DISCLAIMER: This recap of The Good Place contains more spoilers than the number of Janets that occupy the multiverse. Seriously, there are a fork ton of Janets out there. You’ve been warned. Prepare for Janet’s void, and enter at your own peril.
Welcome back, Soul Squad! The Good Place bestowed upon us a masterful mid-season finale with “Janet(s).” Seriously, if D’Arcy Carden hasn’t snagged at least one accolade for her brilliantly nuanced performance, then there is no justice in this world. Michael and Janet whisked our fearsome foursome to the latter’s void but, as per The Good Place‘s usual, things went quite awry. Every human morphed into Janet. Is there such a thing as too many Janets, though? Meanwhile, the real Janet and Michael paid a visit to the official afterlife accountant to investigate the points system, and whether it was flawed as they suspected. As it turned out, the last soul to gain entry into the Good Place did so over 500 years ago. So yes: the system is flawed. Thankfully, our Soul Squad is on the case!
Alright, ready to delve into “Janet(s)?” Just be sure to keep your hands to yourselves in Janet’s void. It’s a hypersensitive space. Next thing you know you’ll be drowning in a sea of adorable puppies…and who wants that?
We open with Michael (Ted Danson) and Janet (D’Arcy Carden) materializing in the latter’s void. Michael is fascinated by the process. Unfortunately, our four humans’ bodies de-materialized in the real world when they entered the void and reformed as Janet. So Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani and Jason all look exactly like our omnipotent and omniscient not-a-robot girl. Of course, our Soul Squad is still donning their normal clothes, despite the drastic changes to their physical appearances. Janet instructs our crew to not tamper with anything inside the void. You never know how said actions could affect time in general. Michael and Janet take their leave of our fearsome foursome and scamper off to meet with the afterlife accountant.

Later, Michael and Janet arrive at the accountant’s office. They meet the secretary who’s also a Janet, but she’s neither a Good Place nor a Bad Place Janet. In fact, she’s a neutral as they come. A crumb of sedimentary debris has more personality. However, prior to meeting with the accountant, Janet experiences some…biological side effects. She lets rip the loudest and longest belch known to humanity.
Meanwhile, Eleanor-Janet decides to gift Chidi-Janet with an adorable puppy, since the latter’s stomach is aching something fierce. Well, Chidi wouldn’t be Chidi without the frequent stomach aches as a result of frequent nervous breakdowns. The real Janet pops in and sternly reminds the crew not to summon anything into the void, as the ripples of their actions can leave serious repercussions. However, Eleanor-Janet continues to break that rule once a plethora of puppies materializes. Honestly, that sounds like heaven to me. Bring on the puppies!
Next, Michael and Janet meet the accountant Neil (Stephen Merchant). They wish to observe the points system in action as they believe the Bad Place has been tampering with said points system. Neil obliges.
Then, we see Eleanor-Janet broach the subject of her on-again off-again romance with Chidi-Janet. He’s under the belief that these brief “romances” have zero effect on their current relationship status. Chidi-Janet also cites that he was a different person, since these all occurred in multiple timelines. Eleanor-Janet argues that while these versions of themselves existed in different timelines, they’re still Eleanor and Chidi at the core.
Meanwhile, Neil shows Michael and Janet around the office. He explains that for every action performed by a human on Earth there’s a specific department dedicated to said action. Yes, that includes “weird sex things.” Each time a human does something, it’s analyzed at the accountant’s offices. Then, the data is sent to the appropriate department(s) and processed as a “gain” in points or a “loss” in points. Next, the data is delivered to the Good Place or the Bad Place. Michael asks if he can analyze the file of a particular human: Doug Forcett. You know, the supposed “blue print” for the Good Place. This could get interesting…

Next, we see Eleanor-Janet and Chidi-Janet are still bickering over whether they’re the same people in this timeline as they were in previous iterations. Chidi-Janet decides to bust out an ethics lesson right then and there, with Tahani-Janet and Jason-Janet in attendance as well. This scene is where Carden really shines, as she flawlessly nails the mannerisms of each character – especially Jason. Chidi-Janet delves deeper into the concepts of self and the exploration of timelines. Eleanor-Janet blurts out that he’s merely word-vomiting Wikipedia articles. Well, Wikipedia articles can be edited by anyone and everyone, dear Eleanor-Janet.
Then, Michael and Janet flip through Doug’s files, which brings the former to the conclusion that the points system is being altered. Doug’s file cites that he’s bound for the Bad Place, despite his efforts at being a human with strong moral fiber. Suddenly, Janet starts experiencing more nasty side effects to having humans in her void. For starters, a splitting migraine. Those are no joke, Janet. We see the cause of said migraine is Jason’s summoning of Pillboi (Eugene Cordero) in a hot tub. Janet pops into her void to chastise Jason and shoo away Pillboi.
Now, Michael asks Neil how many humans have ascended to the Good Place recently. He regretfully informs Michael that the last human to gain entry did so over 500 years ago. 500 years! That can’t be right.
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Later, Eleanor-Janet masquerades as Jason-Janet to convince Chidi-Janet to confess his true feelings for the former. So, she’s Eleanor-Jason-Janet? This is like Inception but with omniscient beings. Anyway, Chidi-Janet smells the mole and outs Eleanor-Janet for attempting to dupe him. Eleanor-Janet begins to question who she really is. Why is she acting like a clingy girlfriend? That’s not her. She’s a motherforking badash who doesn’t need a man’s opinion to validate her. Thus, her burgeoning self-doubt manifests itself in Eleanor changing bodies…repeatedly. Chidi-Janet picks up on what’s happening and attempts to allay Eleanor’s doubts. However, she keeps changing bodies. Suddenly, the void around them begins to crumble. Uh oh. Not good.
Meanwhile, Tahani-Janet and Jason-Janet stumble upon Janet’s interface – the source of all her knowledge. Everything that ever happened exists here. Jason-Janet, believing it’s a TV, demands to watch cartoons. However, a collage dedicated to Jason appears, one that also contains wedding photos from when Jason married Janet. Tahani-Janet realizes that, not only does Janet harbor a crush for Jason, but they were married in another reboot. The pieces of the puzzle are falling into place!

Next, Neil breaks off his meeting with Michael and Janet after denying potential tampering of the points system. Janet is continuing on the path to internal combustion no thanks to her void’s destruction. In fact, at one point she urges Michael to marble-ize her. However, Janet believes that Michael is the one to alleviate the points system and get the afterlife back on the right track. But first – fix the void. Speaking of which…
As Eleanor continues to take on countless different faces during her surging identity crisis, Chidi-Janet starts listing off all of her qualities. Good and bad. He gives Eleanor the crash course to Eleanor Shellstrop – Eleanor 101, if you will. As the void continues to implode around them, Chidi-Janet finally faces his true feelings – he pulls Eleanor in for a kiss. She morphs into Eleanor-Janet again, but not for long. The two transition back to their bodies, and we see the real Chidi (William Jackson Harper) and Eleanor (Kristen Bell) are smooching up a storm. Finally! Janet’s void returns to normalcy, and the storm has passed over. This scene is utterly brilliant, and is most deserving of an awards nod.
Meanwhile, Michael is prepared to marble-ize Janet for her safety. However, Janet informs him of the Soul Squad’s return to their respective bodies. Thus, having them in her void is too overwhelming. She regurgitates our crew into the accountant’s offices. Suddenly, alarms begin to blare. Neil recognizes the Soul Squad as “wanted” fugitives. Michael and Janet whisk the foursome away to the room containing the two delivery tubes for the Good and Bad Places. They use Jason (Manny Jacinto) as a guinea pig by stuffing him into the Good Place tube. Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani (Jameela Jamil), Michael and Janet follow suit. They’ve escaped Neil’s clutches! Oh, and now they’re in the Good Place. The real, tangible, actual Good Place. Time to change the points system for the betterment of humankind!

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Now, The Good Place has never failed to hit all the right buttons for me, but this might be my favorite episode ever. D’Arcy Carden has risen through the ranks as a top-tier performer in her own right. She pulled an Orphan Black and executed her take on these characters to perfection. Not to mention, Eleanor and Chidi are finally a thing! In this timeline! Oh, and our crew made it to the Good Place. I can’t wait to see what the actual Good Place entails, and how accurate Michael’s initial neighborhood was in correlation to the real thing. Too bad we have to wait a month to find out! Join me next time as I continue to recap The Good Place, here on Geek Girl Authority.
The Good Place will return Thursday January 10th at 8:30pm on your NBC affiliate.
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