‘The Good Place’ season 4 episode 7 recap: “Help is Other People”
In S1E7 of The Good Place, Eleanor (Kristen Bell) admitted publicly that she didn’t belong in the Good Place. It was the first moment when Mike Schur and the amazing team of writers took our expectations and made it clear this was not your parents’ TV comedy. Things move fast around here.
In season 4 episode 7 we once again experienced a time jump, this time from 6 months into the experiment to 364 days into the experiment, with only hours to spare until the end. We’re in the end game now for the Soul Squad, so it’s no surprise everyone is nervous. Eleanor makes a video telling the residents they should do random good deeds for the fun of it tonight, playing it off not casually at all.
But unknown to her, Simone is about to throw a big ol’ wrench in her plan.
Simone Garnett (Kirby Howell-Baptiste)
The Simone we saw in the season premiere and the Simone we saw last week were two completely different people. But this week, we found out that first Simone didn’t completely leave. The only reason she’s been participating in the group activities was to get a read on everyone and the whole neighborhood, and she’s 100% sure something’s going on.
Her first theory is that this isn’t the real Good Place (correct), which then changes to Michael & Eleanor are running an experiment involving the six of them (half-correct). Of course, Tahani (Jameela Jamil) starts trying to play damage control, but then John goes and spills the beans.
John Wheaton (Brandon Scott Jones)
John knows this is 100% the wrong thing to do, but he rats out Jason (Manny Jacinto) for not actually being the silent Buddist monk Jin-Yang, and Jason admits it. But all this does is solidify Simone’s argument further, which gets everyone talking about what landed them in the Bad Place in the first place.
John won’t admit it, but of course he gets called out for his blogging, which turns him into yelling at Simone for always having to have the last word. Chidi pulls his usual almond milk reason out, and then we get to Brent.
Brent Norwalk (Benjamin Koldyke)
In a twist shocking to absolutely no one, Brent still can’t understand why he would belong in the Bad Place. Especially when he was pulled aside by Eleanor & Michael (Ted Danson) and told he belongs in the Best Place and will end up there tonight. Cue the obligatory screaming match.
Of course, he also concerns the Soul Squad because they have not a clue if Brent has scored enough points to save his soul or not. They beg Janet (D’Arcy Carden) to break into the obelisk where all the point counting happens, and the plan fails horribly.
Chidi Anagonye (William Jackson Harper)
Chidi and Simone break into Michael’s office to try and get some more answers, praying that they can find something to prove Simone’s theory. Of course, Chidi wants to believe that this is paradise because of Eleanor’s lie about Simone & Chidi being soulmates. Simone not only rejects him, but also rejects the idea of soulmates, since Eleanor only told him, not her. Yay, Cheleanor shippers! Boo Simone, for hurting Chidi!
Of course, they find the lovely emoji whiteboard with only the four experiment humans’ photos on it, which confirms Simone’s theory that they’re being carefully watched. They quickly hurry back to the end-of-the-year party so no one knows they’re gone. Of course, the moment they get back, Brent gets swallowed into a chasm, and no one but Chidi wants to save him because he sucks and Chidi is ethically always helping.
Chidi, in the least Chidi way possible, makes an impulsive decision to hop in the pit and save Brent, from where the two of them need to be rescued off screen by Eleanor & Michael.
The final test
With only minutes to spare before the experiment ends, Michael & Eleanor do what they do best: pull a page from season one. When Chidi flips out on Brent and straight-up says “This is the Bad Place,” Michael & Eleanor offer their best evil laughs. They tell them not only are they right, but those two are heading right down to the real Bad Place, as this neighborhood has just been a chance for Michael & Eleanor to mess with them a little.
They leave the room, and finally Chidi rips Brent a new one: the only reason he saved him was because it was the ethical thing to do – but Brent sucks so much that if it wasn’t for ethics, Chidi’d let him hang for eternity. Brent finally has a moment when he sees the light. The moment he goes to say he’s sorry, the timer stops, and time is frozen mid-apology.
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We’re with Eleanor, chugging a pitcher of margaritas in fear of the result. We’ll be chugging our bottles of Lonely Gal Margarita Mix for One until next Thursday, scared for the future of our beloved Soul Squad. Everything really is final this time.
