"Ruthie" is the ninth episode of the fourth season of American animated television series ''

BoJack Horseman ''BoJack Horseman'' is an American adult animation, adult animated Black comedy, black Comedy drama, comedy-drama streaming television series created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. It stars the voices of Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Paul F ...

''. It was written by Joanna Calo and directed by

Amy Winfrey Amy Winfrey (born May 1976) is an American animator, screenwriter, songwriter, director and voice actress. She is best known for creating the web series '' Making Fiends'' that was later picked up by Nickelodeon in 2008, and for directing severa ...

. The episode was released in the United States, along with the rest of season four, via

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

on September 8, 2017.

Kristen Bell Kristen Anne Bell (born July 18, 1980) is an American actress. Beginning her acting career by starring in stage productions while attending the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, she made her Broadway stage debut as Becky That ...

Kristin Chenoweth Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (; born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth; July 24, 1968)Kristin Cheno ...

, and

Sharon Horgan Sharon Lorencia Horgan (born 13 July 1970) is an Irish actress, writer, director, comedian and producer who co-wrote and starred in the comedy series '' Pulling'' (2006–2009) and ''Catastrophe'' (2015–2019). She also created the HBO comedy ...

provide voices in guest appearances in the episode. The episode is presented as a flashback, as a story told by

Princess Carolyn ''BoJack Horseman'' is an American adult animation, adult animated sitcom created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. The series stars Will Arnett as the title character, BoJack Horseman (character), BoJack Horseman. The supporting cast includes Amy Sedaris, ...

's relative in the future. In February 2018, "Ruthie" was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Animation at the 70th WGA Awards. It lost to "

Time's Arrow Time's Arrow may refer to: * "Time's Arrow" (short story), a 1950 short story by Arthur C. Clarke * ''Time's Arrow'' (novel), a 1991 novel by Martin Amis * "Time's Arrow" (''Star Trek: The Next Generation''), a 1992 two-part episode of ''Star Trek: ...

", another ''Bojack Horseman'' episode.

Plot

Ruthie, who is

's great-great-great-granddaughter, narrates the story of a particularly bad day in Princess Carolyn's life for a school project. Throughout the day Princess Carolyn finds out she has

miscarried Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical lo ...

, fires her assistant Judah for declining a lucrative project without telling her, and breaks up with her boyfriend

Ralph Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

. In the end, Ruthie is revealed to have been a fantasy of Princess Carolyn, which she used to cope with her troubles.

Reception

The episode received generally positive reviews from critics. In 2018, it was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Animation. Lenika Cruz of ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' described "Ruthie" and "

" as the two best episodes of the season, and saying each episode takes "full advantage of the medium to make their studies of female interiority feel like epics". ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

'' gave the episode 5 stars out of 5, especially praising the episode's ending. Les Chappell of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' gave the episode an "A" grade, noting the voice talents of Kristen Bell as the titular Ruthie.

References

External links

"Ruthie"
on

* {{BoJack Horseman BoJack Horseman episodes 2017 American television episodes