The Good Place S03E03, "The Brainy Bunch"

[kate_nepveu]

Here is a nice thoughtful NYT article that does a very good job about conveying the appeal of this show while having literally no spoilers even for season 1, which is impressive.

And now,

SPOILERS.

Ahh I love this show so much!

I should've trusted its breakneck pace that we wouldn't settle in with Trevor being awful, though I admit I didn't expect the show to dispose of him that quickly. I also thought we might have some kind of more extended attempt to escape from the Judge, but on reflection of course that wouldn't work. Key and frog, paying off!

And, more importantly, the character development is carrying through too, I'm not used to them being at this stage in a reboot so it's a wonderful happy surprise? But it's so good, Eleanor bringing Chidi hot root beer and Tahani apologizing and Jason sleeping in a dumpster and Chidi calling Eleanor a friend. *draws little sparkly hearts around all of them* The show's so smart, it's like the way they deliberately powered through the 802 reboots last season to catch the characters up with the viewers, it's the same thing only emotionally not knowledge-wise.

Wow, Michael and Janet permanently? on Earth sans powers (does Michael still have his summoning-thing? does he dare use it?). Do they confess? That would be so weird, and yet, I feel like the show can't shy away from confronting that point.

Finally, I laughed so hard when the Judge listed off things that were weird now, you don't even know. I also am totally baffled by the success of Hugh Jackman's musical about P.T. Barnum! (The kids like it and I was inflicted with the soundtrack for a few weeks at SteelyKid's bedtime. I was not impressed. Being in the same room with it on DVD did not improve it in my estimation.) Sometime when I'm not exhausted I will freeze-frame Janet's pile of summoned stuff.

Comments

[skwidly]

The only thing we freeze-framed on was AUS Weekly. I'm pretty sure there were jokes on the draft beer handles, too, but we didn't try for that one. I was baffled by "PALTO" on the white board until I remembered that Chidi was supposed to be basically out of his mind at that point.

[kate_nepveu]

Yeah, I was weirdly proud of myself for figuring "Plato" out!

[jenett]

I loved Simone's "I already called you a car."

I had to pause this one a couple of times because I needed a break from Trevor. (He's so well-done. He's just so awful.) It was tremendously satisfying to see him flicked off into an endless chasm or whatever it is.

I loved how Eleanor was just done with him, and yet wasn't going to tell him off (as she might well have done not so long ago and forever ago).

And I loved the "Stuff that is weird now" because wow, this past year, and I loved them for keeping most of it to not-politics.

And Tahani's apology was the best ever, and Jason telling her it was fine, and she was great.

[kate_nepveu]

Yes, I was looking away a bit during Trevor's parts, because, Trevor.

Oh, and: Chad (who is a college professor) tells me that he personally knows of more than one person who was hired into the tenure track (so, assistant professor) ABD, that is, without having completed their dissertations! This is the U.S., but still: I was shocked that it was even that common.

[mmcirvin]

Chidi's thesis is the one thing that has been baffling me about the recent episodes: what is that? I guess he actually hasn't completed his Ph.D.? It seemed unlikely that he'd have achieved the level of prominence he seems to have without it, but maybe I don't know.

[mmcirvin]

...ah, just read the whole discussion on this in comments to your previous post.

[kate_nepveu]

Yeah, I'm still not sure it isn't significant, but it appears that it's slightly less unheard-of, at least in US academia, than I was thinking!