Last week’s episode of The Good Place ended with the revelation that Michael (Ted Dansen) and Janet’s (D’Arcy Carden) meddling in the human’s lives had caused all the crazy events of the past year to happen. This brilliant revelation also saw the abrupt end of the Trevor (Adam Scott) storyline as he is thrown into an abyss. It was a confusing move considering the impact Trevor’s had in the past but the ending set up an interesting idea as Michael and Janet go rogue on Earth trying to make sure the humans stay together.
This quick pacing trend continues this week on ‘Snowplow’ as the humans’ progress is mostly skipped over in the form of multiple time jumps that amount to a full year. This causes the lives of the so-called ‘Brainy Bunch’ to take a backseat to the hijinks of Michael and Janet. While not a bad thing, it does feel strange to jump over so much considering the emphasis on the humans over the first two episodes of this season.
The high point of this episode has to be Ben Lawson’s guest appearance as Larry Hemsworth, the fourth brother of the famous Hemsworth family. This Hemsworth didn’t go into the family business, instead choosing to be a children’s spinal surgeon. While this may be a noble profession from the outside, Larry is openly insecure about his perceived shortcomings compared to his brothers. This provides some of the funnier moments as Larry is constantly demeaning his career and looks in comparison to his brothers.
While the inventive comedy of the series is still present, this episode is one of the weaker in the series due to its lightning-fast pacing. it seems like the writers are rushing through plot points like Usain Bolt. It makes me wonder what the ‘big picture’ plan is considering the speed with which they are burning through the story. The episode does end on an exciting cliffhanger as the humans discover Michael and Janet as they are about to go through the magical door off Earth. Hopefully, this will kick-start the plot of the season and not just provide another one-off episode story.
