S2E13 "Somewhere Else"
The first few minutes of the season finale provides some twists. First, Janet professes her love for Jason. Then, Chidi makes a sudden decision and kisses Eleanor. Both of these developments are sure to provide interesting story material, but at the moment another twist completely changes the episode. Michael convinces the judge to do something huge, the four humans are sent back to their lives on Earth, to see if they would improve.
When Eleanor is saved from being hit by the line of shopping carts by a mysterious stranger, she decides to live her life differently. She's going to be good. But, she discovers that being good isn't as easy as it seems at first. Kristen Bell gives a wonderful performance as things get worse for Eleanor, and she tries to continue to be good. Eventually, Eleanor abandons her do-good mission, going back to her old ways.
Michael watches Eleanor's progress, and then regression, and decides to intervene. In a clever move on the show's part, Michael plays a bartender, who talks about philosophy to Eleanor. The combination of this and a Facebook memory prompts Eleanor to look up a phrase that Michael mentions, leading her to Chidi.
I didn't really focus on the comedic aspect of the episode, as it really wasn't the focus this week. But, the episode still was funny. Maya Rudolph was excellent again. There were some great jokes at the beginning as well, such as Jason commenting on his childhood and Eleanor commenting on the voice inside Tahani's head.
Kristen Bell really got a chance to shine in this episode, with the episode focusing on Eleanor. I do wish that we had gotten a little bit from the other humans on Earth though (not counting Chidi at the very end). The new direction for this show, which will likely be what season three focuses on, is really interesting, but I have two concerns. The first is what Janet will get to do. D'Arcy Carden is incredibly talented, and it would be a shame to get very little of her. The second is what the show does next. If the humans succeed, they go to the good place, if they fail, they go to the bad place, and there doesn't seem to be any way of preventing that anymore.
Score: 9.5/10
What did you think of "Somewhere Else"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!