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

[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.

[thatwasjustadream]

I find canon 'ships really annoying, generally, and I'm not nuts about any of them in TGP. I could be just as happy if they'd learned to care for and support each other as friends. But...that's me, and I get that it's being used as a tool to add conflict and drive the plot, etc....

I kind of assumed Gunnar and Antonio are together in the Bad Place - I don't think the reveal negates them being a couple. I think the shrink and marriage therapist duo also seem to be really a couple as well???? Also, when they showed the parade of some of Eleanor's 800+ soul mates appearing at her door (during Michael's re-trys) Tahani was one of them and was posing in the door jamb in a way that was very 'here I am, darling.' So...there's that. :)

I don't think Tahani's horrible, though her jealousy does make her act out in some mean ways - like throwing Eleanor under the bus so hard when Eleanor's secret was revealed. But for the most part, I felt like S1 her was mostly caring if a little self-absorbed.

[enemyofperfect]

Aww, it hadn't even occurred to me that the demons themselves could be together! That's a surprisingly endearing thought.

[kindkit]

What made me happy about Gunnar and Antonio wasn't just seeing a queer couple onscreen, although that's always welcome, but specifically the fact that there was a queer couple in the Good Place. The show seemed to be making a point of saying "LGBT people are good enough to get into heaven, too." And then it turned out not to be heaven, and the good queer couple turned out to be demons, and I've been uncomfortable about that ever since. All the more so given the lack of a canonical same-sex relationship among any of the sympathetic characters. (The bit with Tahani as Eleanor's soulmate was great as far as it went, but it's only one tiny moment in one iteration of these characters out of hundreds.) I don't mean "OMG THE SHOW IS HOMOPHOBIC," but I'd like to see it do better.

[spiralicious]

If we ever get to see the real Good Place, there had better be some (non-platonic) same-sex soulmate pairs! I second this!

I think I like Tahani more re-watching than I did the first time around. Knowing her backstory, makes it easier to see that she is really trying and fundamentally a good person, even if she is (understandably) needy and she acts out a bit because of it.

[kindkit]

*nods* Tahani is flawed in ways that are extremely irritating, but she's got a lot of kindness, and even her bad traits aren't malicious.

[ahbuggrit]

Watching this ep after Queer Eye, Antonio reminded me of the man with the same name from the show, and Gunnar's beard then made me think of Bobby from the same show, lol. Really glad to see some same-sex couples on the show, however brief.

Honestly a pity that Eleanor's attraction to Tahani isn't taken more seriously, but the hate/frustration+attraction makes for a good fanfic base. Maybe they'll throw a surprise at us and have a poly soulmate situation by the end...

[kindkit]

I'm not very invested in any of the romantic relationships as such, but if there are going to be canonical ships, and apparently there are, it would be nice to have a same-sex relationship. Or, if not, at least some real exploration of Eleanor's bisexuality.

[ahbuggrit]

Yes to all of this.

Though maybe the show writers are making it so as Eleanor becomes more moral, she and Chidi are more deserving of each other/take a chance at happiness... I hope they don't go down this route though. I like them both, and don't mind them together, but that kind of a reward thing wouldn't be to my taste.

Though, it's probably the shared trauma of the bad place that's the strongest factor??

Regardless. The strength of the show is the shenanigans and the (non-romantic) interactions between the characters that I find most charming.

[enemyofperfect]

I was so happy about the canon queerness too! And disappointed that Eleanor's bisexuality hasn't been used as much more than an occasional punchline. Maybe Tahani can eventually learn that her true soulmate is a woman, or something? She does say in this episode that Cindy Crawford is even more beautiful for being -- relatively speaking -- short.

I really do love Tahani, flawed as she is. (I mean, all of them are flawed! That's half the point of the show!) One of my favorite lines in this episode is when she's trying to reassure Michael: "Breathe. Do you breathe? If you do, then just breathe." Sure, it's funny, but it's also so thoughtful of her to check!

[kindkit]

I like Tahani more than I ever expected to. She's given a lot of superficial characteristics that are easy to dislike: beautiful, rich, well-connected, and fond of reminding people of all of that. She's a lot more and better than that underneath, thouth.

[thatwasjustadream]

Ha - yes, that was a sweet little moment. The girls are both pretty solicitous of Michael, when you think about it. Which...gah, like so many things on this show can turn into a double edged sword: i.e. Women protecting their tormentors = not cool.

I'm....going to pretend that I didn't just think of that and just enjoy them occasionally fussing over him. '

It's probably also why I have to believe that Michael joining Team Cockroach is for real. One of my top five favorite moments of the show is the train pulling out and him blubbering "You ...guys...I was so...worried for you!"

[enemyofperfect]

Oh yikes, I hadn't thought of it in gender terms! I guess maybe you could say they trade off, at least -- if my memory isn't failing me here, Tahani mostly tries to help him when she still thinks he's a virtuous authority, whereas I feel like Eleanor's bond with him really takes off after she realizes how terrible he is and sees that as something they kind of have in common. But that's something it'll be interesting to keep an eye on during this rewatch, I guess.

And yes, I loved that moment of Michael's so much! I really didn't think I was going to care about him after the S1 finale, but what do you know -- this show always finds a way to surprise me.