Season 1 Rewatch: 1x02 "Flying"

[sorchasilver]

Welcome to week 2 of our rewatch project. I'm posting this a little early as I'm very busy this week - unfortunately I won't get a chance to rewatch today but I'll catch up over the weekend. Thanks to everyone who joined in last week. Please watch the episode at a time of your choosing, then join the discussion in the comments.

Let's go flying!

Writer(s): Michael Schur (created by), Alan Yang
Director: Michael McDonald
Originally aired: September 19th, 2016

Synopsis:
Eleanor tries to prove to Chidi that she's worthy of his help; Tahani and Jianyu try to help Michael cope with a mysterious flaw in his neighborhood.

Memorable Quote:
Janet: Conjure an image that brings you pure joy. Some people think of their wedding day, or favorite vacation spot.
Eleanor: [concentrating hard] People puking on roller coasters... people puking on roller coasters...

Useful Links:
Episode Transcript
IMDb entry

Comments

[ahbuggrit]

"Teacup doesn't love me?"
Michael putting his foot in it was so funny - between this and "canyon full of poo-poo" he must have really weirded out/worried Tahani.

The set up of Eleanor reminiscing on ditching her designated driver job, waking up, picking up the trash, only for Janet to reveal it was to dump it in the garbage enthusiasts house was wonderful.

[kindkit]

Gunnar and Antonio in this episode reminded me of one of the things I was initially really pleased with: there are queer people and same-sex couples in The Good Place! Then, later, it made the reveal kind of upsetting, and it still bothers me a little bit that at least three of our four humans seem to be straight, and even Eleanor's attraction to Tahani is not taken very seriously--the show seems to be going for Chidi/Eleanor as its real/serious romance. If we ever get to see the real Good Place, there had better be some (non-platonic) same-sex soulmate pairs!

On a happier note, I was struck by how much Tahani is concerned about Michael and tries to help. Admittedly there's a significant measure of name-dropping and vanity mixed in with her help, but she notices his "distress" and she cares. Because apparently some people really dislike Tahani (I've seen her described as "horrible"), so I was glad to see early evidence that she has a fundamentally good heart.

[enemyofperfect]

So do you think Michael was just messing with everyone when he asked Janet if he should be licking his armpits? I'm so crushed by the idea that that might not have been real. His least human moments are always so much fun.

I'm also a little disappointed that we never got to see the inside of Chidi's apartment. It would have been so interesting to see how it was furnished! Although I guess it's probably safe to bet on wall to wall books.

A moment I remember loving the first time around, and still absolutely adore, is Eleanor's canny pause to make sure her Janet request history is confidential before asking for clothes to match everyone else's. I'd totally forgotten, though, her casually warning Chidi that after she bathes she likes to stroll around naked until she dries. Points to him for taking that information in stride...?