While I was watching the first two episodes of The Good Place one of the biggest questions I had was how the show would handle Jianyu (Manny Jacinto) going forward. Blabbermouth Tahani having a silent monk as a soulmate was a funny concept but one that seemed like it was quickly going to go stale. The end of last week's episode however revealed that there was much more to Jianyu than had been let on and Jason Mendoza takes that revealing and runs with it, giving Jacinto an excellent showcase for his comedic chops and making "Jianyu" a much better and funnier character in the process.
Now that he can talk, we learn a ton of information about Jianyu this week. His name is Jason for starters, he's Filipino not Taiwanese like everyone thinks he is. ("Heaven is so racist", he bemoans), and he was an amateur EDM DJ from Jacksonville, along with being an amateur hip-hop back-up dancer and body spray inventor who made money selling fake drugs to college kids. He's also shallow, simple-minded and not that bright, only managing to avoid detection through dumb luck (The first thing Michael brings up when he arrives is the vow of silence the real Jianyu is under so he latches onto that). Now the "dumb guy" is a classic sitcom staple that Good Place creator Mike Schur is quite familiar with (and which he practically perfected on Parks and Rec with Andy Dwyer), and Jason with his perpetually stoned bro vibe, lazy pronunciation (there's much confusion when he shows Eleanor his "bud hole"), and low ambition (His dream was to DJ all around Florida) is a fresh variation on the archetype. Jason also gives The Good Place a purely comedic character they can lean on for quick, fast punchlines, something the show could definitely use more of in this early-going period. Sure enough, Jason Mendoza is probably the funniest episode of The Good Place so far, with lots of humour derived from the goofy dumbness of Jason and Jacinto's stellar delivery and mannerisms. It turns out last week's "I'm freaking out homie!" was just the beginning of Jason's charm. Jason Mendoza is also probably the most tension-filled episode of The Good Place so far, as Jason proves to be the biggest threat to Eleanor's secret yet.
See Jason is driven by desire and his key desire is to always be himself. Flashbacks (the first time the flashback aren't about Eleanor and hopefully not the last) take us back to Jason's DJ days where he gets a chance to fill in for DJ Acidcat, wearing a big helmet and pushing a button every night while the real deal is elsewhere. It's more recognition than he's probably ever gotten as Mr. Music, the DJ (best DJ name ever, by the way) but it's not good enough for him so he unmasks, plays one of his own beats and gets promptly booed and pelted with garbage. Sued for breach of contract, Jason decides never to pretend to be someone else again, lest it cost him his dreams in life and then blows up DJ Acidcat's speedboat in retaliation. Now though he finds himself forced to be someone he isn't once again, with his "bud hole" (described as 12-Year-Old Boy meets 13-Year-Old Boy by Eleanor) the only place he can be himself. This isn't sitting right with him though and coming clean to Eleanor has made him decide to stop pretending and be himself again. It doesn't matter how much danger this puts himself, Eleanor, and Chidi in or how it might affect Tahani (still sad about her inability to click with who she thinks is his soulmate). Jason just can't take being Jianyu for one more minute so at The grand opening of The Good Plates (a new restaurant where you're served your favourite dish in the world.) where Michael and Tahani are under the impression that Jianyu has gained the courage to start talking, he decides to start talking about his real favourite meal (Jianyu's is a block of tofu), the buffalo wings at Stupid Nick's Wing Dump. It's an act that's understandable and relatable. No one wants to be someone they're not after all, but it's also incredibly selfish and dangerous. So to protect herself, Eleanor does something equally understandable, but equally selfish and dangerous.
Destroying the cake the chef at The Good Plates has spent all week working on is the first time since arriving that Eleanor does a bad thing on purpose with the intention of creating havoc. It's something she has to do to protect her secret but it doesn't make it right and the consequences reflect that. Selfishness has only begat more selfishness and the sinkhole that results is the most destructive thing she's caused since the storm. She tells Jason she did it to save him from himself but really she did it to save her and she knows it. It hasn't fixed anything either. Jason still wants to be himself, even rejecting Chidi's gracious offer of a spot in his Ethics class. This is when The Good Place flips the traditional lesson of "Be true to yourself" on it's head. Jason wants to be himself, but "himself" sucks. "Himself" is a selfish person who puts his desires above everyone else. Sometimes you need to change and become a better version of yourself. Eleanor has been trying to better herself, but she hasn't been giving it as much effort as she should or given Chidi the appreciation he deserves. It's when she sees Jason reject Chidi's offer that she gains a new appreciation for what Chidi has been doing and is able to recognise that they both need to be better, even if it's not as easy as just being themselves. This allows her to give Jason the wake-up call he needs to accept Chidi's help and learn "ethnics" as he calls it. It's not going to be easy and Jason's "dumb guy" status makes him a much tougher student than Eleanor but it's worth a try to be someone better than himself.
It might be too-little too-late for Eleanor and Jason though as the damage their actions led to in the restaurant proves more significant than initially thought. Michael assures Tahani that the sinkhole should fix itself within a few days but the end of the episode shows it's still growing. Eleanor was able to clean up the garbage storm and make Tahani's plant go from on fire to blooming but this sinkhole won't be as easily fixed it seems. This is an interesting but welcome note for the episode to end on because although it's not a huge twist like the Jason reveal, it doesn't let us feel at ease with how things are. Just like the aftermath of a cruel act in life, the danger has subsided but the damage remains and it's not going to magically fix itself. It'll be interesting to see what it will take to fix it.
Memorable Moments
-Tahani and Michael spend the episode getting ready for the restaurant opening, dealing with Tahani's soulmate issues (Michael assures her that her problems are normal and most soulmates take a few months to click) and deciding to help keep the neighbourhood together. It doesn't do much beyond keep the story in motion but that's fine. Hopefully they'll have more to do next week though.
-William Jackson-Harper continues to delight as Chidi. His shock and "You broke Jianyu" reaction to seeing Jason in all his douchey glory has to be seen to be believed.
-The "bud hole" confusion was funnier the first time than the second. Hopefully that's a one-episode gag and not a recurring thing.
-Michael drops an interesting fact. "Any place or thing in the universe can be up to 104% perfect. That's how you got Beyoncé."
-If we don't see more of the restaurant, I at least hope we see more of Chef Patricia, a very intense woman who angrily yells positive statements and remarks ("Change the floor plan an hour before opening?! Of course! The more the merrier!").
-The other Eleanor's favourite meal was the hunger strike she went on to protest Bolivian sex trafficking so our Eleanor doesn't get a meal at The Good Plates.
-Michael reassures someone who fell in the sink hole. "Glenn, stay calm. We're gonna get you out of there. And we'll put your soup in the fridge so it won't go to waste. I know that may not be your number one concern right now, but-" "It was up there. It's real good soup."
-Jason has two questions about the ethics class. "When are football tryouts and does this school have a prom?" This won't be easy.
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