‘The Good Place’ Heads to Jacksonville For a Weird, Wonderful Father/Son Reunion in “The Ballad of Donkey Doug”

Last week’s Good Place centered on our quartet of endearing weirdos once again discovering that they’re doomed to spend eternity in the Bad Place — cue Daniel Powter’s “Bad Day.” Tonight’s installment, however, focuses on the newly-formed Soul Squad doing their best to accentuate the positive as Jason, Michael, and Tahani head to the wonderful epicenter of oddities known as Jacksonville, Florida.

Duuuuuval!

Aptly titled “The Ballad of Donkey Doug,” tonight’s episode is an entertaining followup to the 24/7 Chidi Anagonye thirst trap known as “Jeremy Bearimy.” The Soul Squad is split as Jason, Michael, and Tahani travel to Jacksonville in the hopes of saving Jason’s dad’s soul, while Eleanor and Janet attempt to help a newly-unemployed Chidi — I guess the University isn’t a fan of Peep chili? — with a relationship crisis. As you can imagine, “The Ballad of Donkey Doug” adds to the rich history of Good Place Jacksonville jokes (keep an eye out for the name of the “non-international” Jacksonville airport) while also highlighting the softer side of lovable dumb-dumb Jason Mendoza (Manny Jacinto). Last week’s Good Place was an undeniable showcase for William Jackson Harper’s Chidi, and while there’s no shirtless Jason in “The Ballad of Donkey Doug” (sorry), it is one of Jacinto’s best performances.

Also, watching outsiders (in this case Michael and Tahani), react to the abject absurdity of Jacksonville is always a treat. “There’s an awful lot of dog hair on the furniture,” Tahani notices during tonight’s episode, “and I have not seen a dog.”

The Jacksonville stuff is predictably incredible (Eugene Cordero, who plays Pillboi, continues to be one of the most underrated comedic talents on TV), but tonight’s B-story is also a blast. Janet creates a virtual reality simulator to help Chidi with a relationship issue, and Eleanor immediately tries to use the device to bone Jason Statham on a futon. Tangentially related, Kirby Howell-Baptiste’s Simone has been a breath of fresh air this season. Despite being a new addition to the show, Howell-Baptiste feels like one of the gang, which is no easy feat. She’s the best. More Kirby Howell-Baptiste in everything, please.

What else can you expect from tonight’s episode?

• An appearance from German comedian Flula Borg.
• An odd “blink and you’ll miss it” background moment in which it appears that a man is collecting aluminum cans while inside a swimming pool and attempting to place said cans into an underwater grocery cart. Only in Jacksonville, right?
• A probable reference to The Good Place’s art department property master Gay Perello on the back of Tahani’s US Weekly.
• The best Lenny Kravitz joke… ever?

Another phenomenal Good Place premieres tonight. Watch it live, tell a friend, and then relax. You’ve earned it, bud.

The Good Place airs tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

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