Mockingbird

Jameela’s going to host a new game show!

I’m still trying to wrap my head around Nick Offerman being offered the Shawn role first. I love Offerman very, very much, but I can’t imagine anyone better in the part than Marc.

In the video for Mindy, Trevor and a supposed representative from The Good Place were explaining why she ended up in the Medium Place. I feel like the existence of a Medium Place is sort of evidence that there are Good Place representatives at work. And Judge Gen has no reason to lie about the actual existence of a Good Place. I'm guessing, though, that the points system is so royally forked up that the Good Place is pretty nearly empty.

Well, that's certainly one way to re-kill all of the humans. I can't wait to see Janet's void. (Do we have to wait to see Janet's void? Are we on hiatus now?) Last week I was bummed that Bambadjan wasn't one of the demons through the portal. So his showing up first was a delight, for me if not for Eleanor. And welcome back, Chris Baker's abs. Hope Jeff is cool with a bunch of demons just showing up. And, after having relatively little to do for a while, Janet taking out the demons was so great. As was Eleanor and Chidi's reaction after Michael's "We did it!" Also, i get that Jason's pretty much just comic relief at this point, AND his evidence explanation made me laugh, but if I'm going to quibble with the writers, it means he's made no ethical progress at all during his time on earth while all of the other humans have shown signs of real growth. (I'm looking at you, Chidi, having all sorts of fun playing a game with absolutely no rules!)

I think the reason that Chidi and Eleanor are actual, real-life soulmates, despite what Michael has said about making the whole thing up, is that they make each other better. He helps her to be less selfish, to think about the well-being and happiness of others, and he makes her feel secure as she actually has someone she can depend on, who will help her and support her. As for Chidi, Eleanor helps him to take himself less seriously. More importantly, we've seen Eleanor make Chidi more decisive, too, like when he stormed into Michael's office in season 1 to tell him that Eleanor did belong there and should get points for improvement. Deciding to skip flying and help the woman he was in love with (since we know he was smitten since she handed him the tissue before sneezing) was probably fairly easy for him at that point in that reboot. They help each other overcome the character flaw that sent them to the Bad Place, and it's really sweet 'n' stuff. And I think three viewings of an episode is perfectly acceptable.

The first two seasons of this show are so good. The twist that shocked most viewers—that they were in the Bad Place—has been spoiled for you, but it’s still really worth a watch. The second season is some of my favorite tv ever. I’m still loving this season, but mostly because I’m ridiculously invested in these characters. Maybe see if your library has DVDs of the seasons (if you don’t want Netflix.) Just make sure to get out of the library before they start filming porn...

Doug Forcett! If he was a stoner in the 70s, he’s probably still around...

Picking up people from the airport IS the worst possible use of free will. That was super sweet. Michael and Eleanor’s friendship is my favorite relationship on the show, so I always love when Michael is surprised/delighted to hear that Eleanor cares about him. Plus, welcome back, Bad Place crew!

Like Parks and Rec, it took me a solid season to get into Brooklyn Nine Nine, but now I love it dearly. The whole show is worth a watch solely for Andre Braugher's Captain Holt, but the whole ensemble is great. I think one of the main reasons I'm such a Mike Schur show fan is summed up pretty beautifully in this article: https://www.avclub.com/the-good-places-the-uncommonly-decent-tv-worlds-of-mic-1818561418

Is it just a coincidence that both Eleanor’s and Jason’s fathers were named Doug? And that Doug Forcett guessed the afterlife system? #dougspiracy

Janet’s embarrassment over having to walk and making Chidi and Eleanor look away as she exited the room was a season highlight. And I’d have taken every breakup better if I were handed a puppy at the time.

Megan Amram revealing that—in a cut scene—Fred Booth’s (Tooth’s) daughter was an older teenager broke me.

Janet’s face while Michael attempted to type was so great. But Michael’s face when his lil humans came back was even better. It was a rough day, so I really needed this episode to deliver. And it was sweet and funny and met a hopeless situation with an abundance of goodness and hope. Couldn’t ask for too much more.

Poor, broken Chidi with his Peeps chili. Though I wonder how much of his breakdown was motivated by the possibility of making William Jackson Harper walk around shirtless...

So...cops who pull people over to sexually harass them are funny if they’re women? I love Seth on Late Night, but this was rough.

Oh, I have no issues understanding Michael’s motivation. We saw he was willing to sacrifice himself to save Eleanor last season. We know he sees a lot of himself in her. And I’ve been totally on board with the idea that they’re platonic soulmates since mid-season two. Michael’s redemption arc is entirely dependent upon Eleanor’s faith in him. Her attempts to become better and her friendship subsequently make him better. Michael and Janet have nothing left in any world now but these four humans. Why not do everything in their power to ensure that the people they love are saved from enternal torture before Gen figures out how to catch them?

I just love Eleanor so much. Even when she’s hurt and lashing out, she’s still trying to figure out how to become better. I totally get Michael risking everything to make sure she—and the rest of Team Cockroach, which I vastly prefer to the Brainy Bunch—gets into the actual good place.

That was my favorite episode in a long time. Laughed through so much of it that I can't even remember the lines that slayed me. Bob singing Amazing Grace was a highlight. The animation of Tina shaking the game was bonkers. Andy and Ollie were in top form. Zeke's disappoint over not being "the hot one." (Also, Mr. F., NO.) Louise's Ocean's-esque reveal. The one guy at Wonder Wharf wondering why no one else was losing their mind over the mammoth. So good.

At the wrap party for season 3, Mike Schur said something to the cast—now I need to re-listen to the podcast to get my story straight—that made Marc Evan Jackson feel pretty confident that there will be a season four. It *seems* like NBC is a pretty big fan of the show and a pretty big fan of Mike Schur since they told him to essentially create whatever his heart desired. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for a season four. But...even though we’ve ended on a cliffhanger at the end of both series, we’ve ended both times on Eleanor starting to make her way back to Chidi after a reboot. And we know how that always ends up, which is ultimately a super lovely and optimistic view of these humans. Hopefully season three doesn’t end on too big a cliffhanger of a more depressing nature in case NBC isn’t liking the numbers.

He’s said they’re already plotting season four—maybe on the podcast?—but that the show absolutely can’t go on indefinitely. I don’t know if he specified a number of seasons, though.

Janet’s sadness over the prospect of being marbelized was a 180 from her “Kill me, kill me, kill me” chant from season 2. I love the show’s theme that relationships and love—whether it’s romantic or platonic—can bring out the humanity in anyone, demons and not robots included. Also, Michael’s “Those four humans are all I care about in the universe” was super sweet. (Though it may mean he needs a bit more moral philosophy...)

It was definitely a manuscript in season 1. Which makes a ton of sense for him to spend years writing. And why the whole figuring out a topic for his thesis thing is so confusing now.

I’ve been wondering about this, too! (As a grad student, working on my thesis...) You can typically get hired as a professor before completing your dissertation, but there’s a requirement you finish within a specified amount of time (usually a year) and I can’t see that job being fine with starting a brand new project. Or providing an advisor, unless Chidi attended St. John’s? Just went back to check what his office said, and it’s definitely Professor Chidi Anagonye. If they had just said he was working on his manuscript, everything would be fine... Or it’s some sort of clue that something’s wrong with this scenario. You can never quite be sure with this show.

Loved Linda saying that she wasn’t sold on Jimmy Jr. under her breath. Same, Linda. Same.

I wonder if Ginger Letitia has any relation to Detlef...