It’s been almost a year since my last look at episodes of Season One of The Good Place. I miss it, lol.
ONE
We begin where we left off last episode. Eleanor tries to understand Jianyu (who isn’t really Jianyu). She’s been dodging and weaving since they arrived. How has he escaped detection? Squinting, Eleanor says to him, “You don’t seem like a super genius.”
TWO
He makes a face and we go into a flashback of his first moment in the Good Place.
When Michael welcomes him, he immediately identifies Jianyu as a monk who took a vow of silence. Would Jianyu like to continue with that? He quickly nods.
He’s been silent ever since. (The change in his character from zen monk to street-slang punk is brilliantly played.) His name is Jason, he’s from Jacksonville, and he used to be a DJ and hip-hop dancer. He made money by selling fake drugs to college students.
THREE
Eleanor asks how he knew she didn’t belong. Flashback to Tahani’s party. Drunk Eleanor tells the silent monk the whole story, laughing at his inability to share it.
She shakes his hand and welcomes him to “the bottom of the barrel”. Roll credits.
FOUR
Tahani, in an organza, off-the-shoulder dress, clips flowers from the plaza landscape. Approaching, Michael informs her that one of the residents is opening a new restaurant tonight. Would she help with the grand opening? Ecstatic, Tahani immediately calls for Janet. She’d like to model this party after her most successful event. Michael, going bold, will try suspenders for the first time.
At the palace, Eleanor walks with Jason. They need a place where they can talk privately. Jason suggests his “bud-hole”. (He has a man cave in the house.) Eleanor is glad she can be herself.
Jason is glad, too, as he flashes back. He dances in a club. The DJ is Acidcat, who needs a temporary replacement. All Jason has to do is put on the costume head and play the pre-arranged tracks.
Tahani works on the grand opening for the restaurant on the plaza. She’s disappointed that Jianyu hasn’t been invited. It’s an evening of conversation and he doesn’t talk, Michael explains.
Chidi teaches Eleanor, but she gets out of it by saying she’s going to study with Jianyu. Chidi, comparing Buddhist philosophy with Hume, doesn’t mind at all.
Next door, though, Jason dances to loud music. He’s decided that he’s going to be himself. Chidi walks in behind Eleanor and discovers not-Jianyu.
SWITCH
Fade to black.
FIVE
Eleanor helps Jason clean up his mess and return to a monkish presentation. When she tries to explain the truth to Chidi, Eleanor needs to stop when Tahani walks in. Jianyu-Jason speaks, though. Eleanor tries to cover it up (and Chidi has a priceless expression) but Tahani guesses: they’re working to help Jianyu regain his confidence as a surprise for her!
Tahani tells Michael that, since Jianyu now talks, he can come to the restaurant opening.
Meanwhile, Eleanor shows Chidi the bud-hole. Chidi holds his face in horror as Eleanor tries to explain to Jason why his plan to blackmail Michael is not possible.
Flashback to Jason as Acidcat. The crowd dances happily, but Jason feels like a fake. It’s not his playlist. He takes off the head, announces himself, and plays his own original. The crowd boos.
At the dinner party, everyone wears their nicest clothes. Jianyu-Jason has his best maroon robes on and sits at Eleanor and Chidi’s table. The menu only has one item: your favorite meal. Chef Patricia will make an individual dish for each guest. They all lift their cloches.
Chidi has his grandmother’s fish dish. Jianyu has a block of tofu. When he asks for jalapeno poppers instead, Eleanor shushes him. Her plate is empty. Janet informs Eleanor that her favorite meal was a hunger strike.
Michael shows off Patricia’s special cake that will be served for dessert. Until then, though, let’s go around the room and share memories about your favorite meals. Jason is ready to talk about the topless buffalo wing bar he loved best. Eleanor pulls Chidi in the back room to figure out how they’ll keep him quiet. Michael calls on him, though, before they can plan. Desperate for a distraction, Eleanor crashes the perfect cake. Everyone screams.
When Eleanor and Chidi come from the back room, though, they see that a giant sinkhole has formed in the middle of the restaurant. “You broke the world,” Chidi says. Fade to black.
Everyone runs from the restaurant and down the street.
Back at the bud-hole, Eleanor tries to convince Jason why it would be bad to tell the truth.
SIX
Flashback to Jason and Pillboi, his best friend, at the boat dock. Jason complains that Acidcat is suing him. “I should have never pretended to be someone else.” He’s a special soul with big dreams to be a DJ in Tallahassee, Jason explains. Then he takes a Molotov cocktail from Pillboi and throws it at Acidcat’s boat.
SEVEN
Tahani meets with Michael in his office in order to tender her resignation. She’s turning in her evening gloves. Sitting, Michael reassures her that soulmates can take months to click. It’s all normal. And Michael takes the blame for the sinkhole. Seeing his despair, Tahani takes back her gloves. She’ll host brunch every day to raise people’s spirits until the sinkhole repairs itself.
EIGHT
In the bud-hole, Eleanor and Chidi watch Jason play a videogame while they discuss ideas. Eleanor despairs. Chidi invites Jason to attend his classes. You could earn your place here.
After thinking for a second, Jason says, “No, I’m good.” Eleanor smacks him. We both suck, she says, but Chidi doesn’t. Fade to black.
NINE
At the Clown House, Eleanor’s prepared to learn. She’s read the entire Hume book. Will Jianyu be coming? In he walks. He’s here to “learn about ethnics.”
As the credits roll, Eleanor congratulates him for taking this step. He wants to know if this school has a prom.
In a fur stole, Tahani puts up flyers outside of the restaurant. Hearing a shudder, she walks up to the sinkhole. It expands.
CRITICAL NOTES
Eh, again the Three and Six mirror is bothering me. I can make excuses for it, though. The Three is about Jason’s new friend, Eleanor, who doesn’t belong just as he doesn’t. The Six is about Jason’s old friend, Pillboi, who had his back no matter what. It’s also about Jason’s arc from pretender stuck in the monk role to someone who wants to be authentic. He likes who he is, even as the show makes him comically oblivious. It’s endearing.
Something that doesn’t bother me is the consistent use of the fade-to-black as the Switch. The pattern becomes funnier each episode. It also shows a confidence by the showrunners. They know their beats.