# The Good Place \[edited title\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 21, 2016, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545 "2016-09-21T23:33:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/122 "2016-11-05T00:52:17Z")
I was half expecting Jason to volunteer to go to the Bad Place when he heard they had jalapeno poppers, etc., there. ---
**Author:** ![tenacious\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tenacious\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tenacious_j)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/123 "2016-11-05T01:49:10Z")
Damn, I love Adam Scott. I hope they keep him around a while. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/124 "2016-11-05T02:33:20Z")
Scorpi-oties? The creature on on the banner in the school cafeteria is amusingly hideous. ---
**Author:** ![tenacious\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tenacious\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tenacious_j)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/125 "2016-11-05T02:39:34Z")
JANUARY?! ☹ It seems like we just got going, and now we have to wait 2 months. Thanks, NBC. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2016, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/126 "2016-11-06T03:31:47Z")
Well, this place is certainly taking some…interesting turns. I’ll admit, I was _really_ worried when I saw “Good Eleanor” step off the train. I find the good person sent to Hell an incredibly tiresome trope, and not ONCE have I seen it done in a way that wasn’t unbelievably ham-handed and unsatisfying. (I’m looking at _you_, Hell Girl. :mad: ) But she’s fine now, and, it turns out, quite the clever character (finding those stairs…brilliant!). A tad disconcerting discovering that the largest bureaucracy in the universe doesn’t have photos, ID numbers, birth records, DNA testing, fingerprinting, retinal scans, or dental records, but I guess a certain amount of idiot plotting just comes with the territory. _Very_ pleasantly surprised by how much I like Trevor, by which I mean “at all”. The total jerk who always gets away with it? Normally THE dealbreaker for me, as you may have learned from my diatribes about South Park, Samurai Jack, Baby Blues, The Simpsons, and I’m pretty sure I did Family Guy at some point. But Trevor’s so cheesy and over-the-top that I can’t hate him. He’s more a Strong Bad or Dirk Dastardly-esque goofy antagonist than someone we’re actually supposed to be rooting against. Wouldn’t want to watch him for a whole episode, but in the limited doses we’re getting, he’s fine. In fact, that has to be the thing I like the best about this show, and it’s a pretty simple one: It makes the right decisions. Make Eleanor irksome, but not too much of a jerk, so the audience can sympathize with her a little. Make things frustrating for Chidi, but also show some real progress so he doesn’t come across as an absolute fool. Make Michael as just a bit incompetent and way over his head, but show that he can still fight the good fight when the chips are down. Don’t go overboard with world-building; you can have things like a corny scoreboard and the Eleanor mixup being the result of a ridiculous coincidence, but _leave it at that_ and don’t bring it up again unless there’s a reason too. Comedy, especially fantatic comedy, require a certain level of detachment, and focusing on details only opens the door for “But in this episode…” and “Hey, that’s not how that works”. Above all else, make sure to strike the right balance between fantastic, ridiculous, serious, and poignant, reining in any part that starts getting too prominent. Still can’t say that this is “must-see TV” for me like Empire, but it’s pretty nice, and it has shown the potential to become very nice. Definitely will keep watching come January. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2016, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/127 "2016-11-06T04:29:08Z")
I loved Bad Janet, and the quick pans with Tahani saying no to a rager and Michael already having the karaoke equipment and everything. And interesting episode with interesting developments, but also really funny. > [@alphaboi867](#): > > Speaking of them; how did _Jianyu Li_ get mixed up with _Jason Mendoza_? Their names are different and I doubt Jianyu just happened to be visiting Florida (or Jason Taiwan) when they died. And does anyone else think it’d be funny if Jason’s personal Bad Place involved silent meditation in a Buddhist monastery? Yeah, I can understand the Eleanor situation being in a one and billion accident, with them having the same name, dying in the same accident at the exact same millisecond or whatever, but Jason and Jianyu don’t have the same name and probably didn’t also die together. Maybe he’s a different bug in the system, we haven’t seen much backstory of Jason’s but he seems dumb and thoughtless but not like Eleanor. He seems like a candidate for a Medium Place even more than Eleanor. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2016, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/128 "2016-11-06T14:49:58Z")
So we know how Eleanor got mixed up, how the heck did they mix up Jainyu? and should we assume the real one is suffering in silence in the Bad Place? ETA: oops somehow missed someone else asked the same question ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2016, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/129 "2016-11-06T16:19:32Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > Yeah, I can understand the Eleanor situation being in a one and billion accident, with them having the same name, dying in the same accident at the exact same millisecond or whatever, but Jason and Jianyu don’t have the same name and probably didn’t also die together. Maybe he’s a different bug in the system, we haven’t seen much backstory of Jason’s but he seems dumb and thoughtless but not like Eleanor. He seems like a candidate for a Medium Place even more than Eleanor. Now that Tahani has figured out Jason isn’t Jianyu I’m guessing we’ll learn more about what happened to the real Jianyu. It is interesting that Eleanor and Jason are such different people but were both destined for the Bad Place. Eleanor seems to have deliberately made a lot of selfish choices during her life, but while Jason did bad things he seems both too dumb and too genial to have _meant_ much harm. But we have been explicitly told that people are selected for the Good Place based on their actions, not their intentions. As I mentioned upthread, it seems like a big theme of this show may be questioning this sort of utilitarian view of morality. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/130 "2016-11-07T03:37:50Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > …Jason did bad things he seems both too dumb and too genial to have _meant_ much harm. But we have been explicitly told that people are selected for the Good Place based on their actions, not their intentions… On a related note I wonder if children are judged by the same formula as adults when they die? :eek: Maybe it’s best not to think about it. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/131 "2016-11-07T14:01:42Z")
The only thing that wasn’t great about the episode is knowing it won’t be back until January. Eleanor continues to grow as a person, and Trevor was just great. He reminded me of Peter Cook playing the devil in _Bedazzled_ as he did little horrible things that were more memorable than if he did something eeevillll. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2017, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/132 "2017-01-06T01:03:34Z")
Just a heads up - The Good Place returns with new eps tonight! StG ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2017, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/133 "2017-01-06T02:13:57Z")
Yay! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2017, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/134 "2017-01-06T02:19:15Z")
Holy crap that was great ---
**Author:** ![yesanything](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@yesanything](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yesanything)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2017, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/135 "2017-01-06T08:51:00Z")
I got sort of a “Black Mirror” lite sorta feeling after the first few episodes, I did some checking and --\*\* BAM\*\* the creator was a writer on the Black Mirror episode “Nose Dive” ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2017, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/136 "2017-01-06T11:34:33Z")
I read somewhere that There is a Medium Place, and we will get to see it (not sure if Eleanor gets to see it) When will Michael hear about Jason? That seems a bigger mix-up than Eleanor (died at same time with the same name) Brian ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2017, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/137 "2017-01-07T04:19:22Z")
Well if “the system” really did select Jason as Fake-Eleanor’s soulmate it would explain his presence (though not Eleanor’s or Michael had Jianyu’s file). Fake-Eleanor and Tahani’s bonding was fun was fun. ---
**Author:** ![Calavera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calavera/32/70_2.png) [@Calavera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calavera)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2017, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/138 "2017-01-07T14:04:18Z")
I’m guessing Jason is there as Janet’s soulmate, a glitch nobody was expecting as they didn’t expect Janets to actually have feelings or for the system to recognise them and provide a soul mate. Why he’s there as Jianyu, I’m not sure of. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2017, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/139 "2017-01-07T14:36:54Z")
> [@Calavera](#): > > I’m guessing Jason is there as Janet’s soulmate, a glitch nobody was expecting as they didn’t expect Janets to actually have feelings or for the system to recognise them and provide a soul mate. Why he’s there as Jianyu, I’m not sure of. Real Jianyu is out there though. That should be interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2017, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/140 "2017-01-07T15:34:59Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Real Jianyu is out there though. That should be interesting. Probably peacefully meditating in whatever Jason Mendoza’s hell is. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2017, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/141 "2017-01-07T16:01:35Z")
Well, I just got the latest podcast. Chapter Ten; Childi’s Choice. It will be hard to sustain this aspect of his character. I wanted to mention that last season we met the lip-reader guy and the marriage counselor lady. Both them were laughably bad at their supposed areas of expertise. I suspect nobody deserves to be there. Further, the point is no person at all can deserve to be in The Good Place. All of them are there to improve. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545.md?page=8)