The Good Place – Everything is Bonzer!

By: Ariba Bhuvad

Holy shirt, “The Good Place” has finally returned motherforkers! This NBC comedy brings joy, happiness and a whole lot of laughter into our lives and we are so thrilled it has officially returned for its third season. Last season, we left off with Team Cockroach being sent back to Earth to get a second chance at life and at being better people. At least that is what Michael (Ted Danson) was hoping for.

When season 3 begins, Michael walks into a massive room and greets someone known as “The Doorman” (Mike O’Malley) who provides him with travel papers to go to Earth. But what business does Michael have on Earth? Well, he is about to tweak the circumstances under which Eleanor (Kristen Bell), Chidi (William Jackson Harper), Tahani (Jameela Jamil) and Jianyu (Manny Jacinto) originally died and make it so they don’t.

This requires him to push the carts out of the way for Eleanor, get Chidi out of the way before he gets crushed by the air conditioning unit, push Tahani out of the way before the statue crushes her and get Jianyu out of the safe he was trapped in. Michael leaves Earth with the excitement of what he has just done and hopes that this new chance at life will be exactly what the group needs to prove they’re inherently good people.

But that isn’t exactly how things work out. In fact, all four of them continue to live the way they lived before they died the first time which prompts another visit to Earth for Michael. He believes that without each other, the group won’t improve and so he needs to find a way to bring them together.

Posing as a bartender, Michael nudges Eleanor in Chidi’s direction, which is in Australia as he struggles to come up with a thesis. Eleanor wants to be a better person and based on lectures she’s seen by Chidi, she know he will be the right person to help her and for once he instantly agrees (upon their first meeting).

When Chidi shares that he too had a near-death experience it flashes back to the moments after his death. We see his reaction to almost being crushed by the unit and his eventual first meeting with Simone (Kirby Howell-Baptiste). Because of his inability to make decisions, he asks Simone to do an MRI scan on him to see if there is something going on neurologically. He appears to have a very healthy brain and tries to live life on different terms. Sadly, this backfires when all the advice and spontaneity lands one of his friends in the hospital. He decides go back to how he was, but Michael shows up again to divert Chidi towards helping Eleanor. To thank Chidi for helping her, Eleanor tries to offer drugs but that doesn’t go over too well. However, this leads her to meeting Simone for the first time where she instantly sees sparks flying between Simone and Chidi.

Eleanor brings them together by suggesting Chidi ask Simone out and we are so glad she did because they are so cute. But Michael is not thrilled about this new relationship as he believes it will get in the way of Eleanor and Chidi bonding like they’re supposed to. The morning following Chidi and Simone’s date, Eleanor walks into his office to ask how it went. It seems to have gone well except for the fact that he didn’t kiss her. But this conversation with Eleanor sparks an idea for his thesis, which he decides will be about those that have had near-death experiences and the impact it has on ethical decisions.

And this is what sets off the catalyst needed to bring the other members of the group together. First up, we have Tahani who decides to rid her life of worldly possessions following her near-death experience. And then she goes off to a monastery where she practices meditation and yoga. That is until a film crew shows up at the monastery and she is convinced to work with them, which propels her to fame and success and a published book.

When Michael shows up to meddle again, he convinces her to go to Australia to join Chidi’s trial where she finally reunites with him and Eleanor. This leaves Jason as the final piece of the puzzle to come together. Michael goes to meet with Jason who has been participating in failed dance competitions and has now lost hope as to where his life is leading them. Enter Michael who convinces him to go to Australia as well.

And just like that, the group is back together again giving Michael and Janet (D’Arcy Carden) some hope for improvement. Their hopes are almost crushed when the judge (Maya Rudolph) strolls in to check on their progress, but Janet quickly distracts her with another show for her to binge-watch.

The episode ends on a twist when Trevor (Adam Scott) shows up at Chidi’s trial as the fifth person to sign up. Is this going to cause issues for Team Cockroach? We sure hope not!