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In the Season 3 premiere of The Good Place, Michael interferes and goes back to Earth

for a third time

or so it seems when Chidi soon has the idea

to see if other people with near-death experiences have sudden desires to be more ethical.

But what did Michael have to do with Chidi's getting the idea? It seems like Chidi figured it out by himself, along with Eleanor's persistence.

After Chidi decides to implement the idea, Michael is seen saying 'Bingo. Okay.'

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Is this because Michael did something? Or because Michael is glad that Chidi came up with the idea by himself?

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TLDR: Michael needed to get all 4 of the humans together, but didn't know how. Chidi's idea for the study gave Michael the opportunity he needed to accomplish that.

Earlier in the episode, Michael and Janet are talking.

Michael: "This is not just about Chidi. I've left too much to chance. Until our group is back together again, this whole thing is hanging by a thread. I'm going back down."

Later:

Janet: "How are you even going to get Jason and Tahani to Australia?"

Michael: "I have no idea. But I have to try."

Down on Earth, Chidi storms into Simone's office:

Chidi: "Elanor and I have nothing in common, except that we both almost died, and it made us want to be better people. This is my thesis idea: I will explore the effect of near-death experiences on ethical decision-making. I will get a group of people together who've had near-death experiences, ask them ethical questions, and see if there's any commonalities."

After Chidi's revelation, he posts a flyer on a campus bulletin board. In the background, Michael says, "Bingo! Okay!" with an obvious sense of relief from his anxiety.

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So it was Chidi's idea, but it gave Michael a simple way to draw Tahani and Jason to Australia (even though it takes some more machinations on his part to actually get them there).

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  • Aaahhhh so 'bingo' is a word that here means (lemony Snicket) 'this is how I'm going to get them together' ? Thanks!
    – BCLC
    Commented Oct 1, 2018 at 23:31
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    @BCLC I think that's exactly right!
    – BrettFromLA
    Commented Oct 2, 2018 at 0:19
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    @BCLC - "Bingo" is from the game, "Bingo!", which is the word you yell out to the crowd of other people playing to inform them that you won. In this sense, Michael has "won" an opportunity to use Chidi's inspired idea and therefore yells "Bingo!" It is a common turn of phrase.
    – JoshDM
    Commented Oct 2, 2018 at 2:03
  • @JoshDM man it's been 16 years since I've been played bingo. Closest I've been to playing the game is watching it being played on better call Saul.
    – BCLC
    Commented Oct 2, 2018 at 2:33
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    @BCLC “Bingo” is also often used to mean “exactly right” (since the game involves lining up a specific sequence of numbers and/or events, I suppose). When saying it to oneself, it therefore carries a meaning very similar to “Eureka!” in that you are congratulating yourself on getting it exactly right, on getting everything the way you need it.
    – KRyan
    Commented Feb 10, 2020 at 15:47

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