janet – My Geek Wisdom

“There is no answer. But ‘Eleanor’ is the answer.”

From: The Good Place

Genre: Televison

Who said it?: Chidi Anagonye

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the NBC comedy series, The Good Place. The show focuses on four humans who have died and are now supposedly spending eternity in The Good Place. One of the people, Eleanor Shellstrop, apparently isn’t supposed to be there as she was a bad person while she was alive. The first season then focuses on her journey to be a person worthy of being in The Good Place in order to avoid being sent to The Bad Place.

The quote comes from the fourth season episode, The Answer. The Judge of the Universe is about to reset the world as the point system which judges if humans are good and bad has become so convoluted, no one is getting into the Good Place anymore. The team decide to revive Chidi Anagonye (played by William Jackson Harper) as, although he’s proven to be incredibly indecisive, is the best person to develop out a system that would work without resetting everything. After being revived, Chidi asked Janet (played by D’Arcy Carden) to give him the note he wrote before his memory was erased. She hands him the note and he reads it, which is the quote in question.

Geek wisdom: There is no “one size fits all” answer to why anyone of us exists. That answer is always going to be different depending on the individual. It could be living for a loved one, helping others or just trying to live life to the fullest. Your reason for existing may not make sense to others… but it makes sense to you, which is what’s important.

“If I could give you an answer to how the universe works, it wouldn’t be special.”

From: The Good Place

Genre: Televison

Who said it?: Janet

The quote comes from the Season 3 finale entitled “Pandemonium.” Due to the Bad Place demon’s plan, Chidi has to be mind wiped and Eleanor now has to pretend to be the Architect of this version of the Good Place. Eleanor (played by Kristen Bell) wonders if it’s all worth it and asks Janet (played by D’Arcy Carden) to what is the meaning of life. Janet, despite knowing everything, has some experience being human and notes that the universe doesn’t really make sense but that’s part of the beauty of life. This is when she delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: Life has many ups and downs and, at times, things can feel too chaotic. However, it’s these peaks and valleys we experience that makes life worth living. We have to enjoy the highs and persevere through the lows. It is through all of these experiences that makes life worth living.

“Not a robot” and “Not a girl”

From: The Good Place

Genre: Televison

Who said it?: Eleanor Shellstrop

The quote is actually kind of a catchphrase for one of the characters of the show. The quote is delivered by Janet (played by D’Arcy Carden), who acts like a sort of helper for the residents of The Good Place. As she generally has the features of a female and also acts like a machine, some people call her those things. Usually, Janet will correct them with either quote.

Unfortunately, I cannot really find a video clip of her saying the quotes but there is a GIF that does illustrate her saying this.

Geek wisdom: You should be the one that defines yourself, not others. People will think of you as supposed to be behaving a certain way because of your age, race or gender. But you are the one in control of your life and it is you who run it, not them.