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#IDK HOW THEY CAN SEE IT THAT WAY WHEN SHAWN WAS ACTIVELY WANTING MICHAEL TO FIGHT BACK
roominthecastle · 6 years
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A ‘bullet point text reaction’ post thing to the season premiere would be forking good. If you can spare the time in between all the rewatching and RL, which again might be messin with the rewatching. Ps. sexy librarian ftw.
Apologies for the late reply, anon, and thank you for the interest. I gave it a try but apparently I had a lot more rambling in me than expected, so I’m not sure how much the bullet point format will help. Still, I rolled w/ it behind the cut:
obv spoilers ahead for those who haven’t seen + it’s mostly Michael focused but who is surprised at this point? ok, here we go:
Yes. All hail the Sexy Librarian Guy! 👍
and his ~~flawless~~ Australian accent lmao. I am no native speaker but even I could hear it was just… delightfully off. I love this disaster zone demon so much.
and how pleased he was that Eleanor was pleased w/ that particular “intervention”. It’s a small but nice reminder of how making her happy makes him happy now. #oppositeTorturesRule
it’s a v small thing but I also loved the “fast food link”: Michael being ecstatic about the Pizza Hut/Taco Bell combo & Eleanor fantasizing about Chipotle during Chidi’s lecture on Aristotle. It reminded me of that s1 moment when she tells Michael about those Arizona churro dogs and they both just go ahhhhhhhh at the image + Judge Gen ofc (they love fast food in the afterlife)
also also the sweet ache of Michael being entangled in her ticker tape while insisting on nudgy-nudge-nudge her & Chidi together bc that’s how it should be is still pressing hard on my heart thank you v much
but
I think that being deprived of close contact w/ his humans is causing Michael to slide back into puppet master mode again. His motivation is different or “reformed” now (secretly helping instead of secretly torturing) but his methods, his itch to control everything (and failing), and the rigid focus on his goals are… not so much, imo, and I love it bc this is Michael: he is a nerd but also an idiot w/ Wile E. Coyote vibes. Janet tries to reel him in but she can’t. Eleanor was the only one who could control him and she was the only one whose advice he actively sought and listened to, but she cannot be there for him now, so yes, I am getting a lot of S1 vibes from this double ep complete w/ her unintentionally messing w/ his formula by not falling for Chidi & the arrival of Trevor. *rubs hands*
COCOONS
so many
so… squishy
and TODD! I never thought I would see him so soon but I was right: he is the best lava monster and fork you, Shawn, for being a jerk to him when he was nothing but supportive and even brought you guys Dunkin’ Spiders to snack on.
I love Shawn, he is the perfect baddie, and I love that we got another glimpse into how TBP operates w/ all their excruciatingly low-tech gadgets. It’s in sharp contrast to (even Michael’s fake) TGP where everything is so neat, efficient, and high-tech. It’s another nice reminder of how the torturers are also being made miserable in TBP in various ways. I can’t blame Michael for wanting to keep his failing experiment running as long as possible.
Judge Gen (who continues to be a delight and way too relatable w/ her binge-watching of media content) is so up to something, people. I cannot shake this feeling that this whole “Operation Resurrection” is not what it looks like on the surface at all. Maybe it’s an experiment within an experiment sort of deal. I mean, why does she trust Michael of all creatures w/ the monitoring duty at all?? She might be quirky but she is def not stupid. She must know he’s a natural rule breaker who’s incapable of sitting still for longer than 2 seconds and he’s not at all impartial here. The way she set this all up reminds me of the test she gave Jason, and Michael is already failing just like Jason did bc he couldn’t opt out of “playing” due to lack of impulse control and a massive personal bias regarding his favorite team, the Cockroaches. idk what this will mean long-term but I think he’s gonna be in a lot of trouble soon.
speaking of Jason and Michael: theirs is my favorite (sort of bonding) scene, hands down. Again, it reminded me of an early S2 moment when Jason stumbles on a brooding, lost Michael and tells him a dope story about his 60-person dance crew that unexpectedly inspires Michael to seek out Eleanor & Co. The situations are reversed here but it’s an excellent parallel, esp when you compare the two scenes and see the development in both characters and their relationship. Jason is a bit   more grounded and Michael is less dismissive and much kinder to him now. I also love Jason’s continued immunity to Michael’s b.s. It’s different from Eleanor’s (his is stupid-based and hers is about being smartbrained) but it works and pushes Michael to just level w/ him and the second he does, Jason becomes instantly receptive. It’s just a really really great character moment that also moves the plot, so it’s basically perfect. Also I think this is the moment when Michael is temporarily pulled from his puppet master mode due to being near one of his human friends again, and his other side peeks out as he lets himself rest a bit - it’s in his body language, too, as he leans back against the bridge railing and has a semi-honest chat w/ Jason.
Michael’s disguises are an eternal source of happiness to me. All of them (and based on promo pics, more is coming). I also love the way he approaches each human bc it is reminiscent of how he steered them during the reboots: to Eleanor he gave a small clue and just let her chew on it and work w/ it. W/ Chidi, he was more direct, posing as a wise helper/guide. W/ Tahani, he targeted her sense of self-worth. W/ Jason, he gave up after 5 seconds and just told him what he wanted him to do.
I doubt his aliases raised many eyebrows, tho, not in a universe where Simone has colleagues called Mrelk and Catapulp :D but Eleanor seemed to have a bit of a “hmm” reaction to the name of Dr. Charles Brainman, so… we’ll see.
Dr. Simone Garnett had probably the smoothest entry into an established character group, imo. I’m usually sensitive to changes like this but it’s like she’s always been here - another excellent casting choice right there. I am not gonna touch shipping issues, thank you, but I love how Simone’s presence, which is a lot of fun in itself, instantly enriched the landscape of relationship dynamics regarding the present, the future and also the past. I feel that every character combination exists somewhere in canon whether it’s explicitly on screen or not, and that’s just an incredibly freeing, resourceful attitude to have on a show w/ this sort of “multiverse” setup, imo. They have the premise, so why not milk its full potential? The writers use relationships as tools to aid character development, they have admitted as much already, and I am looking forward to seeing what other combos they have in mind and how they play out.
despite his limited screen time and despite him spending most of it being flat and emotionless, frog guy aka The Doorman managed to deliver the biggest punch in my heart w/ that reaction to Michael’s gift. I.crumbled. the way his flatness did when he saw the frog on the mug. Thank you, Mike O'Malley.
It’s probably a good thing that they are becoming buddies now bc w/ evil Trevor in the mix, Michael’s gonna turn that Earth entrance into a revolving door. Unless Judge Gen is onto him and steps in at some point. And I still don’t know how he will interact w/ the team now since they’ve all met him already and he was posing as a different person each time. And given his track record, whatever solution he comes up with, Eleanor will see right through him eventually anyway.
ok this is way too long already, so I’m just gonna say that I am very excited for this season, I love the new setup, I miss the fake Good Place but the university environment is growing on me fast, too, and just bring it, show, ok?
my body is ready
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torterragarden · 5 years
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The Good Place 001
Thank you for not sending me Mystic Messenger everyone always sends me that hghjdffghdkj (bet someone sends it to me now that I’ve said it tho lmao)
Favorite character: It’s very close between Eleanor and Chidi, but I think I like Eleanor a tiny bit more
Least Favorite character: There aren’t really any characters I actively dislike, aside from maybe like, Eleanor’s mom and Tahani’s parents + Kamilah, but since they’re all bit characters I don’t spare them a lot of thought in general and I don’t think of them in terms of my ��least faves”, if that makes sense? I suppose out of the more major characters, the one I like least is Shawn (though I do think he’s a fun villain)
5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Cheleanor, to no one’s surprise, and Janet/Jason who still seem to not have a ship name for some reason? We should give them a ship name. I don’t actively ship much else. I do enjoy Elhani but I wouldn’t say I’m super invested in it and uh… yeah I guess I don’t even have 5 ships in this show?
Character I find most attractive: All four of the humans and Janet are… really hot and my bi ass is getting attacked from all sides watching this show. Also I think Vicky is so beautiful tbh!! And Simone!! But this does say “most attractive” and not “hottest” or “prettiest” so, yeah the most attractive character overall to me is Chidi
Character I would marry: Chidi lmao
Character I would be best friends with: I could see myself being friends with Eleanor… after she’s changed for the better lmao
a random thought: There was probably a reboot where Vicky was Eleanor’s soulmate and that must have been hilarious
An unpopular opinion: I can’t think of one
My Canon OTP: Cheleanor, if only Michael Schur would lET THEM BE HAPPY FOR ONCE
My Non-canon OTP: Don’t have one
Most Badass Character: Eleanor! We stan an Arizona trash bag who can outsmart demons a hundred times over
Most Epic Villain: Don’t think I’d describe any of the villains as “epic” lmao but my favorite bad guy is Vicky for sure. She’s so stupid. I adore her
Pairing I am not a fan of: Idk
Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): I didn’t like how Kamilah’s resolution with Tahani was handled, because the way their relationship is portrayed in that episode was just… not what we saw of them earlier on? I get that their parents pitted them against each other but like, it was also abundantly clear that Kamilah was the favored child and she did benefit from that and the episode just forgets that? And I know Golden Child Syndrome is a thing and it’s not as good as it sounds, and if that was what they were going for with Kamilah then I would be a lot more forgiving but. Idk they kind of just, insisted that Tahani and Kamilah were getting the same harsh judgment from their parents and how nothing was ever good enough for them, but nah son that’s not what we saw in previous episodes. Tahani wasn’t good enough for them, while Kamilah got nothing but praise and treated Tahani like she was beneath her. They could have fixed this just by adding in a flashback where we saw that Kamilah got similar treatment to Tahani from their parents, but only when Tahani wasn’t around so she just never knew. Or like, maybe Kamilah tried to reach out to Tahani when they were young, only to be rebuffed and so that affected their relationship in a way Tahani hadn’t realized. There are ways they could have made Kamilah look sympathetic, but as it stands I was very unsatisfied with this because it felt to me like the actual problem wasn’t being addressed and honestly fuck Kamilah ¯\_(ツ)_/¯   (that got really long hfhd sorry. Also I disliked how Eleanor’s side of that episode with her mom was handled but this is long enough so moving on)
Favourite Friendship: All of team cockroach
Character I most identify with: I’m a lot like Eleanor lmao like, I don’t think I’m as bad a person as where she started thankfully but we are similar in that we have selfish tendencies, we hate being vulnerable and tend to cover our vulnerability and insecurity either with humor or by reacting aggressively to protect ourselves. We’re both blunt in the ways we deal with people but we’re also both loyal and kind to people we love we’re like scrappy little terriers idk. Also we’re both disaster bis and horndogs 
Character I wish I could be: I don’t really want to be any of them lmao
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