Season 1 Rewatch: 1x07 "The Eternal Shriek"

[enemyofperfect]

Hey sorchasilver, I hope I'm not stepping on your toes by posting this! But I've really been enjoying this rewatch, and I think at least a few other people have too, so here's another post for discussion.

Writers: Michael Schur (creator), Megan Amram
Director: Trent O'Donnell
Originally aired: 20 October 2016

Synopsis:
Eleanor and Chidi find that the only way to save Michael from going to "The Eternal Shriek" (part of the Bad Place) is to deactivate Janet. Since she is programmed to answer any question, Janet tells them exactly how to do it.

Memorable Quote:
Michael: Oh, my dear Janet. Will you be okay after I leave?
Janet: Yes. This will not affect me in any way.

Useful links:
Episode Transcript
IMDb entry

Comments

[enemyofperfect]

I really love Janet so much, even at this early point in her development. She's so cheerful and clearly nonhuman, and yet: "I can't eat, so every time there's a new version of Janet, I like to take a piece of birthday cake and smash it around where my mouth is." She has preferences that in no way relate to helping the humans around her! She's such a great Janet.

It was a little disconcerting to see Eleanor so happy about Michael's retirement, knowing as we do now what that means for architects. But in a way, her clear selfish streak makes her brave stand at the end even better -- she isn't magically reformed by any means, but she can still take a big risk to help a friend.

As for Chidi, it's interesting that what really got him in trouble in the flashbacks wasn't the white lie -- it was the fact that, in his discomfort, he elaborated on it so much that Henry thought Chidi genuinely loved his boots. Also interesting: while announcing that he hated the boots clearly did nothing but hurt Henry, telling Eleanor how unhappy he was about letting Michael die might actually have helped them both grow as people. Sometimes, honesty is the right choice!

Odds and ends:

-I love that Michael gave his birth year as 0000.
-If we can put any weight on the old Chinese proverb gag, Mandarin seems to be on the list of languages Chidi speaks. How is he even?
-Pleurigloss sounds like such a great color.

[author_by_night]

I think the fact that Chidi was so upset over that lie also foreshadows his flaws. After all, it seems pretty ethical to me TO lie about such a thing. If someone says "be honest", don't be honest. I mean, sure if Henry was going to wear the boots to a funeral, Chidi might have been better off advising that it wouldn't be appropriate. Or if Henry was going to wear them surfing, pointing out that they might be slippery. But he couldn't handle the fact that he was dishonest to spare someone's feelings. And that's a pretty big oversight, as much as I love Chidi.

Good point about Eleanor's growth. She didn't magically change overnight, but she was willing to help a friend.