3x03 The Snowplow

[7.3/10] A friend describes the first four episodes of this season as “kind of sweaty” and I think the description is apt. Last season, the show definitely blew through plot (in a good way), but so far this season, it feels like the show is rushing a bit, going through different narrative ideas without really nailing them down.

That said, I like the basic idea and the bulk of this episode, that even outside of The (Fake) Good Place where Michael was in total control, even in a realm where he has no powers, Michael has to try to massage and control and manipulate things to reach his desired ends. The efforts to snowplow things for the group to succeed and stay together are amusing, but ultimately run into the same problems as before, where it’s impossible to prove that these people are really changing for the better when they’re getting so much help.

The problem is, the episode lays that on a little thick with Janet in the end, and that’s a prevalent problem in the third act of the episode. That point is clear without needing to have Janet spell it out for the audience. (That said, I do like the wounded look Janet gives Michael when he tells her that the four humans are the only ones that matter.) It’s the same reason I didn’t like the conversation between Eleanor and Simone. The whole deal about humans needing to move from “me vs. us” to “us vs. them” was way too pat and didactic for the point the show was trying to make.

But again, I like the idea, and I think that’s what keeps me with this show, even when it’s waning a little bit. The basic concept of this being Eleanor’s first real group, the first community she’s ever been a part of is a strong one. (Nevermind the fact that the whole study group thing gives me real Community vibes here.) I like her putting herself out there and wanting this group to continue, while at the same time lashing out when people don’t immediately accede to that. And her apologizing is meaningful growth, even if it takes an on-the-nose conversation to get us there.

I will say that the comedy in the episode was on point. Janet’s continued skepticism Michael’s Australian accent cracked me up, and her giving very specific details that confuse and rouse random humans was very funny. Tahani also got to shine this episode, between her “Heir B&B” bit and her thinking that winning $18,000 off a scratch off ticket was like losing. And I got a big kick out of Larry Hemsworth the conceit that he thinks he’s worthless and ugly because he compares himself to his fellow Hemsworth brothers.

The existence of Larry Hemsworth is some nice continuity, as is the fact that despite everything, Eleanor still ends up eating shrimp at a big fancy house party and giving a crazy speech. But she’s improving again, so you know, progress! This episode feels most like those first season episodes, where our heroes don’t fully know what’s up, and there’s awkward adjustments all around, for Eleanor in particular.

Overall, I enjoyed this one. The heavy-handed stuff at the end brought it down for me a little bit, but I still appreciated the humor and the Michael and Janet material in particular, even if this wasn’t as tight, and a little more rushed, than the show normally is.