Summary

• The ending of BoJack Horseman was a surprising conclusion, bringing closure to the complex journeys of its characters.
• BoJack Horseman surviving instead of dying in the pool was a tough but life-affirming choice that allowed for character growth and facing consequences.
• The ending was divisive, with some viewers feeling that BoJack's death would have been a more fitting and satisfying conclusion to the series.

The BoJack Horseman ending brought the complex journey of the show's titular protagonist and its other characters to a surprising conclusion. BoJack Horseman was a staple of Netflix Originals since it launched back in 2014, and that it managed to outlast so many other original Netflix series that debuted and were canceled during the same timeframe made BoJack Horseman all the more remarkable. Indeed, the BoJack Horseman ending felt like the end of an era. Created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg, the series has spent six seasons following the often painful life of its titular horse (played by Will Arnett) and his friends.

Viewers knew that the series was ending heading into season 6 after BoJack Horseman was canceled by Netflix, however, it was perhaps not the conclusion that many expected. The ending of BoJack Horseman wasn't just the conclusion to his story, but to so many of the character arcs developed over the course of six seasons. In the end, BoJack Horseman characters like Diane Nguyen, Mr. Peanutbutter, Princess Carolyn, and Todd Chavez all get fitting send-offs too. 2024 will mark a decade since BoJack Horseman first debuted, and it remains one of the best Netflix originals to ever air — with its legacy helped in no small part by the fitting BoJack Horseman ending.

Bojack Horseman is available to stream on Netflix.

What Happens In BoJack Horseman's Ending

BoJack's Near-Death Experience Leads To Some Heartfelt Goodbyes

The entire second half of BoJack Horseman season 6 plays as one long build towards its ending, with the most crucial moments coming towards the end of episode 14 (where BoJack gets drunk and high, and stumbles into the pool of his old house), and then playing out through episodes 15 and 16. Episode 15 deals with BoJack in what is essentially his own personal purgatory, surrounded by family and friends like Sarah Lynn, Herb Kazzaz, and his mother Beatrice, as they each move on into the afterlife.

While the end of the episode teases that BoJack himself might die, episode 16 quickly reveals that he's still alive. Instead of a death sentence, he gets a prison one, but in the BoJack Horseman ending, he comes out on day release for Princess Carolyn's wedding. This allows the BoJack Horseman ending to be a relatively quiet, unshowy affair. As BoJack interacts with each of the main characters in the BoJack Horseman cast, sharing heartfelt moments with all of them, the finale is centered on the core relationships of the show.

While he may still see some of them again, it also feels like a true goodbye in many ways as he watches fireworks with Todd, dances with PC, and talks on the roof with Diane. In the BoJack Horseman finale, there's no last-minute tragedy or triumph — the only fireworks here are those in the sky. Instead, BoJack spends one more day with his friends, and then gets to go on with his life.

Why BoJack Doesn't Die In The Pool, But Gets To Live

Despite Expectations BoJack Horseman Doesn't Die In The Finale

BoJack Horseman ending with BoJack's death was the expected outcome for many viewers — specifically with the protagonist dying in his swimming pool. It's certainly been theorized by many a fan, and also hinted at by the opening credits, which show BoJack submerged in that very body of water. However, the series saw it fit to not just acknowledge but also punish BoJack's history of abusing power. In the end, BoJack Horseman gets to have its cake and eat it by seemingly killing off the horse in the swimming pool, but then bringing him back for the finale.

While it's easy to see the hints of death in the opening credits, it's also easy to see the teases that BoJack will live. BoJack is submerged in the pool, before his friends, Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter, appear before him, and then the final shot is not him drowning, but floating and alive. This implies Raphael Bob-Waksberg was always planning to let BoJack live. After all, BoJack is a show that deeply tackles depression and substance abuse. Its themes would be tackled far less effectively, if after everything he's been through, BoJack Horseman ended up dead. Instead, the BoJack Horseman ending is tough but life-affirming.

As reflected in BoJack Horseman season 6's retooled opening credits, BoJack's comeuppance arrives soon after he survives almost drowning. Through explosive interviews and "Hollywoo" scandal, the series revisits BoJack's worst deeds. The audience, as much as BoJack himself, is forced to confront the many awful things the protagonist has done, especially when it comes to abusing his power over the women in his life. In that sense, BoJack Horseman ending in him drowning after a night of excessive substance use would be too easy — it would even feel tragic for him.

By sending him to prison instead, BoJack actually has to face the consequences of what he’s done and all the people he has hurt. In light of #MeToo and other Hollywood scandals, when so few have yet to face any real ramifications, that becomes another much more powerful statement than merely killing BoJack.

Why Some People Think BoJack Horseman Should Have Died

BoJack Surviving The Final Episode Was Divisive

The BoJack Horseman ending was somewhat controversial among viewers, as many felt there was an obvious, and much more fitting way to tail things off. BoJack surviving was a divisive choice, and some felt that the show ignored how clearly it had foreshadowed BoJack's death. There have been few protagonists that challenge the audience as much as BoJack Horseman, as he does some truly reprehensible things that make it difficult to follow his journey and care about him. With all the terrible things he did, many viewers felt that the character's death was the only suitable end for the series. The fact that he lived helped make BoJack Horseman's end one of the most divisive TV finales ever.

Redditor Ben_silv brought up this fact and how saving BoJack from his death was a mistake. With the previous episode hinting that he died, they admitted "it felt so perfect in a way" only to be disappointed that this was undone in the finale. They reasoned that BoJack's downward spiral was the journey of the entire season and saw his death as the inevitable conclusion to that story. Certainly, BoJack's destructive path in life made it seem like he would be dead by the time the show concluded.

The Redditor also points out that having the penultimate episode focus solely on BoJack and his death would have been fitting as the main character of the show deserved all the focus to tell the end of his story. They felt that BoJack sharing the time in the final episode with the other characters took away from allowing him to have a completely satisfying ending and the result felt "underwhelming."

Why The Plan Not To Kill Bojack In The Ending Was Perfect

BoJack Horseman Dying Would Make The Ending Less Poignant

Just as many BoJack Horseman viewers wanted to see him killed off, many others felt his survival at the end was perfect. Death as the BoJack Horseman ending is a popular idea among viewers, but the finale made a good case for why BoJack had to live. Once again, fans on Reddit shared their opinions on the matter, with Redditor ermonos suggesting that BoJack's death would have gone against the show's message as "Dying can be seen as a form of redemption." For BoJack to die just as his history of abuse is made public would have allowed him to escape from the consequences in a way.

BoJack Horseman is more interested in showing how BoJack lives with his flaws rather than how they would lead him to his death. Though BoJack is the series villain in many ways, the show never fully condemns him and suggests that it is possible for someone to change and better themselves. Season 6 saw BoJack on a better path before his dark history was made public. The show never suggested he didn't deserve to be confronted with his past, but that he might be able to move on from it.

Given the fact that so many viewers felt BoJack's death would have been fitting suggests it was too obvious and expected an end for show. BoJack Horseman decided to play against expectations and deliver something that was not the dark end for BoJack that many saw coming, nor a misplaced happy ending. It was a complex and open-ended finale that felt fitting for BoJack Horseman.

Why BoJack Ends With Him & Diane On The Rooftop (& What Their Conversation Means)

BoJack And Diane's Goodbye Is Thematically Significant

Driving home the core message of why BoJack wasn't killed off is his conversation with Diane, one of the few non-animal hybrids in BoJack Horseman's world of talking animals. It's very telling that, despite the series keeping the pair apart for much of this last season, the final moments in the BoJack Horseman ending come down to BoJack and Diane — the show's most important relationship.

BoJack and Diane's relationship has long been a difficult one, but also its truest: they've been supportive of each other, have turned away from one another, but ultimately know the other better than just about anyone else. The connection between them runs deeper than any of the series' romantic entanglements, which makes the final moments all the better (and harder).

With BoJack and Diane catching up, we learn that she's married Guy and is moving to Houston. Although unspoken, the implication is quite clear that this may be the last time the two ever see each other, even if Netflix changes its mind and greenlights BoJack Horseman season 7. BoJack and Diane may not be a couple, but it was like they were breaking up, as they both know they have to let each other go. Diane has had her own battles with depression and needs to be free to deal with them, and potentially has a shot at real happiness in Houston.

For BoJack, he knows he has to stop hurting those around him and using them as a crutch, which reached its nadir when he left the voicemail for Diane before his "death", with her thinking him dead for hours. This could have been an ending for BoJack Horseman, but the conversation between Diane and BoJack speaks to letting go of the past, and moving to a brighter future.

Princess Carolyn Marries Judah And Launches A New Career

BoJack's Former Lover Manages To Find Happiness

Another major figure in BoJack Horseman's life is Princess Carolyn, his friend, and former manager and lover. Princess Carolyn is basically the "Hollywoo" version of Tina Fey's Liz Lemon from NBC's 30 Rock. Like Diane, BoJack and Princess Carolyn's relationship is its own reward, and it too gets a key payoff with their dance at the wedding. Apart from what they mean to each other, this also hammers home how Princess Carolyn has come out on top of everything, proving that she really can have it all. She not only has a child and a husband, but also a promising new career ahead of her as she sets up a production company to focus on female-led films.

Being married to and working with Judah feels like the perfect ending for Princess Carolyn: one of the biggest themes of her storyline has been that she's figuratively married to her work, and thus unable to have a family. Now she is literally married to her work, and has made that into her family too. The relationship with Judah is surprising when it first arises early in BoJack Horseman season 6, but it's a truly fitting one for Princess Carolyn's journey.

What Happens To Todd & Mr. Peanutbutter In BoJack Horseman's Finale

Things Work Out For Many Of BoJack's Friends

Todd and Mr. Peanutbutter don’t get quite as much to do in the BoJack Horseman ending as Diane and Princess Carolyn, but this is more indicative of them having their own respective paths. Both have key moments with BoJack — Mr. Peanutbutter picks him up from prison, and Todd watches the fireworks atop his shoulders on the beach.

It's also established where they go after the BoJack Horseman ending. Todd has the daycare service he runs in Princess Carolyn’s building, and is settling down with Maude. Mr. Peanutbutter has his own restaurant. Pickles has gone off with Joey Pogo, but Mr. Peanutbutter seems okay with where his life is at, even returning what he thinks is the 'D' to "Hollywoo," or rather, now "Hollywoob."

Not even Bojack's Vincent Adultman can trump the blind optimism with which Mr. Peanutbutter conducts his life. The sense given by these scenes is that these main characters will remain in BoJack’s life. Mr. Peanutbutter certainly will, whether BoJack wants him to or not. Like with PC and Diane, BoJack Horseman gives these characters happy endings that feel fitting to the journeys they’ve been on, but don’t need to be tightly wrapped up. Their lives will simply keep on, but they, like the titular horse, seem to be mostly okay, or at least doing their best.

What Was In Hollyhock's Letter To BoJack?

BoJack's Sister May Have Cut All Ties With Him

If there's a negative to the BoJack Horseman ending, it's the lack of a resolution to the relationship between BoJack and his sister Hollyhock. While BoJack starts season 6, part 2, teaching at Wesleyan University, where Hollyhock attends, she does her best to avoid him after learning of what happened with Penny and her friends on their prom night back in BoJack Horseman season 2. Hollyhock understandably shuts BoJack out, and he's never able to find a way back in. He leaves her countless messages after returning to Hollywoo, but never hears anything until he receives a letter from her.

When he finally opens it, the contents clearly shatter him, sending him on one last downward spiral, but viewers never get to see what he read. Hollyhock doesn't appear again in BoJack Horseman, and while she's presumably still attending the University, it's unknown if things will ever be resolved between her and BoJack. It could perhaps be that her letter was saying as much — drawing a line under their relationship, explaining what she knew of his actions, and that she no longer wanted to be a part of his life.

In BoJack Horseman's ending he at least respects Hollyhock's wishes if she did in fact cut him off completely. If so, then perhaps it's best that Hollyhock wasn't in the Bojack ending, as it shows how BoJack is letting people go to not cause them any more pain.

The Meaning of the Song In BoJack Horseman's Ending

Cather Feeny's "Mr. Blue" Was Incredibly Appropriate

In the final scenes of the BoJack Horseman ending, the show plays out with Catherine Feeny’s song “Mr. Blue”, which becomes a poignant capstone on his relationship with Diane. The song speaks of a tumultuous yet loving relationship, when they care for one another, but it’s ultimately unhealthy. The lyrics, such as “I have to go now,” reference Diane’s move to Texas, and leaving BoJack and "Hollywoo" behind. It backs up just how important her decision is for her own health and happiness.

Indeed, Bojack Horseman is infamous among Gen Z audiences for three things: the way it tackles mental health and sociopolitical issues in a zany cartoon setting, Bojack's celebrity cameo voiceovers, and how the show has an awesome soundtrack. The lyrics of "Mr. Blue" also refer to BoJack’s own future, and how though audiences have to leave him behind, it's clear he'll actually be alright. "Mr. Blue, Don't hold your head so low that you can't see the sky / Mr. Blue, It ain't so long since you were flying high.”

These lines feel as though they were written for BoJack, especially in this BoJack Horseman ending moment. He may have done terrible things, he may be in prison, he may be saying goodbye to those close to him, but he can still look up and see that sky, see tomorrow, and know he can and will be better. If BoJack puts the work in, he might really be able to change.

BoJack Horseman's Ending Is A Message Of Hope

Despite The Show's Bleak Tones, The Ending Is Uplifting

BoJack Horseman’s ending feels like a companion piece to the Mad Men finale: two deeply evil, flawed, and broken male protagonists whose journeys culminate with intimate conversations with the women closest to them, and a quiet moment that reflects just how much they’ve changed and grown. It isn’t, of course, 100% cut and dry for BoJack, but the ending offers the one thing the show so often seemed to withhold: hope. As Diane so eloquently puts it, summing up the core theme of BoJack Horseman all along: “Life’s a b*tch, and you keep on living.”

Why There Won't Be A Bojack Horseman Season 7

Continuing BoJack Horseman Would Negatively Impact Its Ending

Even today, audiences continue to speculate about why there won't be a BoJack Horseman season 7, but the simple reason is that the show has come to its natural conclusion. BoJack Horseman is notable mostly for how it has perfected juxtaposing sad, serious, and even socio-politically charged storylines with a colorful cartoon universe, allowing for the unexpectedly poignant moments that have become its trademark. Unlike the essentially plotless and more freeform 33 seasons of The Simpsons, BoJack Horseman is limited by the realistic growth of its main characters.

After six full seasons, BoJack has learned everything he can possibly learn from leading a hedonistic and later repentant life, and the viewers have learned everything they can from BoJack's journey as well. Netflix also clipped its animation budget, which might also be a contributing factor, although it's unlikely that BoJack Horseman was axed as a fan-favorite show over less popular projects. BoJack Horseman season 7 could still somehow see the light of day, but it's unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Will Bojack Horseman Get A Spin-Off?

There Are No Plans For More Shows In BoJack's World

BoJack Horseman won't be getting any spin-offs — the BoJack Horseman ending is final, and as far as series creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg is concerned, BoJack and the rest of the cast's stories are closed. Bob-Waksberg has also further explored similar themes as BoJack Horseman through Tuca & Bertie, which further closes the doors on any possibilities of any Bojack Horseman characters getting spinoffs of their own.

Like BoJack himself, the showrunners have simply moved on to other things, despite the audience clamor for more. After enough time has passed, only then would any type of BoJack Horseman spinoff make sense. For now, there would have to be a very compelling reason, plot-wise, for BoJack to make any type of return to Netflix in the next years. As Bob-Waksberg (via Collider) said in an interview regarding the show's ending and the possibility of a spinoff:

...My answer is, "No, I think we told a story with our characters, and perhaps there are more stories that could have been told with them, but that's... we can leave that to everyone's imagination." I think, obviously I've enjoyed working on Tuca & Bertie, which is not a spinoff and is similar in some ways and a very different world in other ways. They don't exist in the same world, but I think there's more you could do with animal characters. There's more you could do with Hollywood satire. There's more themes that you could explore from the show. But I think an official spinoff, I don't really see the point honestly. I feel like we told the story and we explored this world.

While Bob-Waksberg doesn't seem overly interested in revisiting these characters, one collaborator on BoJack Horseman has more enthusiasm about the idea. Amy Sedaris who voices Princess Carolyn expressed excitement about possibly returning for a BoJack Horseman spinoff. She acknowledged that there is demand from viewers and specifically spoke about returning to these characters, saying "You really do want to see them again."

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  BoJack Horseman

  Summary:

  Meet the most beloved sitcom horse of the '90s - 20 years later. BoJack Horseman was the star of the hit TV show "Horsin' Around," but today he's washed up, living in Hollywood, complaining about everything, and wearing colorful sweaters.

  Cast:

  Amy Sedaris, Will Arnett, Alison Brie, Aaron Paul, Paul F. Tompkins

  Genres:

  Drama, Animation, Comedy

  Release Date:

  2014-08-22

  Seasons:

  6

  Story By:

  raphael Bob-Waksberg

  Writers:

  Raphael Bob-Waksberg

  Streaming Service(s):

  Netflix

  Directors:

  Raphael Bob-Waksberg

  Showrunner:

  Raphael Bob-Waksberg

  Season List:

  BoJack Horseman - Season 1, BoJack Horseman - Season 2, BoJack Horseman - Season 3, BoJack Horseman - Season 4, BoJack Horseman - Season 5, BoJack Horseman - Season 6