There was also a bar (I assume) called “Foot Lager”.
And speaking of feet, nice to see Chidi’s red boots again!
Well Chidi finally came to that great philosophical epiphany he’s been searching for his whole existence, but it’s not clear how helpful it’ll be. He does seem to have moved completely beyond stress though, so that’s a plus.
I thought for sure Jason tripping with the drink would cause him to bump into Michael and mess something up with waking Chidi. I kinda wish this had been a longer episode. As it was, I didn’t feel like we learned anything new, it just felt like a refresher “hey, remember how Chidi is?”
Not specific to the show, but was is the “3” that appears in lower left corner at the start, that turns into the NBC peacock?
Hmm. Still really like this show, but I just don’t know what to talk about this season. There haven’t been any real jaw-dropping moments or stunning twists. Basically the world is creeping toward the lamest apocalypse ever, Eleanor and company are trying to put a stop to it, and the plot is gradually unfurling to that point.
I will point out something I personally found kind of interesting…I found Brent mostly forgettable. That never happens. When the show introduces the Absolutely Bulletproof Karma Houdini Worthless Jerk, he turns me off as quickly as if he’d hit a circuit breaker. I’ve railed on and on about how this character INSTANTLY and PERMANENTLY ruins a show. Brent…didn’t. Basically he acted like a total goof, was more frustrating than irritating, and actually had some pretty funny moments, and once he was gone, that was it; didn’t leave any mark on me whatsoever. I actually found John slightly more aggravating…all that smarm just oozing off of him (although he had a few funny moments as well).
Very, very good episode, BTW. Chidi is now definitely my favorite character, and seeing more of his backstory and how it integrated into this show’s history (always cool!) was a joy to watch. As someone who’s often struggled with decisions, I never understood what was so objectionable about taking the time to think through the options and ensure that you’re making the best decision. (I do think taking several hours to pick out a hat is excessive, but I haven’t worn a hat in years, so who am I to judge. :)) So now he has to pull up his bootstraps and save the day? Works for me.
The underlying problem with this season is that Shawn won. He got Brent and John into the cast. They drag down the show every moment they’re on screen. They subtract much and add nothing.
They had to have known this. It took a full season to appreciate the Fab Four as characters. Jason didn’t even speak for several episodes. Introducing two new characters to place the fate of humanity on was a staggeringly bad idea.
A common fault of sitcoms is that they increase the number of regulars every season. That cuts the time on screen for each. Big Bang Theory started with five regulars, then added Amy, Bernadette, Stuart, and recurring guests. There would be A, B, and C arcs with separate groupings. Even after years, people complained about how the new characters weren’t as good as the old ones. And they usually weren’t because they never got the time to develop. Only Amy did.
Two critical new characters as pivots on the last season? Nobody could make that work. Brent and John didn’t even have personalities: they have tics they wore like coats. What happened to the ethical dilemmas, the philosophical instruction, the insights into their past lives? Gone, all gone.
I’d hope that Brent and John are gone for the rest of the season, but that can’t happen. Like Bad Janet, they have to return.
I didn’t have any issue with John.
Brent was necessary. They needed a way to fail. We saw how Eleanor, an Arizona dirtbag, became a better person over and over again. Michael’s whole hypothesis is that the reason no one’s getting to the Good Place was because of how the point system worked. But he needed to learn that there are some people who are just bad and don’t want to change. Or it will at least take a lot longer.
I’m guessing Chidi’s solution will be to turn the Medium Place into a sort of purgatory. Give everyone a chance to be better, no matter how long it takes.
I agree with Exapno. They spent a significant amount of the season with two characters who were kind of annoying and had no arc. They had to have no arc because they have to fail because the writers wrote themselves into this plot, but that doesn’t make it a good call.
Still, the show is great, so I’m willing to forgive it some fumbles.
Best one-liner of the episode was Janet, in her wedding dress, saying “I thought I’d never get married because I was too old.<beat> I’m infinity.”
I disagree about Brent and John - they had, what, a year to turn two supremely annoying, shallow self-centered characters into better people, and despite active sabotage they managed to do it and we could see it in the characters - John managed to keep Jason’s secret for a long time and Brent, despite his impenetrable narcissism, cracked at the last minute. It took Chidi one-and-a-half lives and 800+ afterlives to stop being really annoying; given only a year, they actually did pretty well on those two. And yes, they were there to test the six main characters, but then so was everyone and everything else in the course of the show.
If anything, it’s Simone who was the odd one out - we saw no character development at all, and she was really only there to make Eleanor jealous and conflicted. And in the end she just flounced off and was never heard from again (yet).
New prediction: Chidi eventually agrees with the judge about rebooting everything, grabs the rebooter and pushes the button. Cut to an amoeba reproducing, run end credits.
About as likely as any of my other guesses.
Episode 10: You’ve Changed, Man.
Another great episode, looking into all the Janet voids were well done, Chidi’s confidence was good. “Shut up. Shut up. Hi. Shut up”
The one-note Good Place dweebs are just annoying now, there’s nothing of value in those scenes.
Gonna erase the Earrr-rrr-th. Gonna erase the Earth
Thought it was an excellent episode, especially since it is starting to set up a promising ending.
The On Demand cut off weird. Did anything happen after Chidi said “I’m just the idea guy”?
Nope.
Against boredom even demons struggle in vain.
Just to clarify this, there are three more episodes with the last one being an hour long. It looks like technically it’s considered a two-parter, which brings us to 14 episodes.
Drat, didn’t even know that new episodes were starting (I wasn’t home). I think i have a wait a week to see the episode online (no cable)
Brian
What do you have? It’s on Hulu already.
I watch OTA. I could have sworn the last time I tried watching The Good Place online I had to enter a provider or wait a week (maybe that was ABC)
Thanks,
Brian
I tried in vain to read the small print on the billboard in Bad Janet’s void, but the internet delivered: