The Good Place: The Answer (4x09)

Holy mother of God. I am - emotional.

Cons:

Literally the only thing I can think to complain about is that this episode went by too quickly. Because it was so good. I feel like I blinked at it was over. Just... wow.

Pros:

This incredible half hour of television takes place in the snap of a finger. Michael wakes Chidi up, and as he does so, we get a glimpse of Chidi's life, of the moments that shaped him, as he searches for "the answer" over the many long and confusing years of his life(s) and afterlife(s). We are brilliantly shown key conversations with people that helped him to understand that there is no answer, even as he fights against this truth.

From Jason, he learns that sometimes you just need to act, that weighing all of your options isn't always going to work.

From Tahani he learns that it's okay to make mistakes, that you'll learn from them.

From Janet, he learns it's okay to try something new.

From Michael, he learns the things about himself that made him a good candidate for this experiment in the first place. What he's looked for, always, has been "the answer." The truth at the end of a series of questions, something fundamental and unshakable that he can stake his life on. It doesn't exist, and that's the thing that Chidi most needs to learn. It makes it easy for Michael to torture him. It's also what makes his growth as a character so unique and well developed.

We get to see snippets of Eleanor and Chidi's relationship over the years. One of the cool things about the multiple resets and versions of life that these characters have gone through, is that you can always add in extra little moments here and there, and they can fit somewhere in a gap that we haven't see before. I loved seeing some of the ways Michael tortured Chidi over the years, before they became a team. Chidi was singularly focused on the question of soul mates, and so Michael paired him up with various people who were clearly unsuited to him, and in one of these time loops, Eleanor tries to pursue a relationship with him anyway. They felt an affinity for each other, even when it went against what Michael was trying to accomplish.

I also love the conversation between Chidi and Michael, just before Michael wipes Chidi's memories for the sake of the soul squad's experiment. Michael says that if there are soulmates, they are created, not destined. This isn't exactly a brand new concept, but I love it so much. Shared experience and real effort can create something intense, something that's "meant to be," but only in the sense that people fight for it and want it to work.

And then there's the note. Chidi writes himself a note and gives it to Janet, to be returned to him when and if he wakes up and gets to remember his whole crazy life. The predictable thing would have been for Chidi to be panicked and completely unhinged when Michael woke him up. But instead, he's calm. He asks if he's been really annoying for the last 300 years. And then he asks to see the note:

"There is no answer.

But Eleanor is the answer."

I swear to God, I'm getting goosebumps just typing it out right now. When I saw it in the episode, my eyes immediately started to water. What a powerful forking love story. I can't really believe it. So sweet. So lovely. I could live in this feeling forever.

And now... we've got to wait to see how this all shakes out. I can't believe this show is almost at its end. This episode was a great example of what it can be at its very, very best.

10/10