The Good Place S02E07 "Janet and Michael" Recap

A flashback to before all of the neighborhood experiments began is show. Michael steals Janet from a warehouse and claims to be an architect from the Good Place. Michael's bosses don't mind his thievery; they are the bad guys after all. She helps him with his efforts to build the neighborhood, since a bad Janet will malfunction if she tries to pretend to be good and maintain the facade Michael is building for his plan.

In the present timeline, Michael troubleshoots Janet to try to help her with her glitching. He reads through her manual while Vicki is working on torturing Chidi through the use of acupuncture. Michael continues to read through the manual and discovers that glitches can be caused by lies. Michael blames himself because the nature of his plan involves lying and deception about the purpose of the neighborhood.

Some time later, Michael observes Janet glitching while speaking to Tahani and Jason about their relationship which she has been advising them on. He then determines that the lies causing Janet's glitches are subconsciously done. She has maintained her second incarnation's love for Jason which means that she is unhappy about Tahani and Jason being a couple. Janet proposes that Michael activate her self-destruct button. He ponders whether to do so but ultimately decides against it because he has bonded with Janet and now regards her as a friend.

Michael brings Janet to Eleanor in the hopes of finding advice about love and heartbreak that will allow them to stop the glitches. Eleanor is able to talk Janet through processing her emotions for Jason and along the way gives advice about a rebound relationship. Janet eagerly pursues this idea and creates a boyfriend named Derek who has a juvenile, easily excited personality and a short attention span.

The Good Place airs on NBC.