The Good Place – Season 1, Episode 6 (What We Owe to Each Other)
The episode kicks off with Eleanor freaking out over her impending meeting with Michael to investigate the cause of the sinkhole. Before she leaves, Chidi introduces her to the concept of contractualism and that she if made a commitment to help Michael she should stick to it.
When Eleanor goes to her meeting, Michael tells her he has theorised that an object has caused a design flaw in the neighbourhood. To avoid detection, Eleanor decides to take the approach of distracting Michael, giving him a “break” from his investigating, especially as his investigation appears to be unravelling him.
While Eleanor and Michael karaoke and play carnival-like games throughout the episode, Michael informs her that architects generally don’t live in their neighbourhoods and he will be regarded as a failure for the sinkhole incident. When Michael tells Eleanor he regards her as a friend, it reminds her (and provides the viewers with flashbacks) of house and dog-sitting for a friend of hers, Paula. The flashback also touched upon contractualism when Eleanor didn’t hold up her end of the deal when she abandoned Paula’s dog, with all of its food on the floor, for a Rihanna concert in Las Vegas, and the dog ended up becoming overweight, and she didn’t care.
Meanwhile Tahani spends the episode trying to bond with Jason, but due to his inability to make small talk with her without blowing his cover, he forces Chidi to help him by being the third wheel when Tahani wants them to take up a couples’ deal at a new spa. After Tahani’s efforts fail, she goes to the Tea for Two Couples Café by herself. Chidi finds her there and they start talking, eventually finding out that they have a lot in common. Later, Jason gives Tahani an impressionist painting that she loves that but it’s clear that the gift was arranged by Chidi.
The episode ends with Eleanor genuinely promising to help Michael before he announces to the residents that he has concluded that he, by living in the neighbourhood, is the cause of the problems and will be leaving the neighbourhood.
Overall I felt that this was a solid episode, mainly due to its character development. We see how much Eleanor is improving with the contrast of the flashbacks to her breaking promises without a second thought to her making a genuine promise to Michael, even if it means she gets sent to the Bad Place. We also see character development between Chidi and Tahani as they discover they actually have a lot in common. We also see character development in Michael as his love of human objects and television shows, or at least the show, Friends, is on full display.
Stray Observations:
-Eleanor named the clowns featured on the wall in her house: Psycho, Creepo, Crazy Head, Stupid Juggling Weirdo, Freaky Feet, and Nightmare George Washington.
-Architects aren’t allowed to own human objects.
-Michael loves paper clips.
-Jason describes Tahani as like “Nala from The Lion King.”
-Michael wears a hoodie when he’s depressed.
Best one liners and interactions:
- “Leave up the sexy mailman…to remember me by.” (Eleanor to Chidi on the sexy mailman painting she hung up on the wall in her home to replace one of the clown paintings)
Hints of the Season 1 Finale twist:
-The fact that the neighbourhood has a design flaw.
Loveday Writing 