One of the BEST things about this godforsaken show is how it completely deconstructs the naive, sunshine friend trope both times it happens.
First, we see it with Mr Peanutbutter. From the very first episode, BoJack is shown to despise this man. He thinks his entire existence is irritating, he sees him as an overbearing presence, and the only thing PB has actually done to warrant this in any capacity is by being Diane's boyfriend, and even that's a dynamic that manifests itself later on.* Mr Peanutbutter spends season 1 and much of season 2 ignoring this behaviour at best and being completely naive towards it at worst, always treating BoJack with the excited behaviour that you would expect to see from a dog who loves you. And, if you actually think about this, it's completely unrealistic! Because why would he just not care? Even if he did love him unconditionally (which he does, but that deserves to be spoken about separately), SURELY it would get to him? And then Let's Find Out happens, and we see truly and properly for the first time that it Does. It does get to him. He is truly hurt by BoJack's constant berating. Of course he notices. Why wouldn't he take this new opportunity to humiliate him. Doesn't he deserve it? After all these years???
Then, we see it with Todd. BoJack's relationship with Todd at the start of the show is a much more complicated situation, because the show hints at the relationship being toxic straight from episode 4, but essentially, BoJack's view of being a dad is extremely fucking warped based on 1) his parents (unhealthy) and 2) horsin around (unhealthy but in the other direction). In the case of the latter, he also believes that as long as he just uproots everything and rides his boat to the middle of the sea, he can savour their relationship. The grand gesture means more than the day to day. But it doesn't. And unlike with Mr Peanutbutter, Todd is shown as this really getting to him very early on. In Downer Ending, Todd explicitly says to him that, after 5 years of literally LIVING with him, he's officially given up on BoJack being a good person. Lest we forget, this man's first line in the ENTIRE SHOW is "morning, sunshine!" Now, I understand why this might be difficult to recognise, because even though he's much less tolerant at this point in the story, he's still living with him. He still takes it. But then we see more and more Todd pov episodes. BoJack doesn't come to Todd's improv show. BoJack sleeps with Todd's kind of girlfriend. And THAT'S when Todd finally properly flips out. That's when Todd says "fuck". And you can say it was unexpected all you like but it wasn't. It was inevitable.
Both "Let's Find Out" and "It's You" show turning points in both of these relationships, and both of these are for the better. BoJack's relationship with Mr Peanutbutter becomes much more open after this episode, although they still have their bumps in the road. And BoJack and Todd's relationship has taken so many bumps up to this point that they basically have to start an entirely new relationship from scratch, eventually cumulating in Nice While It Lasted, as they have their first genuinely friendly conversation they have in the entire show.
And the thing about both of these relationships is that they stop being sitcom tropes and start being real.
Let me explain. In situations such as this one, it's extremely easy to relate to BoJack. BoJack is introduced to us as a very usual, grouchy, mean sitcom protagonist. That's what we Know coming into it. That's what He knows as we watch him. That's the only thing he knows. He genuinely believes this is charming behaviour. Hell, that's why grumpy x sunshine ships exist in the first place! And this is why it's useful to put ourselves in the shoes of the other parties. So I'm going to leave you all with a few questions to ponder in your own time. How would you feel if your closest friend kept berating you simply for existing? How would you feel if your kind of father kept betraying you and failing to make it up in the small actions he does every day? And finally, when was the last time you shipped a grumpy x sunshine ship and related to the sunshine?
*The Halloween party is obviously its own kettle of fish but I'm 100% sure not one person on the writing team knew it existed yet and therefore it does Not count.
