The New 'Bojack Horseman' Trailer Is Everything

Entertainment sleuths of the world, unite: the Bojack Horseman Season 3 trailer just dropped and its soundtrack is beyond perfect. The trailer shows a more successful, seemingly-happier Bojack — we learn he's become a box office hit in his new incarnation as a movie star and he's started partying joyfully. Or has he? It's not long before the cracks start to show through, ushered in by Diane's concerned comment that "This sort of thing can send you spinning... you start asking yourself 'Oh god, why doesn't this make me happy? Can anything make me happy?'"

Breaking with the Black Keys-penned Bojack opening credits track, the trailer uses two different songs both of which seem deliberately chosen to be as telling as possible about the content. After a bit of delving, I've uncovered their names: the opening track is "Walking" by American indie band The Rosebuds from their 2014 album Sand + Silence and then midway through the trailer, it switches over to "Better Man" by talented Texan soul singer Leon Bridges. So what can we learn from the choice of music? Arguably, while it foretells some tough moments ahead, both tracks are positive about the effects of community, friendship, and love in getting you through the hard times and inspiring you to become better.

"Walking" By The Rosebuds

The lyrics of "Walking" aren't obvious about it, but there's an implicit sense that the world can be a difficult, dangerous place. However, the lyrics are as sugar-sweet as the melody: all that is solved by having the right person around.

As long as your hand is in mineIt don't matter baby what we'll doWe'll be ok if it's raining soonAs long as your hand is in mine

This is pretty ironic, given Bojack's isolation, and thus undercuts the ostensibly fizzy, celebratory vibes on the news of Bojack's movie success long before Diane's comment does. However, it does summarize the basic ethos of the show: that Bojack has the profound misfortune of suffering from what comes across as depression or something close to it, but he also has the good fortune of being surrounded by incredibly reliable, empathetic friends.

"Better Man" By Leon Bridges

What's more romantic than self-improvement? According to Bridges, very little — the protagonist of his song would swim the Mississippi river, "if you would give me another start, girl." The very last frame of the trailer shows Bojack in a rare moment of contentment, silhouetted against a starry sky and with his arm around — well, we can't see. He says "It doesn't matter what we did in the past and how we'll be remembered — the only thing that matters is this one spectacular moment that we're sharing together." Could his reference to the past be a hint that he's found happiness by falling in love with someone he already knows? The smart money's on Princess Carolyn.

The smart, nuanced use of music, even just for the trailer, is further evidence of how thoroughly worth your time the Bojack Horseman series is. So if you haven't got acquainted with the most depressive former success story on Netflix, get ready to marathon it ASAP — you've got just a few weeks until Season 3 debuts July 22.

Images: Netflix