What I’m Watching: The Good Place

The Good Place: Season 3, Episode 6 “The Ballad of Donkey Doug” (B+)

This show wins endless points – from me as a viewer and not from the judge and all those who determine who goes to the good place or the bad place – for finding someone to play Jason’s dad who makes him make a whole lot of sense. Mitch Narito was simply fantastic as Donkey Doug, the man who inspired Jason to be who he was and who got him into most of the snafus that caused him to be such a ridiculous person. His dedication to absurdity was commendable, but not nearly as much as his willingness to sacrifice himself as his father and other ancestors before him did so that Jason could get away and have a better life. The fact that Jason said that he didn’t want to do that for his son means that he’s achieving some progress, and he was able to get Pillboi on the right track too thanks to his quick acceptance and reinterpretation of the NASA cover story. It’s fun to see Janet try to use her powers when she can’t and explain that to those who don’t remember experiencing them, and how cool that she was able to make a simulator which allowed Chidi to practice the many ways in which he could break up with Simone. In actuality, it went very poorly, but it should help him move on and focus on helping others. I’m excited to see what Eleanor does when she comes face-to-face with her mother, and I can’t wait to find out who’s going to play her.