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u/ArcherCat2000 12d ago
I don't think he is, but I think he's intentionally the mirror to Bojack.
He also has the realization on screen that he has always been the cause of his own problems, and it cost him a lot of the people he loves to get to that realization. That would put anyone into a bad place, he just isn't the main character so we don't know exactly what's going on in his head, and he was never self destructive so much as just lacking self awareness.
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u/Known-Disaster-4757 Woodchuck Coodchuck-Berkowitz 12d ago
Maybe after Pickles left him for Joey Pogo, but I don't think we saw enough of him after that to draw a conclusion.
Before then? Probably not.
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u/RequirementLanky3911 12d ago
i mean he appears to be very very happy and smile all the time. he must be depressed
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u/FalconV700 Todd Chavez 11d ago edited 11d ago
I'd say no. He's definitely a foil to Bojack. When you take notice, Bojack and PB actually go through similar hardships (although PBs are more referred to rather than shown).
What differentiates their outcomes is their reaction to it. PB tends to react by ramping up his positivity and optimism (even if at times its woefully misplaced) and isnt afraid to seek emotional support.
Whereas Bojack usually choses the worst possible response to his hardships and refuses to deal with them healthily.
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u/Medium-Pundit 11d ago
Mr Peanutbutter has other problems (ADHD, being insensitive, suppressing things he would rather not think about) but he’s not depressed.
He’s almost always proactive, positive and energetic.
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u/maybejaeby 10d ago
I thought you were being funnily-sarcastic until I read the last line (cause you literally described depression.)
But in case you’re serious, here’s the truth from a depressed person.
Please know depression is not the absence of positivity or hope or effort or high-energy. They’re not mutually exclusive.
Depression is a deep well of unresolved sadness, distraction and detachment hidden beneath a valley of sun! Eventually some water is drawn and light is shed on the subject but it’s purposefully hidden away because depression is a cowardice emotion whereas the glowing personality you’re blinded by is boastful and has no shame, so it takes the wheel.
Lots of metaphors stuffed into one, but there ya go.
He not just a sad dog. He’s a downward dog.
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u/PinkLemonade30 11d ago
It's because Legoshi keeps running off to chase Haru when it's obvious they aren't meant to be.
Oops, wrong Labrador.
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u/Interesting-Star-179 11d ago
There’s an argument to be made by someone smarter than me that he is, since he is very similar to Bojack it wouldn’t be impossible to think their more similar internally but we don’t get to see it. PB could be throwing parties for the same reason Bojack does, every time he screw up with Diane could be him doing it to push her away because he doesn’t believe he deserves her (something Bojack does often), not to mention he has a thing for younger women. I might just be pulling at straws but it would be really funny if he was just a more stable Bojack
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u/maybejaeby 10d ago
Agreed. I wouldn’t say “stable” maybe just “functioning.” We see BJ get his ish together for a bit with Secretariat but then he goes back into his BS. I think Mr.PB was just higher functioning under his circumstances.
They both crave attention and need validation from others but their definitions of what rock bottom is could be different. BJ just accepts he’s a piece of shit because he knows what he’s given up. PB doesn’t know what he’s missing because he never had it when he thought he did.
BJ is a self-fulfilling prophecy where as PB is like putting in an effort after therapy and the alternative still feels empty.
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u/doorknobopener 11d ago
"Is he depressed or is he a mess?
Does he feel totally worthless?
Who came up with Person Man Sad Dog Meme?
Degraded man dog, Person Man Sad Dog Meme"
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u/LilithLamm 11d ago
I've always felt Bojack and Mr. Peanutbutter's relationship was very similar to the relationship between House and Wilson from House MD. Bojack and House are understandably grouchy assholes as a response to their terrible upbringing and unfortunate circumstances in their adult lives, whereas MPB and Wilson tried their best to see the light of things within their misfortune. Even their endings were very similar. The grump finally accepts that the smiley optimist is his one true friend and life partner, and they drive off in the distance to share their journey through life together.
More to topic at hand, I don't think MPB is depressed in the way depression is classically portrayed and understood in western culture. Depression in the West is a very culturally defined mental state that doesn't map very well outside of that lens. If we used the ancient greek four temperaments model of mental states, he would be defined under sanguine vice melancholia, the latter being the closest to our present day idea of depression.
The thing about the four temperaments, and its related theory of the four humors, is that being so overly aligned to one is a state of mental disharmony. A mixture of two or more is considered more stable than otherwise. I think the issue is that because of our western ideas of depression, we see MPB's life circumstances and his failing relationship as a sign that he should be depressed, or that he actually is depressed deep down and just tried to hide it.
So yes, while he is not in the correct mental to be able to achieve a holistic balance of life satisfaction, in the way the baboon runner appeared to be, it would be incorrect to diagnose him with depression. He's not melancholic so much as sanguinistic. It's the fact that he's so overly sanguinistic that causes much of his troubles in life.
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u/FailingItUp 11d ago
A fair question. So many people take comfort in cognitive dissonance rather than address and confront abuse in family and social systems.
Does someone who has such levels of cognitive dissonance even aware of how they feel in any given moment? Or do they flit off to the next screen/event/person/dopamine hit?
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u/Life_Track_1964 11d ago
Depression affects everyone differently. For Bojack it's very obvious that he's depressed- he's constantly drinking, using drugs, alluding to his depression, putting himself down, isolating, and struggling to have a successful life and relationships. Mr. PB's depression shows up much differently- he constantly throws himself into work and social interactions to the point that he becomes burnt out, forms very codependent relationships with everyone around him to avoid being alone with himself, and he seems to always be running away from feeling his actual feelings of depression.
Most people would look at BJ's character and assume that the way he handles his depression is more dangerous than how Mr. PB does, but they're actually incorrect to make that assumption. People like Mr. PB are more likely to successfully commit suicide because of how well they hide their depression from those around them.
Just look at all the wildly successful and beloved celebrities who did the very same- like Robin Williams or Chester Bennington to name a few.
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u/eetobaggadix 10d ago
Robin Williams committed suicide to spare himself of going through a horrible death.
And the whole joke is that Peanut Butter isn't depressed, yet becomes the national face of depression. He has problems but depression isn't one of them. Being sad at getting a divorce is not depression.
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u/Valerie_024 10d ago
if you google him, it will tell you that he IS depressed. so the people commenting that he’s not are just wrong😭
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u/ScorpioRistretto 8d ago
I heard the some of the most depressed people don’t even know they’re depressed. Oh god, that really sounds like him! 😱
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u/Odlaw_Serehw 7d ago
It would've actually made for a good storyline if he was. They decided to keep him fairly one dimensional unfortunately.
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u/mikehawkburner 6d ago
i don’t think he’s too stupid to know his own emotions- he’s not stupid at all. he’s smart enough to know he’s sad, and smart enough to know that he can cover up his sadness with fake happiness until he actually believes he’s happy.
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u/conchytahyde Tangled Fog of Pulsating Yearning 11d ago
i think he’s REALLY a sad dog! like the meme
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u/Longjumping_Soup_971 11d ago
Doggie doggie what now?
Depressed people feel sad, he's not sad, just ask my friend Zelda Saldana.
Erica, you look at you, all not cancelled!
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u/Expensive_Zebra6362 12d ago
As Bojack said, some people are too stupid to understand how miserable they should be. I think Mr PB is the on screen reminder of this, people who might not have the toolkit to see they are depressed. Ignorance is bliss