WiC Watches: The Good Place season 4

THE GOOD PLACE — “The Answer” Episode 409 — Pictured: (l-r) Kristen Bell as Eleanor, William Jackson Harper as Chidi — (Photo by: Colleen Hayes/NBC)

Episode 409: “The Answer”

“There is no ‘answer.’ But Eleanor is the answer.” Well, that’s just adorable.

Chidi is the best character on The Good Place. I knew that before, but this episode really brought it home. He’s had the show’s most satisfying, most unique arc, turning from an affable know-it-all crippled by his inability to do anything other than the “right” choice to someone who realizes, finally, there is no right choice. Whether or not your life has literally been reset, like Chidi’s has, life presents you with endless problems every day, and the only way to be happy with it is to take them one at a time, knowing you’ll never have a sure-fire way to solve them all.

I didn’t realize that Chidi’s story was leading to him having this revelation, but once it got there, it made perfect sense. Chidi is how this show delivers its take on life, its answer to all the philosophers it’s discussed over the past 47 episodes. I’ve enjoyed this season, but with Chidi unable to weigh in on the group’s decision, something’s been missing. I can’t decide if Chidi is the soul or the heart or the mind of The Good Place, but he’s definitely one of those — maybe more than one — and it felt great to have him back.

I haven’t talked about the plot of the episode because there really isn’t one. Mostly, the whole thing happens within the space it takes Michael to snap Chidi awake, and for Jason to spill his disgusting drink. It’s a Chidi character study, here to make up for all the episodes we didn’t get to spend with the character as we’d come to know him.

Exploring the root of Chidi’s indecisiveness was charming and funny and sad. He thinks he can solve any problem with reason and logic because he once convinced his parents to not get divorced. The wonderful irony is that they stayed together not because of his arguments, but because his passion reminded them of what they meant to each other in the first place and inspired them to work harder on their marriage. And all of Chidi’s arguments were based on his desire and need to keep his parents together. That was the heart and the guts Chidi’s adviser was talking about; Chidi just forgot how important those were to the problem-solving process.

David Hume was right all along! Hume wins!

I loved Michael’s thoughts on soulmates, that they’re not born but made. Isn’t that a wonderfully humanist perspective on romantic love, that it’s up to us to make our relationships work rather than counting on finding one pre-made for us? It’s shocking how little I seem to hear that perspective, soulmates being a very popular topic for romantic comedies and the like. But it’s one so much more true to life. There is no Answer, but there is an answer.

The Good Bullet Points

• “I have a job, Chid. I have a family. Until I had to read this, I had a will to live.”
• “You know what this calls for? A venn diagram.”
• “If you’d like to get us a present, we’re registered at me.”
• “Wow, no one’s ever asked me for advice before, and you’re a high school principal!”
• “If you’re always frozen in fear and taking too long to think about what to do, you’ll miss your opportunity and maybe get sucked into the propeller of a swamp boat.”
• Oh my god, we missed a whole season of comedy with Esmerelda. Can she and Disco Janet get a spinoff? “You don’t bring knives to a friendly game night. Who does that?” “The prepared.”
• Even in an episode all about Chidi, Tahani still managed to drop Timothée Chalamet’s name.
• Chidi was the youngest person ever with a stress-induced ulcer. Respect.