who in your opinion had the most tragic/heartbreaking story in the show? for me, top contenders are definitely honey sugarman, sarah lynn, or beatrice.
sorry if this has been asked already, i’m just curious about what you guys think & couldn’t find another discussion about this in the subreddit.
Definitely Sarah Lynn
One story that I found heartbreaking but not as tragic as most of the other plot lines: Princess Carolyn realizing that Bojack was indeed the love of her life and that she cannot let him fall. And most of us never get more than one love of our life, and BoJack was hers.
Heartbreaking, yes. Tragic, a little.
Unpopular opinion: I assume that this sub sees the relationship between Bojack and PC as toxic because both of them are seen as “toxic” in their own way. But PC is not toxic. She knows what she wants, and always knew what she wanted. She is honest to herself to an extent that other characters are not. And she fell for BoJack and truly loved him, not because she wanted to help him, but because of genuine love.
Coming from where she did, I’m sure she deals with a ton of imposter syndrome for which she tries to overcompensate. PC is ashamed of her upbringing and so the fact that she brought Bojack to her dad’s funeral is a testament to how deeply she cares for him.
Also, industry person here. Her portrayal of an agent is spot-on, and her tendency to clean up others’ messes and cover for them like she did her mom is an asset because – especially as a manager (!) –you are essentially tasked with running a client’s life. PC never lived the sort of carefree life that many of her colleagues and clients did as children because she had to grow up fast. Her work ethic is the only thing she’s ever really been valued for – it was literally her ticket out of her hometown – so she builds her life around it. It’s part of why she resents Vanessa Gekko, who can do her job well while having the confidence in herself to have a full life outside of work, find love, and build a family. But no matter how successful PC is, you can always count on her to water the plants.
I keep going back to the moment when Bojack was insisting his relationship with PC was fine and she wasn’t damaged and her face just falls
Honestly, I’ve always loved PC, but during my third rewatch her character really shined. Maybe I was a little too fresh off a break up, but her story spoke volumes. It took her years to find the same love for herself that she had for BoJack. I love that her arc ends with self-respect (like cutting out Rutabaga, ending ties with BoJack by no longer representing him when he asked, not allowing men to tell her she was too old to have kids, etc) Her story is heartbreaking because we all know too many people give themselves up to love. Spending years in a place where they weren’t truly appreciated. Luckily, what made it not tragic was that she was someone who got out the other side :)
PC is arguably my favorite female character in any tv show. Her arc is just so painful and rewarding all the same. ‘Say Anything’ in S1 remains one of my favorites of the series and was the moment I knew I was in for something special. That the funny little animated horse show had a lot more to offer. Love her.
Omg yes. That last line “Prin-cess Ca-rol-lyn” “Yes phone?” “You-are for-Ty” fucks me up every time
Every single fucking time. It was undoubtedly the first distinct shift in tone for the series and I knew the writers understood it’s audience more than I had realized before. This wasn’t just family guy with a talking horse but something much deeper.
“Thanks phone.”
Wait when did that PC/BJ plotline where she realised he’s her true love happen?
Bojack, Beatrice, or Sarah Lynn. They all had just awful childhoods
Okay as a side note the dad accountant or what have you that PB steals from his song while Cats Cradle plays… so sad
Beatrice because her trauma kinda spreaded like a disease as she ended up directly traumatizing BoJack(Why everything) and Hollyhock(By poisoning her with diet pills). Joseph kinda alluded to it with “Your sickness has infected everything…”
Although she had a lot of trauma I don’t believe it excuses her treatment of at least Bojack. Plenty of people dealt with or deal with the same heartbreak and they do not emotionally scar their children. Or emotionally abuse or neglect them. She didn’t get the life she wanted and she took it out on everyone. She didn’t handle it well but she shouldn’t get a pass because of her upbringing. In my opinion she was just a bitter, entitled, terrible person.
It’s hard to beat Honey Sugarman as she lost her son, her sanity, and got a lobotomy. Not to mention being blamed by her husband for not caring for her daughter AFTER he made her get a lobotomy. That “why, I have a half a mind” is one of the saddest lines in this entire show.
People already pointed out the obvious ones, but I think Eddie somewhat qualifies since he’s dealing with survivor’s guilt about being the one who pushed his wife to keep flying on the night of her death.
Bojack horsamn. Everyone had a shitty childhood. But bojacks childhood was so heartbreaking. At keast Sarah Lynn’s mother told her she loved her.
I want to say Honey is my number one contender as well.
But the most underrated backstory has to be PC for me. Her mother is such an over looked character in the show, the fact that she blamed PC for loosing her “one chance” during her first miscarriage is so toxic (especially when she was only a kid). Another one is when she gave PC shit for wanting to go to California for secondary education. That women (cat?) practically depended on PC after all her children left. And that’s just her post California life! It was so fulfilling seeing her have Ruthy after all the trials and tribulations she went through. The fact that she wanted a family so bad and was infertile was so sad and heartbreaking. One of my biggest fears.
Honey Sugarman