The Good Place
The Good Place is an interesting take on life after death and what really happens when we cross that threshold. What will you do if you wake up and learn that you’ve died and ended up in either the good or bad place? Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, and Jason are living just in this comedy about the afterlife and trying to figure out how to navigate it with the baggage they’ve carried from life.
I watched 3 seasons in a matter of a couple weeks, each episode is only 22 minutes with a few sprinkles of 40 minute episodes here in there. I keep hearing that it’s comparable to The Office in it’s comedic delivery, but I can’t accurately respond to that as I’ve never actually watched The Office. Typically shows like that aren’t of interest to me because I don’t always understand the humor. I’ve avoided shows like “The Office,” “Modern Family,” “Parks and Recreation,” etc. for this very reason, they just don’t look appealing to me. I gave this show a chance because a couple people actually suggested it to me under the impression I would enjoy, and look at that! They were right, LOL.
If you don’t want spoilers, stop reading. This is your warning.
In Season 1, Eleanor (Kristen Bell - Veronica Mars) wakes up in the good place and is welcomed with open arms by the architect of their neighborhood, Michael (Ted Danson), and Janet (D'Arcy Carden) an all-knowing AI that lives to serve the residents of the neighborhood. After some introduction to her new home Eleanor realizes she’s been misplaced and doesn’t actually belong in the good place. In an attempt to prove she can earn her place there, she begins to work with Chidi (William Jackson Harper), previously a professor of ethics on Earth, to become a good person. Along the way, however, she runs into obstacles that continuously threaten to blow her cover putting her in danger of being kicked out of the good place and sent to the bad place. Tahani (Jameela Jamil) turns out to be a very large obstacle with her flashy taste and condescending attitude towards Eleanor, which continuously sparks her less than good side causing her struggle to become a better person. As time goes on, we discover Eleanor isn’t the only imposter. Jason (Manny Jacinto) reveals himself to not really be Jianyu Li, a buddhist monk who has sworn to a vow of silence both on Earth and in the afterlife, but rather a resident of Jacksonville, Florida with a criminal background, no real job but a bunch of hobbies, and a very, very low IQ. The four residents end up very close and by the end of the season we all find out the entire set up is a scam, Michael is actually a demon working for the bad place on a new form of torture that ultimately backfired when the 4 test subjects figure out the truth.
After his experiment fails so poorly, Michael is given one more chance to prove it can work. He erases the minds of Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, and Jason and resets Janet to create a new scenario for season 2. Michael soon finds out his experiment will never work, because the four friends constantly find the good in one another making them better people. After a solid 800+ attempts, clearly behind the back of his supervisor, Michael finally gives up and becomes teammates with the group to save his career. He’s caught off guard when he becomes friends with them and starts to care for the humans as though he is human himself. Their journey turns from being a stealth mission to a mission of survival when Michael’s supervisor finds out what’s been going on and attempts to take over the mode of torture for the group including Michael. He and Janet come up with a plan for everyone to escape and they begin their life on the run from the bad place.
The team finds themselves in unknown territory in Season 3 as they meet the Judge (Maya Rudolph - Bridesmaids), an all powerful being that has been in existence since the beginning of time. After encountering the Judge, the humans wind up being sent back to Earth in an attempt to prove they can become better people if their lives are spared. Michael interrupts their lives when they start to lose sight of being good and brings them together in hopes that it saves their lives and gets them into the good place for real in the afterlife.
I’ll admit, the show does go all over the place, but I found it entertaining that they’ve been able to keep this going since 2016. The twists and turns introduced some new characters portrayed by comedians that I actually appreciate, and carried the story along into this new 4th season with everybody dead yet again trying to prove that there’s a flaw in the judgement system which they find to have prevented any enrry into the good place for over 500 years. YIKES!
If you’ve never seen this show, check it out. Seasons 1-3 are on Netflix, and the new season is airing now with your service provider.
Sidebar, yes, it’s annoying that they have one token black person (like all the other shows I mentioned avoiding earlier) and continuously play on interracial relationships, but hey… that’s America right? LOL The show actually is pretty diverse, however. Enjoy!
Be D.O.P.E.
Season 4 premiered: September 26, 2019 on NBC
Where I watched: Netflix and Fios On Demand