3x12 Pandemonium

[7.6/10] Here’s what I like about The Good Place (among other things) -- it’s a show that does comic book-type stories in a non-comic book setting. Where else but superhero stories and soap opera can you get a tale about someone having to say goodbye to but then reencounter the person they love because if they don’t everyone will be tortured? It’s a unique situation, a thought experiment almost, that nicely teases out where we draw the line between what’s right and important for us personally and what’s right and important for the world.

What I don’t like about The Good Place (among many fewer things) -- is that it anchors that whole idea around the sanctity of a romantic relationship between Eleanor and Chidi that I’m just not as invested in as the show wants me to be. I don’t want to keep beating a dead horse over this point, but it’s hard to ignore when the show centers so much around Cheleanor/Elidi as a romantic pairing, and not buying into them as a couple makes the big emotional moments in a series finale leave you cold (or at least colder than you should).

Kristen Bell and William Jackson Harper do their level best to sell the tragedy of the moment. The episode throws in a clip montage to sell it. And I like how the pair handle it for the most part, with Eleanor being devastated but putting up a tough front, and Chidi being resigned but resilient because he’s convinced they’ll find one another again. It’s a nice balance of optimism and realism in the moment.

The emotion of the scene just doesn't land with me, which is a shame because I love the concept. The episode’s rife with good concepts. Eleanor having to play architect is enjoyable as she fumfers around and realizes better ways their scheme could have gone. Tahani having to deal with a claws-out blogger who tormented her in life and has now joined her in the afterlife is a good setup, and Sean picking non-evil people who nonetheless are giant thorns in the sides of our heroes is a good bit as well. The wrinkle of Simone showing up works for me on a plot level, and Michael freaking out and trying to recover is a strong beat too.

If anything, the episode leaves me more excited for season 4 than I am satisfied with season 3, which was a solid season that, nevertheless, rarely hit the heights of season 2. But there’s promise there, in a reboot that might do more to earn my appreciation for Eleanor/Chidi, that has a great new premise with the new Good Place experiment, and which ends things on a note of nourishing friendship between Eleanor and Janet that I buy wholeheartedly in a way that I don’t with Eleanor’s romantic leanings.

But that’s still good! Eleanor’s epiphany about what “pandemonium” means to hear, and Janet and her commiserating and finding common ground on it, is the strongest moment in the episode. There’s a Coen Bros.-esque “embrace the mystery” message there which, while a bit trite to a viewer like me whose watch list is awash in vaguely-existential shows and movies, is still delivered with aplomb and good writing, and is pretty damn heady stuff for a network sitcom.

Well, maybe I liked this episode more than I thought. Or maybe a nice final note gives you more to latch onto as a fan even if you thought the preceding notes were a bit more hit-or-miss. Or maybe this show has its ups and downs, and keeps me coming back because its world, its charms, it cast, and its ups are so good.

Overall, this season is a step down from the last, and its season finale didn’t quite blow me away, but there’s still plenty here to enjoy, and I expect to be back and unreservedly hyped for season 4 next year.