*Minor spoilers ahead*

BoJack Horseman, Netflix's darkly satirical animated comedy-drama is back, and even better than anticipated. Full disclosure: I am a huge BoJack fan, so I came into this season with high expectations, and it did not disappoint.

The season starts, as the trailer implied, completely void of our lovably self-centered, dread-filled 90's sitcom has-been BoJack. The opener, "See Mr. Peanutbutter Run," introduces us to the sharp political satire that series creator, Raphael Bob-Waksberg, has wanted to incorporate for some time (we got a hint of this in his interview with Indiewire last December).

The episode centers around the dim-witted, yet charismatic Labrador, Mr. Peanutbutter, trying to get signatures for his petition to run for Governor of California. His entire household becomes campaign central, with Todd as his assistant and his ex-wife, Katrina, returning as his campaign manager, much to Diane's dismay. In true BoJackian fashion (yes, that is the term I'm going with), the episode takes a wacky turn when Mr. Peanutbutter challenges the current governor, by-the-book politician Woodchuck-Coodchuck Berkowitz, to a ski race.

While the show continues to mix clever Hollywood satire with goofy slapstick shenanigans, it has also progressed the heartbreaking realities these characters face in finding happiness and meaning within the plastic, artificial world that surrounds them. What I found particularly brilliant about this season was the haunting backstory of BoJack's family and the impact it had on the alleged-daughter caper arc.

The episode "The Old Sugarman Place" finds BoJack arriving in Michigan to stay in the home once inhabited by his grandparents. After failing to renovate the abandoned house himself, he reluctantly accepts the help of his fly neighbor. The two end up becoming friends and work together to recover BoJack's stolen weather vane. We also get flashbacks from BoJack's grandparents, mother, and uncle back in the 1940's.

This is where the true tragedy lies, as BoJack's grandmother, Honey Sugarman, finds difficulty in coping with the death of her son, Crackerjack, from World War II. Unable to deal with his wife's emotions, BoJack's grandfather, Joseph Sugarman, takes her to get a frontal lobotomy (which, believe it or not, was not uncommon in this time period). BoJack's newly formed friendship doesn't last either, and he has the house demolished: a visual metaphor for the relationships he has destroyed over the course of the show's run.

The mystery of finding the mother of Bojack's alleged daughter, Holly Hoc, was interesting and has a really solid turn at the end. Of course, BoJack is not the only character with his share of drama.

Season 4 gives us some well-developed character arcs for Todd, Diane, and Princess Carolyn. Todd comes to terms with his asexuality and seeks out a support group. Considering how much LGBTQ media there is in 2017, it's kind of surprising we rarely hear anything about asexuality. If what Todd learns in his support group is truly accurate, then I can say I learned quite a bit from watching an animated series about a horse who is a washed-up sitcom star.

Diane, now working for a blogging site, experiences sexual frustrations with Mr. Peanutbutter, and realizes that the spark comes out through the arguments the two have. The hardest-hitting side story, however, is Princess Carolyn's. Over the show's run, I would say that Princess Carolyn has grown to become my favorite character of the series. She displays exceptional strength and intellect in her career, but falls vulnerable to her burning desire for love and hopes of starting a family.

The episode "Ruthie" puts Princess Carolyn at the forefront. She goes through possibly her fifth or sixth miscarriage, gets fired by her client, Courtney Portnoy, and gets in a fight with her loving boyfriend, Ralph. This was Season 4's jab to the heart, much like Charlotte cutting BoJack out of her life last season.

Even with all of these sad (and borderline depressing) arcs, something fascinating struck me. In non-BoJackian fashion, the season ended on a happy note. No, seriously. I won't give away the ending, but I will say that all of the main cast of characters had smiles on their faces by the time the final credits rolled. Could it be that our empty-feeling protagonists are becoming a bit more complete? Whatever the case, the smiles, especially from BoJack, were certainly refreshing.

Overall, season 4 was quite possibly the best (although, I would argue that season 3 was more emotionally taxing and experimental). My only complaint was the absence of Character Actress Margo Martindale. All joking aside, I'm glad to see BoJack Horseman riding (galloping?) strong and hope Netflix stops holding out on us with the season 5 release date.

Did you watch the new season? If so, share your thoughts in the comments below.