Loveday Writing

When Eleanor tells The Judge about the situation and that there may be demons following them, The Judge informs them that they’re safe as the portal is closed until she issues her ruling. The Judge reads their files as she chooses to learn as little as she can about the events of humankind to be impartial. After she absorbs the entirety of their existences, she denies their petition and opens the portal again. When Tahani pleads to The Judge to hear them out, she agrees and subjects them to individual tests to see how much progress they’ve made. Eleanor asks that they be graded as a group, which The Judge agrees to whilst pointing out that it is a terrible idea.

The Judge subjects Jason to a test of impulse control when she allows him to play his favourite video game, Madden Football, however he is forced to play against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jason quickly dismisses The Judge as she gives him instructions. However he fails his test as he never asked whether he could opt not to play the game at all.

The Judge subjects Tahani to a test of temptation when she has her walk down a hallway to the red door at the end, however everyone in every room she passes will be discussing what they truly think about her. While Tahani manages to walk past most of the rooms, she succumbs to temptation when she finds the room her parents are in. When she walks in, her parents are comparing her to Kamila. When Tahani realises that the point of her test is that everyone is supposed to be talking about her but her parents are talking about Kamila, she realises that she was never going to be good enough for her parents. She maturely says goodbye to her parents, putting her lifelong resentment towards them to rest, walks out of the room and through the red door. However The Judge points out she failed as she wasn’t supposed to go into any of the rooms in the first place.

The Judge tells Eleanor and Chidi that there is no test for them and they’re going to the Good Place, giving them medallions to go through the portal. However she also tells them that it’s only going to be the two of them going through, as Tahani and Jason have failed, and their tests are to determine where they belong in the Bad Place. Eleanor and Chidi have a long discussion about the ethics of the situation, which comes to a head when Chidi tells her to “forget about the ethics for a second” and that it is morally acceptable to go through the portal without Tahani and Jason. This makes Eleanor realise that the Chidi that has been talking to her isn’t the real Chidi. The Judge commends her, telling her she has passed, and informs her that the real Chidi is still taking his test. The Judge subjected Chidi to a test of decisiveness, making him choose between two hats. Chidi fails as it took him 82 minutes to pick a hat.

Meanwhile, Michael and Shawn are in Shawn’s office with a Bad Janet, discussing Michael’s actions and the gang. Michael tells Shawn the truth about his actions and that the gang are in The Judge’s chambers. Michael also points out to him that humans shouldn’t be able to improve in the afterlife, suggesting that a mistake was actually made and they belong in the Good Place. Shawn disagrees and doubts that The Judge will even hear their case, or if she does, that one of them will screw up as they always do.

Shawn then tells Michael that he won’t be retired as it would publicise the scandal, instead he will be imprisoned in an empty room with his only source of entertainment being a stack of New Yorker magazines. Just as Shawn is about to leave, the Bad Janet is revealed to be Michael’s Janet in disguise, and she incapacitates Shawn.

The episode ends with The Judge getting ready to send the gang through the portal to the Bad Place, however before she can do so, Michael and Janet arrive in the chambers.

Overall I felt that this was a solid episode as we got to see not only how far the gang has progressed through their tests, but also how far Michael and Janet have come through their own interactions with the gang when Michael confesses to Shawn, and when Janet successfully manages to disguise herself as a Bad Janet, a huge contrast to her struggles to do so in the previous episode. I also loved the introduction of The Judge, as well as the character herself. As the premise and characters of the show are quirky and unique, of course The Judge was going to be quirky and unique as well. I also enjoyed that a character that the gang assumed would be wise, old and serious turned out to be both physically and mentally young, as well as funny. Interestingly, The Judge said that she hasn’t had a case in 30 years, suggesting that Mindy St Claire’s case was the last one in which she had to issue a ruling.

I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next in the season finale.

Stray Observations:

–Some of the people in the rooms that Tahani passes by during her test include:

• Childhood friends: Simon, Quentin, Rebecca and Catherine.
• Butlers and housekeepers
• Blue Ivy Carter and North West
• Spa employees and bikini waxers
• Prince Harry, Prince William and Prince.
• Quvenzhané Wallis and Stephen Hawking
• Fergie (Duchess of York) and Fergie (Black Eyed Peas)

-The Judge’s name is Gen, short for Hydrogen as it was the only thing in existence when she was born (or created, not sure how her being traditionally born would be possible).

-Apparently a lot of the details in Michael’s fake reports he took from Stephen King novels and episodes of Pretty Little Liars.

-According to Shawn, ‘fair’ is the stupidest word humans ever invented, except for ‘staycation’.

-The hot sauce that The Judge puts on her burrito is the concept of envy.

-According to Eleanor, Chidi has multiple types of grimaces, which are all different. These grimaces include a moral quandary grimace, a gas pain grimace, and a someone said ‘from whence it came’ instead of ‘whence it came’ grimace.

-Janet has super strength, shown when she incapacitates Shawn.

-The medallions that The Judge gives Eleanor and Chidi are actually coasters for her sodas.

-The Judge made a video of their time together, with Wings Beneath My Wings playing in the background. When she says she’s going to frame one of the photos in the video, the framed photo immediately appears on a wall in the background.

Best one liners and interactions:

• “I’m not scared of any burrito, I’ll eat it.” (Jason)
• “Whoever said philosophy is stupid?” “You did! Many times, as recently as this morning.” (Eleanor-Chidi)