What I’m Watching: The Good Place

The Good Place: Season 2, Episode 5 “Existential Crisis” (B+)

This show has a tall order in making its demons seem real and believable in some way when everything that they physically present suggests that they’re human, and this episode was superbly effective in showing just how it could look for a demon to realize that they might not be as immortal as they think they are. Michael’s imitation of being human was pretty absurd and funny, and when Eleanor and Chidi pushed him to think about what it would be like for him not to exist, he fell apart completely before going into full-blown midlife crisis mode. Having Janet play Janette and respond to his silly antics was fun, and I think this represents a very important step in their relationship. Vicky’s having a blast at the new one in charge, and her request for one-page memos with pictures shows that she’s ready to do things her way and isn’t going to tattle on Michael because she’s having too good a time running the show. Tahani experienced true torture by having to plan a party only to have everyone go to the other much, much better one instead, and I love that Jason, who was having a great time at the other party, realized she was sad and told her some nonsensical Jacksonville stories about 8 being a better rating than 13 to make her feel better. This show has been focused so much on Eleanor and Chidi’s eventual coupling that I didn’t even see this union coming, and what a wonderful, strange development it is. My favorite moment of the episode was Chidi’s reaction to Eleanor saying “velociraptor” instead of “valedictorian.”