I'm not going to lie, this review was pretty close to just being quotes from Adam Scott's Trevor. The writing team has a lot of fun giving him the worst possible words and language. He consistently refers to Eleanor as “trashbag” and casually swears to Bieber. He refers to his toenails as “dudes”, asks Chidi if he went to “pound town” and uses the words “horndogs”, “vibing” and “mofos” all in one sentence. Also, I laughed so hard that I had to pause the episode after Scott just nonchalantly let food fall out of his mouth at dinner. A more obnoxious person than Trevor can't be imagined, and I can't wait for him to come back to The Good Place.
The
other major new arrival, Real Eleanor (Tiya
Sircar),
is not nearly as funny, but is nevertheless a welcome addition. Her
doe-eyed empathy is played straight, providing a true counterpoint to
Kristen Bell's Eleanor. She could have easily came off as sickly
sweet, but Sircar gives her a warm, humble air. Also, her wish for a
clown nook (and recognition of college improv as the worst hell
imaginable) instantly grounds her and endears her to us at home. Real
Eleanor also does a good job of making Fake Eleanor look like the
fake she really is, lending real stakes to the plot.
The
title of this episode refers to an old quote attributed to Groucho
Marx: “I
wouldn't want to belong to any club that would have someone like me
as a member”. And that's what the plot is really about: Fake
Eleanor finally choosing to belong. This hasn't been a issue in the
other episodes, but “... Someone Like Me As A Member” does a good
job setting up the dilemma as a real choice.
The
trouble starts after the break, when Michael tells Fake Eleanor: “I
truly believe The Good Place is where you belong. You're part of our
team”. This leads to some well-deployed flashbacks that aren't
particularly funny, but establish that Fake Eleanor has always been
“solo” to use her (and Jason Derulo's) preferred term. Fake
Eleanor being a loner makes intrinsic sense, and Bell does a good job
showing that Eleanor's awfulness is both a cause and a result of
being alone her whole life. Real Eleanor hilariously undercuts Bell's
reasoning for why she turned out that way (“Anyways, orphanage
burned down – yadda yadda yadda...”), but that doesn't lessen the
emotional impact that The
Good Place
has generated for Bell through the flashbacks.
It
also creates real stakes when Trevor shifts from obnoxious douchebag
to true devil's advocate, telling Fake Eleanor that she doesn't
belong in The Good Place. The battle for Fake Eleanor's soul thus
comes down to Fake Eleanor's choices and that is a marvelous bit of
plotting and storytelling. All this allows it to feel like a real
victory when Eleanor finally chooses to believe in herself, perhaps
for the first time. Harper and Bell really sell the journey from
reluctant co-conspirators to true friends this season, with Chidi
willing to stick with her even after Real Eleanor has shown up.
In
the B-plot, Michael has to learn how to deal with the other denizens
of The Bad Place. This is funny, but his big cathartic speech at the
end of the episode, telling them to “get the fork out of his
neighborhood” rang a little hollow. We don't truly understand the
relationship between The Good Place, The Bad Place, and, of course,
Shawn (“Wise, eternal judge who sits on high – Shawn”). It
follows that it's hard to generate any emotion for Michael here
because we don't know what his stand has cost him (if it cost him
anything at all). Something can't truly be a victory if there are no
obstacles to overcome or consequences to follow. However, the
whole plot line was hilarious and that's all I really need. The Bad
Place people lip syncing along to the Nixon tapes (as opposed to the
Mel Gibson rant or Mussolini speeches) had me cackling
uncontrollably.
Following
up with the mythology behind the show, this episode seemed to imply
that the confusion between the Eleanors was a one time deal due to
special circumstances. However, that doesn't account for Jason's
entry into The Good Place (unless the Eleanors broke the system for
everyone). With this week's cliffhanger, I'm sure this will be
explored in more detail in the next episode.
“...
Someone Like Me As A Member” didn't didn't leave me with too much
to talk about, but that's not a criticism. This week, The
Good Place
satisfied the first (and most difficult) rule of being a sitcom: be
funny. Hope everyone else is enjoying this show as much as I am and
I'll see all you ding-dongs in January when The Good Place picks back up.
Grade:
A-
MEMORABLE
MOMENTS
- Jason has a bittersweet little moment with Janet that I neglected to mention. It doesn't really have an impact anywhere in the plot, but it does tie in with the themes of not belonging. This show is so good at making sure we understand the deeper feelings that belie the bright surface of The Good Place.
- Trevor on being gifted a unicorn: “Might be fun to – skin it alive, eat it's raw flesh. Maybe break off the horn, grind it up, snort it.”
- Loved the childlike delight that D'arcy Carden evinced when clapping along with the Bad Placers who called her an idiot. I'd watch a spinoff with just her and Jason.
- “I know what I have to do. I just have to be more accommodating. Offer them everything they want, give in to all their demands and then they'll have to respect me”
- “How do you guys eat without listening to hardcore porn?
Photo Credit: NBC
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