What I’m Watching: The Good Place

The Good Place: Season 3, Episode 4 “The Snowplow” (B+)

Every time it seems like this show is headed in one direction, it presents something abruptly unexpected that throws everything for a loop. Trying to hide from the judge on Earth was a foolhardy plan that Michael only made worse by pretending to lose service, and you’d think that the judge might hold their meddling against the four humans when judgment time does in fact come around. As Janet kept getting distracted by the notion of seeing Jason in jean shorts, Michael went back to his go-to of resetting the timeline so that they could interfere earlier, something that Janet agreed to even though there was no way it was going to work. The four humans catching them with the portal back to the Doorman open changes everything, and I’m so excited to see how they try to explain it away and what scheme comes next as a result. Eleanor may act sentimental when she realizes that things are about to change, but Michael is actually the one who’s been most affected by meeting everyone, determined to help save them above all else. I liked the casting of Ben Lawson, whose equally famous brother Josh Lawson used to costar with Kristen Bell on “House of Lies,” as Larry Hemsworth, whose sibling inferiority complex was somehow even worse than Tahani’s. I don’t know where the latest discovery by the Brainy Bunch leaves Larry and Simone, who helped coach Eleanor back into the room just enough for them to be together for their fateful trip into the bathroom.