4x10 You've Changed, Man

[7.5/10] I like the solution to the problem. That counts for a lot. Being convinced, if not exactly persuaded, by the group’s perspective on a new version of the afterlife is a pretty big achievement for The Good Place. The show had its work cut out for it when the powers that be decided they needed to replace the afterlife point system.

I’ll be honest that I don’t necessarily buy it. But you know what? That doesn't really matter. I like it, because it works as the culmination of everyone’s experiences. This group got rebooted time again, they got a second chance to improve themselves and become better people, and they use that experience as a model to help others do the same. Tying it to Janet’s experience is the icing on the cake. The notion that she’s been through this too, in her own way, and come out a more complex and understanding not-a-person is superb. Plus, Eleanor treating the “vague memory” of what happened pre-reboot as the equivalent to a “voice in your head” is a nice callback to her own experience.

Whether or not this system would actually work or be fair or anything like that as a real moral philosophy is beside the point. It’s functions nicely as the combination of what our heroes have learned, and I like it for that.

The problem is that this is basically one big ten-minute explainer. The show does its best to spice it up with the usual array of gags and with a cameo from Timothy Olyphant (a great bit, incidentally.) But the truth is that a lot of this episode is just stress testing a philosophical idea. I am 100% down for that! But it doesn't necessarily make for riveting television.

That said, there’s still a lot of fun to be had in this episode. The Judge and Janet going through the different Janet voids is a real treat. (I was particularly a fan of Disco Janet’s void.) Sean screwing with our heroes and wrecking little glass sculptures is a lot of fun, and again, Olyphant does a great job as the “guy without a dog in this fight” who nevertheless questions the plan. And Tahani’s gags about being unable to pull off the “mod look” got a laugh out of me.

There’s also some nice character moments. I like the brief bit of time the show takes to check in on Eleanor and Chidi’s relationship. Eleanor understanding justice and Chidi finding that hot is super cute. Chidi no longer being indecisive once he’s experienced 800 lives and possibilities is great. And the way the two are so matter of fact and “coolsville” about saying “I love you” is really nicely done.

The episode even does a good job of dealing with the process part of things. There’s a decent laugh to The Good Place crew agreeing to the plan without even hearing it and capitulating without getting anything in return from Sean. And I like the explanation that Sean will agree to this because he likes fighting with the good guys, that it’s fun in a way the trillionth corkscrew of an eyeball isn’t, and that his letting Michael’s original neighborhood go through was a sign that Sean knew the current system wasn’t working. “You’ve Changed, Man” does its homework, you have to give it that.

The catch is that I just walked away a little unmoved. While the proceedings are a little rushed, on the whole this is a well-built episode of television, that hits a lot of nice beats for its characters, and finds a satisfying answer to the major problem it set out. I just found myself saying “That’s nice” or “That’s clever” much more than I felt myself buying into the episode or losing myself in what it was doing.

That’s no sin, but for a show so wild and often heartfelt, a good part of this one felt academic. Still, there’s four more episodes for The Good Place to build on this, and I have high hopes for the finish!