A Fractured Inheritance continues the #SoulSquad phase ofThe Good Placesthird season.
It is a phase, I think, a bridge between the Sydney era and Whatever Comes Next.
Like last week, the characters are split in two corners of the globe when the episode begins.
Credit: Colleen Hayes/NBC
Grossmans a delight as Eleanors mom, although her casting made a bit more sense in Child Eleanor flashbacks.
Grossmans not even a decade older thanKristen Bell, and maybe thats part of the gag here, really.
Except Donna seems much changed now that shes Diana.
The new man in her life, Dave, is a steady architect (played byAndy Daly!)
She seems like an attentive stepmom figure for his daughter, Patricia.
Why, Diana is the kind of person whos excited about participating in the PTA meeting.
Youre running ascam, Eleanor insists.
She might be wrong.
And Michaels having a great time bonding with Dave over their shared professional history.
You should see the new Hooters on I-15, Dave says, architect-to-architect.
Daves really going places, you see.
Hes designing a Subaru dealership slash burlesque club in Reno.
Man, Nevadas a mess!
Michael remarks, still buzzing off Daves margaritas.
We move from American suburbia to the heights of Eurotrash avant-garde!
Tahani takes the opportunity to make amends with her successful sister.
For whatever hurt Ive caused you, I sincerely apologize, she says.
I donotaccept your apology, Kamilah responds.
On one hand, shes worried that Tahani is a charlatan.
On the other hand, she now wants to strangle her sister.
His attempt at talking to Kamilah leads the famous artist-philosopher to hug away all his fears, realLeftoverstype stuff.
So Tahani seeks a more direct method.
I have matured into a fully formed adult with empathy and self-awareness, she says.
But if you dont accept my apology, I will smash your stupid art exhibit into bits!
Things spiral downhill quickly.
An ax is brandished.
Is it art, you might ask?
The common theme emerging here, between Tahani and Eleanor, is interesting enough.
Tahani thinks Kamilahs a giant phony, and yet Tahanis the one pulling out the ax.
Its clear that Diana isnt the mother she remembers.
And thats what bothers her.
I wantedthatmom, Eleanor says.
Why does Patricia get that mom?
If Donna Shellstrop has truly changed, then that means she was always capable of change.
I just wasnt worth changing for.
Has Diana/Donna really changed?
Ah ha, so she hasnt changed!
Except she kind of has.
Shes not all that bad, really, and Eleanor gives her a soft push in the right direction.
This is your chance to break the chain of Shellstrop mother-daughter crappiness, she says.
Her mom is thankful.
It seems like youve turned into a really good person.
Tahanis still stewing, declaring that Kamilahs work has been mediocre for years.
But a closer look at one painting reveals a deeper truth.
Tahanis interpretation is much closer to home.
They forced us to compete, and that competition has fueled your art for decades, she tells Kamilah.
The two sisters bond of a foundational family secret: Their parents werewankers.
So, lotta hugs, lotta catharsis.
Sweet, I guess, yet I found something a little simple about the architecture of A Fractured Inheritance.
It feels likeThe Good Placeused to be a show about characters spiraling through hilarious ambiguities of goodness and badness.
Its a 2018 brand of escapism imagine, decent people!
and it hasnt hit me with the same raucous energy as the high heights of season 2.
But the new normal might already be turning into the old normal.
Her moms changed too late for Eleanor.
Shes the reason I could never get close to anyone, Eleanor says.
I never even told a boyfriend I loved them.
In one of the reboots, you and Chidi fell in love, Michael says.
You told him that you loved him and he told you that he loved you back.
What will happen when the gang reunites next week?
Is a question I would be asking if this episode hadnt opened a real can of canonical worms elsewhere.
I certainly use the bathroom, like anyone else, Michael says.
Love to sit on the thing and shoot one out.
I admit I hadnt been thinking very much about the biophysics of Michaels earthly existence.
Now its all I can think about.
Does he still not eat?
If he were examined by an Earth doctor, does his skin have, like, molecules?
Is he evenbreathing???
?
