I’m not sure if this has been discussed before here, but I’m rewatching the show and I’m wondering why, instead of Bojack’s dad, does Secretariat show up? Was it because Bojack saw him as more a father figure/role model than his actual dad? Later in the episode they go out to have a cigarette and Bojack talks to him like he’s his actual dad…why? Thoughts???
Edit: Just watched him recite the poem. He even writes like Butterscotch did. Is this him desperately trying to save Bojack from dying?
Was it because Bojack saw him as more a father figure/role model than his actual dad?
Yes. Bojack viewed Secretariat as his positive role model while he was growing up, and many of the social cues he picked up are from various TV shows he would watch to drown out his parents’ infighting.
Later in the episode they go out to have a cigarette and Bojack talks to him like he’s his actual dad…why? Thoughts???
It’s an interaction he deeply wishes he could’ve had with his own father. The two of them, just chilling, having a smoke together, and good vibes, just like in the TV shows and movies. It’s something that could never happen because firstly, Butterscotch died, and secondly, Butterscotch was a terrible dad.
He even writes like Butterscotch did. Is this him desperately trying to save Bojack from dying?
Yes. The poem expresses the regret Secretariat felt as he was halfway down from having jumped off the bridge and the reality of his situation hit him.
I never thought about it that way
yeah, bojack saw secretariat as a father figure and role model. the interaction with secretariat is what he wished he could have had with his own dad. the poem expresses secretariat’s regret and his attempt to save bojack.