The scene where Mr. Peanutbutter asks Diane why she made such a big deal out of the situation, and she said “someone had to say something” and he says “and that someone had to be you…because…why?”. Later in the conversation, he goes on to say he doesn’t understand why she is taking a stand on something she has nothing to do with, and how it is jeopardizing his role on the Hollywoo Stars and Celebs.
When I was younger and first watched the show, I agreed with Mr. Peanutbutter. Why was she getting all riled up about something that had nothing to do with her? I knew she felt passionately about it but like yeah, she had no connection to it whatsoever. But as I get older & find myself more empathetic towards and deeply unsettled by the injustices in this world, I feel obligated to speak up for and educate others about marginalized groups when they have not had the chance to have a voice. This has caused me to be a “Diane” in some situations while talking to my older family members about social issues, who in turn would be the “Mr. Peanutbutter.”
I do also see his side, because his career is important as well and she’s making very publicly disliked statements when she is very openly married to him. Though, I do feel at this point in the show that Diane’s side is ultimately more important and difficult for her yet she still pushes through because she sees the importance, while Mr. Peanutbutter has been able to breeze through life, not really facing any hard realities. In turn, making him unable to understand her situation. I think he could survive just fine if he supported her and faced some backlash, as he would surely bounce back (in the Bojack Horseman cinematic universe where, of course, popular people face little to no consequences.)
Just want some opinions. :)
My main argument:
This is the comment I was looking for. This whole thing is about power and power dynamics, and what happens when you try to expose people in power even if it’s not your “role.”
Mr. PB is looking at the concretes – the death threats, his career, the fact that Diane could have just not.
Diane is looking at the abstracts – power dynamics in Hollywoo, the fact that Hank is a symptom and not a disease, her own womanhood.
I believe the conversation between Mr. PB and Diane could have gone very differently, and I’m thinking here about Sextina Aquafina’s abortion. Diane is pissed the whole episode about Sextina making what she believes to be a joke out of abortion. However, when the young woman in the waiting room explains the power of Sextina, Diane realizes she’s in the wrong, and steps down from her crusade.
Instead, in the convo, Mr. PB immediately went to his career and his idolization of Hank rather than take a page out of Diane’s book and acknowledge the shitty shitty things that he’s actively complicit in.
People have been antagonizing Diane ever since the book tour, and no one is on her side. Bojack takes a lot of convincing and only begrudgingly supports her and PC is only involved for the publicity and shock factor of this piece. When that falls apart, PC ditches.
The media instantly gave her astounding coverage and an immense platform (which is very enticing to Diane, who does seek external validation and sees herself as a moral crusader) without actually giving her a platform. People are arguing that she could have just stepped away, but I think even the editing in the episode (like quick cuts to news clips) shows this thing had an unstoppable momentum, because people love to hate, and that Diane believes herself to be caught up in important moral work.
To say that Mr. PB needed more support than Diane in this instance when he’s already a beloved and privileged show host who can and will bounce back in the industry is to invalidate the complexity of Diane’s moral stance, which is fundamental to who she is.
In response to some other arguments I’ve read:
A lot of the comments I’m reading are like “Well she never needed to be involved in the first place,” but the thing is, that’s not how Diane thinks and her not being involved would be antithetical to her character, which PB fails to see. She saw an opportunity to gain a platform about an important issue, give a voice to Hank’s victims, and yes, perhaps selfishly, prove that she’s a moral warrior.
Another comment mentioned her co-opting another SA survivor’s story, but I don’t think that’s the case. It’s heavily implied that each former assistant was strong-armed into signing an NDA, hence them remaining anonymous, and regardless of whether that’s true, Diane understands the complexity of being a woman and trying to get justice for your SA, even when the man isn’t a beloved, well-established celebrity.
The Me Too movement and Gina’s strangling showed us that Hollywoo encourages women to choose their careers (and, subsequently, silence) over putting themselves on the line, which is, again, an issue with power, how they leverage their influence in the industry (Gina being easy-to-work with and not complaining about gratuitous nudity in Philbert), and the industry’s perspective on women who speak up and on women in general.
Another comment mentioned that “gotcha” journalism does not work. I have two things to say to this:
This season came out in 2015, and we’ve had a significant cultural shift since then when it comes to understanding the role of the media cycle when it comes to “exposing” shitty men.
The show grapples with this exact topic in Season 5, indicating that Diane had to grow and learn about the failings of gotcha journalism. She tells Bojack that no one will hold him accountable for his actions, and that he has to do that himself. But she didn’t know this season 2, and to condemn her for not knowing that her actions wouldn’t make a difference is to blame her for the plot/growth that hadn’t happened yet.
TL;DR: Diane and Mr. PB fail to communicate, because they are looking at the issue at different levels and Mr. PB’s privilege blinds him to the overarching problems Diane is trying to tackle. Both are flawed and this entire episode is deeply complex, but, as flawed as Diane’s approach was, at least she was trying to do something.