THE GOOD PLACE: Chidi Sees the Time-Knife {Roundtable}

This week on The Good Place, Michael and the gang meet the judge at IHOP to see if they can convince her that something is wrong with the point system. See what Roz, Cay, Leah, and I thought was stupid, awesome, and so-so.

Stupid:

Roz: That neednoggler! Oh that is a gross thing to see in the IHOP. But I suppose we needed something gross in a way get at the oddity of being in an inter-dimensional void.

Cara: For me it was Tahani’s Diana Von Furstenberg comment. It just didn’t work for me.

Cay: Michael just suddenly completely losing it after all this time. Yes, he’s attached to the group, but his reaction to Shawn’s threat seemed way over the top, especially since it’s a year away anyway.

Pictured: Ted Danson as Michael (Photo by: Colleen Hayes/NBC)

Awesome:

Roz: What the Judge sees when she goes down to Earth! That veiled Chic-Fil-A dig!

Cay: Definitely the Judge’s experiences on Earth. Her comment about being black – I love that this show isn’t afraid to make jokes at our society’s expense. Also, for once Jason actually had a relevant story to share.

Cara: I’m going to diverge from the group here because my favorite thing this week was the return of Jason Mantzoukas as Derek. I thought it improved on the original Derek exponentially, and I loved his attempts at being debonair. The martini glass full of olives is also a dream come true for me. Olives are to me what shrimp is to Eleanor. I also really liked Ted Danson as Vicky playing Michael. It was really cute. There was a lot I really liked about this episode.

Leah: Loved the Judge’s on Earth. The shows dialog is so well done, the relevant jokes and jabs are great. I have to agree with Cay too – Jason has a pertinent story!

So-So:

Roz: Chidi and the Time-Knife was just an odd moment to see. I get that we needed a look into what else is going on in the IHOP, but what even?

Cara: Yeah, the Time-Knife thing was just odd, but I did enjoy Michael’s response, “Yeah, we’ve all been there….” That saved it for me a little bit.

Cay: I’m with Roz, that was random and not entirely necessary.

Leah: I can agree with Cay agreeing with Roz, right?

Pictured: Kristen Bell as Eleanor, William Jackson Harper as Chidi (Photo by: Colleen Hayes/NBC)

Your Thoughts/Favorite Quote:

Roz: “Also, I guess I’m black. And they do not like black ladies down there.” – The Judge for the win!

Also, “Bye Bitch!” – Shawn and Vicky in Michael

Cara: I had wondered where we were headed next, and I think this is such a great way to take the show back to it’s roots and back to the thing that hooked us all in the first place.

Also, as someone who has eaten WAY too many meals at IHOP, I loved this:

Michael: “If you eat anything in this IHOP you will literally explode”. Jason: “Yeah, I know, It’s IHOP”. *Eleanor and Jason high five*

Cay: Yet another clever reboot of the show! I keep finding myself wondering how they keep things going, and each new direction is more creative than the previous. The Good Place does such a great job at pointing our the issues in our society without being a downer – it’s the best combination of witty with social commentary and philosophy.

Leah: I haven’t been as invested in this seasons arc. I see why we needed to explore some of these things, but the way they have “rebooted” it again is great. I’m excited to see how they keep this going!

The Good Place airs Thursday 9:30/8:30c on NBC.

What did we think of other episodes? Check those out here.