Ep 5. The Ballad of Donkey Doug

In The Good Place season 3 episode 5, titled "The Ballad of Donkey Doug," the gang travels to Jacksonville, Florida, where Jason's ex-best friend and drug dealer Donkey Doug (played by Mitch Narito) resides. Jason enlists the help of his friend Michael and Eleanor to try to help Doug turn his life around and earn good karma, despite his constant stream of bad decisions.

The episode begins with a flashback to Jason's life on Earth, showing the origins of his friendship with Donkey Doug. The two friends are shown committing various crimes and getting into trouble, all while living off of "Florida Man" headlines. It's through this segment that we get an even clearer idea of Jason's motivations and desires.

When they finally arrive in Jacksonville, they immediately come face-to-face with Doug's latest scheme: a startup that sells "Pillbois," pills made from all sorts of drugs that are somehow supposed to be better for you. The invention is ridiculous, but it does give Jason an opportunity to prove his dedication to his mission of earning good karma. Eleanor and Michael quickly get to work trying to find a way to make this scheme more ethical, while Chidi and Tahani explore their own separate story.

Chidi, having sworn off teaching ethics after his previous class failed miserably, is struggling to find meaning in his life. Meanwhile, Tahani is distracted by her own ego, convinced that she could make a difference if she just had the right opportunity. Their separate stories intersect when Tahani offers to help Chidi with his ethics lesson, leading to a hilarious and touching scene where Chidi comes to a realization about the nature of teaching and learning.

As they work to help Donkey Doug, there are plenty of twists and turns along the way. The situation is complicated even further by the arrival of Simone, one of Chidi's ex-girlfriends who also happens to be a neuroscientist. Her scientific mind and logical approach to ethics are a stark contrast to Chidi's more emotional and philosophical methods, leading to some tense and funny scenes between the two.

Overall, "The Ballad of Donkey Doug" is a standout episode that provides some heartwarming character moments and a great deal of humor. The journey to finding meaning and redemption is a central theme of The Good Place, and this episode does an excellent job of exploring those ideas in a fun and exciting way. Fans of the show will love this episode, and newcomers will quickly find themselves drawn in by the show's clever writing and brilliant performances.