Girl Croosh sends Diane on the road with rugged cameraman Guy, but she balks when they ask her to produce more feel-good stories.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of Netflix's BoJack Horseman.
"Feel-Good Story" was written by Alison Tafel and directed by Mollie Helms
The world may be completely beholden to the interests of billionaires. The corruption of capitalism is a fierce debate at the moment that seems to be defining so many sectors of life. The wealthy and privileged of the world may maintain that power and control at the expense of the people beneath them. They are propped up as success stories even though their stature was largely handed to them. They exist within a system that only continues to prop them up as people who can seemingly do no wrong. And yet, their actions have such vast consequences throughout the entire world. Diane is traveling the country reporting on the various criminal underbellies currently operating within our society. Indulging in the illegal deeds presents as a valid choice and perhaps the only way that individuals can actually make it in an increasingly toxic and morally complicated world. Diane is rewarded for her work. She feels powerful doing these exposés on camera. She finds new romance with her camera operator, Guy, as well. She is seemingly building a successful, new life for herself. She gets out of Hollywoo and perhaps out of the funk of what her life has been for awhile. She still has so many connections to Hollywoo. She always feels the call to return to the place she views as her home. It's such a personal dilemma for her because it's presented in such binary terms of what emotions she can allow herself to feel. It can be absolutely crippling and depressing to live in a world where billionaires can literally get away with murder. Investigative journalism is so powerful and important in our society. It holds people accountable in a way that the various systems may not always support. The people with influence and power simply have the tools available to them to evade any perception of justice. Diane is going up against a massive conglomerate that is acquiring so many industries so that it can have complete world domination and avoid any objective criticism. It's truly sinister to hear the joke early on that there are only four companies truly left in this world that can compete. That can come at the expense of small businesses which are being bought out. The morals with which they stand are easily tossed aside. Diane would love to highlight the inclusivity of a business founded by two best friends. But instead, she is only greeted with more of the horrors that come from Whitewhale being a commanding influence in everyone's lives. It feels as if this conglomerate is following Diane and Guy around too. They feel passionate about exposing the heinous working conditions in order to push back after Girl Croosh is also acquired. And yet, it can be debilitating when Diane realizes there is nothing she can do to make the company CEO feel shame for committing murder because the government has simply made that okay. She is an outsider to a system that is set up to continually protect itself. All of this is crushing. Guy hopes that she can rely on their relationship in order to find comfort in this world. However, she doesn't want it to be the sole good in her life. That too is an impulse she has felt for so long. She needs to have an overall good life in order to be happy and healthy in a relationship. That doesn't have to be true at all. It can be comforting to find some good in the world when everything else seems so dire and terrible. Diane can list the good things in her life too. As such, it may just fundamentally be a choice about whether or not she can embrace this happiness not knowing how people will react. That's a lesson BoJack is learning in rehab as well. He laments not learning it earlier. It could have saved a lot of pain and suffering for other people. Diane is included in that list. She embraces what the future might hold for her and Guy. And yet, she is back in Hollywoo and he remains in Chicago. Their professional careers may be uncertain. But they may also be okay because of whatever this relationship between them becomes. That too can inspire people to keep hope alive that good still exists out there in the world.
