Line #8 Recap/TheGoodPlaceS1E11WhatsMyMotivation


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_good_place_s01e11_da1429bdea7822b5f6ba66c4c26c2f42_full.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:"Eleanor! Everyone hates you!"]]
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4	->''"Look, I know this is tedious, but holding a door for someone is three points, and if you do it for everyone in the neighborhood, then that's almost a thousand points for just a start. Besides, all the big ticket items are impossible, I'm afraid. It's not as if you could, you know, "sacrifice your life to save others" or "change the consciousness of a nation." Both of which I did, by the way. Such fun!"''
5	-->-- '''Tahani'''
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7	Tahani suggests that Eleanor be allowed to accrue points in the Good Place; starting at -4,000, she must exceed 1,200,000. She performs good deeds and recreates Tahani's welcoming party, winning over her neighbors with humor, but her score only increases when she advises Chidi to respond favorably to Real Eleanor's declaration of love. Eleanor learns that, since her motivation is self-preservation, her actions won't increase her score. She secretly plans to leave the Good Place to become a good person and her score reaches the target. Michael discovers both Jason's identity and his marriage to Janet, who has developed emotions and loves Jason, so Michael decides to reboot her again; Janet convinces Jason that they need to leave the neighborhood immediately, as she's afraid being rebooted will erase their newfound love. On their way to the train station, they run into Eleanor, who is eager to join once she finds out where they're going: a so-called "Medium Place".
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9	Flashbacks show that Jason suffocated and died in a safe while trying to rob a restaurant with his friend Pillboi, who was placed on probation and not charged in his death.
10	----
11	!!Tropes
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13	* BecauseDestinySaysSo: Eleanor reasons to Chidi that he should not overthink his feelings for Real Eleanor and just tell her he loves her because their relationship is literally "universe-approved." [[KarmicJackpot Giving him good advice earns her +20 points]].
14	* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Jason falls in love with Janet because she showed unconditional kindness to him throughout his time in the afterlife.
15	* BluntYes: Janet asks Michael if a Janet behaving against her programming is an error. Michael gives her one of these.
16	* CallBack: One of the complaints about Eleanor's misdeeds is that, during flying, the resident ran into a rotting turkey carcass, which exploded, which is something Michael mentioned at the time.
17	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Chidi doesn't realize that the note Real Eleanor left in his egg was from her.
18	-->'''Chidi:''' Thanks! I love you, too, egg!
19	* DidntThinkThisThrough: As Pillboi's arresting officer points out, the "plan" to rob the Mexican restaurant wasn't really much of a plan.
20	* DistinctionWithoutADifference: Jason wasn't a failed DJ; he was "pre-successful."
21	* FeetFirstIntroduction: How the judge is introduced when exiting the train.
22	* GrewBeyondTheirProgramming: Janet develops some emotions after interacting with and marrying Jason.
23	* HeroicSacrifice: Eleanor realizes she can't stay in the Good Place if she tries to stay in the Good Place. Giving up and volunteering to go to the Bad Place ... earns her a spot in the Good Place.
24	* HoldYourHippogriffs: A rather subtle one, but Michael tells Jason that he was "waiting for the sweet release of eternal extinction." This is based on the phrase "the sweet release of death", but it makes sense that Michael wouldn't say that, because he's an immortal being who can't die.
25	* LoveConfession: Real Eleanor confesses her love to Chidi via a note stuffed in an egg.
26	* MistakenIdentity: The reason given why Jason was mistaken for Jianyu was because the ''real'' Jianyu was in such a deep, meditative state that the CelestialBureaucracy [[ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated mistook him for being dead]] right around the same time Jason actually died. Not only that, but they possess the same IQ-level because Jianyu stopped learning at [[ManChild age 7]].
27	* NoodleIncident: When Tahani learns she has to prepare a party that will ensure Eleanor won't be tortured by demons forever, she declares "This will be the fourth most important party I've planned!" What those three more important parties could possibly have been about is never addressed.
28	* PaperThinDisguise: Pillboi's "safe installer" routine didn't fool the restaurant counter girl for a second.
29	* ProductionThrowback: Jason hides and dies in a safe made by the Swanson Safe Company, the name suggesting a connection to Ron Swanson from Michael Schur's previous series ''Series/ParksAndRecreation''. Though it's probably not canon, a later edition of the official podcast has Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson voicing an advertisement for the company.
30	* RunningGag: For whatever reason, Jason is convinced that Michael is Janet's father, and calls him "Dad" throughout the entire episode.
31	* StunnedSilence: Eleanor's "Pobody's Nerfect" phrase doesn't catch on immediately. There is a long moment of silence in the room before the mood shifts to laughter.
32	* StupidCrooks: Jason and his best friend Pillboi, who tried to rob a Mexican restaurant by locking Jason in a safe, having Pillboi install said safe in the back, then having Jason break out and steal the money. This plan was a complete failure, and resulted in Jason's death.

Context Recap / TheGoodPlaceS1E11WhatsMyMotivation