The Good Place review: The return of Donna Tremaine

The Good Place brings all of the family feels this week. With Eleanor confronting her mother and Tahani confronting Kamilah, let’s just say things go awry

The Good Place brings all the feels this week. Well, maybe not all the feels. Certainly a lot of revelations. Cathartic revelations? Let’s find out!

Let’s recap…

Tarantula Springs, Nevada is where Eleanor’s mom currently resides. As Diana Tremaine! That’s Eleanor’s fake name! She’s dating a guy named Dave (played by the same actor who also was in Michael’s first iteration of the fake Good Place) who has a daughter as well.

Eleanor doesn’t buy any of the changes. Donna seems happy, but she knows her mother. They go to a PTA Meeting at the MGM Grand Elementary School where she’s running for secretary.

There’s a fun twist to it — when Eleanor goes to burst Dave’s bubble, he tells her Donna told him everything already. Eleanor tries to believe it’s part of her mom’s scam, because if it’s not, it means she’s always had the capacity to be a good mom.

That would be soul-crushing, honestly. Can you imagine having a crappy mother, only to show later in life that she was capable of actually being a good mom? She’s caring for someone else’s child? It would feel like a personal slight, and Eleanor certainly takes it that way for a while, until Michael talks some sense into her.

THE GOOD PLACE — “A Fractured Inheritance” Episode 307 — Pictured: Kristen Bell as Eleanor — (Photo by: Colleen Hayes/NBC)

Of course, Eleanor finds her mom’s stash of cash and the truth comes out. But, much like the rest of this episode, it’s only a half-truth. She’s stashing it because it’s a comfort to know it’s there if she needs it. But Donna Shellstrop loves this basic suburban life. And Eleanor is a good daughter and tells her to embrace it.

Because she should. She found a better path in life, and maybe Eleanor helped get her there.

In Budapest

Tahani, Janet, Jason, and Chidi are in line at Kamilah’s exhibit. And because Tahani refuses to eat an omelette, the exhibit closes. She tries to give a sincere apology for all of their animosity, but Kamilah won’t accept it.

Even Chidi tries to talk some sense into Kamilah, but he comes away just as awestruck as her fans. “All of my fears are hers!” He gasps, not having even said anything to her.

THE GOOD PLACE — “The Ballad of Donkey Doug” Episode 306 — Pictured: (l-r) Jameela Jamil as Tahani, Ted Danson as Michael — (Photo by: Colleen Hayes/NBC)

It takes Tahani burying an axe into the omelette table to bring them together. Well, not entirely that, as she and Chidi are put in handcuffs. All of Kamilah’s paintings are of their family. Their parents as one unit and her and Kamilah as two separate entities. Because their parents were the worst and pitted them against each other.

We even get a heartfelt moment between sisters once the truth comes out. Kamilah even gives Tahani credit the next day for the omelette piece!

Favorite Lines

”Well, you could say that we lived… in the same neighborhood,” Michael explains of how he met Eleanor.

“What a fun way to say a normal thing!” Dave replies!

”No, Mom… ya basic,” Eleanor says as a compliment. (Which is doubly excellent if you’ve also listened to The Good Place’s podcast. I believe it’s the first episode Kristen Bell is on and she drops a hint that she uses “ya basic” in season 3 as a compliment.)

This week’s episode ends with Michael dropping yet another bombshell on Eleanor: She has said “I love you” before. It was just in the afterlife. And it was to Chidi. “You wanna listen to a podcast or something?” He ends nonchalantly.

Oh, we also get a cute bonding moment between Jason and Janet. He gets so excited when she can tell him the value of every single painting in the exhibit. It’s a perfect return to their relationship back in the Bad Place.