What 'The Good Place' Does Best

Ah, November: Thanksgiving, hot apple cider, crisp fall breezes... and mid-season finales, the bane of every television watcher's existence. On Thursday, The Good Place will air its midseason finale, and it's a little like finding a sinkhole in the middle of your restaurant: It's a terrible thing that's happening, and I can't fix it. But, rest assured that, according to Yahoo, The Good Place will return this winter to delight you and keep you guessing. There isn't a set premiere date yet, but Yahoo said the show will be back in January 2017, which isn't even that far off..

Last week's episode "Most Improved Player" pulled out all the stops: Eleanor (Kristen Bell) revealed her mistaken place in Michael's idyllic afterlife world, Chidi (William Jackson Harper) confessed to killing Janet (D'Arcy Corden), and we were introduced to the REAL Eleanor Shellstrop, thanks to a visit from the Bad Place's Trevor (Adam Scott) and his Hell Train. But, right before Eleanor was to be whisked away to a place where clam chowder is always served at room temperature, Michael saves her with a sudden change of heart: She deserves another chance at being good. Kind of.

It's hard to imagine how the show is going to serve up an episode that will be even more surprising, but then again, The Good Place has been one of this season's biggest delights week after week. Here are a few things I want to see more of when the show returns.

Hashtag Tahani Time

There's no question that ultimate good girl Tahani (Jameela Jamil) has become one of the breakout supporting players of the show. Tahini has embraced her afterlife with vigor and positivity, mostly thanks to her unlikely friendship with Eleanor. (Sure, she was angry at Eleanor for lying to her about her real identity. But she did admit she was good company.) Give us more! Flashbacks just aren't enough, and the girl more than deserves her fair share of screen time.

Who Is The REAL Eleanor?

Last week's reveal of the real Eleanor Shellstrop was just as much a shock to fans as it was to Good Place's Eleanor. And this Eleanor is nothing like her bad counterpart. We know a little bit about her thanks to Michael's dossier — she really liked clowns and lived a life of service — but while our Eleanor has been enjoying her life in Michael's world, I'd imagine life in the Bad Place has been a little worse for the real Eleanor. Viewers deserve at least one episode showing how she came to the afterlife and how she found herself fitting in, á la our pilot episode when Eleanor meets Michael. (It has been confirmed that Adam Scott will appear in multiple episodes, so let's hope there's more of him on the way.)

The Bad Place

Forget the unlimited Fro-Yo — we need to spend at LEAST half an hour in the Bad Place. I need to find out if there are Red Hot Chili Pepper concerts and see some vanity license plates. Also, I know from Eleanor that not EVERYONE in the Bad Place is a terrible person or a murderer, and there is so much fans could learn about the people who ended up there.

Janet's Story

Janet's still recovering from her "murder" by Chidi, but there's hope for her yet! And, given that viewers haven't really had much of an origin story for Janet, I'm totally curious, because Janet is one of the most fun characters on the show. I'd also love to see the beginnings of her and Michael. For that matter, can we just have a flashback episode to Michael's first days in the neighborhood with Janet? Hopefully all this and more is to come in January 2017.

Images: Justin Lubin/NBC (3), Ron Batzdorff/NBC