The Good Place season 4 episode 6 review: A book divides them all
The Good Place puts Brent and Simone center stage and highlights their shortcomings. Can they overcome and be better people? Or are they eternally doomed?
The Good Place left off last week in a literal good place, as we’ll all be reunited and see where this experiment can go from here. But I doubt it will last for very long.
Not-so-short summary & analysis
Bad Janet is in Janet’s void, and it’s been six months since her capture. Michael’s ready with a story about our four humans and their improvements. After a successful ski trip, Brent ruins everything.
He’s written a book! Just in time for NaNoWriMo! And it’s just as horrendous as you would imagine. And Simone and Chidi want to run amok with it and make fun of Brent.
Of course, Brent puts everyone in the story, and to try to stray away from his fictional portrayal, Chidi has a dance party with Jason… that John walks in on (since, you know, Jason is technically supposed to be Jianyu to everyone else).
The Gossip Toilet is ready to overflow! Because Brent is the worst person to find out a secret.
Simone isn’t about to forgive Brent’s book, which is, obviously, misogynistic, insulting, and racist. Which… we shouldn’t be dealing with in the Good Place. She has a point, and she can’t hold herself back when it comes to calling him out. (Could you?)
Eleanor decides that it’s not Simone who’s the problem — it’s Brent. Michael convinces him to apologize to the Neighborhood, but it’s a lot of non-apologies that tear the group apart.
It gets so bad that Chidi punches him in the face, which might be one of the most badass moments of the series. Six months of work down the drain in a moment. It’s heartbreaking, but we knew it was going to happen.
Are they trying to be better today than they were yesterday? That’s the biggest question — and the biggest challenge.
Michael gives Bad Janet their Manifesto in hopes that it helps change her mind, and he sets her free.
Favorite moments & lines
“That’s how I got my nickname — The Defendant!” Thanks, Jason.
I also agree with Bad Janet: “Bad To the Bone” by George Thorogood is not a good song.
The framing of this episode—with Michael telling the story to Bad Janet—was different for The Good Place, but it worked. Plus it was very reminiscent of Charles Xavier and Magneto at the end of X-Men and also the first third of X2.
Have we seen the last of Bad Janet? Will she return to help out the Soul Squad? Will Eleanor and the team be able to get everything back on track? We will just have to wait and see where The Good Place takes us in the back half of its final season!
Next. The Good Place: Everyone is improving on their past selves. dark