spoilers for Season 5 of the show

The show Bojack Horseman is one of my favourite shows of all time- genuinely. From the complex characters, to the absolutely hilarious comedy, and the incredibly gut-punching emotional scenes, I love it all. This show, in my eyes, lacks very few things . An arc that really intrigued me was the cheating storyline between Mr Peanutbutter and Diane Nguyen (the recently divorced couple). This arc interested me for a few reasons. Firstly, because it added depth to the characters. Secondly, because I have very strong feelings about cheating- so I wanted to see how it would be handled, and most importantly the repercussions it would bring. However, what I forgot to factor in was the reaction of the public.

Before we continue, we have to get on the same page: cheating is wrong (of course this is the general consensus that most people agree with). Now it would be wrong to say that this is for every single, incredibly specific scenario. BUT in most cases: it is wrong.

The second thing I want to make VERY clear is: Both sides of the party involved in cheating are in the wrong. This, however, is where some people start to disagree. I have come across quite a few arguments that in the scenario between Diane and Mr Peanutbutter- Diane was the one that should bear most of the blame. This is where things get dicey- so let’s begin.

In the show, Diane at the time of the cheating is a single, adult woman of 36. She is fully aware what she is doing is wrong, and even says that she felt sick of herself for doing it. However, Mr Peanutbutter is also a fully grow adult man, in his late 50s. He too is fully aware what he is doing is wrong. But here comes the key difference between them. While Diane is single, Mr Peanutbutter is in a relationship. This is where my view on who to blame diverges. I wholly agree that Diane, knowing that he is in a relationship, makes her (quite frankly) a crappy person for still sleeping with him. But Mr Peanutbutter agreed and consented to sleeping with her. Of his own accord. As the person in a relationship, he has the primary obligation to be faithful. So it bothers me that Diane is getting more blame than Mr Peanutbutter in this scenario.

So I started to look closer at the arguments being made against her. Namely, that she is the one who initiated it.

But how did she initiate it?

By saying: “Do you want to come in?” after Mr Peanutbutter drops her home. Now if you’re puzzled, don’t worry- so was I. Because I was under the impression that inviting someone into your new home- does not mean you’re inviting them to sleep with you. I was unaware that Diane spoke in parables. Because that is the only way that that sentence results in an invitation to sleeping together. Especially since in the car ride home, Mr Peanutbutter gave Diane their finalised divorce papers.

So this cannot be it, can it? There is no way that her simply inviting him inside her house, is the reason why she is to be blamed more than Mr Peanutbutter (who, not to mention, offered her the car ride home – if all invitations relate to initiation apparently).

So I started to look at the characterisation of these two characters, and suddenly it made more sense. I believe there are two main reasons why people blame Diane more. Firstly, because she is a woman (and anyone that doesn’t see that as a factor is mistaken) and secondly, because of their personality types. So let’s truly look into it.

I’m sure there are many different sites discussing the double standards between males and females within society, so I’m not really going to spend too much time on it. See any post about how women that have been raped still get asked “what were you wearing?” and you might get a clearer understanding of how society often likes to look for a way to villainise women in many situations. This is also proven by the fact that if we took these exact characters in this same position but changed their gender- the arguments being made would look very different. This blame shifting, often takes away from the agency of men; as it is linked with the idea, that to some extent or another, men are not fully in control of their own actions. This is -to put it plainly- an archaic way of thinking that looks down on men and should not be promoted. But this way of thinking is extremely important when it comes to Mr Peanutbutter’s characterisation.

See as I was thinking about this, I started to look at other groups that are favoured within society. And I realised that certain personality types are favoured within our society. Think about the most popular person in class, their personality type, the type that’s the center of attention. This is not a blanket statement, but most of them are extroverted. Now when we apply this to Mr Peanutbutter- the picture becomes very clear.

Mr Peanutbutter is a man in his late 50s, yet he is still undeniably immature. He rushes into business ideas without thinking long-term. He has been in three failed marriages which has been attributed to his problems with not listening, and his inability to grow up. Yet, he is still loved by all (excluding Bojack). This is because of his ‘happy-go-lucky’, extroverted personality type. People within the show, as well as the audience, want to root for a positive person (especially in a show that has extremely hard messages and themes). His extroverted, earnest demeanor is the same type of personality that is praised in our society. There is nothing inherently wrong with this- until this praise leads to people putting him on a pedestal. In a way that almost seems like coddling. So when the cheating scandal starts, people want to find a way to keep that innocent light that he radiates shining, even though he is a grown adult. They would rather say Diane misled, or manipulated him; when the reality is, Mr Peanutbutter (on his own accord) could have said no. There was no hidden agenda. It was two consenting adults, doing a very bad thing.

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The situation is not helped by the characterisation of Diane. Because, an essential part of Diane’s character is being a sort of moral compass, a voice of reason within the show. As we’ve seen through her development, she is almost self-righteous in the way she speaks and the criteria she holds everyone around her to. This results in her being very disliked by people that see her making a mistake- small or big- as her suddenly being this despicable hypocrite. This is misleading because she is a human, and has been often called the ‘female Bojack’. She is messed up, she is not a saint, but she is characterised to be a moral voice that redirects Bojack, and it has led many viewers to think: what gives her the right to pass on judgement? So when she makes a decision to sleep with someone that is in a relationship, it adds a lot of fuel to the fire that overcasts the blame that Mr Peanutbutter shares in the situation.

This argument that Diane manipulated the loveable Mr Peanutbutter, that she tricked him, that he would not have done it if he knew that they wouldn’t get back together, is speculative and based off of assumptions that are uncalled for. Diane never explicitly (or even tacitly) said that she wanted to get back with him. But even if she had, it would still have been wrong. He is in a relationship. He goes on to then not come clean to his girlfriend, Pickle, about the cheating, and to instead propose to her. This was an example of how Mr Peanutbutter avoids confrontation at all costs, leading him to always repeat mistakes. This was brilliantly shown in the episode Mr Peanutbutter’s Boos.

Now if I’m going to attribute his repetition of mistakes to anything, it’s going to be his philosophy- which not many people seem to take into account when thinking about him.

His philosophy gives us insight into his nihilistic perspective on happiness that guides how he moves through life. With a perspective that lacks a search of meaning, which he has interpreted as not looking within. He chases short term happiness, which shows in the business ideas that he constantly funds, as well as the type of women he marries- and evidently why they always leave him. He avoids confrontation at all costs, because it doesn’t make him happy. Even though, in many scenarios, conflict and friction can fix problems before they spiral, and can result in growth. This is very clear in his relationships. I’m not going to divulge my philosophy about life or anything, but I can point out that his lack of searching has reduced his self-awareness, and that cannot be healthy for an adult relationship.

All these factors result in Mr Peanutbutter being set up to being favoured by the vast number of viewers. Diane said it best:

People not holding Mr Peanutbutter responsible for his own actions is a symptom of a greater flaw within our society. A society where certain types of personalities/ overt characteristics, in conjunction with gender biases, have resulted in some people not being held accountable for being a crappy person. It also makes some people more easily villainised/ blamed. As seen with Diane and Mr Peanutbutter.

I’m really excited about the next season of Bojack Horseman. I’m curious how this storyline will be concluded. I’m overall extremely excited about all the arcs that will be explored, from Todd Chavez to Princess Caroline.

x. Jewel

If you had asked me two years ago: Jewel, who’s your least favourite Disney princess? I would have said Princess Ariel or Snow White but that’s another story.

If you had asked why, I would have said. ‘Because she was an ignorant, entitled girl that gave up her voice, her tail and her family and status for a Prince she had never spoken to.’ As in, who does that. Yet, with time that initial aversion I had towards her seemed to morph into something more ugly. (yes indeed I was one of those people that said Ursula was in the right) I couldn’t wrap my head around how someone that was born into royalty, a position that I believed inherently reduced the amount of struggles that she was bound to face, would give up all of those opportunities for a guy (that she had no idea was a Prince) that she has never had a full conversation with.

I strongly think (even till today) that the movie would have benefitted more from Ariel falling in love with a peasant and coming to the surface and seeing what the real world was about, had to do hard work and learn that it was not perfect on land, before going back home and being grateful for what she had.

However, this interpretation is based on the fact that the lesson I initially got from The Little Mermaid was: ‘drop all rationality and chase a guy and, if you’re as lucky as Ariel then you’ll end up with a prince’. BUT, alas, I was wrong. I’m older now and I have been watching another show that took my views and turned them upside down.

This show is none other than, Steven Universe. A friend of mine that knows that I am a huge animation enthusiast introduced me to the show a few years ago, and it has shaped me into what I believe to be a better person today.

Major Spoilers for Steven Universe recent seasons

After the reveal that the beloved titular character Steven, was in fact the infamous Pink Diamond. I fell down a hole, going about and seeing all the different foreshadowing that came with this revelation. It re-contextualized the entire show, changing character dynamics, giving new meanings to everything Rose Quartz ever said and most importantly- left me with a thousand burning questions as to what made her do what she did.

With every new interaction that occurred between Steven and the Diamonds that followed, the reveal of how toxic Homeworld is (not just for the working gems, but for the Diamonds themselves). The more I learnt about Pink Diamond’s upbringing, the more I understood Ariel. Of course it’s not an exact parallel, but there are a few jarring similarities to be pointed at.

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As I looked closer at Ariel, I came to believe that the main theme of The Little Mermaid was in actuality more of a commentary on bad parenting. More specifically, the dismissal of what the child believes in, and the acts of manipulation (physical and emotional) in order to try and force said child to conform to their will. These all contribute to the overall abuse both characters experience directly as a result of a controlling parental figure/s.

In Pink Diamond’s case her curiosity with creatures that didn’t serve a particular role, and activities that were done simply because they were fun, were directly looked down on by the other diamonds -due to their strict society. Like Ariel, her direct interests with the human world (organic beings with ‘freedom’- more freedom than they possessed) was met with direct dismissal, but with time the more they grew passionate; Pink about ending the diamonds colonialist tyranny on other planets and Ariel- with her father’s growing unnecessary restrictions; the rift between them continued to grow. Resulting with both of them running away and changing/ losing fundamental parts of their identity.

The abuse both these characters face was in many ways due to the suppression of their ability to pursue their passions. While re-watching The Little Mermaid it’s important to note that Ariel’s obsession with land and all things human came before she first met the Prince. She was collecting man-made objects and was curious about land long before there was a man involved. So it would be faulty of me to say that all her decisions to leave were due to a Prince. Triton’s final crusade, destroying all the items she had been collecting and fawning over for years could be seen as a metaphorical attempt to destroy a part of her, due to this she is easily misguided into following Ursula’s minions to her lair. This incident is one of the many ways in which Triton shows an abuse of power. In the preceding Ariel movie, he also bans music, another thing that Ariel has an affinity towards. This environment was stifling and unhealthy for her. Similarly to how Pink Diamond was not listened to about sparing her colony [Earth] and not destroying the life and resources on it, was shut down consistently by the Diamonds, despite her pleading.

Another important factor is that both Ariel and Pink Diamond were children. Which can be seen in their choices (that could be deemed as reckless) to solve the problems they were facing. Ariel was 16 (a very sheltered teenager- that had a controlling King looking after her) her naivety in her interaction with the fully-grown, master-manipulator sea-witch, Ursula, shows how Ariel in desperation to get away, to be with someone that she believed she could be loved by: a human (a species that she had idealized their lifestyle and culture for so many years of her life) gives up her family, her voice and her home to be with him, a decision no child should feel like they have to make. She gave in to Ursula (who could successfully trick many other fully-grown merfolk into making deals with her). Her current toxic relationship with her father made her more susceptible to the manipulations of Ursula. This decision mirrors Pink Diamond’s decision. After trying to reason with her family and failing to reason with them, because they treated her like a child and showed no respect for what she said constantly, leads to her changing her physical form and starting a revolution against them.

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Looking at Ariel now, I can see why she did what she did. As a person that was 16 only a year or two ago, having your feelings constantly discarded and your voice not being taken seriously, quite frankly, can justifiably make you feel mad, which can lead to the irrational decision to make a dodgy deal or to start a fight in anger. It would be unfair of me to judge her character without taking all of these factors into consideration.

With this new context to Ariel (which isn’t revolutionary or anything) it made it very easy for me to sympathise with her drive, her motivation to escape. To start a new life. Both Pink Diamond and Ariel are products of parental figures failing to understand and properly treat their children. Resulting in the child fleeing in pursuit of a place where they can feel and experience real love. One that is not conditional or based on them giving up fundamental parts of their beliefs/ identity. It is instead a story about thriving in a new, safer environment after risking it all.

I have a new found respect for Ariel.

Thank you for reading.

x. Jewel

Princess Series 1/?