The Good Place – Season 4, Episode 6 (A Chip Driver Mystery)

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This episode finally focuses on the four subjects of the experiment.

The episode kicks off with Michael in Janet’s void visiting Bad Janet in a cage. He reveals to her (and the audience) that six months have passed since the experiment started. He starts to tell her about recent events with the four humans, the experiment seemed to be showing promise with them enjoying a recent ski trip and Brent making great progress. Tahani points out that they don’t know if Brent has really changed or if he’s pretending to change to get into the ‘Best Place’, but Michael tells her that his behaviour needs to change first before they can change his motivation, and he is on track.

However Brent throws a spanner in the works by publishing an amateur novel featuring characters that are insulting caricatures of Tahani and Chidi. Michael worries about the effects that the book will have on Brent and Simone’s relationship as it’s the trickiest one of all, due to Simone’s tendency to make snap judgements about people and he’s a guy who repeatedly confirms her snap judgements. Michael tells them that they need Simone to believe that Brent is better than his worse actions.

Michael joins Brent on the golf course and convinces him to turn the assistance filter off while he plays, using it as a way to teach him that it’s not weak to admit to your mistakes and apologise for them. While Eleanor tries to convince Simone to take the high road with Brent, in order to keep their relationship intact.

Later at the book launch, Brent makes an attempt at apologising, only for Simone to point out that it’s not an apology and it’s insincere. This leads to Tahani insulting his book, and Brent trying to cancel his book launch and calling Simone a bitch. Tensions escalate further when Chidi stands up for Simone, Brent pushes Chidi and Chidi punches him in the face.

Back in Michael’s office, the group acknowledge how bad the situation is and that they can no longer wait for Brent to improve. When Jason comes up with the idea of setting his robes on fire and getting Brent to put them out, this leads to Eleanor coming up with a bigger plan to get Brent to help the others without thinking about it. Tahani adds to this idea by suggesting that she get Chidi to teach a class on empathy. Michael tells Bad Janet that this idea was formed an hour before he came to see her and tells her that they’ve been asking the wrong question – it’s not about whether humans are good or bad, it’s whether they’re trying to be better today than they were yesterday, and that’s where his hope for humans comes from. He sets Bad Janet free as keeping her captive would be cruel and gives her a copy of his and Janet’s manifesto, which is constantly updating.

Meanwhile, John discovers Jason’s identity when he walks in on him and Chidi dancing in Chidi’s apartment. Chidi begs John to keep Jason’s identity a secret, offering to have Jason teach him a Magic Mike dance he has been wanting to learn. Despite his difficulty in keeping the secret, he still manages to do so, at least for now.

Overall I felt that this was a good but not great episode. I’ve felt that so far the experiment has barely been touched on this season and this is the first episode to really focus on it. Progress was made with Eleanor, Tahani and Jason making a plan to have Brent help someone without thinking. As I’ve seen the series in full before, I know that Michael recounting the recent events of the experiment to Bad Janet will pay off in a future episode, however if you hadn’t seen it before, it would be fair to question why Michael is telling her everything, especially as she could use the information and manifesto to sabotage the experiment. That being said, having Michael recount everything to Bad Janet is a fresh way of storytelling, especially with the series coming to an end.

Stray Observations:

-An office chair and desk, a bed, and an easel with a painting on it can be seen in Bad Janet’s cage.

-Eleanor has been giving them awards, specifically ‘Humanity Saviour of the Week’ and ‘Hottest Saviour of the Week’. Michael hasn’t won the ‘Hottest Saviour of the Week’ award yet.

-Brent’s novel is titled, Six Feet Under Par – A Chip Driver Mystery. According to Brent, it’s half-spy novel, half-murder mystery, half-submarine adventure, half-erotic memoir, half-political thriller, half-golf tutorial and half-commentary on society.

-Jason’s nickname on Earth was ‘The Defendant’ due to his tendency to do things without thinking in regards to both being spontaneous and the consequences of his actions.

Best one liners and interactions:

  • “You know why they’re called baby boomers, right? Because the tiniest little pinprick to their ego and boom! They become babies!” (Bad Janet to Michael on Brent)
  • “I beg you to please listen to Immanuel Kant and not Bethenny Frankel!” (Chidi to John)

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