Last season of BoJack Horseman ended on a downer, and I found myself not only disappointed in BoJack’s regressive actions, but also rather convinced that it might be impossible for this guy to find happiness. BoJack himself has hissed out enough monologues about how he is poison or undeserving of love that the audience is well aware of how broken this horseman is. In order to get past all of that, BoJack has to re-examine where he comes from. The season’s premiere deals with BoJack trying to rebuild this old home from his youth, but it’s an image that’s emblematic of the season as a whole. The rest of the world continues to move on around BoJack, but he can’t do the same until he fixes his shit. This theme of repairing your foundation is explored in a lot of different ways this season.

The biggest change to BoJack’s status quo is the appearance of Hollyhawk, a young horse who may or may not be his daughter. Not long after Hollyhawk’s arrival, fate would have it that BoJack also finds himself back in the orbit of his mother, a character who has only been a mild presence via flashbacks up until now. These two characters simultaneously represent BoJack’s past and future, so to speak. They’re physical embodiments of the psychological issues that BoJack is trying to work through. Both Hollyhawk and BoJack’s mother are constant highlights throughout the season, with this largely having to do with the strong performances coming from Aparna Nancherla and Wendie Malick, the latter of which is given an entire episode to showcase her talents.

With BoJack suddenly finding himself in the role of a parental figure this year, a lot of this season deals with him trying to do the right thing because Hollyhawk is present. However, due to the pressure of doing the right thing being higher than ever now, BoJack inevitably screws up. It becomes a vicious cycle where BoJack’s wins are all the sweeter, but when he crashes and burns it’s a real disaster. All the while his mother is breathing down the back of his neck. This trial by fire is the right way to get BoJack to grow up. Or rather, it’s the only way to get him to grow up. Literally everything else has unsuccessfully prompted maturity in him. All of the trauma from previous seasons is actually helping him change when he needs to the most. Furthermore, one of the most enjoyable things about this season is how realistic and flawed this journey is for BoJack. He’s not just infallible all of a sudden, but the bonding and opening of his heart is a shaky, believable process. He is consistently inches away from doing the right thing.

This season essentially sees BoJack segregating himself with Hollyhawk and his mother while the rest of his support systems are gone. As BoJack doubles down on family, the rest of the characters move on without him. It’s shocking how little interaction BoJack has with the rest of the core cast this season and how so much of it takes place via phone calls. He’s isolated himself and now he’s dealing with these consequences, for better or worse. It’s cathartic to see BoJack beginning to realize that others need him less, while he’s beginning to need them more.

The topic of family and the theme of repairing your foundation are also rampant through everyone else’s stories this season. Perhaps taking up the most focus are the antics of Mr. Peanut Butter who finds himself running for governor. I’m not sure if BoJack needs to become yet another show that inevitably puts the latest election in its crosshairs, but it’s a series that’s so damn smart and thoughtful with everything that they do that I’m willing to trust their instincts. It also ends up acting as a useful lesson in Mr. Peanut Butter’s life where he understands that there are limits to his likability.