DISCLAIMER: This recap of The Good Place contains more spoilers than the number of times Janet has glitched. This isn’t the first time a bullfrog clambered out of her mouth, and it might not be the last. You’ve been warned. Proceed with caution.
Welcome back, Team Cockroach! The Good Place blessed us this week with another delightful foray into what it means to be morally sound. And if you’re Michael, you’re more “morally bankrupt” than sound, am I right? Chidi bestowed Michael with the ultimate ethics lesson. However, our diabolical architect isn’t quite ready to hang his hat on the good hatstand. Meanwhile, Jason and Tahani enlist Janet for a couples’ therapy session. Why is Tahani so embarrassed to be seen with the lovable Jason? There’s only one way to find out…
Alright, denizens of the afterlife, ready to delve into “The Trolley Problem?” Just be sure to keep away from Eleanor’s cocktail shrimp dispenser. She’s not overly fond of sharing.
We open with our beloved professor Chidi (William Jackson Harper) eagerly in the throes of educating Team Cockroach. He presents our gang with The Trolley Problem. In this scenario, you’re on a trolley that’s bereft of breaks. There are two tracks – one that leads to five railway workers who will inevitably become smashed to bits. Or, there’s the second track that leads to only one railway worker biting the dust. Which track do you choose?
Now, Eleanor (Kristen Bell) must know if one of the workers is an ex-boyfriend. Michael (Ted Danson) concocts a scheme where all six of them die, which Chidi reminds him is not the objective of the exercise. Thus, our architect is sentenced to writing “People=Good” on the chalkboard until the message is hammered into his very, very ancient brain. Chidi is an “old school” professor! Love it.
Later, Eleanor tries to corral Tahani (Jameela Jamil) and Jason (Manny Jacinto) into hanging out with her before their latest torture session with Vicky. Our secret lovebirds opt out of said gathering in favor of doing the horizontal tango. We see the pair post-fun times, contemplating their relationship. Tahani is fearful of going public out of embarrassment. Jason believes she should discuss her insecurities with a friend. I’m very much pro Tahason (my ship name for them), so I hope they can sort this out.
Meanwhile, Chidi frets over how to get through to Michael. Eleanor reminds him that Rome wasn’t built in a day. On that note, a billions of years old evil being that’s “stuffed up a mannequin’s butt” can’t change its stripes. Michael is the evil mannequin in this scenario, unwilling to grow. After turning down Chidi’s idea for introducing a philosophical idea via a rap musical, Eleanor aids her friend in figuring out how to help Michael.
Then, Tahani summons Janet (D’Arcy Carden) in a desperate bid to sort out her complicated feelings for Jason. Janet, despite her functionality not including that of a therapist, transforms into one anyway. Get ready to make some breakthroughs with Dr. Janet!
Later, Chidi pulls Michael aside and the pair reviews the latter’s essay analyzing Les Miserables. Michael apparently missed the point of it entirely, mentioning that he knew for a fact that Victor Hugo is in The Bad Place. Chidi reminds him that ethics are about questioning morality as we know it. However, Michael is having a difficult time grasping theories versus actual, tangible knowledge. Me too, Michael. Me too.
Meanwhile, therapist extraordinaire Janet is grilling Tahani on Jason. Why does he embarrass her? Tahani enjoys his company, so she shouldn’t have any issues, right? Then, Jason appears like clockwork. Janet decides to talk to him separately, hoping to learn more of his side of the story. There are two sides to every coin, after all.
Next, Michael decides to take matters into his own hands. Perhaps the trolley dilemma would be easier to understand if it were more concrete. Suddenly, our architect snaps his fingers and he’s on a speeding trolley with Chidi and Eleanor. Now, the very scenario Chidi described at the beginning of the episode is playing out before them. Chidi must choose which track to take, and how many people he’ll inevitably slaughter. Michael reminds him that this is a simulation. Chidi accidentally chooses the track with the five railway workers. Blood cakes his face as the trolley collides with the bodies. He’s utterly horrified.
Then, Michael pacifies our ethics professor by snapping them back to Eleanor’s house, only to immediately place them on the trolley again. This time, the solo railway worker is Chidi’s friend Henry (Dominic Burgess). However, Chidi is unaware of this until after he chooses the second track with Henry on it. Thus, the trolley smashes into his former friend. Blood spatters everywhere. Once again, Chidi is taken aback beyond belief. So much blood!
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Meanwhile, Jason confesses to Dr. Janet that he compliments Tahani all the time, but she never returns the kind words. She can be cruel, and while he appears to be oblivious most of the time, he’s not as unaware as Tahani thinks. Then, Tahani returns to the room. She asks Janet to counsel them in couples’ therapy. Our new favorite doctor wholeheartedly agrees, but not before her thumb breaks off and floats into the ether. Janet assures the duo that she’s merely glitching. Nothing to be worried about. You leave my Janet alone, The Good Place!
Alright, now time for another ethical dilemma! This time, Michael whizzes our pair to a hospital, where five people need operations. Michael urges Chidi to use Eleanor’s healthy organs to save them. Chidi firmly insists that the Hippocratic Oath means something to him. He refuses to harm Eleanor in the interest of saving more people. Then, Michael reveals that he’s torturing Chidi now, at this very moment, with these scenarios. What started as him striving to learn how to be good morphed into a quick torturing session to “blow off some steam.” Once a hellish torturer, always a hellish torturer.
Now, Chidi is furious. He promptly expels Michael from his class, convinced the architect won’t change. Eleanor thinks she might be able to connect with Michael. They are, after all, very similar.
Meanwhile, breakthroughs are happening, folks! Jason vows to give Tahani some breathing room. They’ll reveal their relationship to the public when she’s ready. In return, Tahani has to squeeze his caboose in public at least once a week. He drives a hard bargain, that one. Janet, in her happiness at the couple’s success, regurgitates a bullfrog. Yes, an actual amphibian plops out of her mouth. I sense a malfunctioning on the horizon…
Then, Eleanor pays Michael a visit. She knows all of his tricks, because she’s practiced the very same ones time and time again. Michael has encountered a subject he knows nothing about and fears failure. Thus, he lashes out. Plain and simple. It’s the Shellstrop way. Eleanor reminds the architect that he must make it up to Chidi somehow.
Later, Michael bestows Team Cockroach with gifts beyond their wildest dreams. A Pikachu balloon for Jason. Eleanor receives a cocktail shrimp dispenser. Tahani is given a giant, luminous diamond. Lastly, Michael presents Chidi with a journal from one of his favorite philosophers. Never before perused writings. One of a kind! However, Chidi is not convinced. Michael must apologize from his soul (or lack thereof) and mean it. Finally, Michael relents and genuinely apologizes for torturing Chidi in that manner. Chidi appears to accept said apology. Yay Team Cockroach!
Next, flash forward to one month later. Tahani and Jason are graciously thanking Janet for helping them overcome their issues. Suddenly, the ground begins to shake. Janet teleports to Michael’s office. She informs him that she’s been intermittently glitching for a month, and the neighborhood might fall apart because of it. Bye bye, Team Cockroach!
The Good Place never ceases to make me giggle. So many wonderful surprises in the little fantastical sitcom that could. Of course, the show’s unique way in which it allows us to question human morals is so forking interesting. Would you save one person if it meant slaughtering five? Or would five people be worth sacrificing one soul over? Dilemma, dilemma, dilemma. Also, Danson is once again the star of the show. Every week I love Michael more and more. Although, Jamil is rising through the ranks and may just become my favorite as Tahani. Not to mention, Janet as a therapist was golden.
Do you think Janet’s malfunctioning will cause the destruction of the neighborhood? Can Tahani air out her relationship with Jason in a public manner? Will Chidi finally wrangle the wild Michael in the ultimate ethics lesson? When will we see Chidi and Eleanor together again? Join me next week as I continue to recap The Good Place, here on Geek Girl Authority.
The Good Place airs Thursdays at 8:30pm on your NBC affiliate.
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
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