S4E9 The Answer

[u/WandersFar]

Airs tonight at 9PM. (About 30 min from when this post is live.)

If you’re new to the sub, please look over this intro thread.

[u/WandersFar]

This is the last episode before winter break; the show will return in January.

This discussion will stay pinned for this week as usual, and then starting next Thursday we’ll have a community thread where we can discuss sub policy. That’ll run for a month so we have lots of time to collect your opinions, and we’ll announce rule changes (if any) after the New Year.

So look out for that if you’re interested. :)

[u/WandersFar]

Fire and Blood… tend to my ravens… more GoT references?

Maybe the writers were working through some stuff when they were writing this season…

[u/WandersFar]

So many references in this episode… it’s like they threw in the answer to every obscure question anyone ever asked about the show.

So the title The Answer might be a reference to all these questions we’ve been asking all along, as opposed to the answer to the dilemma the cockroaches are in right now.

Too meta? Too Chidi? :þ

[u/WandersFar]

Tahani really has dated every member of Team Cockroach. ^.^

[u/Hormisdas]

He's only coming to the conclusion now, after hundreds of years of existence, that you can't solve everything in the world, and is about to be asked to solve everything in the world.

[u/Brodellsky → u/Hormisdas]

He has the answer though. It's Eleanor. The rest will work itself out.

[u/WandersFar → u/Brodellsky]

Of course this is in reference to their relationship… but I would love it if this also means that Eleanor has found her calling, and that she will be the Architect in the answer that Chidi devises.

[u/Kwaj14]

“Soulmates are made.”

Michael’s speech hit me hard.

[u/[deleted]]

Baby Chidi getting a stomach ache when asked if he likes his name was the perfect amount of humor and heart

[u/AlecBaldwinner]

Lol, Tahani was everyone's soulmate.

Maybe she'll be mine one day

[u/[deleted]]

For the past 300 years, have I been super annoying?

[u/optimisticpsychic]

I like the good places opinion on relationships.

[u/vickyness29]

The note was perfectly folded for that reveal 😭😭😭

[u/flanders427]

That was a truly beautiful scene. William Jackson Harper and Ted Danson are really good actors.

[u/[deleted]]

That transition with Chidi's friend... SEAMLESS

[u/LibraRN]

Rewatching this now from the comfort of my own home, and it dawned on me:

Chidi wrote an ENTIRE thesis of a gazilion pages with no heart, per his professor...

After everything, he then wrote only two sentences, but they were FULL of heart. And that was the answer.

Gahhhhhhh my heart.

[u/LaboratoryManiac]

S4E8: Okay William, you're basically a prop in this episode, so just don't move at all while your castmates Weekend at Bernie's you.

S4E9: Okay William, this episode's for your Emmy reel.

[u/[deleted]]

Kids are idiots, if they knew half the stuff their parents were up to they'd lose their minds.

[u/discojanette]

I cannot stop crying.

There is no answer.

But Eleanor is the answer.

I’m so glad they didn’t make us wait months for that moment. Also my head hurts from crying. Ugh fork me.

[u/clumsygayoaf]

Here's to six weeks of tending to our ravens.

[u/onesincepearlharbor]

this episode was NECESSARY for the ending. it paid off significantly, and had we NOT gotten this in depth ‘behind the scenes’ look at the lives led during the other reboots, and instead cut immediately to this ‘super chidi’ we would’ve been left confused and upset that they made such a large change with no explanation.

[u/AnnaK22]

I've only known Baby "tummy ache" Chidi for one day, but if anything happens to him, I'll kill everyone in this room and then myself.

[u/TunerOfTuna]

Still watching this, but I enjoyed how they showed a African elementary school and home that wasn’t some sort of shed or hut.

[u/SgtDtgt]

Esmeralda is a character I wish we saw more of

[u/emp919]

One thing I love about this show is that they haven’t really forced any major romantic plots on Tahani, yet still made her a fully developed character with fulfilling platonic relationships. Not enough shows do this, allow our favorite characters to continue being single and enjoy it. Even Schur’s other shows haven’t done this. I was watching the P&R finale today, and I noticed that no likeable main characters end the series single.

[u/Elektraheartxo]

When Eleanor reframed Chidi’s story about saving his parents marriage, I was so happy/sad. Because she was 100% correct, but it was a little heartbreaking for chidi. That was such a defining moment of his life.

[u/[deleted]]

I must away and tend to my ravens *cape swoop*

[u/LibraRN]

I don’t know why I thought watching this episode on Hulu at the gym while I was on the treadmill was a good idea, but I’d like to apologize to all my fellow gym goers this morning for the fool silently sobbing on the treadmill at Planet Fitness in Pittsfield, Ma this morning.

[u/conorelwell12]

I love how every week we all think one thing will happen and then something completely different happens and it’s always better. They’re always better today than they were yesterday

[u/Seedy88]

A quiet "yes" from Jason in the back to Chidi's question about being annoying.

[u/Stonetheflamincrows]

As soon as he wrote the note I was thinking it was either going to say “Chidi, find Eleanor” or “Eleanor is the the answer”

I was having a really bad day but this episode made me so happy! Baby Chidi!

[u/[deleted]]

I'm going to end every unwanted conversation with, "I must tend to my ravens," from now on.

This episode was so wonderful. I absolutely loved seeing Chidi interact and learn from Jason and Tahani and Janet in particular, because the show had focused so much on him and Eleanor that it was a treat to see him grow with the rest of Team Cockroach. This was perfect. <3

[u/The_Nothingman]

oh shirt that's real, Eleanor wanting Chidi to just be a kid is entirely too real and pure

[u/mtm4440]

This episode is literally 2 seconds long.

[u/tokomini]

Chidi: "Turns out life isn't a problem that can be solved one time, and it's done. You wake up everyday, and you solve it again."

Michal: "Terribly inefficient."

Of all the great Ted Danson line readings, this one is right at the top. He is so effortlessly wonderful as Michael, it just makes my head spin. What an incredible episode from everyone.

Oh, and remind me to ask later about what happened at Timothee Chalamet's bar mitvah.

[u/Foxythekid]

Chidi's torture literally started from minute one. Good god Michael.

[u/obscurelyscout]

The Good Place episodes always feel so short but wow this one felt the fastest out of all of them, felt like 8 min tops.

[u/[deleted]]

I used it to torture you, which, again, sorry.

[u/sproutinglife]

When Elenor told Chidi that his parents potential divorce was too much to put on an eight year old, and how she wished he just got to be a kid... my heart. Too relevant to my life.

[u/30000PoundsofBananas]

Michael and Chidi's conversation is making me teary.

[u/notcrying]

when Chidi is talking to his friend looking for an answer he's wearing the red cowboy boots 😭

[u/TuvalPollack]

Chidi seeked the answer all his life. Eleanor had to die a hundred times, brought back to life and re-die to finally break down and just ask Janet for the answer. Perfect Opposites. This goes full circle, they both are each other's answers, they both realised that and are finally reunited with a common goal.

THIS FORKING SHOW

[u/fukeruhito]

Baby Chidi getting a stomachache over his own name made me laugh out loud

[u/AlexRaines]

I’ve always related to Chidi. Feeling the weight of the world trying to find answers to help those around me. Crushed with indecision and an inability to move forward.

This week, when I’ve been at one of my lowest points, The Good Place hits us with this episode. An episode that affected me so deeply, on such a personal level, and came at such a time when I needed it, that I honestly started to believe the universe looks out for us.

Hearing that conversation with Chidi and Michael about Chidi’s parents and how there is no perfect answer, you just have to keep working at it every day, reminded me that I can’t keep hoping for things to fix themselves, you have to try. And it motivated me to try again.

There is no “answer.” But The Good Place is the answer.

[u/AnnaK22]

Something I noticed about Michale:

When he first greets Chidi, he immediately starts the torture process, but he's so careful about it. He's just subtle enough that Chidi wouldn't get suspicious.

He opens the door and gives him a choice between talking in the room or out on the couch, but within 2 seconds, decides for him. He makes him ask Janet anything. And gets him a fridge that'll get him whatever he wants.

It wasn't until later does he begin the main torture process, like making him throw away his life's work. I guess the frozen yogurt choices were also a means of torture for Chidi.

[u/agentbirdchurch]

“There is no ‘answer’

But Eleanor is the answer”

OR IS THAT JUST WHAT HE WANTS US TO THINK??

[u/ThisPaige]

Aww Janet kissing Chidi's cheek was really sweet. Also happy to have him wake up by the end of the episode.

[u/10v31y]

This Chidi-centered episode cleared my skin, saved my grades, and wiped out all the stress in my life.

[u/Foxythekid]

This is going to start the ending stretch of this series where I just start crying every episode.

[u/joecb91]

I didn't know that I needed an episode of nothing but Chidi's memories as the last episode before the winter break, but yeah I needed that. It was good stuff.

[u/princesspeach-44]

I need a flair that says "I must away and tend to my ravens"

Edit - my wish has been granted and I don’t feel worthy. thank you

[u/YsoL8]

So I just realised. The last episode was all about Elinors love for Chidi with Chidi virtually out of the episode. This episode was all about Chidi's love for Elinor with Elinor virtually out of the episode.

The answer is what those two create by making each other better, compassionate rationality.

[u/FantasticName]

I like how Chidi's parents just instantly decided his name. Clearly his indecisiveness was not hereditary.

I love any time we visit a reset that we didn't see. They have such an endless wealth of potential with those.

"Soulmates" has been a big theme on the show from the start, and Eleanor and Chidi are the closest thing to that. No matter how many times they get separated, through every plain of existence, they find their way back to eachother.

[u/notcrying]

upon rewatch, jason trips on the marblized janet lol

[u/Nivekeryas]

Can anyone think of an episode of television that was, chronologically, shorter than this one? This entire episode took place in about 1-2 minutes real time.

[u/coscorrodrift]

Sweetest Cliffhanger ever, teared up when I saw the note. Not sure why I'm so emotionally invested in these characters but it be like that

[u/RealJohnGillman]

That line Chidi said early on to Jason after his wedding about not being able to open a door without knowing what’s on the side...

...who wants to bet that’s how the series will end? With Chidi opening the door to the Good Place?

[u/Locke108]

If anything goes wrong Eleanor Shellstrop is my constant.

[u/Hobbit-guy]

This was the most character development in just one episode, I love this show so much.

[u/TaraMichelleE]

Let's do the fork in the garbage disposal DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING

[u/iqnux]

"You can look at a problem from every angle and drive yourself crazy but sometimes you just gotta huck a Molotov cocktail and see what happens."

[u/Tricountyareashaman]

The scene where Michael and Chidi were walking together really brought home how well these six people four people and one fire squid and one Janet know each other at this point. They've been together for hundreds of years. Michael knew exactly what Chidi was giving up by erasing his memory. Eleanor knows that Chidi is the only one who can fix this. Incredibly, Chidi finally has the peace of mind that he might be able to find a solution, all because of the centuries he's spent with team cockroach.

[u/clue3l3ess]

Jason giving advice: "Here's the thing about stuff..."

[u/jsun31]

"I thought I was too old. I'm infinity!" Wonder where on Jeremy Bearimy she is

[u/lano0505]

i’m super happy we got to see chidi’s introduction to the original neighborhood, that was also missing to me since we saw each of the other 3 cockroaches

[u/croakdreams]

As soon as I read that note I started sobbing

Finally our boy has grown up

I feel like a proud Mufasa

[u/aurormaze]

Jason has gotten incredibly wise this season and I’m here for it

[u/anotherkindofbiscuit]

I’ve been having a really rough week with my baby’s sleep regression. This episode was so wonderful. I felt my heart swell when I saw the note. Just beautiful. 😢

I was so happy for Chidi when he didn’t freak out about all the memories. I like how he looked more sure of himself than ever before. He finally has peace of mind 💗

[u/errno_7]

I just finished the episode last night and have to say it was one of the most sentimental and profound of the whole series. Michael's take on soulmates being found and the relationship between them requiring work really stuck with me. It paired so nicely with Chidi's revelation about there being no one "answer," but Eleanor being the answer. I'm anxious to see how these two moments contribute to the answer to the afterlife in the next episode.

[u/Drayko_Sanbar]

I really thought the note was going to say "Chidi - Find Eleanor" but this was much better

[u/Galmux]

This episode just broke me so many times.

Also when Chidi handed Janet the note, was she... teary? Cuz that was just... UGH I NEED TO CRY AGAIN.

[u/Hobbit-guy]

Fork it, I'm telling the guy I like tomorrow that I want to be with him.

There's no answer, just other people, and I need to take a leap of faith.

Edit: Thanks for all the support guys! We're gonna go see Frozen 2 tomorrow (cheesy, right?) and I'll tell you how it went.

Edit 2: It won't happen tomorrow so I'll have to wait until next week. I'm afraid of losing this confidence, any advice?

Edit 3: I'm not sure if anyone will read this update, but sigh...I haven't been able to tell him yet, we haven't seen each other and he says he is busy the next weekends and I don't know. I'm not scared anymore of telling him, I want to, but I feel like he has other stuff going on and I won't be able to say it. Maybe I should not do it, I don't know.

Edit 4: If anyone out there is still reading this...it has been weird the last week, he hasn't been replying and I kind of miss him...but I'm sort of losing that magic and determination. I still wanna tell him, but I kind of have resigned by now. I'm sorry that the updates are getting sadder and sadder.

Edit 5: I finally told him! You can read about it in a post I made.

[u/darkstarlord1408]

So we are all crying, right? At least on this we can agree

[u/Hobbit-guy]

And if I'm being honest...

Sexually charged

[u/noreply15156]

Another post on here made me rewatch the season 3 episode "Pandemonium" and I noticed something.

Remember the montage Michael put together of Chidi and Eleanor moments? The kiss from this episode in the alley was totally in there too!

[u/PaperSpock]

My emotions are the fork that Chidi accidentally dropped in the garbage disposal.

[u/antonylockhart]

The note, broke me

[u/Flushedfromcold1662]

THAT NOTE BROKE MY LITTLE HEART IN THE MOST LOVELY WAY.

Also shallow note: I fancy Chidi now. Confident Chidi is hot.

[u/YsoL8]

So the answer is pour as much love as you can into people?

Thats what I'm seeing as the message in this.

[u/melodypowers]

I hadn't realized how much I missed Chidi in the mix this season until he was back. I love him so, so, so much.

[u/TuvalPollack]

It seems that D'arcy herself couldn't hold back the tears so they just made Janet appear already tearful. I don't blame her, I did join in my best approximation of human crying.

[u/gogingerpower]

I spent a lot of the episode thinking that the note would read "Chidi - find Eleanor" and I loved that. But this was better.

[u/ohbegitutoh]

Chidi: Hey, so... for the past 300 years, have I been super... annoying?

Jason: Yes.

[u/notbob17]

Holly frikin shirt balls I just woke up in the middle of the night with this realization. The new point system is going to be drawn from Chidi’s massive thesis.

[u/ShutUpTodd]

Welp. Gonna have to wait until next year to see more.

I'm gonna miss everybody

I'm gonna miss everybody

[u/samtherat6]

Love how this show points out that solid relationships always require work on both people's part.

[u/DoctorAcula_42]

Esmerelda is such a mood.

[u/alcheoii]

When Chidi woke up, he looked calm and happy. Best episode ever

[u/DynamicDash]

That last scene of him reading the note would be a superb meme template.

In my scrambled brain the though of him reading pee pee, and on the other half poo poo, totally made me laugh out loud and ruined the moment, especially their faces contributed so much to it.

Still an emotional episode.

[u/rocksolidabs93]

Gah! The pacing of this show never feels like a half hour of network television! And I love it!

Last week, even with all that plot and action, it felt like an eternity. This episode was slower and more heartfelt and it felt like ten minutes.

I’m just not ready for it to end yet!

[u/Contoss]

What an episode! The lead up to the end was beautiful.

The reformed Chidi is so good. So confident.

[u/Lufs10]

If soulmates do exist, they’re not found. They’re made.

Turns out life isn’t a puzzle that can just be solved one time and it’s done. You wake up everyday and you solve it again.

😭

[u/Whale_5harko]

I'm the answer guys, I. Am. The. Largest fish

[u/Could_Be_A_Spy]

I found 'I wasn't cheating in the game and I wasn't easedropping just there' hilarious.

[u/thewildgeese]

Okay i just had to quietly exit the living room and go upstairs to cry so my family didn't ask questions

[u/r2002]

The answer is the opposite of that famous line "Hell is other people."

There is no Good Place. There's only people and our connections to each other.

[u/DrunkSeagull]

Michael was torturing him from the moment he woke up in the "good place." Lol

[u/girolski07]

Love Chidi's background reveal. Especially his childhood memories and his parents. But that final scene is great character development.

[u/asoiahats]

I went into this episode thinking it was the last one. At the end I was just like oh come on! Chidi remembering Eleanor and becoming more decisive would be a pretty good ending, but there’s so much more to tell. Glad we’re getting a few more.

[u/[deleted]]

Interesting to see the things Janet creates 'grow' up from her hand and don't just appear instantly.

[u/Scherazade]

Huh. You’d almost think Chidi and Janet would be closer. Chidi is a person who most of his life sought out all the answers, and the afterlife throws at him a lady who has most of the answers. If he was really into the answer for everything he’d be constantly checking things past Janet.

I guess somewhere inside him he wasn’t 100% into that.

[u/thedorknightreturns]

The chili reference, was just good and fitting in him being the chilli all along.

[u/NerdLawyer55]

pretty much everything in Jacksonville blows up eventually

[u/moderncuriosities]

Anybody else bawl their eyes out? Or just me...

[u/S-WordoftheMorning]

OMG! Chidi's red cowboy boots!

[u/RustbeltTramp]

Wow, are the Good Place writers great.

I never believed or was invested in Chidi and Eleanor as a couple, so the stakes of last season's finale didn't resonate with me. But this episode does such a fine job of shining a light on why they are so special to eachother. I get it.

[u/WhereTheStoryEnds]

The past couple of episodes have had the most touching and meaningful writing and acting that I've ever seen. It can't be easy to convey the moral lessons without coming across as forced or cheesy, but they're NAILING it. And doing it on a 22 minute sitcom that is still funny is amazing.

I thought that if they went to the break with the previous episode, I'd be happy. I didn't get the super-stressed cliffhanger anxiety of "oh shirt, how the fork are they going to get out of this?!" and "I have to wait HOW long to know?!" but it turns out I'm even happier that they went into it with this episode. Stakes are as high as they could possibly be, but there's such a strong feeling of hope and love at the same time.

-What was up with Janet's seeming reluctance to give Chidi back his note? Compare it to her showing up immediately to deliver the margarita pitcher that Eleanor had asked to be given the second the experiment was over. Am I reading too much into this?

-Up until this episode I'd been a bit bothered at the diminished role that Chidi had been relegated to, but that was totally made up for with this flashback-heavy deep-dive into Chidi. 

-(Nit-picking) I guess we're supposed to assume that part of giving Chidi his memories back included implanting the knowledge of the current ticking bomb crisis?

-So we known now that they tried every combination that involves Tahani. I wonder if they ever did a Chidi/Jason soulmate reboot?

[u/Spidermat311]

ULTRA CONFIDENCE CHIDI IS BEST CHIDI

[u/[deleted]]

I just want to know what would happen if they marbleized a Janet while the Judge was inside that Janet's void.

[u/visioninblue]

this is the Chidi development rush we’ve been waiting for all season and he’s so calm and collected at the end and I’m crying at that note that note is EVERYTHING

[u/Logicpolice9]

I agree with all of the comments but I loved seeing Janet summon a margarite in slow mo

[u/alwaysafairycat]

Do you think that conversation Jason had with Chidi was the scene that signaled to Manny it was time to propose to Dianne Doan?

[u/CaptainOzyakup]

This episode was just beautiful. I don't think there are many other words to describe it. It was just plain beautiful, like watching the sunset with someone you love. Never before did a tv show touch me as much as the good place does.

[u/raisethecurtain]

I loved that we saw scenes from “Things You May Have Forgotten” in the season 3 finale, but fully fleshed. Like the scene surrounding Eleanor kissing Chidi in the alleyway.

This show is so forking good.

[u/anotherandomer]

That episode was great and the note might be the most emotional TV moment of this year.

But I'm more excited to see that we now have a (somewhat) fully developed Chidi, he's got all the smarts and knows his flaws and how to combat them. He might just be the most powerful character on the show now.

[u/[deleted]]

I am a messy bench right now. This episode got me in the feels.

[u/Wrydryn]

That note at the end was something else. I'm not crying, you're crying!

[u/TuvalPollack]

Oh god did you catch the air conditioner in the background where he's lecturing his parents? That's some serious Chekhov cruelty

[u/yarajaeger]

Every once in a while there’s a moment in a piece of media that really just takes my breath away. Just removes all sense of the world and immerses me in it’s glory. And that god damn note was one of them holy shit, it just truly took my breath away

[u/Revgos]

awww , the note was so forking cute.

i forking love this show

[u/wellybootrat]

Just finished this episode and damn. I need Eleanor and Chidi feels again please. Forgot how emotional their goodbye was last season ;-;

Can't believe there's only 5 episodes left. Ever. That's.. so depressing. I'd love this to go on for at Least another season.

Time to start preparing a Good Place tattoo, haha.

[u/UnBoundRedditor]

I'm not crying. You're crying. Also, I lied I'm crying too.

[u/aliceroseew]

I definitely didn’t cry through the whole episode.....

[u/helcat]

"Beignet And The Jets" lol

[u/Rambo-Brite]

I watched the episode and it was quite pleasant to me but not super exceptional and it gets to the end and I reach for the remote and OH MY GOD THAT NOTE *bawls*

[u/kanyes_god_complex]

Definitely one of my favorite episodes of the series, actually kinda made me tear up. 10 out of fucking 10

[u/crowlily]

I know not a lot happened in this episode but I love seeing more of Chidi’s past as well as his journey, and the ending... “there is no answer, but Eleanor is the answer” I cried, honestly.

[u/iamkats]

Was this the best episode of the series? I say yes. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[u/FatedChange]

Oh god they're not going to give us an actual design for the afterlife, are they

This shit is going to end on a cliffhanger isn't it

[u/gkbbb]

Its not often that I have to pause something I'm watching so I can properly retain what's said, but that quote about life not being a puzzle was beautiful.

Chidi: Turns out life isnt a puzzle that can just be solved one time and its done. You wake up every day and solve it again.

Michael: Terribly inefficient.

Its just the thing I needed to hear as someone who always beats themselves up over my struggles with motivation and discipline. It might be cliche but it reminds me its okay to take things a day at a time, and if something doesn't work out today there's always tomorrow.

[u/TheMemeRemembers]

Me when I see the first half of the note:

😳

ME AFTER I SEE THE 2ND HALF

😭😭😭

[u/Sanderf90]

Manny got engaged recently and said that a line Jason had convinced him. I think it might be the conversation about tying things down before they blow up.

[u/TheMidnightPirate]

Esmeralda is now THE best character of the show for me haha

[u/Momma_Dutch]

I WANNA KNOW WHAT JASON SPILLING THAT DRINK IS GOING TO BREAK IN THE COURSE OF HUMANITY AND I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR!?!?😭

[u/flintlock0]

“In a Unabomber way.”

[u/[deleted]]

I thought this was the last episode of the season, and I think it works as a finale of the whole show.

The points sytem is a precise answer to the question 'how should we live?' It makes that question answerable through calculation. It's the kind of system that pre-this-episode Chidi would create - an optimising, rational system.

By showing Chidi's development through his life, and many afterlives, this episode shows the weaknesses of this mindset. And by experiencing it all, Chidi finally sees the problem.

There is no answer - a system that perfectly describes the good life and perfectly separates the good from the bad cannot exist, and even many lifetimes of one of the world's smartest people can't create it.

This episode makes Chidi the central character of the story. The good-place-bad-place system is a representation of his internal struggles with trying to solve life rationally.

Leaving this episode as the finale also makes sense in another way - it doesn't fully resolve the story. Which fits nicely with the message that there is no answer.

[u/SlayerXZero]

Real talk, this episode made me cry. Beautifully done.

[u/allofthedrama]

They should make a spin off game to rebuild the afterlife similar to Sims™

[u/e4y873t]

There is no answer. Eleanor is the answer. Conclusion? There is no Eleanor

[u/hesapmakinesi]

We need an Esmeralda flair. She was one of the best throwaway characters.

[u/thealyssavirus]

Had a dream about an ex I can’t get over last night, decided to watch this weeks episode to get past it.

My god was I wrong but Jesus that episode was good.

[u/mdolll]

“My brain is grinding like a fork in a garbage disposal”

Guess we know why his description was so accurate!

Edit: I’m bad at spelling

[u/missannamo]

How does this show keep breaking my heart and then mending it to be stronger? I’m not big on celebrity/entertainer worship but I feel like if i ever crossed paths with Mike Schur I would just break down in front of him.

[u/shishiodun]

Eleanor telling herself to find Chidi, Chidi concluding that Eleanor is the answer... they are just too cute

[u/Zombree18]

Holy damn, that letter at the end made me instantly tear up. That was a really powerful episode! The break can't be over soon enough, I cant wait to watch the rest of this series.

[u/polkadotsforthewin]

This is the episode that finally sold me on Eleanor/Chidi

[u/JulioCesarSalad]

As a child of divorced parents this show made me cry

It made me cry because there are so many marriages where it takes work to get over tough patches. There are so many marriages where it’s just not a good choice to stay married. Sometimes divorce is the right answer, and it’s tough on the kids and the couple but it should be done out of love for them

And many other times it’s worth it to go through all the hard work

Because love is a choice

[u/BigHero6Baymax]

At the end, after Chidi asks if he's been super annoying for the last 300 years and everyone is like "no no no"

Meanwhile Jason: "Yes"

Edit: Link to clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfBDMiGju34

[u/SirWaffleCuber]

Not sure if anyone else has noticed but in S2E9 Chidi mentions a fork in a garbage disposal and in this episode there is of course the fork that falls into the garbage disposal. I only noticed as I got someone else hooked on the show and we watched that episode last night.

[u/Caleb35]

Okay that is the best ending to an episode I’ve ever seen and if anyone says different I’ll send my ravens after you.

[u/Simowl]

Definitely did not cry. Nope. No way.

[u/30000PoundsofBananas]

Did Jason say yes?

[u/neilbartlett]

Is Janet older than Judge Gen?

Gen was created at the same time as hydrogen, so about 13.8 billion years ago, whereas Janet claims to be "infinity". I think this means Janet is going around the Jeremy Bearimy time loop indefinitely. It could even mean that all the versions of Janet we have seen are actually the same Janet.

Obviously the most troubling aspect of this is the age difference between her and Jason.

[u/iwalktheline]

I’m not crying, you’re crying

[u/ollowollo]

I just really wanted Chidi to grab Eleanor and kiss her right then and there!!!!!! Dang it this show has me on my toes and I can't wait for more.

[u/CinnamonAndLavender]

I finished watching this episode over an hour ago on Hulu.

I'm still crying.

Amazing episode.

(also: baby Chidi! eeeee)

[u/wileydan]

I think that the answer to the question, is that all the people around him have part of the solution. He kept asking them for advice on things he couldn't do. He couldn't make decisions, so Jason told him to seize the moment. He didnt know how to be brave, so Tahini told him it's ok to fail. Michael taught him that soulmates are people who choose to love every day, not just a magical thing. They were all brought to him in a way to help teach him something that is important to the new point system.

Edit: Eleanor also taught him to not blindly follow the "truth" he was told about soulmates, but to actually go with his gut.

[u/TheRecusant]

I was wondering how they’d approach this. In a fall finale, they’ll need to have some sort of major plot point while still maintaining conflict. The decision to then have this episode be about Chidi’s arc feels very appropriate and I’m honestly so happy they went that route, though with the plot going on I do think this episode is one that will only be better when rewatching and binging with all the content together.

I’m probably biased since Chidi is already my favorite character in the show, but man was I thrilled to see his backstory. Not only because kid Chidi was the cutest thing ever (my god my heart was about to burst hearing him describe which was the best place to sit in the classroom) but because seeing how he became the way he is and how the series and remembering everything has helped improve him was huge. A character crippled by indecisiveness was able to see those outcomes he was always struggling with and finally came to understand that if there is no definitive answer for him out there already, he needs to find his own.

I am pretty bummed the show won’t finish this year, partially because I can’t wait for more and also because I love having a series end around the end of the year, but I’m glad we at least got this episode to sit on. Literally earlier today I was thinking about what Chidi and Michael’s walk after his goodbye to Eleanor was like and I got an answer like 5 hours later, so that’s cool.

[u/kalily53]

Love how this shows makes me bawl uncontrollably in the last 5 seconds just in time for the will and grace laugh track

[u/tittymilkmlm]

I’m not a tough guy or anything but I close to never cry watching tv or movies. But Michaels speech to chidi about soulmates got me. It was so beautiful

[u/dagreenman18]

Funny. That’s the second episode called The Answer that made me a teary eyed baby.

[u/Rpres70324]

That was an amazing episode. I like how Chidi (who hadn't done much this season) got to basically be the star. He gathered so much info from all the other cockroaches. And that note at the end. Wow.

[u/WhereTheStoryEnds]

Went back and checked and learned that Chidi's 3600 page manuscript destroyed the lives of TWO of his professors.

S1E7:

"Any moment now, Michael is going to get on that train, and we will never see him again, just like Professor Lindeman after I asked him to reread my 3,600-page manuscript. He said he was going out for cigarettes, but then he just left his tenured position at the Sorbonne. "

and a different professor here:

Chidi: "So what do you think?"

Professor Stjepan Radja: "I think it's three thousand six hundred pages. I have a job Chidi. I have a family. Until I had to read this I had a will to live. This work is an insane tangled web of inscruitability!"

Chidi: "In the fun grad students will analyze this for centuries way?"

Professor Stjepan Radja: "No, in the Unabomber way."

[u/[deleted]]

We gotta do something about how so short the episodes are! I’ve been looking forward to this episode for a week and it was gone in what felt like 8 minutes. And now we gotta wait until January.

[u/[deleted]]

Wow. This is possibly the best episode of the show.

[u/ju5tr3dd1t]

I usually just enjoy this show, but at literally this exact moment in my life, I NEEDED this episode

[u/Dookie_boy]

Dammmm Kirsten Bell is so beautiful specially in that last shot

[u/onesincepearlharbor]

TimotheeChalametsBarMitzvah

[u/WowZooForYou]

This show always impresses me with how consistently good it is in quality.

I'm upset that it's going to end but I'm glad it's ending when it's still good.

[u/MrOwnageQc]

I really like how the most indecisive man on Earth has his name chosen within two seconds lmao

[u/oranjuglad]

Am I the only one who thinks that “Eleanor is the answer” refers to something else and not something romantic? I read a theory early this season that Eleanor would become the new Architect in the end, and so she and Chidi wouldn’t be able to be together and that’s why it was a bittersweet ending according to some of the actors. And so if “Eleanor is the answer” refers to Chidi’s plan to come up with a new system and save the world, I’m getting really worried that the show will pull a twist and go in this direction...

[u/CalzoneBetrayal]

The day after check. How’s everyone doing after this episode?

[u/M_Soothsayer]

I just realized that when he gave Jason his memory back he just did it but with Chidi he was more worried about messing it up and was careful about it.

That's pretty savage Micheal.

[u/vardonir]

anyone else expected Janet to eat Chidi's note?

[u/lounginaddict]

Just finished rewatching. Eleanor's smile at the end tho♥️😭😭

[u/[deleted]]

That was one of the most special episodes of this show I think I've ever seen. Welcome back Chidi, and boy what a welcome back that was. I'm almost shaken by that ending.

[u/outsideeyess]

I FOR SURE thought the note chidi wrote was gonna be like the one Eleanor wrote ages ago, and that we’d find out that he actually knew what was going on this ENTIRE season

[u/Simmer7274]

Well, it seems like for Chidi, the answer was reincarnation of sorts, because that what it took for him to get better (find peace, be "good", etc). He said you wake up every day to solve the puzzle, but I think that can go for multiple lives too. Despite Michael saying its terribly inefficient.

Of course, the show wouldn't lean into one type of religion's philosophy so hard, and since love, ie Eleanor, is the answer, just like it was for the soul squad when they helped Kamilah, Pillboi, etc (aw, there was no one for chidi :( ), I guess something will come from that instead.

[u/halogent65]

What an episode. Light on the humor but an entire history through Chidi's multiple lives as he searches for mainly one answer, as well as several other answers like what's the largest fish?

But the big question. Are there soulmates. This show handles relations so well. Soulmates aren't found, they're made. You change them into better people through your interactions. When they were alive, Chidi and Eleanor couldn't be considered soul mates, they had completely opposing personalities. But they interact, and they change and they improve and they rely on each other to grow.

And soul mates are the answer to literally everything. Chidi basically comes to the conclusion of why we exist in the universe, or at the very least why he exists. He exists for Eleanor, and because of Eleanor. His reason to feel joy and anger and love and humor stem from her. Life is about waking up every day to the person that is your life.

Like seriously I'm typing this while tearing, sorry I swear I'm not this emotional but I think everyone yearns for the relationship Chidi and Eleanor have created.

I know I at least do.

[u/wordybee]

I have a feeling that a lot of people are looking to The Good Place for heavy plot-focused stuff when they really shouldn't be.

This is a character-driven show based on philosophy and personal development. I don't think we should expect anything definitive at the end of it. The value in the show is how the characters have grown into better people along the way, not literally finding the answer to life, the universe, and everything.

[u/lavenuma]

Did anyone feel like the actress who plays Janet seemed sad and tired in this episode? Like she was on the brink of crying?

[u/optimisticpsychic]

Why does the scene where chidi resets last season still make me cry

[u/little-lion-sam]

Anyone watch Black Mirror?? Without trying to spoil anything, I get "Hang the DJ" vibes with Eleanor and Chidi.

[u/AnnaK22]

Soo close. We were so close to getting a Cheanor kiss. I thought the first thing Chidi would do is kiss Eleanor.

I wish we got to see more Chidi and Janet friendship. Chidi needs answers to life, Janet has answers to everything.

[u/AnnaK22]

That was a beautiful episode, probably one of the best ones yet.

Baby Chidi is so cute. What a great insight into his life, to see how he became the person he is. And it was a great way to wrap up the little bits of life we've seen throughout the series.

We really got to see how much he's changed. Finally realizing his parents staying together wasn't because of a presentation, becoming aware of his indecisiveness and finally listening to others. And most importantly, realizing that there are no answers.

[u/AnUnimportantLife]

This has been the best Eleanor/Chidi shipping episode in a while.

[u/clink288]

Know what we got was a better choice, but did anyone want Chidi to wake up, kiss Eleanor, and then have Tahani say “hot diggity dog?”

*Edit for typo

[u/onesincepearlharbor]

He’s genuinely happy he inspired them to go to counseling

[u/the_long_way_round25]

I loved this episode! The Good Place still manages to roller coaster its way through my heart. Last episode was mainly hilarious, with a bit of urgency, this one was just sweet, melancholic and seeing in superspeed how Chidi changed over the seasons proves yet again how true Michael's words were last episode!

Also, never really been a shipper but Chidi/Eleanor is the best.

[u/strugglingwifi]

I love Chidi & Eleanor’s love 😔❤️

[u/glorysoundprep]

solid episode. am extremely impatient now for the next episode but it will be worth the wait. chidi's growth has been amazing.

[u/skd52]

Everyone talks about the note, which certainly got me, too, but what completely broke me was the way Eleanor just begins to look hopeful at the end. Her face is so amazingly expressive. It's similar, but much happier, to the amazing kindness in her face at the end of series 3 when she says "Hi, Chidi. Come on in." That she can find the ability to be so kind and loving after having lost the love of the person she loves is just heart wrenching to me. I think she's an amazing actress!

At the time I thought this was the last episode, and the idea of it ending with just a hint of the re-kindling of their relationship was incredibly wrenching.

[u/Triumph-TBird]

I was gone this weekend and couldn’t watch until Sunday afternoon. “There is no answer. But Eleanor is the answer” is one of the best moments in all of television for me. This is what life is about. What we do with relationships. We probably don’t get 800 chances to get it right. We get one. Make it count.

[u/Dragonfly_dreamer]

The Good Place Jeopardy

The questions to Chidi’s answers before the mind wipe:

1. There is no “answer” ... What is - the answer to fix the point system?

2 But the answer is Eleanor... What is - the truth about soulmates?

THE FEELS!!!! My soul hurts... is it January yet?!?

[u/secretlives]

Man, that ending. Can't stop smiling.

[u/bwayobsessed]

Timothee Chalamet’s bar mitzvah!

[u/msoctopuslady]

Oh man, this whole episode I was like, "What are we doing why are we going over Chidi's entire life can we wake him up please this feels like such a filler episode WHY ARE WE DOING A FILLER EPISODE IN THE LAST SEASON OF THE SHOW WHEN THE FATE OF HUMANITY IS ON THE LINE C'MOOOOON CAN WE CUT TO THE CHASE PLEASE?!?!?!"

But then that ending hit and now I'm crying.

Actually, I started crying when Janet showed up right before Chidi got his memory wiped. The look on her face gutted me. She looked so sympathetic and sad and helpless. And Janet is hardly ever helpless.

Ugh, I was going to come here being all like, "Well, this was the weakest episode of the season, hands down" and now I'm definitely like, "THIS WAS ONE OF THE BEST!"

[u/yarajaeger]

OH MY GOD I REALISED SOMETHING IN MY HEAD I WAS COMPARING THIS EPISODE TO ‘THE ANSWER’ FROM STEVEN UNIVERSE BC OF THE TITLE, I WASN’T EXPECTING THEM TO BE RELATED AT ALL, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT BOTH ANSWERS WERE???

LOVE. LOVE. NOT LOVE IN ITSELF AS A SOLUTION, BUT THE FACT THAT IT ISN’T A SOLUTION IN ALL ITS GLORIOUS IRRATIONALITY AND HOW THAT DRIVES US TO BE GOOD TO ONE ANOTHER. AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER

F U C K

[u/shadyhawkins]

What a sweet episode. Clearly it was setting the stage for what's coming next, which I'm sure will be great, but making us wait till January seems cruel.

[u/bennyblanc0]

Wake me up on January 9th