Zach vehemently denies withholding anything and dislikes Dania’s accusatory tone. Avi looks back at his scribbles and spots Vincent’s face in the fish he drew on the paper. Janine and Earl take it seriously and discuss its meaning. Avi theorizes that since none of the cameras caught Vincent, he never left the building. Somehow, they must convince the inhabitants to give them access, as they do not have enough for a search warrant. ..
Kathleen gives them permission to go to the Millers. Janine and Avi go to the Millers. Dania is quite unsure in her assessment of Zach and Vincent’s relationship to Janine. She even suggests that the two might have homosexual inclinations.
John presents a CCTV footage to Kathleen where he can be seen giving a book to Vincent. He says that they must look into this as a serious development but Kathleen is skeptical. Earl requests he interrogate John before Avi does and Kathleen allows him. In hindsight, not a good decision. John instantly clams up when Earl’s tone is racial and derisive. He will not tell him about anything.
Zach invites Dania to a reading in his class as a way to win her confidence back. She sees this as a step in the right direction, as Zach is making an effort to let her in. Janine teases Avi a bit more in the car and the two seem to be getting along quite well. Now they seem like true partners. He opens up to her about his motivations for wanting to be a writer and how it has helped him cope with personal issues. ..
In this episode, Avi’s deeply religious inclination and beliefs tend to make him think that every good deed repairs the world. Bit by bit, these deeds pile up and usher in a positive change that makes society a better place. Another motivation for him to become a detective (Janine’s is admittedly “Law & Order”) was the fact that his father was murdered and the case was never solved. Janine is speechless but there is not anymore exposition on this tangent in this episode.
Dania investigates the scene where Vincent left and she finds out that he may have been killed. She is not sure, but she is certain that he was not killed by the other employees. She also finds out that someone is trying to cover up what happened.
Dania is nervous as she arrives at the station. She knows that Avi is waiting for her and she doesn’t know what to expect. He greets her and takes her to his office, where he has a one-on-one with her. He starts by asking her about her relationship with Vincent, which is very capably done. Dania reveals that she and Vincent have been seeing each other secretly for a while and that they are still in a relationship because they want to keep it secret. Avi is very pleased with this development and decides to take it from there.
Dania’s conversation with the police is a slow burn but with an element of surprise that crescendos hard. She asks them about a text the police previously thought to have been sent by someone else. And her guess turns out to be right. But why would Dania message “it shouldn’t have happened” to him?
Dania finally opens up about her relationship with Vincent and Zach. She says that the two of them had a fling but it was short-lived and she was hurt by Vincent’s reaction. She also discloses that she misses having Zach around and kissed him twice because she felt bad for him. However, she requests Avi not to tell Zach about the kiss.
Zach confronts Dania about this but as it turns out, Zach already knew about it. Dania is shocked and her suspicion that Zach did something to Vincent out of jealousy is even stronger now.
The Episode Review
In episode 3 of “The Good Place”, some very important story developments turn the story on its head. Despite the traditional genre elements being activated by David Kelley, his treatment of the story has been admirable.
Avi and Janine discovered some valuable information about Vincent’s life that will help the case. While we were heading toward Zach being implicated in homosexual relations, it turns out Dania was the one who had a momentary lapse. I was disappointed to see the writers leave Dania with no answers when Zach confronts her about it. ..
The line of defense comes across as a regurgitation of modern-day feminism – the version that is toxically destroying lives. Beyond that, Zach’s involvement in the disappearance grows stronger, just like the feeling that the boy is not coming back.
Avi’s brilliant detective work is the highlight of episode 3. Willbusch is once again praised for his ingenuous collaboration with Avi’s character. Janine too is warming up nicely. Julia Canfield is impressive until now and brings the right kind of energy to the character. ..
