After four seasons of misadventures, the characters on The Good Place finally made it to the titular paradise only to find it in as much disarray as the rest of the afterlife. Created by Michael Schur, The Good Place debuted on NBC back in 2016. The comedy series followed Eleanor Shellstrop (played by Kristen Bell) from shortly after her death. Realizing that she'd been seemingly placed in Heaven rather than Hell by mistake, Eleanor strove to become a person worthy of her new utopian home. As notable for its steady stream of twists and ever-shifting settings as its jokes, the show has garnered a massive amount of acclaim and awards recognition.
With The Good Place season 4 confirmed to be the show's last, the self-proclaimed Team Cockroach sought to save all of humanity. Having realized that the afterlife's points system was irrevocably broken, it was up to Eleanor, Chidi, Jason, Tahani, Janet, and Michael to figure out a better system; one that didn't involve The Judge erasing Earth and taking human existence back to the primordial soup. With the aid of a brief distraction from Justified's Timothy Olyphant, the gang successfully convinced The Judge to implement their idea. With billions of souls saved from eternal damnation, it was decided that Eleanor and her friends had finally earned a spot in The Good Place. Last seen traveling via balloon (for real, this time), the penultimate episode saw their official arrival marked by floating puppies and the ability to fully understand the meaning ofTwin Peaks.
Related: The Good Place's New Afterlife System Explained
As the gang threw themselves joyfully into their new surroundings, it rapidly became clear that something was amiss. At an amalgamated party honoring them, Chidi and Eleanor met Lisa Kudrow's Hypatia of Alexandria. Going by Patty, she revealed that everyone in The Good Place needed their help. A few stardust-infused milkshakes later, Patty conveyed the issues with immortality and infinite pleasures. While on paper having every need met was amazing, the fact it stretched on forever merely served to diminish all sense of thought and reduce everybody to what Eleanor called "happiness zombies." The point was hammered home by Jason Mendoza, who, having finally been given the chance to fulfill his lifelong dream of go-karting with monkeys, got bored quickly. Though some viewers likely didn't see a problem with eternal unvarying bliss, the concept (which is actually a trope of most immortality-themed stories) had provoked a sense of ennui within The Good Place. Even Janet and a cardboard cutout of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson were shocked and dismayed by the revelation.
Eager to avoid the same fate, the group fought to fix the problem. That responsibility only became more pronounced when Michael was tricked into becoming the leader of The Good Place. Despite the options of hoverboards and even waiting for Beyonce on the table, Eleanor instead devised a wholly different solution. After Michael suggested regularly erasing the resident's memories, so as to keep the experience new, Eleanor realized that remembering was, in fact, the key stating that vacations are only specialbecause they end. As such, they implemented a final destination beyond The Good Place a true death that would provide people (when ready) the opportunity for true peace.
The news was met with much fanfare from Good Place residents. The idea that the eternal vacation didn't actually have to be eternal eased the malaise and even reinvigorated Patty, who resolved to enjoy paradise a little longer before moving on. Meanwhile, in the wake of saving yet another aspect of the afterlife, Eleanor and Chidi, for the first time in centuries across multiple timelines, finally settled down to actually enjoy their time together. With Chidi declaring that The Good Place is actually just having enough time with your loved ones, it feels like the final philosophical stamp on the show's mantra. Given that, and the fact there remains one final episode, The Good Placehas set up what will surely be a truly bittersweet conclusion as the beloved characters inevitably build towards walking through those final doors into the great unknown.
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John Atkinson has been a news and feature writer for Screen Rant since late 2018. Before that, he had articles published across a number of different outlets. A graduate of the University of London, John was raised on a small island by television and movies. As such, he pursued a career in screenwriting and film journalism when it became apparent that actually becoming Spider-Man was impossible. John's fondest wish is to one day produce a film of his own. Until then, he's more than happy to spend countless hours just talking about them.John's love of film and television defies genre and sometimes even logic. Nothing is off-limits to his passion - be it Marvel, DC, Rian Johnson's Star Wars, or Tommy Wiseau's latest cinematic offering.Away from screens, John can often be found in a park reading mystery and/or fantasy novels, jumping up and down at various music events, or thinking too deeply about Keanu Reeves' career and why Edgar Wright doesn't have an Oscar.
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The Good Place FINALLY Revealed (Yep, It's Disappointing) - Screen Rant
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