Summary
- The best BoJack Horseman quotes resonate with viewers, offering dark humor and deep insights into life's complexities.
- BoJack's tragic past shapes his self-destructive behavior, making him a flawed yet relatable character for audiences.
- Mr. Peanutbutter's quote reflects on the challenges of hiding inner sadness, a theme throughout the show's exploration of mental health.
Throughout its run, the best BoJack Horseman quotes made fans laugh, cry, and gasp. Netflix's first original animated comedy series was one of the streaming service's most popular shows. It is a cartoon about an anthropomorphic horse who is more human than most characters on television, and the ing cast features characters who are equally lovable and damaged. Somehow, BoJack Horseman managed to keep topping itself with its dark, bittersweet humor and insights into the human condition.
The best BoJack Horseman quotes help to secure the show's legacy as one of the best of the 2010s. Despite ending in 2020, the show resonates with viewers because of its realistic exploration of the main characters. BoJack is the protagonist, but he is not a hero, exhibiting various self-destructive behaviors and alienating those around him. This trait helps to make him feel genuine, and audiences have connected with this aspect. There are many BoJack Horseman quotes that excellently communicate ideas, cause introspection, and make viewers laugh, and they'll continue to do so for years to come.
BoJack Horseman won three Writer's Guild of America Awards with seven nominations. Notable wins include episodes like Time's Arrow and Xerox of a Xerox
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25 "Sometimes I Feel Like I Was Born With A Leak, And Any Goodness I Started With Just Slowly Spilled Out Of Me, And Now It's All Gone."
BoJack - Season 1, Episode 9
There are a lot of factors in BoJack's mental health issues and what causes them, but the show makes it clear that his childhood was a big factor. While this is not an excuse for his behavior, it is easy to feel sorry for him at times, especially with this devastating line. BoJack's upbringing was so damaging that he convinced himself that he was born with a flaw.
The idea that he once had the potential to be happy or "a good person" only for that potential to drain from him gradually over time is an astute observation of how early childhood events changed him forever. The show later introduced his mother and showed her culpability for Bojack's self-loathing and destructive behavior, and that makes this sad quote resonate even more, realizing that Bojack was almost pushed into this life as a child.
24 "Every Happy Ending Has The Day After The Happy Ending."
Diane - Season 1, Episode 10
Despite not being one of the BoJack Horseman, Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter's relationship progresses further than most people would have imagined until they eventually get married. However, living happily ever after is not in the cards for these two as Diane finds herself increasingly unhappy with her husband. Most people see marriage as the happiest moment of their lives, but there is then the life that follows the wedding day.
However, living happily ever after is not in the cards for these two as Diane finds herself increasingly unhappy with her husband.
Not everyone has a happily ever after despite enjoying their "magical" moment. Diane's quote about realizing that those happy moments don't last feels like a theme of the show, as BoJack Horseman was never interested in tying things up nicely, and moments that felt like happiness is at long last within grasp ended up being fleeting. Everyone wakes up the day after their happy ending and has to figure out what is next.
23 "It's So Cruel To Let People Love You. All You're Doing Is Promising That One Day You'll Break Their Heart."
Mr. Peanutbutter - Season 3, Episode 8
Mr. Peanutbutter is the one character fans would most want to be friends with. He is often an upbeat and positive person. However, as he becomes a bigger part of the show and is explored more in relationships, it becomes clear that he struggles with the same sadness and emotional dilemmas as everyone else. While BoJack is an outwardly depressed person and can't ever find happiness, Peanutbutter hides it very well, which is often worse, as people don't know he needs help.
This heartbreaking line sums up so much about his character. He is someone who wants to make people happy, and sometimes that can be a lonely thing, as most loving relationships will inevitably lead to heartbreak. His marriage and break with Diane show that he was right in doubting that happiness could ever really last, a running theme in BoJack Horseman.
22 "You Are All The Things That Are Wrong With You!"
Season 3, Episode 10
Though he was introduced as the goofy sidekick and remained a hilarious addition to the show throughout its run, BoJack Horseman, and his fun-loving side could sometimes be dropped in favor of some harsh realities. Todd was a good friend to BoJack even though he is generally treated unkindly. Though Todd is not the brightest guy around, he is not oblivious to such treatment or to the terrible things BoJack does.
While BoJack can sometimes blame other aspects of his life for what is "wrong" with him, Todd refuses to let him off so easily and suggests BoJack is the problem at the center of it all. Most people need a friend like Todd because he remains the only person who is completely honest with BoJack, and while the horse won't listen, Todd at least tries to offer some help to his friend.
21 "Are My Self-Destructive Patterns And Unexamined Cycles Of Codependency The Popular Jim Carrey Character The Mask? Because — Somebody Stop Me!"
Mr. Peanutbutter - Season 6, Episode 16
Some of BoJack Horseman show off the character's comedic aspects, while others show his surprisingly dramatic side. This BoJack Horseman quote manages to accomplish both. After many failed relationships and self-reflection, Peanutbutter comes to some realizations about his own issues, which he cannot help but share in his typical gimmicky sitcom jokey manner.
The way in which he delivers this deep and astute thought with such earnestness while also framing it in such a ridiculous way is a showcase of how brilliant the character is. The entire quote comes across as completely silly, but that encomes Peanutbutter's biggest problem. He is depressed, and he knows he needs help, but he can't help but make a joke of the situation, so no one knows how bad it really is for him.
20 “Before I Leaped, I Should Have Seen The View From Halfway Down."
Secretariat - Season 6, Episode 15
In the penultimate episode of BoJack Horseman, BoJack endures a near-death experience while drowning in his pool, giving him a vision of people he has known who died. During the haunting show that BoJack's dead acquaintances put on, Secretariat reads a poignant, hard-hitting poem. The full quote was, "But this is it; the deed is done. Silence drowns the sound. Before I leaped, I should have seen the view from halfway down."
The sad BoJack Horseman quote excellently reflects the protagonist's state at this point. The fact that BoJack's childhood hero, Secretariat, says it makes it all the more gripping. The entire series leads to a question of what will happen to BoJack — will he die or will he pull things out at the end? Neither of those things happen, as he lived, but he never found his true happiness in life. This quote hints at that fate.
19 “You Turn Yourself Around. That’s What It’s All About.”
Todd - Season 6, Episode 16
In the series finale, Todd tells BoJack that he rebuilt his relationship with his mom and things are going well, and he links this to what he sees as the hidden meaning of the "Hokey Pokey" song. Todd does not think it is about the "hokey pokey" at all; he thinks it is about turning oneself around. BoJack says, "I don't know if the songwriters put that much thought into the existential significance of the lyrics." BoJack Horseman sees no hope in life, no chance for happiness, and when someone else sees it, BoJack is the first to dismiss it.
However, Todd's point still stands, showing the optimism that fans love Todd for and illustrating that it is important to find positive meaning in art, even if that meaning was not initially intended. While BoJack can't be happy, it is nice to see someone like Todd find his happiness, even if it is in the lyrics of a children's song.
18 “The Rules Are Different For Women.”
Kelsey - Season 6, Episode 8
When Kelsey Jannings (Maria Bamford) is brought in to pitch a movie about a female superhero called Fireflame, she explains that being a female superhero is inherently different from being a male superhero because of how society functions. Kelsey pleading her case to the executives hits at some harsh truths about societal perception of female superheroes. "The rules are different for women. If you're a woman, and you save the day, nobody loves you...The more powerful you are, the more they'll take your power away...Also, in my version, she's gay."
She seeks realism in her work, which is not as optimistic as the executives may believe it would be. This is a problem in Hollywood and fandom in general, as female superheroes remain held to a higher standard by studio executives and fans alike. This quote was a case in which BoJack Horseman attacked the un-level playing field in entertainment with a very poignant episode.
17 “There Is No Other Side.”
Herb - Season 6, Episode 15
Towards the end of "The View from Halfway Down," as most other characters disappear into the darkness, a melancholic BoJack sees Herb, whose relationship with BoJack spawned one of the BoJack Horseman. Herb says, "See you on the other side." In a chilling, thought-provoking meditation on the great unknown that is death, Herb gives his response, and it is not what anyone wants to hear.
One of humanity's worst fears is that, after one dies, there is nothing, and Herb confirms that in a way that somberly ties the episode together. The quote is poignant because Herb says it. BoJack Horseman quotes are known for hard-hitting lines, and this is one of the most poignant. It is also one that lets BoJack know he will never get a happy ending, not even after he dies.
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For six seasons, BoJack Horseman realistically depicted several aspects of the human experience, whilst spawning numerous great, underrated quotes.
16 “I Feel Like My Life Is Just A Series Of Unrelated Wacky Adventures."
BoJack - Season 2, Episode 5
Most animated characters' lives are "just a series of unrelated wacky adventures," but BoJack's life goes deeper than that. BoJack Horseman has a serialized narrative, and unlike other cartoon characters such as Peter Griffin and Eric Cartman, BoJack has evolved, developed, and matured over the years. This BoJack Horseman quote is a slight variation of what Todd has said about his life, showing that the characters, despite their vastly different lifestyles, have some similarities.
This is one of the most meta-quotes of the entire series. BoJack doesn't know he is in a cartoon, but he did have a prior life as a sitcom star. He knew that his character on TV was one that just had wacky adventures, and each week, things would start over again. While BoJack changed tremendously throughout the series, he was too close to see this and just feels his life is as meaningless as the sitcom he left behind.
