History Recap / TheGoodPlaceS1E07TheEternalShriek

->'''Eleanor:''' Why do bad things always happen to mediocre people who are lying about their identities?

* EveryoneHasStandards: Despite knowing that the photo of Janet's "children" is just part of her automatic failsafe to avoid being rebooted, Eleanor still can't bring herself to press the button while Janet is holding said photo and begging Eleanor not to shut her down.

* SkewedPriorities: Chidi's reaction after telling a minor white lie to his colleague about the colleague's boots is a dramatic "MyGodWhatHaveIDone"

* SarcasmBlind Eleanor tells Chidi they should go help Tahani with Michael's goodbye party.

* SarcasmFailure: Eleanor tells Chidi they should go help Tahani with Michael's goodbye party.

* CannotTellALie: Chidi ''can'' tell a lie, but he'll obsess over it for a long time.

Michael announces that he will be "retiring", which will consist of eternal torture. Rather than tell the truth, Eleanor decides to "kill" Janet because only she can initiate Michael's retirement. She and Chidi argue over activating Janet's killswitch and Chidi ends up pushing the button while trying to stop Jason from doing so. Chidi agrees to keep their secret, even though it will make him miserable. Meanwhile, Tahani plans a somber retirement party for Michael; Michael then blames Tahani for distracting him from Janet but soon apologizes. Janet is rebooted with no memories and operates at diminished capacity. Michael announces he will remain in the neighborhood to investigate Janet's murder, which he says means there is a problem beyond himself. Eleanor tells Chidi she loves him, then admits to everyone that she is the problem because she was brought to the Good Place by mistake.

* BigRedButton: Janet's killswitch is a big red button; [[ManChild Jason]] is [[WhatDoesThisButtonDo tempted to press it]].

* AIIsACrapshoot: The BigRedButton exists in case Janet malfunctions and tries to harm a resident.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Eleanor proclaims that killing Janet is justifies by the outcome.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Eleanor's for killing Janet because Janet isn't human and doesn't operate on any moral principles.

* LovingDetails: When pressed about it, Eleanor recalls many details about Chidi revealing her affection for him.

!!Tropes
* AIIsACrapshoot: The BigRedButton exists in case Janet malfunctions and tries to harm a resident.
* BigRedButton: Janet's killswitch is a big red button; [[ManChild Jason]] is tempted to press it.

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Eleanor's for killing Janet because Janet isn't human and doesn't operate on any moral principles.

* AIIsACrapshoot: Janet gets pretty glitchy after her reboot.

* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: Michael's description of the various convoluted torments he will undergo if he "retires" is played as a comic moment.

* MidSeasonTwist: The episode ends with Eleanor confessing that she doesn't belong. Only seven episodes in, and her big secret is already out. (We find out later that [[spoiler: this is the moment when Michael's plan began to fall apart.]])

Michael announces that he will be "retiring", which will consist of eternal torture. Rather than tell the truth, Eleanor decides to "kill" Janet because only she can initiate Michael's retirement. She and Chidi argue over activating Janet's killswitch and Chidi ends up pushing the button while trying to stop Jason from doing so. Chidi agrees to keep their secret, even though it will make him miserable. Meanwhile, Tahani plans a somber retirement party for Michael; Michael then blames Tahani for distracting him from Janet but soon apologizes. Janet is rebooted with no memories and operates at diminished capacity. Michael announces he will remain in the neighborhood to investigate Janet's murder, which he says means there is a problem beyond himself. Eleanor tells Chidi she loves him, then admits to everyone that she is the problem because she was brought to the Good Place by mistake. In flashbacks, Chidi fibs that he likes a coworker's unattractive boots; he obsessed over the lie for three years and finally confessed after the coworker survives a difficult surgery.

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Discussed; Eleanor's for killing Janet because Janet isn't human and doesn't operate on any moral principles.

''"Well, Janet's been murdered. That's a nice capper to this wonderful day. I don't really know what happens now because Janet has never been murdered before... only today, here on my watch, while I was distracted with a party that Tahani was throwing for me, which I didn't want."''

* CharacterDevelopment: Eleanor's comes to a head here, when she ultimately steps up to the plate and confesses that she doesn't belong in the Good Place.