Love Story Number Two: The Love Between Tahani, Jason and Janet
This aspect of The Good Place is unique, because the world in which the characters live has technically been re-booted many times over. In the very first season, Jason and Janet quickly fell for one another and decided to get married. It’s the classic “world’s-most-loveable-doofus-meets-all-knowing-not-a-girl-not-a-woman-not-a-computer-not-a-robot” story.
But then, during various reboots, Jason has had romantic liaisons and relationships with the gorgeous and refined Tahani. Jason and Tahani are people who make no sense on paper, but still somehow seem so right when they’re together.
However, this is very hard on Janet, because she still carries a torch for Jason, but Jason doesn’t remember his previous marriage.
As of the midpoint of season three, all parties are now aware of their relationships to one another. And unlike many love triangles or will they/won’t they plots in popular culture, I’m left feeling like there’s no single “right” answer for these three. There’s no compelling reason to be “Team Tahani” or “Team Janet,” because they’re both wonderful and deserve to be with Jason the goofball if they really want to.
It is a fool’s errand to claim I know where The Good Place is going with this plot. But if I had to guess, I could easily believe that the show’s writers are slowly building a major mass media example that makes viewers cognizant of polyamory.
If you’re not familiar, polyamory is the ethical, consensual practice of non-monogamy (loving multiple people). And since The Good Place is literally founded on exploring ethics, it’s exhilarating to think about the possibilities that could be presented in the Tahani/Jason/Janet love story.