The Good Place – Season 2, Episode 9 (Leap to Faith)
The episode picks up from where we were left off, with Michael arriving at his office to find Shawn waiting for him.
Shawn praises Michael for pulling off his plan, completely unaware of the other 802 reboots, promotes him, and informs him that a new torture plan will be widely implemented, while the gang is waiting in the hallway. When the gang come in, Michael “reveals” to them that they are in the Bad Place and announces that the neighbourhood will be destroyed while they’ll be sent away to be traditionally tortured. They also show that Janet has been restrained with magnetic bracelets so that they can’t use her to escape to the Medium Place.
Afterwards, the gang goes back to Eleanor’s house where they express their disbelief at Michael’s betrayal. While Chidi suggests telling Shawn about Michael’s other reboots in exchange for a lighter sentence, and Tahani suggests finding their way to Mindy’s as no-one from the Bad Place can follow them there, Eleanor suggests that Michael is still on their side, as he referenced the philosopher, Kierkegaard, during his “reveal”, which she believes is a sign to take a leap of faith in him as the phrase has been attributed to Kierkegaard.
Meanwhile, back at Michael’s office, Michael and Shawn continue to discuss their plans, while Vicky walks in wanting to speak to Michael. Even though Vicky points out that he is taking credit for her work, he points out that if Shawn finds out about the reboots they’ll both be in trouble, which convinces her not to say anything.
Later, Michael hosts a party to roast the gang. Michael’s cruel remarks convince Eleanor that he has betrayed them. Afterwards, the demons are simultaneously partying and destroying the neighbourhood when Eleanor realises through Jason that Michael’s roast contains a coded plan. The plan involves having Derek drive a decoy train to make Shawn think they escaped, while they hide under another train, which will take the demons and Shawn out of the neighbourhood. Meanwhile, Michael manages to frame Vicky for the gang’s escape by making her paranoid that he’s up to something, when she sees him constantly whispering things in Janet’s ear.
The episode ends with Michael apologising for the roast and Derek being sent to Mindy’s house with two bags of cocaine as a ‘thank you present’ for all the times she has helped them.
Overall this was a solid episode. It had us questioning whether Michael has really changed again, with the question answered by Eleanor and Michael at the end of the episode, in which his clever and sophisticated plan was revealed, which was executed by what Michael learnt in his classes with Chidi, showing that he has in fact changed. I’m looking forward to seeing where their next steps will take them.
Stray Observations:
-Tahani was friends with Ben Affleck and Kyra Sedgwick.
-Michael actually left the gang over 1,200 clues on his plan, due to how primitive their human brains are.
Best one liners and interactions:
- “When you proposed this new form of torture we all laughed behind your back. Some people called you names, like the Thomas Edison of incompetence, ‘that dick’.” (Shawn to Michael)
- “I can’t believe Michael betrayed us again, why is it always the ones you most expect?” (Jason to the gang)
- “Humans make a lot of mistakes when they’re horny.” (Michael to Shawn on Tahani falling for Jason)
- “Normally I would love hearing a man tell a woman she’s crazy but now I don’t.” (Shawn to Michael and Vicky)
Loveday Writing 