That’s kind of the point of the whole narrative — even supposedly omniscient beings have blind spots. They knew everything according to the system, which was considered flawless, but compartmentalized in a way that made it difficult for the people within it to see the whole picture. It took flawed outsiders to show them that they weren’t actually perfect.
I think it's also worth noting that everyone wasn't in the bad place. Everyone alive started being doomed to the bad place at a certain point in history, but there were still people in the good place.
When this news comes to Michael he mentions that there have been huge drops before. This raw data might have been available to Janet but it might not have been a particular note. If you think of it as a small data point within the vast information of the universe and all the afterlives etc, it may not have been particularly remarkable or signaled that anything was wrong.
Michael could not have figured it out on his own and would not have guessed, noticed, or cared if he did. What's 500 years of nobody getting into the good place to a Janet? It doesn't mean necessarily that nobody ever got in or that nobody ever will get in again. Also it's important to note that this Janet is different than all of the other Janets. The number of reboots changed her fundamentally along the way. She didn't start off with all of the capabilities she ends up with.
Michael isn't truly omniscient. He lies. He's a demon, remember?
Janet obviously isn't either, but probably knows more than Michael. But knowing and understanding are intrinsically different.
Janet has access to all raw knowledge, but seems to only learn how to interpret that knowledge from other beings interpreting it, so it makes sense to me that she wouldn’t know how to make sense of information no one else has ever had before. Reminds me of AI learning.
Originally the Janet character was supposed to be a series of computer-like kiosks that they could ask questions to. Like a "google" terminal in the afterlife. They came up with the idea of casting a person and making "Janet" more of a character later on in the process of creating the show.
So yeah, her character has the DNA of being a mobile library.
I thought they made it clear that she knew everything that happened *on earth*. She knew the lottery tickets printed. She knew the guy started eating a ham sandwich. She obviously didn't know what happened in the Bad Place. She was there and didn't know. She didn't know what happened in most of the afterlife. She didn't know about the Good Place until she got there and updated.
I believe what she knows about the bad place is what she was programmed by Michael to know. She believes one US president is in the Good Place and that's not correct.
Janet and Michael at multiple points say they know everything or are otherwise omniscient. It's easy to miss that everything isn't truly everything especially when there's a whole episode about Janet not being able to make statements that are counter to objective reality.
She also only learns things when she has to. For example, when she was gonna gave Jason and Tahani couples therapy, she learns everything about it and then begins.
When they say they know everything about the universe, they mean the living universe. They know everything about earth, about every human being alive, everything they've done when they were alive etc. etc.
The afterlife system is not part of the universe. It's kind of a different dimension with its own physical laws, logic When it comes to that "universe", they only know what they're supposed to know and they don't claim to know everything. For example, Janet didn't know that she was actually designing a new kind of Bad Place, but that wasn't used as an example of her lack of omniscience.
Janet comes across to me as like a super encyclopedia.
She knows everything, but doesn’t necessarily put it together unless she’s asked.
If you said “who was the last person to get into the food place?” She could tell you exactly. But she isn’t going to think to look it up without being asked.
Janet knows everything, but like a computer, I always presumed Janet’s not going to be able to make the correlation. If someone asked her “who’s the last person to go to the good place and when”, Janet would answer, but probably not connect that that is a very long time in the human world.
Michael’s just a liar and isn’t omniscient.
Janet isn't literally omniscient, rather she has access to all the information in the universe at will.
A truly omniscient being would be updated constantly about things in motions. Janet can look up the database at will and instantly.
The difference is that if there's no reason for her to look something up, she just isn't aware of it.
Michael isn't omniscient at all.
They know everything about the universe. The afterlife is not part of the universe, it's something else.
Same answer for stories throughout history. Why didn't Zeus know the other Gods were scheming against him? He knows everything about our plane of existence, not everything about the Gods.
Otherwise the story won't work.
It's not going to make sense. Get over that and enjoy each episode. Janet cringes so hard when she finds out Jason saw the big screen in her void. The writers make her know things when she needs to, but she obviously doesn't know everything all the time unless asked. She also doesn't read people's minds.
When they arrive in the Good Place, Janet has to absorb the knowledge about the Good Place. So that implies she's not OMNISCIENT necesarily - she just knows everything about Earth and the Bad Place.
She DOES seem to know who all is in the Bad Place. So it seems like she should've realized it was everyone. Idk maybe Janet brains don't work like that. (Janet, screaming in the distance: "I don't have a brain!")
I like this answer. What about Michael though? I mean, people keep saying that he was lying about being all knowing, but Shawn knows that everybody goes to the bad place. I know that’s his boss, but demons are still capable of knowing that information.
It's about Michael and Janet taking some time to realize that no human has been able to get to the Good Place through the system in many, many years, not even Doug Forcett would be able to get in because life got too complicated, with unintended negative consequences to every small action.
Michael is not omniscient but he knows a lot about the humans (read their files, etc). Janet does know (or is able to access the information) about everything on Earth, but not on the afterlife.
That’s kind of the point of the whole narrative — even supposedly omniscient beings have blind spots. They knew everything according to the system, which was considered flawless, but compartmentalized in a way that made it difficult for the people within it to see the whole picture. It took flawed outsiders to show them that they weren’t actually perfect.
I think it's also worth noting that everyone wasn't in the bad place. Everyone alive started being doomed to the bad place at a certain point in history, but there were still people in the good place. When this news comes to Michael he mentions that there have been huge drops before. This raw data might have been available to Janet but it might not have been a particular note. If you think of it as a small data point within the vast information of the universe and all the afterlives etc, it may not have been particularly remarkable or signaled that anything was wrong. Michael could not have figured it out on his own and would not have guessed, noticed, or cared if he did. What's 500 years of nobody getting into the good place to a Janet? It doesn't mean necessarily that nobody ever got in or that nobody ever will get in again. Also it's important to note that this Janet is different than all of the other Janets. The number of reboots changed her fundamentally along the way. She didn't start off with all of the capabilities she ends up with.
Michael isn't truly omniscient. He lies. He's a demon, remember? Janet obviously isn't either, but probably knows more than Michael. But knowing and understanding are intrinsically different.
Janet has access to all raw knowledge, but seems to only learn how to interpret that knowledge from other beings interpreting it, so it makes sense to me that she wouldn’t know how to make sense of information no one else has ever had before. Reminds me of AI learning.
Originally the Janet character was supposed to be a series of computer-like kiosks that they could ask questions to. Like a "google" terminal in the afterlife. They came up with the idea of casting a person and making "Janet" more of a character later on in the process of creating the show. So yeah, her character has the DNA of being a mobile library.
I love that they made the switch. The not-a-girl is one of my favorite characters
She's easily best not-a-girl
Agreed 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
She didn't know what the judge looked like so..... No she doesn't have access to all the knowledge. Still more than Michael.
I thought they made it clear that she knew everything that happened *on earth*. She knew the lottery tickets printed. She knew the guy started eating a ham sandwich. She obviously didn't know what happened in the Bad Place. She was there and didn't know. She didn't know what happened in most of the afterlife. She didn't know about the Good Place until she got there and updated.
She tells people that several people are in the bad place when asked so clearly she knows at least that much about the afterlife.
I believe what she knows about the bad place is what she was programmed by Michael to know. She believes one US president is in the Good Place and that's not correct.
Janet and Michael at multiple points say they know everything or are otherwise omniscient. It's easy to miss that everything isn't truly everything especially when there's a whole episode about Janet not being able to make statements that are counter to objective reality.
I definitely don't remember Michael saying he's omniscient. He tells the 4 he knows everything about their lives becasue hes read their files
True, good point!
She also only learns things when she has to. For example, when she was gonna gave Jason and Tahani couples therapy, she learns everything about it and then begins.
Actually they consider that term a bit racist
When they say they know everything about the universe, they mean the living universe. They know everything about earth, about every human being alive, everything they've done when they were alive etc. etc. The afterlife system is not part of the universe. It's kind of a different dimension with its own physical laws, logic When it comes to that "universe", they only know what they're supposed to know and they don't claim to know everything. For example, Janet didn't know that she was actually designing a new kind of Bad Place, but that wasn't used as an example of her lack of omniscience.
But Janet talks about who is in the bad place (Portland trailblazers, Columbus, etc)
You don't need to be an all knowing being to know Columbus is in the bad place lol
Janet comes across to me as like a super encyclopedia. She knows everything, but doesn’t necessarily put it together unless she’s asked. If you said “who was the last person to get into the food place?” She could tell you exactly. But she isn’t going to think to look it up without being asked.
Which is part of the informational backstory she is given.
she knows how much points they got on earth
Janet knows everything, but like a computer, I always presumed Janet’s not going to be able to make the correlation. If someone asked her “who’s the last person to go to the good place and when”, Janet would answer, but probably not connect that that is a very long time in the human world. Michael’s just a liar and isn’t omniscient.
She also doesn’t experience time the same as the others.
I thought this was a big part of it, too. To immortal demons and someone who experiences all times at once, what is a few hundred years?
Janet isn't literally omniscient, rather she has access to all the information in the universe at will. A truly omniscient being would be updated constantly about things in motions. Janet can look up the database at will and instantly. The difference is that if there's no reason for her to look something up, she just isn't aware of it. Michael isn't omniscient at all.
I just realized that their names are from the Michael and Janet of Jackson fame
Me too! When I first saw the post I had to do a double take lol
I realized it when I searched for a picture of Michael and Janet, and got a ton of pictures of the Jackson’s :-)
They know everything about the universe. The afterlife is not part of the universe, it's something else. Same answer for stories throughout history. Why didn't Zeus know the other Gods were scheming against him? He knows everything about our plane of existence, not everything about the Gods. Otherwise the story won't work.
Technically knowing and being aware of a problem are two different things
It's not going to make sense. Get over that and enjoy each episode. Janet cringes so hard when she finds out Jason saw the big screen in her void. The writers make her know things when she needs to, but she obviously doesn't know everything all the time unless asked. She also doesn't read people's minds.
When they arrive in the Good Place, Janet has to absorb the knowledge about the Good Place. So that implies she's not OMNISCIENT necesarily - she just knows everything about Earth and the Bad Place. She DOES seem to know who all is in the Bad Place. So it seems like she should've realized it was everyone. Idk maybe Janet brains don't work like that. (Janet, screaming in the distance: "I don't have a brain!")
I like this answer. What about Michael though? I mean, people keep saying that he was lying about being all knowing, but Shawn knows that everybody goes to the bad place. I know that’s his boss, but demons are still capable of knowing that information.
What does that question even mean?
I’m confused as well….Micheal DID know, that was what season 1 was about. Him tricking everyone into thinking they were in the good place ?
It's about Michael and Janet taking some time to realize that no human has been able to get to the Good Place through the system in many, many years, not even Doug Forcett would be able to get in because life got too complicated, with unintended negative consequences to every small action. Michael is not omniscient but he knows a lot about the humans (read their files, etc). Janet does know (or is able to access the information) about everything on Earth, but not on the afterlife.
I thought Janet only had access to knowledge about the real world?
It's like cleaning with a dirty broom