Escape from L.A. (BoJack Horseman)

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"Escape from L.A." is the eleventh and penultimate episode of the second season of American animated television series BoJack Horseman, and the 23rd episode overall. It was written by Joe Lawson and directed by Amy Winfrey, and was released in the United States, along with the rest of season two, via Netflix on July 17, 2015. Olivia Wilde, Ed Helms, Adam Pally, and Ilana Glazer provide guest voices.

In the episode, BoJack visits his old friend Charlotte Moore in hopes of starting a relationship with her, only to find that she already has a family. He begins to bond with the family anyway, ultimately leading to disastrous and horrifying results.

This episode's title sequence is replaced with a special one set to "Kyle and the Kids", a parody of Full House opening credits theme "Everywhere You Look".

BoJack (Will Arnett) arrives in Tesuque, New Mexico, to surprise visit Charlotte (Olivia Wilde), a woman he knew in his early acting days with whom he desires to live happily ever after. To his shock, Charlotte is married and has two teenage children. BoJack buys a yacht as a cover story for being in New Mexico, which he calls Escape from L.A.. Charlotte convinces him to stay for a few days, which quickly becomes two months. BoJack has integrated himself into the family, sleeps in his yacht parked in the driveway, and has abandoned his responsibility to film Secretariat.

Penny (Ilana Glazer), Charlotte's 17-year-old daughter, is upset her crush rejected her invitation to high school prom. BoJack suggests he should go as her surrogate date in order to spite him. They go to prom on a double date with Penny's friends Maddy (Ali Wong) and her boyfriend Pete (Jermaine Fowler). BoJack supplies the group with bourbon whiskey en route. At prom, Maddy gets increasingly drunk, Penny gets sad seeing her crush with a date, and BoJack gets booed off the dancefloor.

BoJack tells them young people have freedom which adults never tell them about until it's "too late". They decide to leave the party, driving out to the desert. They release balloons tied to glow sticks into the night sky and BoJack slow dances with Penny. Maddy passes out. Fearing that she might have alcohol poisoning, they rush her to the hospital. BoJack abandons Maddy and Pete at the hospital, pressuring Pete to lie so BoJack is not held responsible, and he and Penny drive home.

At home, Penny tells BoJack he is the only adult who doesn't infantilize her and comes onto him. He tells her that she is too young to know what she wants, and she cries and goes inside. BoJack goes to the backyard, where Charlotte is sitting. They talk, and BoJack reveals that the balloon idea originated from an evening they once spent with the late Herb Kazzaz. BoJack says he does not know what to do with his life, and Charlotte tells him that where you are cannot change who you are. They kiss in the heat of the moment, but Charlotte quickly realizes it was a mistake. BoJack urges Charlotte to leave with him, or to forget about it so they can continue living as if nothing had happened. Charlotte tells BoJack that he should leave in the morning, and that he depresses her. Defeated, BoJack goes to his yacht, where Penny propositions him again. He rejects her again, but leaves his door open. Charlotte hears voices inside the yacht, opens the door, and finds BoJack and Penny in a compromising position. She sends Penny to her room and demands BoJack leave immediately and never contact them again.

BoJack has his boat driven to Los Angeles, where his house is in the same disrepair he had left it in. On the balcony, he finds Diane (Alison Brie) still squatting at his house.^[1]

Like every second-to-last episode of a BoJack Horseman season, "Escape from L.A." is particularly significant, and leaves the title character in a difficult place.^[2] BoJack ends the episode at a low point, as his time in New Mexico proves to be a major source of remorse that will haunt him for the rest of the series.^[3] In "Start Spreading the News" (S3E01), he partly confesses what happened in New Mexico to a journalist. This confession, recorded without BoJack noticing, is then played to Diane in season 5, which leads to the deterioration of their friendship. In "That's Too Much, Man!" (S3E11) BoJack travels to Oberlin, Ohio with Sarah Lynn, trying to make amends to Penny. He fails to do so, reopening Penny's wounds instead. In the same episode, BoJack gives Penny's complete name at an AA meeting; in season 6, this will lead journalists Paige Sinclair and Maximilian Banks to Penny while investigating Sarah Lynn's death. In "A Quick One, While He's Away" (S6E08), BoJack's half-sister Hollyhock meets Pete Repeat at a party. He describes his recollection of the events on prom night, mentioning Maddy's alcohol poisoning and describing BoJack as "some shitty dude".^[4] This proves to be a major setback in BoJack's relationship with Hollyhock, and eventually leads to her cutting him out of her life entirely.^[5]

"Escape from L.A." received critical acclaim. Caroline Framke of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A" grade, describing it as a series standout, and as a risky and "unequivocal condemnation of its main character".^[6] In Paste, Julie Kliegman gives the episode a 9.3 rating, saying that "BoJack's lovable loser status is gone, probably for good. Some mistakes are too big to laugh off."^[7]

• "Escape from L.A." on Netflix
• "Escape from L.A." at IMDb