That's Too Much, Man!

Plot

After nine months of sobriety, Sarah Lynn receives a call from BoJack inviting her to a drinking party; she accepts and immediately opens a bottle of vodka, ending her sobriety. That night, after heavy drinking with Sarah, BoJack experiences blackouts. During these blackouts, the two watch old episodes of Horsin' Around, attend an AA meeting where BoJack confesses his attempt to sleep with Penny, and visit the homes of Mr. Peanutbutter, Diane, Princess Carolyn, and Ana Spanakopita to make amends.

At Ana's, BoJack has multiple blackouts while trying to hear a story about her lifeguard experience. After a two-week blackout, he hears the story: Ana became a lifeguard after nearly drowning, but her instructor told her that some people should not be saved because they will pull you down. Following another blackout, BoJack drives to Ohio with Sarah Lynn to make amends with Penny. They find her at a library and follow her to a school party, where BoJack drunkenly trips over a group of boys and Penny, frightened, tells them to leave.

Driving home, Sarah Lynn discovers the BoJack heroin given to BoJack earlier that year. At home, they decide to snort it rather than inject it. While high, BoJack has a flashback to 2007, when his former boss Cuddlywhiskers told him that The BoJack Horseman Show had poor ratings and suggested casting Sarah Lynn as a guest star. In the present, Sarah learns she has won the Oscar for Best Original Song, which saddens her because she dislikes who she is.

BoJack agrees to visit the Griffith Observatory with her. Inside, he nihilistically declares that in the grand scheme of things, people are tiny specks that will be forgotten, so past mistakes are pointless to worry about. Sarah Lynn then succumbs to a heroin overdose; BoJack nudges her shoulder and calls her name multiple times.

Reception

The episode received widespread acclaim from critics. Les Chappell of The A.V. Club gave it an A, praising BoJack's character development and the show's shift from comedy to drama, noting that despite bright colors and absurd images, the series presents a dark, uncompromising world akin to prestige cable dramas. Jenny Jaffe of Vulture rated it 5 out of 5 stars, lauding the ending and remarking that the writers allow character choices to influence growth, and that the episode demonstrates how dark the show can become.

Sarah Manuszak of The Bull & Bear praised Sarah Lynn's character development, stating that until her death she did not get to live her own life. Valerie Ettenhofer of Film School Rejects called the episode the "Tragic Centerpiece of BoJack Horseman." For her performance as Sarah Lynn, Kristen Schaal received a nomination at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance.