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Thoughts and Prayers is the fifth episode of Season 4 of the Netflix original series BoJack Horseman.
It premiered on September 8, 2017, along with the rest of Season 4.
Summary
Princess Carolyn's PR campaign to minimize the effects of recent mass shootings on Courtney Portnoy's new movie leads to Diane pushing gun ownership as a means of female empowerment. Hollyhock convinces BoJack to introduce her to his estranged mother Beatrice.
Plot
A streak of mass gun violence threatens the release of Courtney Portnoy's new movie Ms. Taken which has a lot of gun violence. To keep things smooth, Princess Carolyn calls Diane to make a blog about Courtney's movie over dinner.
That night after leaving the restaurant, the two are confronted by a mugger, but Courtney pulls out a revolver to drive him away. Courtney then takes Diane to her shooting range, where Diane gets more comfortable with guns. This inspires her to write a blog on female gun empowerment that soon becomes the most popular post on Girl Coosh.
Meanwhile, BoJack admits to Hollyhock that he lied about her mother and that he doesn't know who it is. He does argue however that with his experience with Beatrice, she would be better off not knowing mothers. Hollyhock, however, convinces him to take her to where Beatrice is, and he drives them down to Walnut Springs retirement home.
They soon find out that Beatrice has dementia now, and is unable to recognize BoJack much to his annoyance, calling him Henrietta. A nurse says she will not live for another ten years, and their visit has made her the most responsive she’s ever been. Hollyhock convinces BoJack to let them visit her every week, because dementia is hereditary, and if they have it one day they would want someone to take care of them.
BoJack reluctantly agrees although he is still mean to his mother. To try to get her to remember, BoJack brings in a DVD of Horsin Around, but it fails to work. BoJack then gets an idea and makes a plan with Hollyhock. They're going to recreate an episode of Horsin Around, and when Beatrice finally recognizes him, he will tell her "Fuck You!" and savagely berate her for his awful upbringing.
Meanwhile, another gun violence outbreak has occurred, only this time the shooter was a female. This causes controversy over women carrying weapons, but Diane tries to argue her case that they need to be more aware of women safety in general and tells the California government that they could either make it safer for women or ban all guns. The government decides to pick the latter and ban all guns in California, upsetting Diane as she feels that they hate women more than it loves guns. With all the controversy, the movie is canceled.
At the retirement home, BoJack and Hollyhock go ahead with the plan, but this causes a confused Beatrice to panic and has a physical meltdown. As a result, Beatrice is kicked out of the home, and she moves into BoJack's home. While BoJack still feels despondent that Beatrice still doesn't recognize him, Hollyhock reassures him that she will eventually.
Trivia
- It is revealed Beatrice has succumbed to dementia and has been living at Walnut Springs Nursing Home for the last several years.
- It is revealed that Butterscotch Horseman died sometime after The BoJack Horseman Show premiered
- It is revealed BoJack played football as a teen and was in choir in 8th grade.
- It is revealed BoJack still has the sweater he wore on Horsin' Around, although his stomach now hangs out if it.
- While the streak is happening, Todd makes a reference to the indie pop band Foster The People song Pumped Up Kicks, which also talks about a massacre.
- While looking at the photo album with Hollyhock, Beatrice points out a picture of her at her debutante, an event that is seen later in "Time's Arrow".
- When BoJack and Hollyhock enter the Walnut Springs care facility, "I Just Met My Perfect Match" is playing as muzak in the background.
- Joseph Sugarman and Honey Sugarman, Beatrice's parents, are seen in a photograph in the photo album Beatrice shows Hollyhock.
- The "One F Word per season" rule was used in this episode to represent any irreparable damage in a relationship with Bojack. However, unlike the previous seasons, in which it represents Bojack had somehow destroyed a friendship (Season 1 = Herb, Season 2 = Charlotte, Season 3 = Todd), it was Bojack himself who uses this word to signify his horrible relationship with his mother Beatrice.