The Good Place season premiere recap: Season 4, Episode 1, “A Girl From Arizona,” Aired Sept. 26, 2019
Oh, my chili babies! It feels good to be back!
I’m so nervous for Team Cockroach, and I’ve absolutely not had enough time to get over the Chidi/Eleanor memory erase from last season yet.
Regardless of the many, many feelings, I am pumped to be here for a whole new season, even if it is the last. Get ready, benches.
“Jeremy Bearimy, baby”
We open with Eleanor showing Chidi, who can’t even remember her name (!), the neighborhood in her role as architect. He’s delighted by everything she shows him, and she just has to watch him as he’s blissfully unaware of their history. She pretends not to be bothered, but she’s definitely upset.
Also in the neighborhood, Simone, the neurologist, refuses to believe the neighborhood and its inhabitants are real, and there’s no way she’ll become a better person unless she accepts it. Team Cockroach’s solution? Introduce her to Chidi, which makes sense, but Eleanor is not happy about that for obvious reasons. At the end of the episode, Simone is still acting out and trying to rationalize her experiences. If anyone can help, it’s Chidi.
Linda and Brent
The neighborhood’s newest humans are the unbelievably boring Linda and the incredibly racist/sexist Brent. Everything that comes out of Brent’s mouth is offensive. And Linda – well, at Tahani’s suspicion, no one can figure out why the Bad Place would send such a dull human to them, but after trying to push her to do literally anything fun, we find out Linda’s not that boring after all. In fact, she’s no human at all; HE’s a demon in disguise.
As punishment for the Bad Place cheating, Judge Gen decrees that Chidi will be the fourth human in the experiment. Things just got even more interesting.
Booyah!
With the four new humans in the neighborhood being challenging, things look doomed for humanity. But with the loss (good riddance) of Linda and the new development in the experiment, things might be turning around. It won’t be easy, but Michael fully believes in his team.
Judge Gen told Shawn to keep the Bad Place out of the experiment, but something tells me we haven’t seen the last of them. Michael may be feeling inspired, but he’s not the only one. Oh, and by the way, the official Bad Place song is the Kars 4 Kids song, which makes me all:
The weirdo in the tux
Derek is after Janet. Jason tries to make a truce with Derek, and Derek is not into that. He wants Janet all to himself.
So Jason’s solution – just kill Derek. Easy enough. However, Janet is less than pleased, as Derek’s murder only gives her more to do. She’s already running the neighborhood, its residents, and catering to the humans’ (mostly Brent’s) requests. On top of that, she also has to do whatever Eleanor and Michael need. So, yes, Jason, the boyfriend/not-a-girlfriend talk will have to wait.
Oh, and this is absolutely my new favorite gif.
Well, The Good Place season 4 premiere was eventful. We learned a lot. Things are looking bleak for Team Cockroach with their new humans, but there is hope. As Shawn pointed out, we already know Chidi is capable of becoming a better person. Maybe, just maybe, the four new humans can find their way together and become better people. I see an interesting season in our future. See you next week!
What did you think of “A Girl From Arizona”? Let us know at @PureFandom on Twitter!
The Good Place airs Thursday nights on NBC at 9:00/8:00c.
(Image: Colleen Hayes/NBC)
