Chidi Sees the Time-Knife is a slippery episode of television, in good ways and bad.
Its a weird place, full of grotesque negative-zone slug creatures called neednoggles (neednoddle?
spelling unclear, all sound gross!)
Credit: Colleen Hayes/NBC
The Judge pulls a filter over the frightful place so it resembles an actual IHOP.
The Judge is unimpressed.
Your big revelation is life is complicated?
Michaels got no follow-up; he does the backpack kid dance because people always enjoy that, dont they?
You cant judge humans, Jason tells the Judge, Because you dont know what we go through.
Its a challenge the Judge accepts.
She sets off for Earth and returns, shocked.
What the Judge experiences most of all are the unintended consequences of modern life.
Shawn doesnt see anything wrong with the system.
Humans invented Limp Bizkit and slavery: Case closed!
After all, didnt Michaels prisoners learn to change themselves in his neighborhood?
Thats when Chidi announces that he has an idea.
Yknow: The time-knife.
Weve all seen the time-knife, right?
NEXT: Recycle, Reduce, Reuse!
Chidis idea is simple.
Why not repeat Michaels experiment for a different purpose?
Anyhow: Some terms are agreed upon, but where to build this new neighborhood?
Shawn wont allow it in the Bad Place.
That means its time for a trip to see wonderful, miserable Mindy St. Claire in her Medium Place.
Mindys still living with Derek, Janets son-slash-creation-slash-rebound booty call.
Its a big Janet week because Jason just revealed hes beginning to catch feelings for her again.
Hes been rebooted several kamillion times by Mindy.
Could he be a romantic threat?
Whats a poor Janet to Derek?
But Dereks appearance sparks another intriguing aspect of the reboot.
Previously, the ancillary people in Michaels neighborhood were all played by demons.
Now, they shall all be Janets creations: Living beings created by the onetime omnipowerful superthing-turned-ever evolving MegaJanet.
Theyre looking toward an eternity of living together like a normal couple.
They can… study philosophy!
Theyre such a good/bad influence on each other!
Of course, they wont be hereforever.
And Michael receives some devastating news from the Bad Place.
Eleanor comes into Michaels office, having a laugh about the grand experiment theyre about to begin.
Who will be their first lab rat: A murderer, a war criminal, anInstagramDJ?
Theres a man outside waiting for Michael to call him in, but he cant do it.
Hes too frightened, experiencing a full-blown panic attack.
Will the experiment end before its even begun?
Chidi Sees the Time-Knife could be a new direction forThe Good Place.
In some ways, its strange that all that plot momentum has carried us back to the beginning.
Its another (seemingly final?)
reboot ofThe Good Places original setting.
(See also: Jason,finallyre-catching feelings for Janet.)
