BoJack Horseman Season 6, Episode 3: Diane can only be dispirited after her efforts to expose the 'ugly underbelly of US capitalism'

Spoiler Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Season 6, Episode 3 of BoJack Horseman. 

The ‘BoJack Horseman’ approach to certain issues is generally to take those issues to their most illogical extension. The world of ‘BoJack Horseman’ is a wacky mirror held up to the world’s ills, and in its third episode, ‘Feel Good Story’, that mirror is held up to the ominous march of capitalism. 

Part of the dangers of a capitalistic society happens when enough companies merge into one, giant conglomerate that has more power than any one collective should. Such a conglomerate has, in fact, existed for a while within the show, as Philip Morris Disney Fox AT&T AOL Time Warner PepsiCo Haliburton Skynet Toyota Trader Joe’s (whew).  In ‘Feel Good Story’, the conglomerate is acquired by Whitewhale Consolidated Interests, who act as the sinister face of capitalism in this episode.

Diane (Alison Brie) and the cameraman she’s begun a relationship with, Guy(LaKeith Stanfield), have been on the road for Girl Croosh. They’ve been having a good run of things, as, video by video, they expose the “ugly underbelly of American capitalism” for the site. Unfortunately, depressing stories do not get clicks, and Diane is forced to do a simply feel-good story. That turns out to be easier said than done, as the very first story she finds - a small startup with wholesome goals and practices - turns out to have just been purchased by Whitewhale. Whitewhale, of course, slashes those wholesome goals and practices in terms of ones better suited to profitability - such as shutting down a local factory to hire cheap labor overseas. 

Diane’s video highlighting Whitewhale’s predatory practices leads to Whitewhale (or, at least, complicated subsidiaries) purchasing Girl Croosh itself. Diane is no longer allowed to make any negative content about any of the many, many companies that Whitewhale owns, effectively killing her career. 

Not to be undone, Diane and Guy attempt to make one last video to take Whitewhale down, by covering the death of one of Whitewhale’s employees. Once again, the company is ahead of them, as the company’s CEO, Ezekiel Whitewhale (Stephen Root) himself confesses to murder, on live video, with near-gleeful shamelessness. Shareholders apparently approve of a company that doesn’t let morals get in the way of profits, and Congress just passed a bill that lets one literally get away with murder, if they’re rich. 

It’s a soul-crushing take on the inevitability of capitalist power (helped along by a delightful cartoon video that explains oligarchies and vertical integration), and it’s a story that’s interwoven with Diane and Guy’s budding relationship. 

As unsubtle as the show can sometimes be, the episode doesn’t really offer any solutions to capitalism - but it does attempt to answer a far more personal question. How can anyone even begin to feel good once you’re aware of everything that’s happening in the world? It’s a question most pertinent to Diane, who is possibly the most well-informed character on the show. It’s that awareness of the world’s politics that keeps her from being happy. 

A letter from BoJack, though, helps Diane realize that there are alternatives to being miserable. Miserable is not something someone has to be. There’s no easy takeaway from this episode - predatory capitalism is a serious problem, and blindly accepting the world as the way it is isn’t something the show advocates. It does, however, underline a message that seems obvious, but can be hard to swallow: you don’t have to be miserable to be a good person. 

Part 1 of Season 6 of ‘BoJack Horseman’ is currently out on Netflix. Part 2 releases January 31.