The Good Place “Chapter 4: Jason Mendoza” Review
This episode is the introduction to who Jianyu really is. He reveals to Eleanor that he is really Jason Mendoza, a drug dealer and aspiring DJ who lived in Florida. He has pretended the entire time to a monk, so he could remain in the Good Place. Jason no longer wants to hide who he is from everyone. In a series of flashbacks, we learn what the motivation behind that is. As a DJ he as asked to pretend to be another DJ and once he revealed his true identity, no one accepted him or appreciated his music. Eleanor tries desperately to keep Jason quiet so that they can all remain in the Good Place.
Tahani is helping to plan the opening of a new restaurant by one of their neighbors, Patricia. At this dinner, the entire neighborhood receives their favorite meals from their time on Earth. Eleanor ends up with nothing and Jason ends up with a plate of tofu. Disgusted and determined to tell a story about his favorite chicken wings, Eleanor takes matters into her own hands. She decides she must interrupt the neighborhood by destroying the cake that Patricia had made by punching it. When she does that, it rips a hole in the center of the restaurant and sends guests running.
Jianyu decides to join Eleanor in learning how to be good while Tahani realizes that the hole created by Eleanor is getting bigger, not closing like Michael had said.
Kristen Bell continues to dazzle as a truly relatable and believable character. The performances by all the actors are really well done and they have truly embodied their characters. The special effects in the show are okay but could be done better. I know it isn’t the focus of a show like this, but it does become noticeable after a while. As with previous episodes, we learn both about the pasts of these characters as well as how they are progressing in the Good Place. This provides a great balance in really learning about the characters and their motivations. Well done!
