Line #18 Recap/TheGoodPlaceS2E06JanetAndMichael


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tgp_janetmichael.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:"They keep their Janets in a neutral pocket dimension beneath the shapeless time void. It's right next to Accounting."]]
3
4	->''"That's the good news. The bad news is, I seem to be losing my ability to sustain object permanence. So it's sort of a glass half full, glass stops existing in time and space kind of deal."''
5	-->-- '''Janet'''
6
7	Before he began creating his experiment, Michael stole a Good Janet from a warehouse in between the Good and Bad Places. Upon her activation, Michael told her he was a Good Place architect and they built their neighborhood together, with Janet oblivious to Michael's real intentions. Now, eight hundred and two pseudo-Good Place attempts later, Michael has to figure out why Janet is glitching. If this problem continues, it could get bad enough to threaten the stability of the neighborhood. Michael troubleshoots Janet while Vicky is distracted by torturing Chidi with needles. Janet's manual suggests the glitches are being caused by Janet lying. Initially, Michael blames himself for lying about the neighborhood's nature, but when a very bad glitching attack occurs while he and Janet talk to Tahani and Jason about their relationship, he realizes the problem is Janet's own subconscious lies - she isn't really happy for the couple because she retains her second incarnation's love for Jason. Janet advises Michael to activate her self-destruct mechanism; he makes excuses and ultimately refuses because Janet is his friend. Instead, they solicit Eleanor's advice. Eleanor successfully talks Janet through processing her newly acquired human emotions. Acting on Eleanor's recommendation of a rebound relationship, Janet creates a boyfriend for herself, Derek, who has no knowledge of anything and has an infantile state of mind.
8	----
9
10	!!Tropes:
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12	* BaitAndSwitch: Michael takes Janet's temperature, and says she's 99.7. That's roughly the average human body temperature...except, after a brief pause, Michael reveals that that's 99.7 ''trillion'' degrees. Michael then remarks that that's nothing too abnormal for a Janet.
13	* BizarreAlienBiology: Janet's internal temperature is 99.7 trillion degrees.
14	* BottleEpisode: The episode takes place largely in Michael's office as he attempts to diagnose why Janet is experiencing glitches.
15	* CannotTellALie: Janet has gained some slight capacity for this, but her programming can't allow her to lie without causing problems.
16	* ADayInTheLimelight: This episode focuses primarily on Michael and Janet, their history, and the creation of the neighborhood.
17	* DissonantSerenity: Janet has no problem with the fact that she'll have to be destroyed to preserve the cover. She even smiles while doing the ThroatSlittingGesture meant for herself.
18	* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Michael is unable to go through with destroying Janet, as he has come to genuinely consider her his friend.
19	* FirstFriend: Michael tells Janet that she's his oldest friend.
20	* FlashbackBPlot: This episode focuses on Michael's relationship with Janet, which includes flashbacks to some of their very first interactions.
21	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Another earthquake occurs when Janet lies to Vicky and says the reason for the glitches is because she tried to eat some frozen yogurt even though she can't eat. Later, it's revealed the reason for the glitches is that Janet is saying untrue things.
22	* FriendshipMoment: The heartwarming moment when Michael realizes that he cannot kill Janet.
23	* GoodCannotComprehendEvil: With a dash of EvilCannotComprehendGood. Michael stole a Good Place Janet by simply walking into the storeroom and taking one. Apparently, the Good Place architects really are that trusting, while the other Bad Place architects are astonished when Michael tells them.
24	* GoodHurtsEvil: Michael couldn't use a Bad Place Janet in his neighborhood because it goes against a Bad Janet's programming to be helpful. When he demonstrates this on one, the Bad Janet melts and collapses into herself.
25	* GoodIsDumb: Michael's explanation for why it was so easy for him to steal one of the Good Janet from right under the Good-Place people's nose.
26	* GrewBeyondTheirProgramming: In addition to understanding and expressing emotions better, Janet had also genuinely fallen in love with Jason and the reboots didn't completely erase those feelings, so seeing him with Tahani has led to her becoming jealous. Not only that, but Janet has gained the ability to lie (both consciously and unconsciously); however, this causes her and the Neighborhood to glitch whenever she does it since it runs contrary to her programming. She's also so advanced she can create a person (Derek), which should be impossible.
27	* InOneEarOutTheOther: Michael runs a diagnostic check on Janet, at one point shining an otoscope into her ear. The light shines out through her opposite ear as if refracted through a prism, lighting up the wall in red, blue, etc.
28	* ItIsDehumanizing: Vicky refers to Janet as if she is an object, calling her "it" and "these things", in contrast to Michael, who now considers Janet his friend and uses "she".
29	* LetMeGetThisStraight: Said by Eleanor after Janet has told her offscreen to convince Michael to kill her.
30	* LiteralMinded: Jason tells Michael that he and Tahani only sleep together after they are done having sex.
31	* MandatoryLine: Since this episode primarily focuses on Michael and Janet, the other regular characters each appear in only a single scene. Jason and Tahani's scene leads Michael to realize that Janet is lying about being okay with their relationship due to her own feelings for him. Eleanor's scene sees her give advice to Janet on how to get over Jason, resulting in the creation of Derek. Chidi's scene has little impact on the events of the episode or series, as he just shows up to ask why Vicky is putting needles in him, and why he wasn't informed of this development.
32	* NameAndName: "Janet and Michael," the title.
33	* OriginsEpisode: This episode focuses on when Michael and Janet first met, and subsequently Janet's first moments in existence.
34	* PleaseKillMeIfItSatisfiesYou: Janet asks Michael to self destruct her and replace her with a new Janet to fix the glitches. She even advertises herself as being high in potassium when the manual mentions that one can eat her marble form if they so wish.
35	* ReallyWasBornYesterday: Janet's newly created rebound boyfriend is like a baby (though he can speak and articulate himself on an adult level).
36	* RussianReversal: "This is a human problem, so we need to consult our most problematic human."
37	* ShoutOut: Eleanor suggests Janet listen to Music/NoDoubt to get over her ex.
38	* SimpleSolutionWontWork: Shawn asks Michael why he went to the trouble of stealing an actual Good Janet for the experiment when they could have just had a Bad Janet disguise herself. Michael immediately summons a Bad Janet to demonstrate why this won't work: being friendly and helpful goes against Bad Janet's programming, and when she forces herself to do it anyway, it causes her to literally ''melt''.
39	* TakeThat: In a flashback showing how he designed the first neighborhood, Michael asks Janet what kind of food people say they like but is really a bummer. She conjures a cup of frozen yogurt.
40	* VoidBetweenTheWorlds: The Good Place keeps their Janets beneath a "shapeless time void." It's right next to Accounting.
41	* WhiteVoidRoom: Where new, unactivated Janets come from.

Context Recap / TheGoodPlaceS2E06JanetAndMichael