- ❝ Tahani might be a little British and condescending at times, but she devoted her entire life to helping other people. She's a good person. Accept that. ❞
- —Chidi, to Eleanor
Chapter 3: Tahani Al-Jamil is the 3rd episode of Season 1 of The Good Place.
Plot[]
Chidi begins formally teaching Eleanor ethics. The first lesson is to be kind to your neighbor, which Eleanor loathes to do considering her distaste for Tahani. Michael and Janet help to find Chidi a new, exciting hobby.
Summary[]
Eleanor suspects Tahani may have written the note telling her she doesn't belong in the Good Place, especially because she's annoyed by Tahani's condescending and haughty attitude. She is determined to prove Tahani has some dark secret and believes Tahani isn't as good as she states to be. This attitude is a holdover from a belief she held in her life that everyone is out for themselves and has some ulterior motive, which she expressed once to her then-boyfriend Sam. Sam was a kind and understanding person who always made a conscious effort to be good, but Eleanor believed that being good was pointless and too much work in a world full of bad things and bad people. Sam nevertheless believed that the effort itself was still important. This difference in philosophies later led to them breaking up. Ultimately, Eleanor accepts that Tahani is genuinely good and begins to form a real friendship with her, comforting her over her dissatisfaction with Jianyu's continued vow of silence.
Michael tries to get Chidi to take up a hobby, but Chidi only wants to work on his book about ethics. It's 3,600 pages long, and Michael gave up halfway through trying to read it, calling it convoluted, messy and confusing. He agrees to become Chidi's advisor.
Janet cycles through a series of bizarre personalities and spouting off strange "fun facts" (such as the fact that Christopher Columbus is in the Bad Place for committing genocide against the natives of the island he landed on) as she's being reprogrammed to act more human. These are listed and described in the “Janet Personalities” section.
Michael recruits Eleanor to help investigate the problems in the neighborhood. Later that night, Eleanor gets another letter from the person who knows her secret, telling her to meet with them in a secluded area in the neighborhood. Jianyu is revealed to be the one who wrote the note; breaking his vow of silence, he confronts Eleanor, speaking to reveal that he knows she doesn't belong... and then he reveals he doesn't belong in The Good Place either.
Janet Personalities[]
These are the Janet personalities in Chapter 3, listed by the order they appear in the episode.
- Casual Janet - This Janet is characterized by small talk and casual expressions.
- “Been there, brother.”
- ”Workin’ hard or hardly workin’, am I right?”
- ”Hump day.”
- ”I’ll have what she’s having.”
- ”Not if I see you first.”
- ”Where’s the beef?”
- Fun Fact Janet - Fun Fact Janet spouts off fun facts related to words or phrases said by other people.
- “Fun Fact: Columbus is in The Bad Place because of all the raping, slave trade, and genocide.”
- ”Fun Fact: All deceased members of the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team are also in The Bad Place.”
- ”Fun Fact: A “wheelhouse” is a part of a boat.”
- ”Fun Fact: Janet is me.”
- Seductive Janet - This Janet uses innuendos and is generally seductive.
- “I’m loving that hat on you. It would look even better on my floor.”
- ”I got something you can slip into.”
- Cruel Janet - Cruel Janet is stiff, blunt, and rude.
- “Don’t be a baby.”
- ”Watch, I’ll blowtorch your face off.”
- ”Whatever. This whole thing is stupid.”
- ”It’s a mess, dude.”(in response to Chidi’s life’s work)
Cast[]
Kristen Bell as Eleanor Shellstrop
- William Jackson Harper as Chidi Anagonye
- Jameela Jamil as Tahani Al-Jamil
- D'Arcy Carden as Janet
- Manny Jacinto as Jianyu Li
- and Ted Danson as Michael
Guest Starring
- George Basil as Andy (flashback)
Co-Starring Cast
- Drew Brooks as Samuel (flashback)
- Sandy Cevallos as Cualli
- Josh Siegal as Glenn
Trivia[]
- Tahani constantly name-drops. In this episode she mentions Baz Luhrmann. Also mentioned on her diary were Malala Yousafzai and Kylie Minogue.
- On the front of Tahani's diary it says the foreword is by Malala Yousafzai and Kylie Minogue.
Gallery[]
The gallery for Chapter 3: Tahani Al-Jamil can be found Here
