The Good Place: Chidi Sees the Time-Knife (3x12)

This show is actually really challenging to review sometimes, because it's just so good, and it's doing so many cool things, that I kind of don't know where to start.

Cons:

I was properly intimidated by Shawn when we first met him, while still being entertained by him. I feel like some of his threat level has been taken away. But also, I should wait and watch next week's episode before I jump to conclusions.

I saw someone point out a potential problem with the argument Michael is making about how complicated the world is. Buying a tomato loses you points because of all the unintended choices you're making with your dollars. Okay, fine. But if the argument is that it's more complicated now than it's ever been, don't we have to grapple with the fact that if you go back a couple of hundred years, people just going about in their lives were directly or indirectly benefiting from systems of oppression that then grew into the systems of oppression that we have today? So, for example, a white person benefiting from white privilege is actually benefiting from the legacy of slavery in the United States, right? Living in a global economy does make things more confusing. But that's not the same thing as saying that things were simple and linear in the past. Maybe they'll address this moving forward, or maybe I'm just thinking about it too hard.

Pros:

Conceptually, I love this idea of a new experiment. The Judge, Michael, and Shawn, while they may have differing personal motivations, all actually want to respect the system. Of course, this is not purely objective science, because Michael wants to help these new people succeed, and Shawn would love to see them fail. But the fact is, their motivation is to fix what's broken, or at least to be sure that there's nothing corrupt going on behind the curtain, and I really like that there's at least this one thing that everyone can come together and agree upon.

This episode shows the down-in-the-dirt practicalities of philosophical thought. The Judge can sit up in the afterlife and judge humanity, but it takes a trip down to earth for her to understand how complicated things can be. There was a lot of comedy in this moment. I like how she described accidentally finding a porn site for people with a sunburn fetish, and how navigating through the world as a black woman was a particular challenge. It takes an actual practical demonstration for her to understand how messed up things can be, and she then agrees to help investigate the truth.

Jason really killed it this week. His character has always been maybe a bit underutilized, but this episode really showcased the best of what Jason can be. He offers an example of complicated morality that helps the Judge make up her mind. Jason is an idiot, but that doesn't mean he has no emotional intelligence.

Janet and Jason make absolutely no sense, which is why they're so fun and hilarious to watch. I love that Derek comes back, and we can see the complexity of Jason actually getting a little bit jealous and insecure. I doubt he usually cares enough about his romances to feel uncertain about them, and that's fun to see. Also, I know it's a small thing, but when Jason asks if he and Janet can try being boyfriend and girlfriend, Janet reminds him that she's not a girl. She's gender-less, even though we talk about her using female pronouns. I liked that Janet brought that up. And Derek is hilarious. Watching him get smarter, while still being the same amount of dumb-ass, is a unique joy.

Poor Chidi is not having a good time with all of this chaos, but we see that he feels better about things because he has Eleanor by his side. There's this excellent moment when the Judge is hitting on Chidi, and Eleanor stands in front of him protectively. She's so tiny and cute, but you know she'd do anything for her man. They make such a nice couple!

As I said, the concept here of a new experiment is so exciting. I know some people might complain that it's repetitive, but I don't feel that way at all. Now we get to see Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, and Jason interacting within Michael's experiment from the very beginning. They hold all of the cards. While their ultimate motivations are pure, you have to admit that there's something pretty unethical about putting other people through the same confusing torture as they already went through. I'll be interested to see how that goes. And, of course, poor Michael has a nervous breakdown due to Shawn's evil plans... I'm understandably nervous about how things are going to go down next week!

If I had to make a guess, I'd say we're setting up the first part of next season being all about this experiment with new people. But the most wonderful thing about The Good Place is that I could be totally wrong about that!

9/10