Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers for the T.V show “The Good Place.”
If you were concerned because you didn’t see a review for the last episode, don’t worry! In my honest opinion, you really weren’t missing much. It was a dull and calm transition between two major plot arcs. The only important tidbits in the episode are as follows:
Celebrities from the 60s: Where are they now? (Photo credit to NBC/Universal.)
- Eleanor learns that she and Chidi were in love during one of the afterlife reboots.
- Michael and Janet decide to find a blueprint of the ideal human being so the rest of humanity can follow suit and everyone can get into The Good Place. This is basically one half of the plot of episode 8.
- Shawn (Remember him? Does head honcho of hell ring a bell?) and his cronies have created an illegal portal to Earth. Gasp! This is the second half of this episode’s plot.
Overall the first half of episode 8 was a bit of a sleeper. Michael and Janet find the perfect human and his name is Doug Forsythe. Remember him? You probably don’t; this is a call back to the first episode of this show. Doug is the guy whose portrait is hanging in Michael’s office. Remember him now? He’s the guy who basically figured out the workings of the afterlife system (with around 70% accuracy) while on magic mushrooms.
Michael and Janet speak with him under the guise of Journalism. Although they treat Doug like a celebrity at first, they soon realize that he’s just trying to do good for the sake of doing good. He’s a Happy Pump, a counter-argument to utilitarianism. He exhausts himself doing good for other people- which is most definitely not something society should follow.
It was an interesting diversion, but, to be honest, I got a little bored. Yes, there were some funny quips, but, the first half of the episode just felt like a continuation of the slowness from the previous episode.
By the end of this half, I was more concerned with what the gang is going to do rather than Doug. Were they going to find another example or was something bigger going to happen?
Gasp! It’s Shawn! (Photo credit to NBC/Universal.)
Well, to say the least, something did happen. Eleanor decided to tell Chidi that they fell in love in one of the reboots. But, before she can get to the details, the Demons from Hell (the Bad Place) walk into the bar!
Remember Shawn’s illegal portal? Well, he brought all of his evil cronies and found the humans! He intends to bring them all back to the Bad Place where they can be duly tortured.
But wait– not so fast! Your friendly, neighborhood Janet is here to save the day! In a well-choreographed fight scene (honestly, this show has it all) Janet beats up all the demons and sends them back to the afterlife! Bonus: she regains her powers!
This was the highlight of this episode. It went from a really slow plot to full-on fight club in the span of minutes. It was so much fun to watch and I had a smile on my face the entire time.
However, in the last few moments, more demons enter the bar! In a last minute decision, Janet whisks the gang into her Void. Pros: the humans, Michael, and Janet have all escaped the demons. Cons: the humans have consequently died on Earth. Oh, well.
I love how this show can take it from 0 to 100 in just one episode. Also, I totally called this back in episode 2. The gang is now onto a new location: Janet’s void (whatever that place is). The stakes are even higher now.
One downside is that it seems like the show is running out of locations to go to. First the “Good Place,” then the Bad Place, Judge Gen’s office, Earth, and now Janet’s Void. Where else can the show possibly take them now that all the humans are dead and they can’t go anywhere else?
What will they do next? Find out in the next episode, “Janet(s),” airing on Dec. 6 at 8/7c on NBC.
