(This review contains spoilers not only of the episode being reviewed, but of subsequent episodes and seasons as well.)
"I don't know if Diane is damaged enough to tell my story," volunteers BoJack to Pinky early in the episode. It is a mark of BoJack's self-absorption that he could think so: we've already learned that Diane is plenty damaged (in fact, the central theme of BoJack Horseman may be that everybody's damaged), and we're about to learn a lot more about how and why.
"Live Fast, Diane Nguyen" is arguably the first episode of BoJack Horseman to allow a non-title character to take centre stage, though BoJack still figures prominently. These episodes are sometimes among the series' strongest - season 4's "Ruthie" is the obvious example - but here, results are mixed. We learn more about the source of Diane's insecurity, and about her failure to deal with it productively.
Just as no man is a hero to his valet, no writer is a hero to her parents and older brothers: Diane's resent her for thinking she's better than them, and mock her when BoJack explains that she isn't. Her ensuing meltdown gives BoJack the opportunity for some role-reversal, as he is the one bestowing advice on her (a reversal made possible by the diminuative effect of visiting one's family in one's hometown after building a career elsewhere). This blossoming of the relationship between BoJack and Diane (for my money, the series' most interesting), and the accompanying reveal that BoJack is capable of showing concern for others without later undermining it by sabotaging their rock operas, is the best thing about the episode. BoJack's observation that "closure is a made-up thing by Steven Spielberg to sell movie tickets" harkens neatly back to Butterscoth's earlier admonition that "imaginary friends are free-loaders invented by communists to rip-off welfare", and his unhesitating "Yup" response to Diane's "Even now, I still just want (her family) to be proud of me and think I did good...is that really stupid?" (and her indignant reaction) was laugh-out-loud funny.
But in the end, I'm left with the feeling that the episode tells us the wrong things. The take-away from BoJack's letter to Diane is nothing more insightful than that she's a good person...which she probably is, but it entirely misses the much more important point that she's an interesting person. And anybody who appreciates Diane as a character must surely have hoped for some push-back from her to BoJack's praise of Los Angeles's superficiality. Moreover, his decision to reach out to Herb Kazzaz immediately after telling Diane that closure doesn't exist suggests that he doesn't fully buy his own advice, which undermines everything we'd seen from him in the preceding scene.
In the episode's B-story, Todd (with Princess Carolyn's eventual collaboration) converts BoJack's home into "Boreanaz House", the putative home of David Boreanaz, and charges tourists admission. It introduces us to the "Todd adventure" (a plot line featuring Todd that provides comic relief but is ultimately wholly unimportant to any broader arc), which will become a recurring trope, but adds little else. We also get our first example of one of Diane's NPR ring tones, this one featuring Ira Glass, and the first appearance of Meow Meow Fuzzyface.
I probably don't appreciate voice-acting as an art as much as I should, but this episode has some stand-out pieces of it. Diane's mother (voiced by Melissa Leo) calling out "He don't eat grapes!" is, for reasons I cannot even begin to explain, possibly my favourite joke of the entire series. Will Arnett also has a couple of nice bits of work, with the way he makes the line "...because that's how reading works" positively ooze with condescension, and his "Never call me that!" retort to Todd's addressing David Boreanaz as "Davy B".
There are a few jokes worth mentioning - I thought that the non-copyright-infringing Boston sports jerseys worn by most of Diane's brothers were a nice touch, and Marty's panicked "What are we going to do?" when Diane drives off with her father's chum, followed by a flash-forward that shows that the answer to that question is "nothing", made me giggle. Diane's response to Mr. Peanutbutter's promise to give her one of his "patented peanutbutter hugs - crunchy AND creamy": "You know that patent wasn't approved" was excellent, but overall the episode is not among the series' funniest.
As a Diane-centric episode, "Live Fast, Diane Nguyen" must ultimately be judged by the contributions it makes to the characterization of Diane, and by this measure it's something short of a triumph. It's better than "Prickly Muffin", but is reminiscent of it in the sense that, given its premise, it feels like it should have been excellent, and yet it is merely good.
*********************
Best animal-based visual gags: I can't decide whether Gary's status as a literal black sheep qualifies as a visual gag, since Diane actually articulates it. If it doesn't, the prize goes to the maggot's inching across the floor at the funeral home, with an honourable mention to the statue of Paul Revere riding his horse('s shoulders).
Best running joke: BoJack's voice's appearances in Todd's head. Honourable mention to the repeated efforts to remember what David Boreanaz appeared in.
Best cameo by a character from another episode: Among the visitors to Boreanaz House seen being led off in handcuffs is Cecil, the 8-Twelve clerk from "Zoës and Zeldas".
Best cameo by a character whose main appearance will be later in the episode: As Diane and her family are discussing the chumming of her father, the elderly nanny goat who will eventually be hit by the said chum is seen walking by outside the bar.
"I don't know if Diane is damaged enough to tell my story," volunteers BoJack to Pinky early in the episode. It is a mark of BoJack's self-absorption that he could think so: we've already learned that Diane is plenty damaged (in fact, the central theme of BoJack Horseman may be that everybody's damaged), and we're about to learn a lot more about how and why.
"Live Fast, Diane Nguyen" is arguably the first episode of BoJack Horseman to allow a non-title character to take centre stage, though BoJack still figures prominently. These episodes are sometimes among the series' strongest - season 4's "Ruthie" is the obvious example - but here, results are mixed. We learn more about the source of Diane's insecurity, and about her failure to deal with it productively.
Just as no man is a hero to his valet, no writer is a hero to her parents and older brothers: Diane's resent her for thinking she's better than them, and mock her when BoJack explains that she isn't. Her ensuing meltdown gives BoJack the opportunity for some role-reversal, as he is the one bestowing advice on her (a reversal made possible by the diminuative effect of visiting one's family in one's hometown after building a career elsewhere). This blossoming of the relationship between BoJack and Diane (for my money, the series' most interesting), and the accompanying reveal that BoJack is capable of showing concern for others without later undermining it by sabotaging their rock operas, is the best thing about the episode. BoJack's observation that "closure is a made-up thing by Steven Spielberg to sell movie tickets" harkens neatly back to Butterscoth's earlier admonition that "imaginary friends are free-loaders invented by communists to rip-off welfare", and his unhesitating "Yup" response to Diane's "Even now, I still just want (her family) to be proud of me and think I did good...is that really stupid?" (and her indignant reaction) was laugh-out-loud funny.
But in the end, I'm left with the feeling that the episode tells us the wrong things. The take-away from BoJack's letter to Diane is nothing more insightful than that she's a good person...which she probably is, but it entirely misses the much more important point that she's an interesting person. And anybody who appreciates Diane as a character must surely have hoped for some push-back from her to BoJack's praise of Los Angeles's superficiality. Moreover, his decision to reach out to Herb Kazzaz immediately after telling Diane that closure doesn't exist suggests that he doesn't fully buy his own advice, which undermines everything we'd seen from him in the preceding scene.
In the episode's B-story, Todd (with Princess Carolyn's eventual collaboration) converts BoJack's home into "Boreanaz House", the putative home of David Boreanaz, and charges tourists admission. It introduces us to the "Todd adventure" (a plot line featuring Todd that provides comic relief but is ultimately wholly unimportant to any broader arc), which will become a recurring trope, but adds little else. We also get our first example of one of Diane's NPR ring tones, this one featuring Ira Glass, and the first appearance of Meow Meow Fuzzyface.
I probably don't appreciate voice-acting as an art as much as I should, but this episode has some stand-out pieces of it. Diane's mother (voiced by Melissa Leo) calling out "He don't eat grapes!" is, for reasons I cannot even begin to explain, possibly my favourite joke of the entire series. Will Arnett also has a couple of nice bits of work, with the way he makes the line "...because that's how reading works" positively ooze with condescension, and his "Never call me that!" retort to Todd's addressing David Boreanaz as "Davy B".
There are a few jokes worth mentioning - I thought that the non-copyright-infringing Boston sports jerseys worn by most of Diane's brothers were a nice touch, and Marty's panicked "What are we going to do?" when Diane drives off with her father's chum, followed by a flash-forward that shows that the answer to that question is "nothing", made me giggle. Diane's response to Mr. Peanutbutter's promise to give her one of his "patented peanutbutter hugs - crunchy AND creamy": "You know that patent wasn't approved" was excellent, but overall the episode is not among the series' funniest.
As a Diane-centric episode, "Live Fast, Diane Nguyen" must ultimately be judged by the contributions it makes to the characterization of Diane, and by this measure it's something short of a triumph. It's better than "Prickly Muffin", but is reminiscent of it in the sense that, given its premise, it feels like it should have been excellent, and yet it is merely good.
*********************
Best animal-based visual gags: I can't decide whether Gary's status as a literal black sheep qualifies as a visual gag, since Diane actually articulates it. If it doesn't, the prize goes to the maggot's inching across the floor at the funeral home, with an honourable mention to the statue of Paul Revere riding his horse('s shoulders).
Best running joke: BoJack's voice's appearances in Todd's head. Honourable mention to the repeated efforts to remember what David Boreanaz appeared in.
Best cameo by a character from another episode: Among the visitors to Boreanaz House seen being led off in handcuffs is Cecil, the 8-Twelve clerk from "Zoës and Zeldas".
Best cameo by a character whose main appearance will be later in the episode: As Diane and her family are discussing the chumming of her father, the elderly nanny goat who will eventually be hit by the said chum is seen walking by outside the bar.