‘The Good Place’ Season 2 Spoilers: Episode 3 Synopsis Released

Michael tries to perfect the second version of his The Bad Place in Season 2, episode 3 of “The Good Place.”

According to the synopsis for next week’s episode of the NBC series, Michael (Ted Danson) continues to work out the kinks in his grand plan to torture Eleanor (Kristen Bell), Chidi (William Jackson Harper), Tahani (Jameela Jamil) and Jason (Manny Jacinto) for all eternity following his failed first attempt to launch the second version of his The Bad Place.

For version 2.0, Michael planned to spend more time tormenting the quartet individually before reuniting them eventually. However, that plan started to go off the rails when Janet (D'Arcy Carden) gave Eleanor the note she wrote for herself at the end of last season. Eleanor soon found Chidi and later realized that they were not in the Good Place.

After learning about the note, Michael erased the humans’ memories once again. But he concealed the false start from his superior Shawn (Marc Evan Jackson), who told him that he was not permitted a third attempt.

“But in Michael’s mind the idea was, ‘OK, I know my boss said I only had one chance, but come on, man! This isn’t fair,’” series creator Michael Schur told TV Guide of why Danson’s character disobeyed Shawn. “He didn’t get a real shot, this was an aborted launch of this rocket ship. … At the end of the premiere, he considers that a false start, and he’s going to try one more time. So episode 3 is the next thing that happens now that he has decided to actually lie to his boss and try one more time.”

When asked how many chances Michael can actually have, Schur said: “Well, you’ll have to watch episode 3 to find out. Episode 3 answers that question very specifically. [But] the larger issue isn’t how many chances can he get, [it’s] what happens to a guy who is lying to his boss.”

“[Michael] digs himself a very deep hole at the end of the second episode by starting this lie,” Schur continued. “In the fine tradition of all of the great Ponzi schemers and liars and crooks in history, Michael tells a small lie that will snowball and become a larger one as time goes on.”

Meanwhile, episode 3 also marks the introduction of the clam-chowder fountain. “It’s a torture device that became funny enough to imagine being put forth as a positive thing,” Schur teased to Entertainment Weekly. “You can take a bowl and scoop up some clam chowder and just chow down. That’s pretty disgusting.”

“The Good Place” Season 2, episode 3, titled “Dance Dance Resolution,” airs on Thursday, Sept. 28, at 8:30 p.m. EDT on NBC.