S01.E07: The Eternal Shriek

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Eleanor and Chidi set off on a quest with Janet as their guide. Meanwhile, Tahani attempts to show Michael how much he is appreciated.

[secnarf]

The episode description makes me laugh after actually watching the episode.

Looks like we'll start to get some answers!

[Mabinogia]

Wow! I did not see Eleanor admitting it was her coming. I can't wait to see what happens next. I'm glad Janet isn't completely dead. I know she's not really alive, but I loved the scene of her pleading for her life then explaining she's not real, then pleading again, nope, not real, then busting out the picture of her pretend kids. lol

I love that I have no idea what is going to happen next on this show. I mean, I kind of assumed Michael wouldn't really be leaving but I never would have guessed it was because Janet got murdered by Chidi. This show is crazy, in the best possible way.

[JessDVD]

This show cracks me up. The actress who plays Janet is perfect.

Nice to get some Chidi flashbacks. "This is why everyone hates moral philosophy professors".

I so hope this show makes it and I so love Kristen Bell.

[kaygeeret]

Loved this episode and the whole journey....

I sure don't really know what is going on.

But I loved the  ending and can't wait for  next week.

PLEASE, PLEASE give this series a chance PTB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jbrecken]

When we met Chidi he said he wasn't speaking English but the Good Place was translating.  So it didn't make sense that he sounded the same in his flashback.  And if his flashback was being translated, why did his friend sound Australian and write in English on his chalkboard?

[omgsowicked]

"Chidi, you're turtling!" Ha!

Wow, totally didn't expect Eleanor to confess... I mean, of course it would get out but I thought it would be later on in the season, and that it would be someone else outing her, or her getting caught in the middle of a conversation with Chidi. But I like how they did this and I'm really excited to see what happens now, with several episodes left in the season. Also, I like the little world building note about trains going to other neighborhoods. So far, this neighborhood seems quite expansive (nice beach in this one) but it would be cool to see other neighborhoods.

[bros402]

1 hour ago, jbrecken said:

When we met Chidi he said he wasn't speaking English but the Good Place was translating.  So it didn't make sense that he sounded the same in his flashback.  And if his flashback was being translated, why did his friend sound Australian and write in English on his chalkboard?

I could've sworn at some point he said he spent time in Australia, maybe in the pilot?

[ZoqFotPik]

The sign outside the hospital read "Sydney General".

[thuganomics85]

Well, then!  I remember hearing that Michael Schur has only planned to keep season 13 episodes and not ask for a back order, and I can certainly see why considering how fast it is going.  Did not see Eleanor confessing to Michael and the rest coming.  Part of me is still suspicious that they will find a way to throw another swerve and the confessions ends up not mattering as much as it should, but the fact that she even did it, is pretty impressive for her.  They writers and Kristen Bell really have done a good job at making her character such a horrible person at times, but someone I root for to grow and finally be worthy of "The Good Place."

Janet was the highlight and pretty much everything leading up to and after her murder was brilliant.  My favorite was either her fail safe pleading (especially the picture of her "sons", or after she was rebooted (A...B... Janet!)  And it being Chidi by accident, after Jason almost fucked everything up (classic Jason!), was equally brilliant.  Chidi's reaction was perfect; from the "Weekend at Bernie's" shocked reaction, to the part where he really seemed like he was trying to hide his head in his shirt.  Enjoyed the flashbacks too, although I was surprised that it seemed like he did have a girlfriend at one point (I think he said that he never loved before, so I guess it just wasn't serious?)

Ted Danson was having a lot of fun with Sulky, Doomsday Michael.  I loved the bit at Janet's wake, when we was just annoyed and all "Oh, great!  Now, someone murdered Janet!" about it, like it was just such a nuisance.  Tahani didn't do much in this one, but I did love her reactions every time she tried and failed to cheer up Michael.

This show has quickly become not just one of my favorites of this season, but probably one of my favorite comedies in the past years.  Probably the only other ones I fell in love with this quickly was Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Selfie (R.I.P.)

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Jason continues to be hilarious even when the focus of the episode isn't on him. Loved that his response to Chidi pushing the button and killing Janet was just being bummed that he didn't get to push the button himself.

I was really surprised that Eleanor confessed at the end of the episode, especially considering that she obviously had no intention of doing so at the beginning of the episode. When she stood up at the end, I thought she would try to give Michael a pep talk to make up something ridiculous. A confession was just about the last thing I thought would come out of her mouth.

All I could think of when I saw those red cowboy boots was Ted Mosby claiming that he was pulling them off.

[Mrs. Stanwyck]

I loved Eleanor's reaction at the party where Michael blamed Tahani. The camera just panned by her face and she looked so amused.  It was really funny.

I can't wait for the next episode to see what happens!

[Whimsy]

6 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Selfie (R.I.P.)

I adored Selfie.  I've watched the entire "season" three times.  *sob*

I really love TGP.  I really want it to stick around too!  I had read somewhere (probably Entertainment Weekly) that the storyline would be surprising.  Eleanor outing herself so early is surprising!  I loved everything about this episode.  Janet, Chidi "turtling", all of it.   

[tominboston]

Hmmm... they really are moving the plot along quickly. OK, so Eleanor did a Good Thing and confessed to being out of place in order to save Chidi and Michael from ongoing distress. We know she won't get kicked down to the Bad Place and this will all be resolved by the final episode of the season, but then what will be the theme of a hoped-for season 2?

And I very much hope there is a season 2. This show just makes me smile from beginning to end. Glad that Helpful Janet has rebooted... I would have missed her.

I wonder why Michael's penalty for failure would have been so awful. This was his first neighborhood design, right? It sounds like the Good Place doesn't allow for much of a learning curve.

[ChromaKelly]

I love this show! I was happy for Chidi flashbacks. I was wondering if the boots thing was going to be some ethics test his friend was giving him.  I didn't want the episode to end. I'm glad Janet came back. Poor Chidi, he was so conflicted. I feel bad for him, this is how he gets to spend his eternity, in moral quandary?

I'm wondering if their "town" is all for people who died relatively young? Everyone seems to be 25-45.

[Mabinogia]

3 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I was really surprised that Eleanor confessed at the end of the episode, especially considering that she obviously had no intention of doing so at the beginning of the episode. When she stood up at the end, I thought she would try to give Michael a pep talk to make up something ridiculous. A confession was just about the last thing I thought would come out of her mouth.

This is what makes this show so great (besides the acting, the writing, the pretty happy colors). I seriously doubt the majority of the audience expected Eleanor to be outed this soon, and to do it herself, but it totally works and doesn't feel like a twist for the sake of a twist. It's growth. She's actually learning and changing but not completely, and I'm sure she was as surprised as we were that it happened but it totally makes sense to me.

 

PS: Add me to the Selfie lovers. That was a great little show that I wish had done better. (A better name would have helped)

[tennisgurl]

Holy plot twist Batman! Eleanor actually told the truth! In episode 7! I did not see that coming at all, I love it! Its rare to find a show where I really have no idea where the plot is going, in a good way, and this is finally that show!

"This is why everyone hates moral philosophy professors".

I loved Tahani creating somewhat inappropriate parties for Michael, and then him blaming her for Janet getting murdered. Poor Tahani, its always something. 

Oh man, Selfie nostalgia! I miss that show so much.

Edited October 21, 2016 by tennisgurl

[theatremouse]

The thing is...she could've confessed to the "murder" without confessing anything else. I think it's actually a totally reasonable thing they could've admitted to Michael that they knew Janet called the train, and they were trying to stop it, so they thought shutting her down would help, and when they got to the button they realized it was not a good idea but then oops. Or even that Jianyu saw the button without knowing what it was and then oops. Either way leaves out the rest of the details. So, yeah, I don't know what they're going for here but I don't take the confession for what it sounded like it was about to be until we see the next one. For someone like Eleanor who appears to have been skilled at lying there are just too many easier ways to get out of this particular bind, that don't even require lies (other than omission)...either she's grown A TON within the span of the one episode or it ain't what it seems.

 

I was also thrown off by Chidi's backstory because while I get that he was soooo stressed about the boots thing...I don't get why Mr. Ethics didn't just say something else at first. He didn't need to say the boots were awesome, my first impulse when I saw them was "I'm not really into boots but if they make you happy then you made the right decision" or something.

[Traveller519]

"You see! She already knows her A B Janets!"

The tight episodes are great, there really hasn't been much for filler

[Cowgirl]

7 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

I was surprised that it seemed like he did have a girlfriend at one point (I think he said that he never loved before, so I guess it just wasn't serious?

I wasn't as surprised by the fact that he had a girlfriend, as by the fact that he slept with someone whom he didn't love.  That seems like something that would give Chidi a terrible moral crisis. 

I love Eleanor's little "I love you man" before she made her confession.

"Attention! I HAVE BEEEN MURDERED!" All delivered with that serene, slightly bemused expression on her face. I love how Janet 2.0 "woke up" wearing different clothes. 

[BooBear]

14 hours ago, JessDVD said:

This show cracks me up. The actress who plays Janet is perfect.

Really funny.  I loved all her begging and then they do kill her and up comes the "Janet has been murdered" screen. And how do you murder a construct? Funny. 

I will just say that Eleanor didn't say how she was the cause. She has some room to wiggle.  Though her admitting she was brought there wrongly on her own to avoid Chidi taking a hit has to give her MAJOR points. 

Edited October 21, 2016 by BooBear

[DeLurker]

1 hour ago, Cowgirl said:

I love how Janet 2.0 "woke up" wearing different clothes. 

I didn't even notice that!  Too funny.

I wanted to like Selfie, but just couldn't.  John Cho was fine, but the main woman in the show I felt was unlikable and I never warmed up to her.

[iMonrey]

Quote

The thing is...she could've confessed to the "murder" without confessing anything else. I think it's actually a totally reasonable thing they could've admitted to Michael that they knew Janet called the train, and they were trying to stop it, so they thought shutting her down would help, and when they got to the button they realized it was not a good idea but then oops.

I thought that too. Heck, the button is just out there on the beach out in the open; what's to stop anyone from pressing it, just to see what happens? They could have just said the found the button and wondered what it did. And if it's a fail safe in case Janet malfunctions why would there be a giant screen in the sky of her warning everyone she's been murdered? The whole thing didn't make much sense. 

Quote

I love how Janet 2.0 "woke up" wearing different clothes.

Her hair was longer too. 

[Zahdii]

All I can say is that this is one of the few shows I don't watch while doing other things.  And I regret to inform you that, sadly, this means that this show is doomed.  All of my shows that grab my full attention either morph into shows I can't watch anymore (Grimm, PIO, I'm looking at you), or they are cancelled after one season. 

You have been warned.  Please prepare yourself in whatever way suits you best.

Edited October 21, 2016 by Zahdii
added a word for clarity

[Minneapple]

This show is so weird and bizarre and hilarious. I love it. A..B..Janet! Killed me. 

[possibilities]

The pleading for her life as a fail-safe against "bad actors" was funny to me, because I'd think that a "bad actor" would be the sort who was least susceptible to that kind of display changing their minds.

[swimmyfish]

7 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

All I could think of when I saw those red cowboy boots was Ted Mosby claiming that he was pulling them off.

I thought of that, too! I wonder how many points he'd lose for wearing the boots, not because he liked them, but because he thought he was cool enough to make them look good.

I really enjoyed the Chidi flashbacks. They really didn't tell us anything new about him, but I kind of like that we do have at least one character here who is exactly what they seem to be.
I actually gasped when Janet died, and was then relieved when she was immediately resurrected. I also appreciated that she was wearing a new outfit, because I had just been thinking how that actress was probably really tired of that one dress she always wore.

An overjoyed Michael who loves suspenders and paper clips is a good Michael, but a bitchy Michael is maybe the best Michael? Knowing how desperate Tahani is for positive feedback made his repeated little digs at her all the more hilarious - for an eternal being, he can be really mean.

I'm really intrigued at the concept of the train, and I hope that wasn't just a one-off plot device for this episode. I'd love to find out where Tahani's sister ended up, or the real Jianyu; having a way into and out of the neighborhood opens up a lot of storytelling possibilities there.

Overall, this was a pretty good transitional episode - it wasn't the strongest, but it set up some interesting things and I'm very excited to see where they go next.

[Blakeston]

4 hours ago, BooBear said:

I will just say that Eleanor didn't say how she was the cause. She has some room to wiggle.  Though her admitting she was brought there wrongly on her own to avoid Chidi taking a hit has to give her MAJOR points. 

I agree. Just because she said she doesn't belong there doesn't mean she's about to reveal that she's a completely different Eleanor Shellstrop than the one who's supposed to be there.

She's really made an unbelievable amount of growth, going from the person she was on earth (who showed no sign of empathy whatsoever, and happily defrauded the elderly) to someone who's risking eternal damnation for the benefit of Chidi and Michael.

And when I say it's an unbelievable amount of growth, I'm saying I don't really believe it. I think it's too much, too soon.

Edited October 21, 2016 by Blakeston

[AnnaRose]

What did Eleanor actually say at the end?  The DVR cut off just when she started to admit it was her fault.  I think that's what she was saying.  I didn't hear the dialogue, but I thought the super-brief flash of closed captioning at the end had her saying something like "It was me, I'm not supposed to be here," or something like that.  Did she (or anyone else) say anything after that?

[Lugal]

Another awesome episode, and I did not see Eleanor confessing, although I wonder if Michael may try to cover it up as it would be his screw-up for letting her in.  Janet, pre- and post-murder, stole the episode.  I would be curious to see what other neighborhoods the train goes to.

About Chidi speaking English, I assume his native language is French, (from his remark to Tahani an episode back about not liking France due to the fact they conquered his country), but he speaks English fluently.  In the Good Place, he probably speaks his native language and it translates.

I also liked how when boots-guy tells Chidi his 3600 page manuscript was very dry, that Chidi took it as a compliment.

[ThoughtAFool]

9 hours ago, ChromaKelly said:

I'm wondering if their "town" is all for people who died relatively young? Everyone seems to be 25-45.

I was wondering about that too.  (But how old were the "swinger" roommates?)  Could be that these are medium "Cincinnati" people because they hadn't lived long enough to fulfill their destiny?  Or is it just that in any "good place" you're not going to have to spend eternity in your frail aged body?

Also, I'm trying to think if I've ever seen grey balloons before.  Maybe in a party store over-the-hill section for 40th birthday parties?

[secnarf]

58 minutes ago, AnnaRose said:

What did Eleanor actually say at the end?  The DVR cut off just when she started to admit it was her fault.  I think that's what she was saying.  I didn't hear the dialogue, but I thought the super-brief flash of closed captioning at the end had her saying something like "It was me, I'm not supposed to be here," or something like that.  Did she (or anyone else) say anything after that?

"Michael, the problem in the neighbourhood...is me. I was brought to The Good Place by mistake. I'm not supposed to be here."

Cut to Michael looking surprised (mouth O-shaped), and then that was it.

[Empress1]

37 minutes ago, ThoughtAFool said:

I was wondering about that too.  (But how old were the "swinger" roommates?)  Could be that these are medium "Cincinnati" people because they hadn't lived long enough to fulfill their destiny?  Or is it just that in any "good place" you're not going to have to spend eternity in your frail aged body?

I like the idea that you get to be in your prime in The Good Place - maybe not just your physical prime, but the time at which you were happiest. 

Totally did not see the confession coming!

Those were some ugly-ass boots. Watching Chidi walk in them was like kitten mittens.

[justjoan]

1 hour ago, Lugal said:

I also liked how when boots-guy tells Chidi his 3600 page manuscript was very dry, that Chidi took it as a compliment.

And the other half, boots-guy's happiness when Chidi told him his lecture was very bleak. Hee!

8 hours ago, iMonrey said:

And if it's a fail safe in case Janet malfunctions why would there be a giant screen in the sky of her warning everyone she's been murdered?

Maybe the fail safe can only be used officially by an architect? Or maybe the murder screen popped up because the button was supposed to be for a malfunctioning Janet and ours wasn't? Honestly, though, I think they kind of Rule of Cool'ed it. The weird button standing on the seashore and Janet's* performance pull us right past any logical flaws (hopefully).

 

*Janet's performance as opposed to D'Arcy Carden's, though she is just fantastic.

[Kromm]

15 hours ago, ChromaKelly said:

I'm wondering if their "town" is all for people who died relatively young? Everyone seems to be 25-45.

 

5 hours ago, ThoughtAFool said:

Or is it just that in any "good place" you're not going to have to spend eternity in your frail aged body?

Well it's a standard trope of heaven-y things though is that people de-age to whatever they considered the prime of their lives.  So I'd guess it's that.

[Milburn Stone]

I find myself getting really worried for Eleanor--and admiring her courage even more than I would have prior to Michael talking about the horrible fate that awaited him in "retirement." If that's what they do to an architect, can you imagine what they'll do to someone who knowingly ended up in the wrong place and concealed it from them? This has to be (or should be) going through Eleanor's mind! Even if it would have been "the right thing" for her to confess it early on, it seems to me she'd have to be the greatest saint who ever lived to confess it now, knowing what she knows now about the sorts of punishments TPTB dole out to souls who get on the wrong side of them. But maybe it's all been a test (including Michael's description of his hell) and Eleanor passed. In any case, I'm lovin' it.

Edited October 22, 2016 by Milburn Stone

[Texasmom1970]

I am loving that doofus Jason. Him being mad he did not get to push the button, and upset that all the pinata candy was gone. Then repeating hello to the new Janet. He seems like a dorky kid getting mad at silly little things but it works.

[EyewatchTV211]

14 hours ago, justjoan said:

Maybe the fail safe can only be used officially by an architect? Or maybe the murder screen popped up because the button was supposed to be for a malfunctioning Janet and ours wasn't? Honestly, though, I think they kind of Rule of Cool'ed it. The weird button standing on the seashore and Janet's* performance pull us right past any logical flaws (hopefully).

 

*Janet's performance as opposed to D'Arcy Carden's, though she is just fantastic.

I was similarly thinking that maybe the murder screen occurs when Janet "knows" she has not truly malfunctioned when she was shut down. 

[wendyg]

Mabinogia: I thought SELFIE got pretty good eventually, but that the show committed suicide in the pilot with the visual of the vomit bags. I'm sure a lot of people tuned out right then and never returned.

[meep.meep]

On ‎10‎/‎20‎/‎2016 at 10:26 PM, jbrecken said:

When we met Chidi he said he wasn't speaking English but the Good Place was translating.  So it didn't make sense that he sounded the same in his flashback.  And if his flashback was being translated, why did his friend sound Australian and write in English on his chalkboard?

Because it wasn't a flashback, he was remembering his life.  You don't remember yourself speaking with an accent.  You just remember what you said.  You remember other people's accents.

What would be the point of the architects having such horrible deaths?

[Lebanna]

15 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

16 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

Because it wasn't a flashback, he was remembering his life.  You don't remember yourself speaking with an accent.  You just remember what you said.  You remember other people's accents.

What would be the point of the architects having such horrible deaths?

I have to say, that's completely true when you're speaking your native language, but when you're speaking a second language, after you get past the beginner stage you can definitely hear you have an accent. Everyone sounds one way, and you sound another. You sound like you and that's cool, but you can hear that one of these things is not like the others. I definitely remember saying everything all the time with the cool, exotic (ok, not so much) accent I say them in. So.

As for the architects' grizzly deaths (ahem *puts on sexy French accent* sorry, you'll just have to imagine it)  'Pour encourager les autres'.

[Linny]

There was so much to love about this one. Michael longing to try a saltine, and his subsequent disappointment upon tasting one. Eleanor calling in Janet for a high-five because Chidi wouldn't participate. Janet pleading for her life with a stock photo from the Kids' Choice Awards. I'm so in love with this show (and add me to the list of people who loved Selfie).

[cpcathy]

That saltine needed margarine on it! Great snack!

[Blakeston]

On 10/22/2016 at 1:35 AM, Kromm said:

 

Well it's a standard trope of heaven-y things though is that people de-age to whatever they considered the prime of their lives.  So I'd guess it's that.

The characters we're familiar with all seem to have been alive pretty recently. None of these flashbacks could have taken place very long ago. So some of the people in heaven might have been de-aged, but it seems like Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani and Jason must have all died quite young.

[stillshimpy]

Presumably, Eleanor is counting on the points won in the 'willing to sacrifice herself for others' category and that Michael has a small "they'll burn me eternally on the surface of countless suns" problem when it comes to her presence there:  He didn't spot it or find her out.  It's not Eleanor's mistake that she's there, it's Michael's mistake and he would presumably know that.  

Although that would be crediting Eleanor with nerves of steel in the planning-fu arts and an ability to see several moves ahead (which she has not previously demonstrated).  It might still be believable that she'd take the risk that Michael would react not with "You are hereby banished to eternal awfulness and weak coffee....or whatever goes on there...." because that would mean admitting he'd horribly screwed up....and chances are the punishment for that might be even worse if a spot of bad-community-planning lands you in the Soul Shredder.  

So I can buy that Eleanor could spot that line of logic but am having difficulty buying  she'd still pull the trigger when "He won't turn me in, to save his own skin and he can justify with this (seemingly) selfless action of mine..." if it wasn't for the risk of eternal damnation in the yelly place if she rolls wrong on that.  However, since Chidi was definitely going downtown, maybe I can believe she'd take on the risk?  Maybe? I mean, she is supposed to be growing.  

Anyway, love the show.  I'd love it even it Ted Danson wasn't clearly having an incredible amount of fun in the role but that certainly doesn't hurt either. 

[Notwisconsin]

As to the accent thing. Chidi is from Cameroon. To him everyone from there has a "middle American" accent, while those from Paris have "Australian" accents. It's done in theater all the time.

[AnnieBeez]

8 hours ago, stillshimpy said:

Presumably, Eleanor is counting on the points won in the 'willing to sacrifice herself for others' category and that Michael has a small "they'll burn me eternally on the surface of countless suns" problem when it comes to her presence there:  He didn't spot it or find her out.  It's not Eleanor's mistake that she's there, it's Michael's mistake and he would presumably know that.  

Although that would be crediting Eleanor with nerves of steel in the planning-fu arts and an ability to see several moves ahead (which she has not previously demonstrated).  It might still be believable that she'd take the risk that Michael would react not with "You are hereby banished to eternal awfulness and weak coffee....or whatever goes on there...." because that would mean admitting he'd horribly screwed up....and chances are the punishment for that might be even worse if a spot of bad-community-planning lands you in the Soul Shredder.  

So I can buy that Eleanor could spot that line of logic but am having difficulty buying  she'd still pull the trigger when "He won't turn me in, to save his own skin and he can justify with this (seemingly) selfless action of mine..." if it wasn't for the risk of eternal damnation in the yelly place if she rolls wrong on that.  However, since Chidi was definitely going downtown, maybe I can believe she'd take on the risk?  Maybe? I mean, she is supposed to be growing.  

Anyway, love the show.  I'd love it even it Ted Danson wasn't clearly having an incredible amount of fun in the role but that certainly doesn't hurt either. 

It didn't seem to me that she did much, if any, reasoning at all. 

[possibilities]

It's really a very harsh system, isn't it? You have to be extremely good to get to The Good Place (remember all those do gooders who didn't make it, referred to in the Pilot), and the alternative is horrible pain. No mercy, no in between, and no quality control in the process, either, apparently.

[stillshimpy]

It's really a very harsh system, isn't it? You have to be extremely good to get to The Good Place (remember all those do gooders who didn't make it, referred to in the Pilot), and the alternative is horrible pain. No mercy, no in between, and no quality control in the process, either, apparently.

I've been wondering if The Good Place isn't more likely to be Last Chance to Shape-up and Earn It because even old-school Catholic better-behavior-through-nonstop-shaming is less punishing than that.  Be a damned near perfect person, or be eternally tormented, with apparently no in-between.  It's just the only characters we know via flashback Chidi, Jason, and Eleanor all had less than perfect records.  Chidi was so bound and determined to live by the letter of the ethics law, he was willing to sacrifice kindness to it, in kind of a selfish way, "Hey, there you are! You're not dead from your surgery?  Good! Great.  Let me unburden my soul because that's of prime importance right now!"  I love Chidi, he's awesome, but that was selfish as hell.   Doesn't make him a bad person, at all, it just does mean that he's also a flawed person even if it is in an incredibly minor capacity.  

Anyway, I could be dead wrong and most likely am, but that's what I wondered.  If maybe Michael's neighborhood is actually the place for people who actually have more to do before they go on to the better place.  Or something.  

[Mabinogia]

6 minutes ago, stillshimpy said:

Anyway, I could be dead wrong and most likely am, but that's what I wondered.  If maybe Michael's neighborhood is actually the place for people who actually have more to do before they go on to the better place.  Or something.

This is how I'm feeling, and I think Michael, himself, is one of them. Like, he's been given this town, and possibly even Eleanor, as a sort of test. Didn't they/he say this was his first town? Or am I making stuff up? (it happens) but if so, I don't think they would let a newbie build the town for the really, really good people. It's like the Heaven of Misfit Toys. lol and together they will all become worthy, or build their own misfit utopia that works for them.