I thought BoJack Horseman was about a washed-up celebrity, then one underwater episode showed me his soul

BoJack Horseman is a show that’s always worn its pain in plain sight. When I first started watching, I thought it was just about a washed-up celebrity trying to stay relevant in a world that had moved on.

BoJack, the former '90s sitcom star of Horsin' Around, seemed like the typical satirical figure: bitter, boozy, and full of biting one-liners. But then season 3, episode 4 happened. Titled Fish Out of Water, this mostly silent, underwater episode flipped everything I thought I knew about the show.

With minimal dialogue, the episode submerged BoJack, literally and emotionally, forcing both him and the viewer to communicate through gesture, gaze, and the haunting loneliness of deep-sea isolation. It showed me that BoJack Horseman isn’t about a has-been horse; it’s about human (and equine) fragility, unspoken regrets, and desperate attempts at connection.

The irony of him finally finding empathy in a world where he can’t even speak spoke louder than any monologue. For a show already rich in emotional complexity, Fish Out of Water marked a turning point. It told a complete story without a single word, and in doing so, it said everything.

Disclaimer: This article is based on the writer's opinions.

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BoJack Horseman and the art of silence

BoJack arrives at the underwater film festival after party, disoriented and feeling like an outsider as photographers swarm him. (image via Netflix)

Fish Out of Water isn't just a fan-favorite; it's widely regarded as a television masterpiece. In this episode, BoJack travels to the Pacific Ocean Film Festival to promote Secretariat, but quickly becomes stranded and isolated in a completely underwater city.

Here, he's forced to navigate not just the foreign world around him, but also his own internal chaos, without the use of language. The result is a half-hour of silent storytelling so powerful that it rivals any emotionally-charged dialogue scene in the entire BoJack Horseman series.

Director Mike Hollingsworth and series creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg use silence not as a gimmick, but as a canvas. Every frame is meticulously animated, filled with gestures and background details that invite viewers to read between the lines.

BoJack's underwater journey becomes an existential trip through guilt, longing, and the weight of his public persona. Despite the absence of words, the message lands like a gut punch: sometimes the most profound emotions are the ones we can’t articulate.

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How BoJack Horseman uses visual storytelling to explore emotional depth

Unexpectedly thrust into a caretaker role, BoJack bonds with a lost seahorse baby, revealing a softer side of himself. (Image via Netflix)

One of the most compelling aspects of BoJack Horseman is its willingness to experiment with form. The show often embraces surrealism, non-linear timelines, and metafictional elements to explore emotional truth. But nowhere is this more daringly executed than in Fish Out of Water. BoJack, unable to speak underwater, must rely entirely on his actions to convey meaning. This restriction doesn't limit the episode; it liberates it.

Through small acts of kindness, missed opportunities for connection, and one particularly heartbreaking misunderstanding involving a seahorse child and its father, BoJack's internal void becomes externalized.

He isn’t a hero, nor is he entirely a villain. He is simply someone trying to do the right thing, despite constantly being at war with himself. The episode pushes the boundaries of what animation, and more specifically BoJack Horseman, can achieve in telling deeply human stories.

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BoJack Horseman reveals its truest themes underwater

Realizing he could have spoken the entire time, BoJack screams in silent frustration, overwhelmed by regret and the cruel irony of his isolation. (Image via Netflix)

What makes Fish Out of Water so unforgettable is how it encapsulates the show’s deepest themes: alienation, self-sabotage, and the desire to be understood. Stripped of his voice, BoJack becomes just another creature trying to connect. It is in this voiceless space that we see him most clearly. The crushing realization comes when BoJack finally discovers he could have spoken all along by pressing a button on his helmet. But by then, the moment has passed.

This cruel twist isn't played for comedy: it stings with tragic resonance. BoJack Horseman has always been about missed chances and emotional paralysis. In this episode, we see how often BoJack waits too long and how often he lets fear and self-loathing get in the way of meaning. The underwater silence is a metaphor for his whole life: full of things he should have said, but didn’t.

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Why BoJack Horseman’s underwater episode changed everything

At the premiere of Secretariat, BoJack tries to play the role of the polished actor, but his expression betrays unease. (Image via Netflix)

Fans and critics alike point to Fish Out of Water as the moment BoJack Horseman proved it wasn't just an adult cartoon but a genre-defying work of art. It changed the way viewers perceived the series. It dared to take away the show’s signature witty dialogue and instead replace it with vulnerability, visual poetry, and a profound sense of loneliness. On Reddit, viewers often describe rewatching the episode and noticing new layers of meaning in each scene.

Beyond just emotional depth, the episode showcases BoJack Horseman's mastery of tone. It balances humor with heartbreak, absurdity with sincerity. BoJack’s clumsy attempts to help the seahorse baby, his small acts of compassion, and his final moment of emotional isolation all culminate in a wordless but devastating finale. It proves that even a talking horse can break your heart.

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BoJack Horseman beneath the surface

Alone with his thoughts, BoJack drafts a heartfelt apology to Kelsey, realizing too late how much he needed to say it. (Image via Netflix)

In the grand narrative arc of Fish Out of Water stands as a visual elegy to all the things left unsaid. It reframes BoJack not as a cynical celebrity caricature, but as someone profoundly lost in his own silence. It forces the audience to listen to what isn’t being spoken, and in doing so, redefines what television can be.

For a show that began as a satire, BoJack Horseman grew into something far more sincere: a meditation on regret, redemption, and the impossibility of truly being known. This underwater episode didn’t just show me BoJack's soul. It showed me mine too.