The Good PlaceSecond viewing. I binged the entire series this week. Wasn’t planning on it, kind of just happened. The Good Place is really good, and it may have supplanted Wonderfalls as my favorite show. I recently rewatched most of Wonderfalls’ lone season, and some parts did not age that well after 17 years. Maybe I’ll feel the same about The Good Place. I clearly really like these kinds of high concept shows. They’re similar in that they both follow kind of a dirtbag character who is positioned by circumstance to become a better person.
UNMARKED SPOILERS BELOW
The Good Place is not a perfect show. Jason was perhaps too dumb. I get that he was there mostly for laughs, and I like that he had moments when his inane analogies were weirdly poignant. However, Jason was dialed to 11 when 8 or 9 would have worked better for me. He is definitely the weakest of the main cast. At the same time, the entire main cast is great. I'm thoroughly amazed this was Jameela Jamil's first acting role (she has excellent comedic timing and her facial expressions are *chef's kiss*). Janet is easily my favorite. And I did buy pairing Janet and Jason which is odd because...
I’m conflicted on pairing Eleanor and Chidi. Their relationship grew over the course of the show’s run, and for the most part, the writers did well (particularly the end). I just really had trouble getting past the show’s first season twist in relation to it. They’re in The Bad Place and Michael paired Eleanor and Chidi specifically because they’re the absolute worst people for each other yet they’re still perfect for each other. I don’t know how that could ever translate into those two becoming lovers.
Despite that, the writing was very good. Most jokes landed even and especially the second time around. I like that the plot kept moving. With the way the first season ended, it would have been really easy to retread ground yet the writers wisely swerved and kept pushing the plot and the characters forward. They could have really dragged the show out, and it was much better because they didn’t.
The final season is the worst of the four yet still really good especially the finale. Its main problem: it was too short. The writers rushed through several plot points, and some characters did not get a proper resolution. John complicated Tahani’s afterlife a little bit then he was just kind of there. He disappeared for a few episodes then popped up in the finale for five seconds. Most of the characters started off as caricatures or archetypes then evolved past that. John never did; he never got the chance to be more than “stock gay man” which was frustrating to me. I guess one could argue he was a minor character thus not
that important in the grand scheme of the show. I can see it if I squint. Then again, Simone played such a big role in Season 3, returned in Season 4, complicated things a little bit then disappeared until the finale. One or two more episodes to give both John and Simone a bit more depth and more to do would have been nice. Especially Simone. The writers could have done more with someone who doesn't believe they're in the afterlife. She was a great character so I didn't think she was utilized as well as she could have been.
Side-note: Brent was surprisingly handled really well as a minor antagonist in Season 4. The moment he realized what a **** bag he was and legitimately tried to apologize to Chidi was one my favorite moments in the entire show. Brent almost seemed like a caricature then I think about who our president was, and nah, Brent’s character was weirdly like the most realistic one.
The penultimate episode was one of the most frustrating for me. The group finally got to The Good Place, and it sucked. That was an appropriate swerve and completely made sense thematically and philosophically. The Good Place Committee also tricked Michael into becoming the Good Place Architect then proceeded to **** off entirely. The implication was they didn’t know how to make The Good Place not suck so they passed the buck onto the first immortal being they could. Sure. The group (Team Cockroach/Soul Squad) fixed this in one weirdly brief scene. They could have gotten at least two or three episodes out of that (i.e. brainstorming, failed attempts, more scenes from the Judge, Shawn, and the committee even though I find Paul Scheer thoroughly unfunny). I don't know what the best way to handle that would have been. The potential additional episodes wouldn't be enough for an extra season so maybe split the final season.
Anyway, I am a fan of appropriate endings, and The Good Place’s finale may be my favorite of any show including both Futurama and Breaking Bad. Each main cast member was given an earned ending. Eleanor convincing Mindy St. Claire to enter the system was the only thing that felt rushed. It answered a question I didn’t
need answered but was glad I got anyway. Seeing Mindy St. Claire’s test would be a neat El Camino-like epilogue should Michael Schurr ever go that direction (doubt it happens though).
One thing I wanted to touch on is the counter-argument that The Last Door is afterlife suicide. I don’t agree because it fundamentally, intentionally, and problematically distorts and diminishes why most people die by suicide. For the most part, people don’t intentionally end their own life because they’re content and complete as in the show. They do so because they can’t live with the pain, whatever that may be. I’m not down with that reading of the finale.
Finally, even though I didn’t completely buy Eleanor and Chidi’s relationship, it was almost entirely worth it for
this scene. F you, Chidi’s wave. Tears. TEARS EVERYWHERE.