ONE
Eleanor stands in line at the yogurt shop, which is loaded with new flavors. When Eleanor can’t decide, she steps out of line so the next person can order.
TWO
Closeup of Eleanor’s face as she realizes she just did something unselfish. She runs to tell Chidi about it. Of course, in her excitement she forgets to get the yogurt. After a second of complaining, she rushes out to fulfill her promise. Those “good person” lessons are really working!
THREE
Roll title card.
FOUR
Chidi teaches Eleanor and Jason about Utilitarianism. When Jason leaves for a brunch party, Eleanor asks if Chidi can keep teaching her. She’s so revved to learn. It’s obvious that Chidi is tired, but she doesn’t notice.
At Tahani’s brunch party, Michael practices his small talk. Janet interrupts to happily announce to him a “Category 55 Emergency Doomsday Crisis”.
Michael and Janet step into a side room to look at the computer: the sinkhole isn’t repairing itself. When Tahani walks in, Michael tries not to show his panic before running off to address the crisis. He leaves behind the open computer.
Eleanor finally realizes that Chidi is hiding his feelings. She presses him to talk.
At the tempting computer, Tahani accesses the “Neighborhood Technical Manual”. Residents are ranked, with Jianyu in the second position. Tahani is proud of him. She scrolls down the list, looking for her own name. It’s second from the bottom.
Flashback to Young Tahani showing her mother a drawing she made. Young Kamilah presents a precocious sculpture, which earns all of the parents’ attention and praise.
Back to Eleanor as she chases Chidi around the house, insisting on knowing what’s wrong. He finally explodes: teaching Eleanor — even being with her — is a full-time job in paradise. They fight, and Chidi prepares to move out.
A flashing red screen interrupts them. Michael announces that the sinkhole is worse and no one can leave their homes.
SWITCH
Cut to days later.
FIVE
Eleanor still wants Chidi to teach her and doesn’t understand why he won’t do the dishes anymore.
Michael knocks at the door. He’s brought a couple who live too close to the sinkhole. They’ll need to stay with Eleanor and Chidi.
Meanwhile, Tahani still has all of her brunch guests living in her house. She’s planned a full schedule of events to keep them entertained. When she checks the computer, though, she hasn’t moved up the resident list.
Flashback to grown Tahani as she hosts an art auction. Her parents chastise her for not raising enough money and insist she call in her sister to boost the bids.
Cut to Eleanor and Chidi with their new roommates. Their jobs on earth were a marriage counselor who could spot trouble signs and an identity fraud investigator. Eleanor and Chidi smile and squirm. The roommates sense tension; they’ll put Chidi and Eleanor under a microscope to help their relationship. Chidi, they say, is hiding something.
Tahani, carrying a basket over her arm, walks outside while Michael’s warning plays over the video system. She finds Michael and Janet overlooking a very large sinkhole. While Michael warns Tahani of side effects, her face starts to distort and change color.
Meanwhile, the roommates grill Chidi. He admits he never had a serious girlfriend on earth. His “soulmate” is not what he expected.
SIX
Fade to black.
SEVEN
The next day Michael revives Tahani on her couch. Excited, she wonders if she heroically fixed the sinkhole. No, Michael scoffs. She admits she saw the computer rankings and she was hoping to move up the list.
Flashback to the lawyer reading the parents’ last will and testament to Tahani and Kamilah. Much goes to Kamilah, but some of the estate goes to Tahani. Except they spelled her name “Tahini”. Angry and desperate, Tahani vows to eschew the money and step out of her sister’s shadow.
EIGHT
Michael, comforting Tahani, says that the rankings can’t be updated; they stopped at death. Also, she’s still in the Good Place, which means she’s remarkable. Interrupting, Janet announces that the sinkhole is repairing itself. People can now go back outside.
In the Clown House Chidi finds a note from Eleanor: meet me at the lake. She offers him wine, French poetry, and a rowboat (his romantic ideal, or so he said). She may not be his soulmate, but she’s his friend.
Chidi, stuck in the middle of the lake, yells that he doesn’t know how to row.
NINE
As the credits roll, Michael happily tells the community that he fixed the sinkhole. He then whispers to Eleanor that he didn’t and he doesn’t know how it repaired itself. Eleanor can’t tell him that she probably fixed it by making peace with Chidi. (She started it in the first place, remember, when she destroyed the party cake as a distraction.) Michael will get to the bottom of this, though, with Eleanor’s assistance.
CRITICAL NOTES
This show really likes to use fade-to-black as a beat. I don’t necessarily have a problem with that. The pacing and the tone are complimented by this choice. However, this episode’s fade at the Six is so quick that I missed it at first. It also sets up a strange Seven. The decision moment — Tahani will separate herself from her family influence — is in a flashback. It doesn’t show a decision that directly affects the current timeline of this episode.
Learning why each of our main characters ended up in the Good Place is the arc for the season. Tahani’s backstory must be told. I’m not sure it’s the best choice for this episode’s Seven, though.
A lot of this episode works better when you know the spoilers for where this season is headed. Without that knowledge, the structure is clunky. I’ve said before that this show is highly rewatchable because of this dichotomy. It’s a lot of fun to see a hidden storyline.
However, I think a Seven that gave Eleanor the decision — she’s the focus of the Two and Eight, after all — would’ve been structurally sounder and given this episode a more satisfying shape.