Line #26 Recap/TheGoodPlaceS2E10RhondaDianaJakeAndTrent


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rhondadianajaketrent.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:"Pass the NASCAR ketchup!"]]
3
4	->'''Eleanor''': So you can’t even lie to demons? They’re trying to torture us, man! We’re behind enemy lines!\
5	'''Chidi''': Well, principles aren’t principles when you pick and choose when you’re gonna follow them!
6
7	Michael formulates a plan for Team Cockroach to reach the Judge of the afterlife -- the humans hide out in Bad Place headquarters as Michael attempts to get pins that will allow their passage through the portal to the eternal judge's office. Unfortunately, their arrival coincides with an event at the Museum of Human Misery, so the foursome must socialize among the demons to keep from being discovered. Eleanor ("Diana"), Tahani ("Rhonda"), and Jason ("Jake") have a relatively easy time of it, but when Chidi ("Trent") is mistaken for a top torturer by a real demon, he has trouble compromising his moral principles and lying his way out of the situation. Janet (masquerading as a Bad Janet) manages to gather the team just as the museum's newest exhibit is revealed... robotic versions of the humans of Neighborhood 12358W.
8
9	Meanwhile, Michael attempts to wrangle the pins out of Shawn under the pretense of putting together a team to go to Mindy St. Clair's place, but is unsuccessful -- instead, Shawn has already broken the rules and sent a team to the Medium Place, only to realize that the humans aren't there. Realizing that Michael has betrayed them, Shawn finds Michael and the humans in the museum just as the other demons have realized that Rhonda, Diana, Jake, and Trent are the actual humans. Jason makes a Molotov cocktail and the team makes a break for it.
10
11	At the portal, Michael realizes that he was only able to steal three pins. He puts his own pin on Eleanor and pushes her through just as Shawn and his goons catch up to him.
12
13	!!Tropes
14	* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Eleanor chuckles when the museum's Chidi robot questions its own existence and complains its stomach hurts, citing that the real Chidi has actually said all those things before. When the Eleanor robot talks about how it mocks others to distract from the emptiness inside, the real Eleanor calls it a "fair hit". Jason likewise finds his own robot hilarious.
15	* AssShove: Implied by Michael when Tahani decides her character is from the department of shoving hotdogs into people.
16	--> '''Tahani:''' Ooh, stuffing people sounds fun. Is that like shoving them into the throats of vegans?\
17	'''Michael:''' Yes... ({{Beat}}) Throats.
18	* BadBadActing:
19	** Janet masquerading as a Bad Janet is hilariously terrible, as her [[BigStupidDooDooHead insults are lame]] and she fails at being mean. Justified as it goes against a Good Janet's very nature to try and be mean.
20	** Tahani's attempt to be American Rhonda includes asking someone to pass the NASCAR ketchup.
21	** Janet gives Jason a briefcase to help with his disguise, then immediately takes it away when he holds it up and says "Take my credit card to the hedge fund. I'll meet you at the martini store."
22	* BaitAndSwitch: Jason asks Michael if the human torture museum has a gift shop. Michael scoffs at such a ridiculous question, and tells Jason that this is hell. So, yes, of course there's a gift shop.
23	* BrickJoke:
24	** Eleanor asks early on if Chidi's anxious because he lost his lucky bookmark. It might sound sarcastic, but when they're stuck at the party, Chidi takes out said bookmark and begins playing with it.
25	** Michael puts on a body spray that makes you smell like how the ''Transformers'' movies make you feel. Later when Michael meets up again with the four humans, Eleanor recoils and asks "Ugh! [[TastesLikePurple How do you smell loud and confusing]]?"
26	** In the season premiere, Hawaiian pizza is the food of choice in the fake Good Place, and Angelique rhetorically wonders what pizza they have in the Bad Place. Turns out it's Hawaiian.
27	* CallBack: Michael, pre-HeroicSacrifice: "I just solved [[Recap/TheGoodPlaceS2E05TheTrolleyProblem the Trolley Problem.]]"
28	* TheCameo: Dax Shepard (Kristen Bell's real-life husband) plays Chet.
29	* CharacterDevelopment: Michael shows how much he's changed due to the humans' influence. For the first time since starting his neighborhood, Michael fully immerses himself back in true Bad Place culture, and the contrast is apparent. He's uncomfortable in the place he's worked in for eons, and wants nothing more than to just save the humans. The standout moment showcasing his growth is his HeroicSacrifice.
30	* ChekhovsGag: One of the longest setups in the series finally pays off. Jason has been trying to get out of problems by throwing Molotov cocktails since his first flashback episode, and even claims at the start of this episode that Molotov cocktails were helpful to him on Earth. Here, Jason uses a Molotov cocktail to escape from Shawn, making it the first instance in the series where Jason's Molotov cocktails were actually useful.
31	* {{Cliffhanger}}: The episode ends with the humans having passed through the portal, with Michael and Janet still stuck on the other side in Bad Place HQ, [[BolivianArmyEnding Michael himself having been caught by Shawn and his forces, his ruse exposed]].
32	* ConditionedToAcceptHorror: PlayedForLaughs when Michael runs into a friend of his named Lance. "Lance" is this disgusting slug monster that's covered in pustules and has multiple gaping, toothy, slobbering mouths, yet a Bad Place demon looking like this is apparently so normal that Michael doesn't even bat an eye. Instead, he makes a friendly, teasing quip at Lance and even tells him that he's "looking good, buddy."
33	* DamnYouMuscleMemory: Janet is so used to obeying any order given to her that, even when specifically instructed to act like a Bad Janet, she instinctively produces what she was requested to.
34	* DressUpEpisode: The humans wear vintage clothes to disguise themselves as demons.
35	* {{Eagleland}}: Tahani's American accent is believable, but her disguise falters slightly when she says exaggerated phrases like "pass the NASCAR ketchup" and saying alright like "a'ight."
36	* EasyRoadToHell: Best exemplified in the Wing of Low-Grade Crappiness, where there are displays that show things like white people wearing dreadlocks, calling Ultimate Frisbee "Ultimate", and flossing in an open plan office.
37	* ExactWords: While masquerading as a demon, Chidi is careful to word his responses so he's not ''technically'' lying. A notable example is when a demon asks him if he's Trent, to which Chidi, with hesitation, answers "Who else would it be?"
38	* FratBro: Many of the Bad Place male demons act like these.
39	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: When Chet introduces himself at the demon party, a [[CallBack jazzy instrumental version of "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer"]] is playing in the background.
40	* FunWithAcronyms: There's an IHOP in the Judge's zone.
41	-->'''Michael''': No, sorry, uh, in this realm IHOP stands for Interdimensional ''Hole''... of Pancakes. You don't really eat these pancakes. It's more like they eat you.
42	-->'''Jason''': Okay, I'll get eggs then.
43	* GoneHorriblyWrong: Eleanor pairs Chidi up with Jason so his unearned confidence would speak for the both of the both of them. However, they run into a trio of fratbro demons who claim to recognize "Trent" and ask him for help with torturing somebody. Jason manages to stall them as much as he can with his own idiotic opinions and experiences, but it all ends on Chidi towards the end.
44	* GoshDangItToHeck: Averted for the first time as the real Bad Place doesn't have the same restrictions as the fake Good Place did, so the words "ass", "bitch", and "hell" are said without any alterations. Eleanor is very happy she can curse again.
45	* GroinAttack: Played for laughs. Punching each other in the groin is standard practice among Bad Place douchebros.
46	* HeroicSacrifice: Michael is only able to steal three Bad Place pins that will allow passage through to the judge's office. Chidi, Tahani and Jason go through first, leaving Eleanor and Michael at the mouth of the portal with Shawn and other Bad Placers right on their tail. Just as they're about to catch up Michael, takes his pin, puts it on Eleanor's lapel and shoves her through the portal.
47	-->'''Michael:''' I solved the Trolley Problem.
48	* HiddenDepths: Eleanor is surprised, and a little jealous, that Tahani is able to put on a perfect American accent while posing as a demon. Tahani is the only one who doesn't have trouble blending in with the crowd until they're busted.
49	* HonorBeforeReason: Chidi's rigid belief in his absolutist principles really puts him at a disadvantage in the Bad Place where he will not go against the philosophy that lying is always wrong, even when not doing so means he could be discovered and captured. Luckily, Eleanor snaps him out of this way of thinking by reminding him that this kind of rigidity is what got him sent to the Bad Place to begin with.
50	* InterruptedIntimacy: Implied, a Bad Place black ops team arrives at Mindy St. Clair's place, only to find her (somehow) in the middle of sex with Derek. We only hear their voices, though. And Derek's wind chimes.
51	* MistakenIdentity: A demon mistakes Chidi for an old co-worker named Trent. Not wanting to be exposed, Chidi has no choice but to play along.
52	* NonAnswer: Michael tells the humans to hide out in the Museum of Human Misery and Tahani asks where they are. Michael evades the question by saying it's a "place, an area or a location. It's pretty straightforward."
53	* NotHelpingYourCase: Tahani's Bad Place Museum copy does the exact kind of name-dropping Tahani does all the time, and then mimics Tahani's response for good measure.
54	-->'''Tahani Dummy:''' I'm Tahani Al-Jamil, a vainglorious attention seeker with enough jealousy to power Elon Musk's underwater mansion. Which I've been to, by the way.
55	-->'''Tahani:''' ''(under her breath)'' I have, actually. It's remarkable.
56	-->'''Tahani Dummy:''' It's remarkable.
57	* OhCrap: Michael's reaction when Shawn reveals A) he's sending a strike team to Mindy's and B) the demons are going to hang out at the museum where the gang are hiding.
58	* PerfectDisguiseTerribleActing: Janet looks identical to a Bad Janet with the outfit, but it's hard for her to act like one.
59	* PokeThePoodle:
60	** Janet's attempts at playing a Bad Place Janet come off as this. Her insults are [[BigStupidDooDooHead quite tame]], and when Janet practices with Michael and Tahani she can't help but fulfilling any requests made to her. After Tahani asks for a glass of water, Janet's voice quivers and she calls her a "dumb person," blatantly hiding a cup of water that she produced on instinct (and a backup glass as well).
61	** The part of the museum where Michael hides the humans is dedicated to "low-grade crappiness" like flossing in public. It's a good place to hide since most demons don't come there, finding the parts dedicated to more meaty evils more fun to visit.
62	* RevealShot: When Micheal is running through the halls, offscreen a friend of his calls out to him. Michael slows down and greets his friend Lance. The camera then expands to show that Lance is a several-dozen-foot tall pustule-covered slug.
63	* RussianReversal: When Jason says he's gonna order the Rooty Tooty Fresh 'N Fruity in IHOP of the Neutral zone, Michael warns him that in their realm, IHOP stands for "Interdimensional Hole of Pancakes". You don't really eat these pancakes. It's more like they eat you.
64	* SequelSnark: As a FreezeFrameBonus, there is a film poster for "Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean 6: The Haunted Crow's Nest or Something, [[FranchiseZombie Who Gives a Crap.]] Now playing everywhere FOREVER."
65	* ASimplePlan: Michael's idea was actually not bad. He had the gang disguised and hang out at the museum where no one visits. He would then head to get four pins, figuring Shawn would be distracted by the long process of trying to "extradite" the humans. Sadly, he doesn't realize first that Shawn has no intentions of adhering to a legal process and instead is just raiding Mindy's immediately. He also doesn't know the museum is about to have a new exhibit devoted to the neighborhood and thus will be packed with demons.
66	* SkewedPriorities: Downplayed with Eleanor and swearing. "Still glad I can swear, but everything else about this ''sucks''.".
67	* TakeThat:
68	** A jab towards Creator/JohnnyDepp by name-dropping Tahani: "Well, hang out with Johnny Depp long enough, and you become pretty good at lying. Like, 'No, your whole thing isn't exhausting at all.'"
69	** Negative shout-out to the ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' movies in the form of an AXE brand deodorant that makes you smell "like how the Transformer films make you feel".
70	--->'''Eleanor:''' Why do you smell loud and confusing?
71	*** Doubles as a take that against AXE.
72	* TastesLikePurple: The new AXE body spray smells like a Transformers movie: loud and confusing.
73	* ThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow: Michael sticks the humans in the Museum of Human Misery's wing of Low-Grade Crappiness, saying it's the least horrifying room. He warns that they not leave the area because they might see things that will haunt them forever.
74	* ToBeLawfulOrGood: Again, Chidi is forced to confront his hatred of lying despite the danger they are in. Eleanor posits Jonathan Dancy's philosophy of moral particularism as a counter-argument, saying no action is universally good or bad and that the morality of the actions you choose depend on the context of the situation.
75	* {{Touche}}: Tahani has this response when she sees and hears the Animatronic of her. She admits she has been to Elon Musks's underwater mansion, as it claims.
76	* TrillingRs: When Chidi finally gets into his Trent persona, he does this.
77	-->'''Chidi''': That's what you get for questioning Trrrrrrent! The ''torture master''!

Context Recap / TheGoodPlaceS2E10RhondaDianaJakeAndTrent