Thoughts and Prayers: Bojack Horseman, Gun Violence, and the Phrase Made Profane

Bojack Horseman has really taken it upon itself to address the unbelievable dumpster fire of the real world in season four. After addressing the season as a whole, I want to dive into one episode that is so close to home with recent news: the episode “Thoughts and Prayers” takes a dark comedic view on the epidemic of mass shootings in the United States, and the faint of heart should brace themselves. The episode begins with film exec Lenny Turteltaub’s assistant rushing to brief him on the sad news that a mass shooting has happened. He asks “where?” and the assistant starts to tell him… until he is interrupted with the specific “where” he is looking for — the location, as in a “school, park, bank, etc.” As it turns out the shooting was in a shopping mall. Their new film featuring actress-model Courtney Portnoy, “Taken,” features a shootout in a shopping mall. Turteltaub jumps into action calling on Princess Carolyn to try to get ahead of the tragedy, and of course sending “thoughts and prayers” to the victims. But the real concern is clear: how do we get this film released?

In a brainstorming session, Todd says, “I’m just saying, if people have the right pumped up kicks they can outrun the bullets,” referencing the song “pumped up kicks” that everyone knows and loves but often doesn’t realize it’s about school shootings. In order to get ahead of the tragedy and still release the film, Princess Carolyn contacts Diane, a journalist at a hot new blog, to interview actress Cour…