Season 1 Rewatch: 1x09 "...Someone Like Me As A Member"

[sorchasilver]

Hey everyone, here we go with week 9 of the rewatch. You know the drill by now ;)

Writer(s): Michael Schur (creator), Jen Statsky
Director: Dean Holland
Originally aired: 3rd November 2016

Synopsis: Michael's skills are put to the test when he attempts to sort out an unprecedented situation. Meanwhile, Chidi makes a connection elsewhere, much to the dismay of Eleanor, while Janet shows a different side of herself.

Memorable Quote:
Eleanor Shellstrop: Ugh, I hate jazz. Every jazz song is like 40 minutes long. It's like, we get it. You can blow on a trumpet. Wrap it up, Elton John...

Useful Links:
Episode Transcript
IMdB entry

Comments

[erinptah]

Teenage Eleanor shutting down everyone at school didn't seem all that terrible to me. I mean, she was mean and snarky, but it's not like she was lying or manipulating anyone. It feels like the show expects us to assume that "not wanting to be sociable and make connections with everyone you meet" is inherently a Bad Place trait, when, no, that's also a "perfectly nice introvert" trait.

The moment when Vicky effortlessly finds the stair switch was pretty sweet. (Although in retrospect, I'm surprised Eleanor didn't find it just as a result of randomly poking around...)

I forget, was Gen really the type of Wise Eternal Judge that Shawn is pretending to be? Do we know if it's a rank, or is it just her?

[enemyofperfect]

I also wondered if the show was taking a swing at loners, but I've ended up concluding that it's not: after all, Tahani is in the Bad Place too. I think the real message in Eleanor's flashbacks this episode -- and in the fact that she actually considered Trevor's argument that torture is preferable to being surrounded by people who are better than you! -- is that for Eleanor specifically, avoiding connection was a way of avoiding vulnerability, when ultimately she's a better and happier person if she accepts both of those things.

That moment with the stairs is one of the best jokes in this entire hilarious series, honestly. They set it up and let you forget about it, and then the punchline just shows up out of nowhere. I love it!

[erinptah]

Sure, but Tahani had other problems. Including that a lot of her socializing (maybe most of it?) was driven by ulterior motives, rather than genuine friendship and caring.

Whereas for Eleanor, this might be the only flashback scene where she isn't driven by ulterior motives! You kinda expect her to say to that last kid, "huh, you think I'm cool? Great! Now carry my books and lend me some lunch money that I'll never pay back." But no, she consistently and genuinely wants to be left alone.

I can buy that she's doing herself a disservice by not letting herself make actual friends, but I never get the sense that "making yourself happy" is a category in the Good Place criteria.

[enemyofperfect]

I guess my read is, in the cafeteria scene, she's acting to protect herself. She's only going to be there for six months, and she just doesn't want any drama. And I don't see anything wrong with that!

But if you look at her life as a whole, it's like she retains that attitude the entire time -- she's not going to let anything affect her or matter to her, not in any kind of deep or lasting way. Which has the effect not only of ruling out cool things like friendship, but also of allowing her to say with impunity that she doesn't care about anything that doesn't impinge on her personally.

So while not really being a joiner isn't in itself a bad thing, in Eleanor's particular case, it is related to her own unique brand of terribleness -- just like Tahani's compulsive networking is for her.

[author_by_night]

- is that for Eleanor specifically, avoiding connection was a way of avoiding vulnerability, when ultimately she's a better and happier person if she accepts both of those things.

Yeah, that's how I took it.

I was actually similar in school, though my personality was more like Chidi's. (Comparatively.) Kids like the first girl freaked me out because the OTT niceness seemed fake (and honestly, often was, which was what made me wary). Kids like the second girl tended to be catty and mean, which I didn't like. But Eleanor also insults every one of them, rather than politely declining. I think that's the difference too. It's fine to be a bit of a loner, but Eleanor pushes people away.

And really, it wasn't okay for ME, either. Yes, I'm an introvert, but I always acted like I didn't need anyone. I desperately wanted friends. I just didn't trust enough of my peers enough to make more than a handful. So I can relate to her there, too.

What's interesting is that her "friends"/roommates ARE basically the second girl; maybe by then, she's resigned herself to the fact that that's what people are like, and she'll take what she can get? We also see that she had a nicer roommate who she pushed away.

[enemyofperfect]

I love your point about her pushing people away -- yet also eventually forming ties, of a sort anyway, with some pretty unpleasant people. Maybe that satisfies some balance in her head of not being totally alone, but not ever getting her hopes up too high, either?

(Now that you've gotten me thinking it, I definitely showed some Eleanor-like behavior in school, too, despite being more Chidi-like in general. I just had so little idea of how to interact with the other kids that it felt safer to refuse to even try, you know?)

[enemyofperfect]

In hindsight, you can totally tell that Vicky is deliberately torturing Eleanor with her supposed amazingness, but I still can't help but feel a little sorry that "real Eleanor" wasn't real. When she was being earnest and supportive instead of humblebraggy, she was so sweet!

Then in a less demonic vein, I love Chidi finding time to be there for Eleanor despite her attempts at pushing him away. He's such a good friend when his scrupulosity doesn't get in the way!

I also really feel for Janet in this point in her recovery. She's remembered just enough to be upset about how much she still doesn't know, and that's got to be tough for an informational delivery system. Hang in there, Janet!

[author_by_night]

When she was being earnest and supportive instead of humblebraggy, she was so sweet!

Yeah, I was a little sorry she wasn't real. I knew something was off with the whole story (I didn't buy that there were really two Eleanor Shellstrops), but she certainly played the part well, because I didn't suspect "real Eleanor" was knowingly not actually Eleanor.