In a world of comedy specials, it really takes something to be unique. You have to have something that stands out, you have to push the mold, but most importantly, you just have to be memorable. Someone whose work has always stood out among his peers' is Bo Burnham. While he's now a well known comedian, it was about ten years ago when he first started posting songs on YouTube at the age of sixteen. That was the beginning of his music based comedy career, though it was something much different then than it is today.

Bo's first Comedy Central album was released in 2008 and his first tour was in 2009. He entered the world of professional comedy with a four year Comedy Central record deal at the age of 18. He had the talent and he had the audience and the network knew it. After his first two albums, "Bo Fo' Sho'" and "Bo Burnham," his first network comedy special "Words, Words, Words" aired on Comedy Central in 2010. This was the first time his unique set of skills really hit the scene.

Burnham's comedy can only be described as startlingly honest. He can touch on harsh issues that can be borderline offensive at times, but it's all just a joke, a mockery. With Bo, you always know that it's a front. From the very beginning, he has joked about how his comedy is all an act, a face he's putting on. In his 2013 Netflix special "what." he takes a moment to thank the audience then reverts into his 'stage persona,' not shying away from the fact that he is a self proclaimed introvert and completely differently person offstage who is just putting on a show when he is telling jokes for the audience.

When "Make Happy," Bo's latest Netflix comedy special, aired on June 3rd, it was the ultimate deconstruction of not only his comedy career, but himself. There was a certain awareness that came with it, the idea that everything had been leading up to this. This was the culmination of all of his work so far. The end of a journey, a path we'd walked with him. This is Bo now, real, true.

One of the things that made Bo's comedy routines so unique is his heavy reliance on timed gags. He has a particularly clever bit in "what." in which he seems to accidentally knock over his water bottle, but as he does so it sets off a song about him knocking over the water bottle. He does this constantly throughout his shows, music and sound effects lining up with seemingly natural gestures he makes. Everything he does is rehearsed to the smallest detail.

This plays into the second and arguably most recognizable trait of his comedy. As time went on, Bo became more and more introspective with his jokes and songs. He wasn't afraid to tell people his thoughts and opinions, not only about the world but about himself. In "what." he uses a song joking about how all pop songs sound exactly the same to talk about how the media is a danger to teenage girls who can't meet absurd social standards. A beat later, he sings a song from the dual perspectives of his own right and left brains who are trying to figure out a way to make him happy, because he's been struggling with social and personal issues. In the end, they decide that comedy is the solution to fixing what makes him unhappy.

"Make Happy" only takes this deeper. It is clear from the beginning that this is something different. He is more serious. His jokes are less silly, less comedic, and more about real issues. He takes a moment to sit down and just talk to the audience, about how tired he is, how he doesn't know if he can keep doing this. All of the perfectly timed cues, trying to put on shows that pleases the audience... it's exhausting. This could be an end.

The entire show leads up to a final song, I Don't Think That I Can Handle This, how he feels about his comedy career and his life. Channeling his inner Kanye West, he rants in autotune over a backing track and in true Bo Burnham fashion, turns a joke into a metaphor about something larger. He talks about ordering a Chipotle burrito with too many ingredients and having it fall apart when they try to wrap it up, but he's really talking about taking on too many things in his life and career.

He tells the audience, "My biggest problem is you. I wanna please you but I wanna stay true to myself. I wanna give you the night out that you deserve but I wanna say what I think and not care what you think about it. A part of me loves you. A part of me hates you. A part of me needs you. A part of me fears you. I don't think that I can handle this right now. Look at them. They're just staring at me like 'come and watch the skinny kid with a steadily declining mental health' and laugh as he attempts to give you what he cannot give himself."

Bo ends the show by saying "I hope you're happy," which says a lot about both "Make Happy" and himself as a whole. He has been working in the world of professional comedy since he was 18 years old and in the end, he worked himself into the ground. He sacrificed so many things, including his own mental health and happiness. It's important that "Make Happy" is, if not the end of his comedy career, the end of something. I believe that it is the most deeply honest and personal work of comedy out there, and that Bo Burnham is truly and genuinely talented.

"Make Happy" is currently available on Netflix, and is highly recommended. It will make you think, laugh, cry, and feel all kinds of things. But most importantly, it just might make you happy.