The Good Place: Don't Let the Good Life Pass You By (3x09)

This is going to probably sound stupid to some people reading this, but it has only just occurred to me that we've never seen the actual Good Place. I'm intrigued as to what's in store.

Cons:

Michael is supposed to be something of an all-knowing demon, so it bothers me that he didn't point out what seems like a pretty clear logical fallacy. The reason the soul squad is doomed to the Bad Place is because they know the truth about the afterlife. Any good they might do, they're ultimately doing for selfish reasons. But doesn't that also hold true for Doug Forcett? He straight up admits that all the good he's doing, he's doing so he gets the points to make it to the Good Place. Doesn't that mean his motivations are impure? Obviously this episode is doing a lot to make us see how messed up the points system is, but even so... shouldn't Michael or Janet have noticed this fallacy?

Pros:

Whatever. I trust the show to know what's going on, even if Michael missed it. And the introduction of Doug Forcett, the man who we learned about in the pilot of this show, was nothing short of genius. Once again, The Good Place has decided to throw out a big chunk of its premise and refresh itself. What Doug is doing, even if it is in service of getting the most points, is pretty objectively crazy. He is causing himself such pain in order to do good in the world. Even counter-productive good, like giving his shoe to a sociopath teenager because it "makes the kid happy." That's nonsense! And Michael, despite what he wanted to believe about Doug being the ultimate blueprint to a good human life, is forced to admit fairly quickly that the system doesn't make any sense.

It was fun to see Janet and Michael go off on an adventure of their own, and along with the upset to the premise of the afterlife, this plot thread also provided a lot of comedy. I think my favorite was when a distraught Doug asks if anyone knows snail first-aid, and Janet says "yes," before correcting herself to "no." And Doug was just hilarious all the way through. He decides to go on a three week walk to donate money to a snail charity after the death of a random snail, who he did not name in life in case he or she had a name they already preferred, but does name the snail after death with a string of inspirational and talented names, as he's done for various other dead critters.

Meanwhile, the humans are hanging out in a bar, and Eleanor asks for Tahani's advice about what she now knows about her and Chidi's erased past. How should she break the news? Tahani says that it sounds like Eleanor wants a relationship with Chidi. Just as Eleanor is about to speak to Chidi about it... a bunch of demons turn up, including Vicky and Shawn! Of course, Eleanor is the only one who remembers them. When Michael and Janet arrive, a fight ensues. The long and short of it is, Janet takes the humans and Michael into her void, which means they all die on earth. We'll have to see how that works out next week!

Again, just throwing out premises as soon as they're established! I love this show! Spending a good chunk of this season on Earth was really fun. I've seen some reviewers say that the show felt uncharacteristically "slow", but to be honest I think we kind of needed that. It was a chance to catch our breaths, while still keeping things interesting and creative. And now we're off to Janet's void, ending the characters' time on Earth. I feel like we spent just enough time in order to believe in the dedication of these four humans. They really were trying to make the world a better place. And now... bam! Off to some new adventure.

The fight itself was hilarious. Janet is the MVP of this episode for sure, although Jason tried to help with a molotov cocktail, Eleanor dug her heels in to help Chidi, and Tahani had no compunctions about braining a demon with a pool cue. Great fun, all things told. I loved that Janet got her powers back when just a part of her went through the doorway, leading to some great and creative action.

And then there's Shawn... he drops a comment about how Doug will not make it to the Good Place, and it was in that moment that I realized the blatantly obvious. It's not that I hadn't known it before, but it never quite occurred to me what it could mean that we've never seen any hint of the actual Good Place. Has Michael seen it? Does it exist? Does anybody get in to the Good Place? Inquiring minds demand to know!

I'll end with a little note about Chidi and Eleanor. Eleanor tells Chidi the truth as they're hiding behind the bar during the fight. She even admits that she might be in love with him now, again. Chidi doesn't get much of a chance to respond, but I'm so happy that we're pursuing this adorable relationship.

So... yeah. Another excellent installment! I never know what's going to happen next on this show, and that's what makes it so very fun!

9/10