The Good Place S03E10 "Janet(s)" Recap

The humans are dead once again and end up in Janet's void to hide out in safety while Michael and Janet will visit Accounting to try to find a solution to their ongoing problems. But things go from bad to worse for both parties, as the humans all appear as versions of Janet physically while Michael and Janet discover that no new people have been admitted into the Good Place for the last 521 years. The head of accounting, Neil, remains insistent that the system is flawless and refuses to believe that the Bad Place has been able to hack it despite all signs pointing to the contrary. Janet encourages Michael to take on the matter of fixing the problem himself instead of trying to find others to do it.

Janet also becomes stressed when the void becomes increasingly unstable due to the humans being in it. When the humans use Janet-powers to summon or transform objects this escalates the problems but nearly as much as when Chidi's repeated denial of his feelings for Eleanor cause her to lose her sense of self. Janet tells Michael he will need to turn her back into a marble to be revived later to prevent further disasters but when Chidi finally admits his feelings and kisses Eleanor, all the humans are restored to their original appearances. However, this results in the humans being ejected from the void and appearing in the Accounting office with Michael and Janet.

Neil sounds the alarms since the humans have all been labelled fugitives, but Michael leads Janet and the humans to a pneumatic tube while also bringing Doug Forcett's paperwork with him as evidence to support his claims. Eleanor initially doesn't believe Michael when he claims that they are in the real Good Place until she realises she is unable to curse.

This episode was of a particular challenge for actress D'Arcy Carden who had to tackle the Tatiana-Maslany-level of portraying multiple character and even characters pretending to be other characters but she held her own. The emotional breakthrough for Eleanor and Chidi was well worth the wait and it'll be nice to see how their mutual romantic affection will now play out while intertwined with the larger tasks of them needing to secure their redemption. Not all of the characters had the same opportunities to shine but there were many important plot developments in such a short amount of time that it will be all the more exciting to see them pick up in the new year.

The Good Place airs on Thursdays on NBC at 8:30/7:30c.