thing he ingested before his drowning, and pool water, as during the entire episode, in reality, he is drowning in his former swimming pool.
    • BoJack is not seen eating like the rest of the guests because he isn’t dead yet, and when he tries to swallow the pills he throws up tar.
    • He is served the water in a plastic water bottle, referencing how he kept Jameson 's water bottle full of vodka to remind himself of Sarah Lynn, who first got drunk at ten years old from his vodka he had in a water bottle, and later how after he relapsed he also hid his alcohol in a plastic water bottle.
  • Herb eats a bowl of peanuts, as it was ultimately an allergic reaction to peanuts that caused his death. He is not given anything to drink. This may be because he was not drinking any fluids while battling cancer and was instead being hydrated by IV, and his cancer went into remission right before he died.
  • Crackerjack eats a military C-Ration and is given a canteen, as he was shot in the forehead and killed while fighting in World War II.
  • Beatrice is served what appears to be low-quality cafeteria food, including a piece of meat, mashed potatoes, and lima beans, from the hospital she ultimately passed away in. She is also given a Jello cup and a styrofoam cup with a bendy straw.
  • Corduroy was given a lemon, as biting into a lemon was an essential part of his auto-erotic asphyxiation ritual, which he accidentally died from, and he was found dead with a lemon wedge. He is served what appears to be a protein shake in a shaker cup as well.
  • Secretariat (who is also blended into Butterscotch Horseman as one character) is given two fried eggs, referencing how Secretariat was a professional racehorse, and eggs are highly recommended among athletes due to their high protein value and numerous health benefits. He also receives some alcohol that he pours into his coffee, reflecting Butterscotch's drinking habits. This could have also been the breakfast Butterscotch had eaten before perishing in a duel, where he tripped and bashed his head open on a rock.
  • Sarah Lynn is given a burger, French fries, and a fountain soda. These all appear to be from a fast food joint. This is presumably the last meal she had while she was on her bender with BoJack. She also mentions how her mother would weight-shame her while she was touring in 2007, alluding to both her struggles with a life of fame and how she turned to a life of addiction and self-destruction following a visit from BoJack that same year.
  • Zach Braff prepares and serves food instead of eating because his death was a result of cannibalism in Underground.
• Herb is depicted with his appearance from the 1980s. During the show he wears a suit that keeps the same color/pattern scheme as his outfit, while also resembling the suit Mr. Peanutbutter wore when he hosted Hollywoo Stars and Celebrities: What Do They Know? Do They Know Things?? Let's Find Out!.
• Everyone enters the door in a way that resembles their death:
  • Sarah Lynn's song symbolizes that as a celebrity she was forced to put on a show throughout her life, and dying alone as she was still alive after BoJack left her.
    • Sarah Lynn sings Don't Stop Dancing 'Til The Curtains Call, albeit as a reprise with different lyrics. In a flashback in Prickly-Muffin, BoJack tells a then six-year-old Sarah Lynn "You don't stop dancing, and you don't stop smiling, and you give those people what they want."
      • One of the lyrics is even "A song you taught me when I was small".
      • BoJack as well was told this by his mother in a flashback to his childhood in Downer Ending, where she berates him into singing The Lollipop Song for her supper club by saying "No one gives a damn what you feel! You’ve got an audience out there and they want to hear you sing."
      • During the middle of the song, the music changes to the music from Sarah Lynn's song Prickly Muffin.
      • During her performance, Sarah Lynn wears the same outfit she wore to Herb's funeral, albeit white and black instead of all black. The outfit has a translucent top with fabric shaped like hands covering her breasts and coming up from her stomach. This may represent how it's strongly implied her stepfather sexually abused her as a child.
        • The surname she was given at birth, Helmufarb, and the fact she's been to Temple could imply she is Jewish, and white and black are Jewish and Christian funeral colors, respectively.
        • The white colors may also represent being angelic, representing Sarah Lynn's death.
  • Corduroy's body goes limp before going into the door. This resembles that his death was by accidental hanging.
  • Zach Braff was pushed into the void, albeit accidentally, representing how he was murdered.
  • Secretariat/Butterscotch regrets not admiring the view from halfway down after he (Secretariat) jumped off the bridge when initially he was considerably proud of himself for going through with it.
    • Secretariat's poem switches from the third-person narration, to Second-Person Narration, to first-person, in imitation of a "3...2...1" countdown.
      • The door moves closer and closer much like the water becoming as he fell.
  • During Beatrice's ribbon dance, she stops and tells BoJack "This is the hard part" before jumping up and suspending herself in the air as she spins, which could represent how difficult her life was. She says "And now, the easy part," as the ribbon ties her in a cocoon, which could mean that while living is hard, death is easy. Crackerjack ties the ribbon to himself and after he jumps in the tar wraps around Beatrice and she disappears. This could mean that Crackerjack chose to sign up for the army which led to his untimely death and that because of Crackerjack's death Beatrice's life was tainted and she became a cold, bitter person later in life, and in her last years she was mostly unaware of her surroundings because of her dementia, which adds on to her old age caused her death.
  • Herb was consumed slowly by the tar similar to rectal cancer that consumed him.
• This episode is the highest-rated episode on its IMDB page, with 10/10.
• BoJack is the only main character that physically appears. Diane’s voice can be heard at the end of the episode on the phone.
• Herb calls Crackerjack Beatrice's "younger older brother," as he was older than her and she was only a little girl when he died as a young adult, but in the dream, Crackerjack is still a young adult whereas Beatrice appears how she did during BoJack's childhood and teen years, which was during her 30s.
• When Herb lists off BoJack’s roles and relatives such as his parents and not being a father or husband to anyone, he does not mention Hollyhock, which could imply BoJack is too ashamed of Hollyhock cutting ties with him to associate her with himself.
  • Herb ends his description of BoJack by calling him "a stupid piece of shit," which is what BoJack internally referred to himself as in the episode of the same name.
• Since this entire episode takes place in BoJack's mind, it's likely the mindsets of the other party guests on life, mortality, and death are from BoJack's own mindset and trying to grapple with the meaning of mortality and life.
• The Horsin’ Around theme song briefly plays once BoJack gets the fire poker and he and the other guests chase the bird through the kitchen window.
• The chair BoJack sits on during the show is from his AA meetings, and the stage is from the comedy club he and Herb performed during their stand-up days.
• Before reading the poem, Secretariat says "A poem. Original, obviously," a reference to BoJack's "Horseman, obviously" catchphrase.
• When Sarah Lynn drops through the door, BoJack repeats the "Sarah Lynn? Sarah Lynn?" from That's Too Much, Man!
• Diane Nguyen is heard in this episode through voice only, she is the only one of the other main characters besides BoJack who is seen or mentioned in this episode.
  • BoJack's phone call with Diane echoes their conversation at the end of Yes And, where Diane says "He [Mr. Peanutbutter] will just say 'How was your day?' And I'll say 'My day was good." BoJack asks how her day was and she replies "Good, yeah, My day was good."
• BoJack tells his mom after she invites him and Sarah Lynn in, he tells her "Thanks for having me, Mom," which could mean having him over for dinner or giving birth to him, as she always openly resented him being born.
• When BoJack and Secretariat step outside for a smoke break, they are standing on the bridge (George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge in Louisville) where Secretariat jumped off to commit suicide.
• This episode homages the dying dream sequence of All That Jazz. Like the protagonist, Joe Gideon, BoJack has lived a drug-fueled, hedonistic lifestyle, hurting the people he cared about repeatedly along the way. Near death's door, they both experience a dying fantasy, summarizing their life and see performances from those closest to them.
• BoJack realizes he is drowning in his pool at roughly the seventeen-minute mark of the episode. This may reference the seventeen minutes in between Sarah Lynn going unconscious and BoJack calling the authorities.
• This episode serves as the final apperances of Herb Kazzaz, Zach Braff, Crackerjack Sugarman, Corduroy Jackson Jackson, Secretariat/Butterscotch and Beatrice Horseman.