This Was The Absolute Worst Thing BoJack Horseman Ever Did

For six seasons on Netflix, BoJack Horseman challenged virtually every notion we had as to what an animated television series could be. Was it funny, often goofy, and packed wall-to-wall with sight gags? Absolutely. Was it bleak, often heart-wrenching, and the most accurate portrayal of debilitating depression in all of popular culture? Yes, it was all of those things, too, and the magic of BoJack was in the tonal tightrope that it managed to walk so masterfully for so long.

The title character — the washed-up, alcoholic, anthropomorphic horse who once starred in the '90s sitcom Horsin' Around — is among the more complex to ever appear on television, thanks to the series' brilliant, insightful writing and Will Arnett's nuanced vocal performance. The show is, to paraphrase the great Roger Ebert, an amazing portrait of a real jerk — albeit one who never stopped struggling to find the decent ... er, horse under all of those layers of bitterness and self-loathing.

From the beginning to the end of BoJack Horseman's run, you could count on our hero to lash out in various ways even at those who supported him the most. As a result, it would take all of your fingers and toes to count the truly awful things he's done. From ghosting his friend and mentor, Horsin' Around creator Herb Kazazz (voiced by Stanley Tucci), to strangling his co-star (and girlfriend) Gina (Stephanie Beatriz) in a drug-addled stupor, to nearly sleeping with the underage daughter of a friend, BoJack has hit some pretty low lows.

The lowest of them all, though, has to do with with his fellow Horsin' Around alum Sarah Lynn (Kristen Schaal), who starred on the sitcom as a precocious child, and grew into a drug-addicted train wreck. Sadly, she's also probably the closest thing BoJack has to family. BoJack failed Sarah Lynn in numerous ways throughout their friendship, but his final failure cost the young woman her life.

On the eleventh episode of season 3, "That's Too Much, Man!", it's revealed that Sarah Lynn has been sober for almost nine months. That is, until BoJack calls and asks her if she wants to party. She immediately agrees, and chugs a bottle of vodka — thus beginning the most ridiculous bender ever depicted on television.

Over the course of at least a month, the pair slam booze and snort heroin while BoJack attempts (unsuccessfully) to make amends with many of the people he's wronged. He plows through the list My Name is Earl-style, reaching out to his friend and agent Princess Carolyn, his biographer Diane, his buddy and roommate Todd, and even Penny — the underage girl he had attempted to seduce. Due to his constant blackouts, BoJack is unaware of how much time is actually passing — but in his semi-lucid moments, we come to understand that Sarah Lynn is struggling with intense self-hatred.

Eventually, the two end up at a planetarium, where BoJack delivers what he thinks is an inspirational speech about how one's past doesn't matter, and that it's each moment — like this precious one that they're sharing together — that really counts. Sarah Lynn, though, doesn't respond, because she has overdosed.

On the next episode, we find out that BoJack left the planetarium and waited for 17 minutes to call for medical help (It's strongly implied that if he hadn't waited, she might have lived). On top of that, he lies about his role in her relapse, claiming he simply discovered her body in the planetarium.

This turn of events was enough to shock even the most loyal viewers, and it certainly represented a new low for BoJack. Sarah Lynn's death haunts him for the rest of the series, and rightfully so. In a life full of missteps — both minor and major — the part he played in the death of one of his dearest friends is undoubtedly the worst.