TL;DR – While it does not always quite get there, it was still an interesting ride.

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

Review –

After three seasons of trying the gang is finally in the good place, and after all this, the emotional and social capital to get us here does it actually hold up? Well no, but then I think it does something a little more important, maybe.

So to set the scene, at the end of Janet(s) the gang – Janet (D’Arcy Carden), Michael (Ted Danson), Eleanor (Kristen Bell), Chidi (William Jackson Harper), Tahani (Jameela Jamil), and Jason (Manny Jacinto) escaped the Accounting Office while setting off every alarm in the afterlife. But for one very important reason, the bad place has messed with the point system and no one has gotten into the good place in over 400 years. Now they are in the good place’s mail office and it smells like your best memory and all is well … well, not everything. Just a reminder that we will be looking at the episode at the whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

From the start, it became apparent that while we were in the good place, we would not actually be seeing the good place this episode. In this case, in the form a very real locked door. To be honest, this is a bit of a disappointment, probably more of one because we had a bit of a wait to have the cliff hanger un-resolve. What we do get is the very hint of what the good place is like, committees, friendly helpers, and really nice pears, but no commitment.  

There are two main themes tonight and the first is relationships, which we see in a number of threads. First is the fallout of Janet, Jason, and Tahani relationship complications. In a previous timeline, Jason and Janet began a relationship and that has rippled throughout the series. Here we see that play out in a way that no one is really at fault, which creates an odd but emotional outcome. Also after so much stress from running from one battle to another, it is finally a moment to stop and it all comes back. For Eleanor, the moment of rest brings it all back to the brink, which does not help that Chidi picks that moment to be the best, and it all goes out.

The next is the big revelation this episode is that there is no great conspiracy with regards to the points, there is no bad place scheme, though they are 100% benefiting from it. It is just that the world is a much more complicated place to do well, even when you think you are doing the right thing. This dramatically shifts the balance of the narrative, but in a way that is consistent with the universe they are creating, and while I don’t know if this episode worked as well as it could have, it has set up the rest of the season to be really fascinating.

In the end, do we recommend The Book of Dougs? Well while I don’t think it all came together, The Good Place is such a strong show that even when it is not all quite working it is still a fun ride. Also, to be perfectly honest, this episode is completely worth your time for Nicole Byer alone.            

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you seen Season Three of The Good Place yet?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.    

Trailer – Click Here to View (all trailers have heavy spoilers)
Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Good Place
Directed by – Morgan Sackett
Written by – Josh Siegal & Dylan Morgan
Created by – Michael Schur
Starring in Season 3 – Kristen Bell, William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil, Manny Jacinto, D’Arcy Carden & Ted Danson with Nicole Byer, Mike O’Malley, Paul Scheer, Dana Powell, Phil Augusta Jackson, Takato Yonemoto, Tatiana Carr and Denise Sanchez