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The Good Place
Chapter 3 - Tahani Al-Jamil
Season 1, Episode 3
September 22, 2016
We start to get to know the rest of the cast a little more now, with Eleanor going off to try to prove Tahani isn't as perfect as she appears, while Michael tortures Chidi by getting him to explore other options to his endless dissertation in the afterlife, while Janet tries on a few alternate personalities.
I really liked this one. It was great to see Eleanor and Tahani play off one another, with Eleanor being exactly the two-faced and duplicitous phony that she accuses Tahani of being. I especially liked how she drops the act and can't help but show her real attitude every time Tahani turns away. And Kristen Bell doing the exaggerated British accent is hilarious.
The prop of the plant that Tahani gives Eleanor reflecting their relationship is pretty funny, especially when it bursts into flames ("Huh. What do you think that means?"). Even funnier when you watch it knowing it's part of Michael's torture matrix.
Tahani's name dropping continues with her time as Baz Luhrmann muse and her diary with an introduction by Malala Yousafzai and Kylie Minogue. That's quite a combination.
I love the running joke about Chidi's dissertation that start here. The whole b-plot is pretty funny, with Janet trying on various personalities, giving D'Arcy Carden a lot more to do than she had in the first two episodes.
And of course at the end we have the revelation of Jason. Unfortunately as I watched this out of order the first time I already knew it was coming, but it must be quite a surprise to those who come in unspoiled. I'm still not sure I buy Jason being able to pull off the silent monk act for as long as he did, with what we see of his impulse control and intelligence later on.
Podcast for this chapter is MEJ interviewing Jameela Jamil and set designer Camille Bratkowski. Jameela is always delightful on these, especially in the ways she deviates wildly from Tahani, and the look behind the scenes of TV production we get from the production people is fascinating, especially as Marc seems genuinely curious about it all.
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