The Good Place: 10 Craziest Jason Mendoza Facts

Jason Mendoza is an absolutely bizarre character in the best way. His general stupidity combined with his unusual tastes makes for some wild behavior and a lot of insane anecdotes. The Soul Squad of The Good Place is treated to these anecdotes at the weirdest of times, and occasionally there’s a real point to it at the end.

Many of said anecdotes involve criminal activity, blowing things up, dancing, or the Jacksonville Jaguars, but nearly all of them are conversation stoppers that result in awkward pauses. Here’s a list of some of the craziest facts about this strangely lovable character.

10 He Calls His Dad “Donkey Doug”

Fans were treated to many bizarre stories about Donkey Doug before finally meeting him. And it wasn’t until the mission to save loved ones that everyone learned Donkey Doug was also Jason’s dad. Aside from the weirdness of the nickname and the fact that even Doug’s son calls him this, it does actually explain a lot about Jason as a person.

It makes a lot more sense that the hare-brained schemes and the criminal activity runs in the family, and that Jason probably learned a good deal of it. But at least Donkey Doug loves his son, which he proves by taking the fall for a crime and making sure Jason has a getaway.

9 How He Died

Jason’s unintended suicide by suffocation has got to be one of the most embarrassing deaths in media history (which, naturally, doesn’t faze him). He was attempting to commit robbery by Trojan horse—except the ‘horse’ was an airtight safe his friend Pillboi was going to install. He thought he could avoid suffocation with a snorkel. There’s just no nice way to say this, because it’s incredibly stupid.

To make things worse, the robbery was stopped almost immediately, yet somehow not fast enough to save him. It’s also canon that he was doing whip-its in the safe before he died, which Pillboi somehow takes as a consolation.

8 He Slashed Tires Over A Dance Competition

Jason often regales the Soul Squad with tales of his dance crew, Dance Dance Resolution. But one of his crazier stories is one he tries to “help” Michael with: the time he got revenge over a dance competition by slashing tires. Apparently Donkey Doug (his dad) had left his dance crew to start his own, and challenged them to a dance-off.

So Jason got his crew to slash their tires instead. Why exactly Jason takes his dancing so seriously is unclear, especially given his difficulty taking anything seriously. But he definitely gives it his all.

7 He Once Had A Gig As “Acid Cat”

Jason has stated several times that he was an amateur DJ. But for a brief moment in his not-career as a DJ, a fellow DJ named Acid Cat decided to use him as a stand-in so he could book two gigs at once.

Jason was excited about the opportunity, so he took the role of wearing a giant ridiculous cat head and playing someone else’s music for a crowd. Ultimately, he screwed this up by interrupting his gig, changing into his own DJ hat and playing his demo to an angry crowd while he tried to dance.

6 He Has The IQ Of A Seven-Year-Old

After Jason outs himself the first time as not really being Jian-Yu, Michael has to explain to him why he mistakenly got into the Good Place (which is later revealed as a farce). Michael says that the real Jian-Yu stopped learning when he was seven years old, and that Jason has the same IQ.

This was one small part of how the system supposedly mistook him for Jian-Yu. It’s not exactly surprising considering Jason’s behavior and nearly everything out of his mouth. But it’s also painfully specific, and makes it that much funnier to see him with Janet, who knows literally everything.

5 He Crashed A Jetski Into A Manatee

Most people want to make a good first impression when they introduce themselves. Jason, on the other hand, finally gets the chance to tell Eleanor he’s not Jian-Yu, and decides to explain that he learned his calming hand trick from a nurse who treated him after he crashed a jetski into a manatee. I

t’s a little disturbing to think he had access to a jetski, but weirder that he would somehow hit a manatee with it. The mental image alone is crazy enough, but it’s also hilarious that he justifies this as a common thing in Florida.

4 He Married A Divine Artificial Intelligence

One good thing about Jason: he loves indiscriminately. He doesn’t really understand what Janet is (as she keeps saying she’s neither a robot nor a girl), but he has feelings for her and he responds to them without hesitation. He doesn’t think there’s any reason not to marry her.

He doesn’t care about the ramifications, like possibly getting electrocuted if he kisses her, or tipping people off that he’s not supposed to be in the Good Place. Maybe he traded brains for some extra heart. But their wedding is truly a sight to see, with some painfully honest vows.

3 He Named His Roomba Juliet

It’s not that nobody ever names inanimate objects. People have named their cars, named ships, and named toys. But according to a highlight that was trimmed in the show, Jason named his Roomba Juliet to match his dog Romeo, and he chooses to bring this up when explaining his love for Janet.

Since Janet is some poorly-explained divine A.I., he seems to imply that he almost did see his Roomba as a sentient being. More importantly, he turned his pet’s lewd moments into an imagined romance with an inanimate object.

2 He Proposed Marriage To A Cop To Avoid Jail

Most people avoid jail by avoiding criminal activity. Jason tries to avoid jail by proposing marriage to the cop who’s arresting him.

It seems to be some twisted misunderstanding of not having to testify against one’s spouse, but for all the fans know, maybe this was more of Donkey Doug’s legal “wisdom,” like cops not being able to arrest you for something they saw before they told you they were a cop. Officer Ramirez doesn’t seem particularly pleased, especially since he seems to think that “K” is her name because it’s the first initial on her name tag. It also really doesn’t help when he admits to the robbery.

1 He Has A Bizzare Fantasy About Ariana Grande

In the tense conversation in Jason’s “bud-hole,” Tahani is scolding Jason for his lies when she notices the Ariana Grande poster. When asked if he’s related to her, he says that he wishes he were, because she’s one of the sexiest women on earth.

So, apparently, that makes it better for him somehow. The poster would’ve been okay if he could’ve just left the incest part out. It just raises so many questions. Then again, he’s also attracted to Janet, who’s not even human, so maybe it’s best not to ask those questions.

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