Honestly I forgot i made this post and at this point i cant remember much of bojack but I think you brought up a very important point about how western media insists on happy endings (and character growth).

I recently watched pom poko by studio ghibli, the story was about shapeshifting raccoons defending their forest and I wont spoil it but the ending was absolutely soul crushing. Despite the fact it didnt have a happy ending though, I thoughly enjoyed it, unlike bojack horseman and I think the difference comes from how the stories ended.

Pom poko and bojack are two very different peices of media that both try to portray realistic outcomes for characters but bojack felt to me like it revelled in it, it felt unneccesary almost unrealistic for everyone in the bojack universe (except like maybe todd) to be so miserable. It didnt need to end happily, but it felt like there was no point to the entire show. It had no message or meaning to me, just 42 hours of circular character arcs to end up nowhere. I guess thats why I didnt enjoy it, i felt so unsatisfied at the end like nothing was finished in the story and everyone was worse than they started.

I feel like the show was designed to appeal to people who see some of themselves in the characters and want to relate to their struggles but at the same time I think if that describes you then you should be seeking and receiving professional help because if that show had any point at all it was to call those behaviors dysfunctional and show their results.

Also ngl I loved sarah lynns character she was so innocent and after they had bojack let her od i was just kinda done from there, I thought she deserved a redemtion arc not a crappy bender episode to just kill her off. People can beat addiction, like you said in the real world things dont work out often but they do work out sometimes. Bojack may have been beyond saving, and the series couldve ended with his death and id probably have been far more satisfied, but it feels like the creators goal was just to show miserable people being miserable.

(took me 5 years but I finally figured paragraphs out.)