The Good Place: Whenever You're Ready (4x13/14)

Okay yeah I cried cried cried. That was powerful.

Cons:

I don't really have the heart to nitpick and critique this finale. It was as good an ending to a TV show as I've seen in a very long time.

I guess... I wish it was longer?

Pros:

Just conceptually, this version of the afterlife is so freakin' gorgeous and ideal and even though I'm an atheist and don't think there's an afterlife, I... hope this is what the afterlife is like?

It just... works, on every conceivable level. Think about it. You die, and then you get to go through simulations where you learn about yourself, where you learn to improve and be a kinder, better person. And then after that, you get to go to a fun place where you can live whatever kind of life you want with absolutely no worries - the conventional dream of Heaven. You can be peaceful, or you can learn new things, you can achieve goals, you can repair relationships with people from your life on Earth. You can do whatever you want, for as long as you want. But after that, you go into the great unknown, and are finally, fully, at rest. We even see a hint of what these souls do when they're at rest - they linger within humanity, inspiring people to do better, to be better, thus continuing the cycle.

The Good Place: Patty (4x12)

Leave it to The Good Place to always push things that one step further!

Cons:

I honestly don't know what to say! I loved every minute of this. I guess I wish we could have met with other known historical figures in the Good Place? Maybe we'll get one or two next week. I like the joke of most known figures being in the Bad Place, but just a couple of cameos would have hit the spot.

Pros:

Philosophically, this episode dropped a bombshell. But it dropped a bombshell in the way that this show often does, which is to say that once I realized where they were going with this, I also realized that I should have known all along. Basically the Good Place is great and fantastic and happy, but it's also eternity, and eventually people become happiness zombies, completely numb to the complexities and joys of existence. Eleanor and Michael come up with a solution, based on what Eleanor said about what makes life worth living - knowing that it will end. They set up another door, and it allows for a final exit from the Good Place, whenever you're ready. ("Whenever You're Ready," as it transpires, is the name of next week's finale, so that's gonna hurt!).

The Good Place: Mondays, Am I Right? (4x11)

This is as close to a filler episode as we're ever going to get in The Good Place. I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing, but I did notice that nothing in this episode broke from what we might have expected.

Cons:

So, both of the plot lines this week were good, and they had nice character beats, and they furthered the plot, I guess... but they also just treaded water for me maybe a little too much. Think about what happens here. At the end of the last episode, we learn what the new plan is going to be. At the end of this episode, we find out that the Soul Squad has been granted access to The Good Place, and that the experiment is going to be replicated just like Shawn already agreed. So what is this episode? It's Michael working out how to let go of the planning, and it's Chidi and Eleanor having insecurities about their relationship, which they patch up in no time flat. The status quo didn't really change - everything played out and things are moving forward as planned.

That's not strictly a bad thing, but it did leave me feeling a little bit underwhelmed, which usually doesn't happen with this show. Everything that happened here could have been done in montage - a quick line about how the candidates for the first round of the experiment had worked out, and that Michael, with Vicky's help, had gotten the demons on board with the new plan.

The Good Place: You've Changed, Man (4x10)

Another great episode, of course! Man, I can't believe we're staring down the barrel of the end of this show. I love it so very much.

Cons:

Because of of all the plotty stuff going on, we didn't get much time to revel in the fact that Chidi has returned, and that he and Eleanor have confessed their love for one another. I enjoy Chidi being confident, and it makes sense as a consequence of everything he's been through. But his neurotic tendencies are definitely a big part of the character, and I'm hoping that before the end of the show, we get a chance to see more of this new settled Chidi, so he still feels like the character we've grown to love over four seasons. I also want a chance to hang out with Chidi and Eleanor as a couple, because there have been so many interruptions to their love story that we haven't gotten to see it flourish very much.

I wish we could have seen Simone, and the other humans from the experiment? It feels a little odd to have them totally absent, two episodes in a row, after all of the buildup of their characters over the season. I want them to come back in to the story before the end.

The Good Place: The Answer (4x09)

Holy mother of God. I am - emotional.

Cons:

Literally the only thing I can think to complain about is that this episode went by too quickly. Because it was so good. I feel like I blinked at it was over. Just... wow.

Pros:

This incredible half hour of television takes place in the snap of a finger. Michael wakes Chidi up, and as he does so, we get a glimpse of Chidi's life, of the moments that shaped him, as he searches for "the answer" over the many long and confusing years of his life(s) and afterlife(s). We are brilliantly shown key conversations with people that helped him to understand that there is no answer, even as he fights against this truth.

From Jason, he learns that sometimes you just need to act, that weighing all of your options isn't always going to work.

From Tahani he learns that it's okay to make mistakes, that you'll learn from them.

The Good Place: The Funeral to End All Funerals (4x08)

I am having EMOTIONS. This was my favorite episode of the season so far.

Cons:

I suppose it was a bit short? I mean, does that count as a complaint? I loved seeing our core group of characters spend time with each other, but I'll admit it threw into stark relief how much I've missed that dynamic. We didn't get to see Simone or John or Brent, and Chidi was unconscious the whole time. But even without Chidi, this episode had the energy of the Soul Squad in full force, and it's putting into perspective how much I'd been missing it all season. I guess the good things about this episode made me retroactively less pleased with some of the earlier episodes?

Pros:

The funerals were adorable and sweet and exactly the kind of life-affirming thing I needed here, as we shift to yet another big change for the show. The experiment is over, and whatever is coming next is sure to be just as wacky... so of course we should spend the first part of this episode celebrating the friendships, the growth, the real kindnesses done by the Soul Squad over the years. It was so sweet to hear Tahani, Eleanor, and Jason share their feelings about one another, and about Chidi. Even Janet got to speak up about how she felt about Jason, and about how her friends had helped her to grow as well.

The Good Place: Help Is Other People (4x07)

I have some concerns, actually.

Cons:

So, I have always admired this show's ability to mix things up, change the game, constantly adapt. But the thing is... these first seven episodes were supposed to be about an experiment with the humans. Apparently now the experiment is over, and I did not get to feel any of that progress or really sink in to what it all meant. John was a nothing character. And Brent? Maybe he was about to have a breakthrough, but I need to see more of that. I need to explore the implications of what he's finally realizing. Even Simone became pretty one-note, driven only by her desire to find out the truth, and nothing more. I'm disappointed in how little time we got to spend with these characters. I wanted to explore their relationship dynamics further. I wanted to turn them from caricatures into fully realized human beings, like what happened with Tahani, Jason, Chidi, and Eleanor. But Brent and John still feel extremely one-note to me. That's disappointing.

I suppose I should lodge my continued complaint that Tahani and Jason haven't had that much to do all season. There have been sparks here or there, and last week's episode was a good one for both of them in some ways. But I still feel like the show is struggling with ideas for what to do with these two characters.

The Good Place: A Chip Driver Mystery (4x06)

This episode had some structural issues, and there was one thing about it that actually kind of broke the magic of the show for me, at least in a small, temporary way.

Cons:

Another review pointed this out, and I kind of can't get it out of my head now. The reason that Eleanor believed she was in the Good Place in Season One is that Tahani and Chidi were believably people who might end up in heaven, at least superficially. It therefore made sense that Eleanor and Jason would believe there had been some kind of a mistake. So why do Simone, Chidi, and John not realize that Brent couldn't possibly be in the Good Place? Why don't they challenge this at all? It's going to keep bugging me until they address it.

On a more thematic note, I really liked Simone's question to Eleanor about why she and Tahani should have to be accommodating and kind to someone like Brent. Why should they take on that emotional labor? It's a big and important question, one relevant to real life. And the episode didn't really bother to explore it in any way. Eleanor thinks about it, comes back, and suggests they try to be more constructive when criticizing Brent's book. So she basically just says they need to tiptoe around this racist, sexist white man's feelings. And things predictably blow up, and we don't really get back to the very legitimate question at hand.

The Good Place: Employee of the Bearimy (4x05)

So much fun! As always!

Cons:

Derek is a really funny character, and I'm genuinely amused by his antics. But with that said, I'll admit that I don't really get what his purpose is, in the larger scheme of things. If he's just there to be comic relief, I guess that's fine, but he kind of feels superfluous to the story that's being told. I'm prepared to eat my words. This show has certainly surprised me in the past. But right now, he's kind of just shrug-worthy for me.

Pros:

I've been complaining about Tahani not having much to do, and then we get this episode, where we discover that the character herself is having some anxiety about her usefulness! Great timing. While the others are all planning big things to proceed with the mission, Tahani is basically tasked with babysitting the humans and being a party planner. She's insecure about the fact that this is all she seems to be good for. But Eleanor, in a very Eleanor-ish style, tells her to suck it up. She reminds Tahani that cultivating an environment for these humans to bond and form friendship is literally what is going to save all of humanity. Tahani has lived a life of privilege, and she's never had to fight very hard for what she wanted. But now, she's realizing that she wants to do something more "worthy" with her time. I loved this element of Tahani's characterization, because on the one hand, it's great that she wants to expand her horizons. And on the other hand, Eleanor is sure to point out to her that her current skills aren't worthless. There's real skill and knowledge required to host events like Tahani does, and that shouldn't be dismissed out of hand.

The Good Place: Tinker, Tailor, Demon, Spy (4x04)

I laughed a lot at this episode and I also had feels. So great!

Cons:

I don't really root for Janet and Jason as a couple, so I'm not sure how I feel about the revelation that it was Bad Place Janet who broke up with Jason. I liked the exploration of Janet having a romantic relationship, as a theory, but I've never bought completely in to the reality. So this is sort of a wait-and-see situation. They could always do something interesting with it, but it remains to be seen if I'll enjoy it or not.

Pros:

Eleanor and Chidi are giving me all the feels. I loved their conversation over nachos, and how Eleanor can be there for Chidi and help him with his anxiety and doubt. It's so nice to see her as a good person, who is confident and willing to be there for the people she loves. It's also so fascinating to see this version of Chidi, who is slowly being made a better person, and yet who doesn't remember Eleanor. You can see a connection between them, but there's distance there because of Eleanor's role as "The Architect." For obvious reasons, Chidi isn't going to think of Eleanor as a romantic prospect. It's just so tragic but also lovely to see them being there for each other in the only way they are currently able.

The Good Place: Chillaxing (4x03)

Yay, Tahani and Jason had stuff to do! Joy of joys!

Cons:

I missed Simone this week! And while I like that we learned more about John and his journey towards improvement, it feels disjointed to not be checking in with all four humans each week. That might just be a consequence of the season's overall pacing... I should probably be patient and wait for more of the story to unfold.

Pros:

In order to get Chidi to start improving himself and others, he needs to be tortured and put into a stressful situation. Eleanor takes to this task with a little too much relish, and Chidi does indeed start falling apart after they make Jason pretend once again to be a monk, and then reveal his secret to Chidi and beg for his help. However, Eleanor then has a breakdown about the pain she's putting Chidi through, and reveals to Michael that she is feeling irrationally angry with Chidi for leaving her, even though obviously he made a great sacrifice for the sake of them all.

The Good Place: A Girl from Arizona" (Part 2) (4x02)

Kristen Bell is a talented actress.

Cons:

Not much to say, other than that I wish Tahani had more to do. She's been very underutilized these first two episodes, but hopefully we'll see that turn around soon.

Pros:

Jason made me laugh more than anything this week. He's never been my favorite character, but the line delivery and comedy from this guy is often a delight. The breakup with Janet worked for me because I don't really like them as a couple, but also because we get to see Jason exploring some emotional hardship and coming to terms with what that means for his future. Also, the poor boy got some bad news about his favorite sports team...

I really liked Tahani comforting Jason. I feel like their friendship is one of the unexplored gems of this show. If we could get the two of them to spend more screen-time together, I would be quite happy.

The Good Place: A Girl From Arizona" (Part 1) (4x01)

This show does not miss a beat!

Cons:

I guess the only issue I have with this episode is that it didn't do anything wildly unexpected? But even that isn't actually a complaint, because sometimes it's good to start off with a base-level. I don't know.

Oh, I thought of one thing I'm not in love with: I don't think that Jason and Janet's romance is all that compelling. It's not bad, but it's not great either. There! I did it!

Pros:

This show is kind of hard to talk about because there's so much humor, and so many clever ideas, crammed in to such a short amount of time. Whenever I watch an episode, it feels like it's over in ten minutes instead of twenty-two, because of how much I'm enjoying every second.

The Good Place: Pandemonium (3x13)

Well that was quite sad...

Cons:

I talked about this before. I get nervous with how often these characters are rebooted and we start at ground zero with their development. I was liking the fact that finally everyone was on the same page, and now we've got Chidi back to not remembering anything. I'm reserving harsh judgment, because I still think this situation is different enough that it could be intriguing, and this show hasn't let me down yet... but we'll have to wait and see.

Pros:

I want to start with the comedy this week, because there were so many funny moments. Just lots of witty repartee. I loved Janet telling Tahani about the effectiveness of a specific insult, given her social class. I loved Eleanor saying "cork blork" and then admiring the profanity filter for keeping the rhyme scheme. I loved Eleanor making a joke about being hot, Chidi calling her out on joking to deflect her pain, and Eleanor replying, through her tears: "It's not a joke, I'm a legit snack!" Through the pain, I was definitely smiling a lot in this episode.

This setup is just so genius. We've got this new experiment, with four new people, and the twist that Shawn has set up is that they're people specifically designed to neutralize the soul squad. One of the guys is someone who used to post cruel things about Tahani on his blog. And one of them is... Simone. Chidi's ex-girlfriend. This is just such an evil thing to do, and I love that I 100% didn't see it coming. The obvious ploy would be to send really evil, irredeemable people up to the new neighborhood, but Shawn didn't do that. He picked people who are totally able to be redeemed, but made it complicated for an unexpected reason. So sinister! So twisty!

The Good Place: Chidi Sees the Time-Knife (3x12)

This show is actually really challenging to review sometimes, because it's just so good, and it's doing so many cool things, that I kind of don't know where to start.

Cons:

I was properly intimidated by Shawn when we first met him, while still being entertained by him. I feel like some of his threat level has been taken away. But also, I should wait and watch next week's episode before I jump to conclusions.

I saw someone point out a potential problem with the argument Michael is making about how complicated the world is. Buying a tomato loses you points because of all the unintended choices you're making with your dollars. Okay, fine. But if the argument is that it's more complicated now than it's ever been, don't we have to grapple with the fact that if you go back a couple of hundred years, people just going about in their lives were directly or indirectly benefiting from systems of oppression that then grew into the systems of oppression that we have today? So, for example, a white person benefiting from white privilege is actually benefiting from the legacy of slavery in the United States, right? Living in a global economy does make things more confusing. But that's not the same thing as saying that things were simple and linear in the past. Maybe they'll address this moving forward, or maybe I'm just thinking about it too hard.

The Good Place: The Book of Dougs (3x11)

Chidi and Eleanor are so cute I might scream.

Cons:

This isn't, like, a big or serious complaint, but I do want to point out that the counsel of people from the Good Place being really slow about helping is just stolen directly from the Ent Moot in The Lord of the Rings. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I wish there had been maybe something a bit more creative going on there.

Also, I'm confused about something. See, either I've caught a plot hole, or I'm being too hasty and I just don't understand the full picture yet. Doug Forcett is Michael's reason for thinking that the points system is corrupt, because he lives a totally selfless life and is still not making it in to the Good Place. But one of the big elements this season was about the Soul Squad, doing good for just the sake of doing good, without expecting reward. In fact, explicitly, the fact that the gang knows about the afterlife means that their motivations are impure and they can never gain points. If Doug Forcett is behaving the way he does because he believes that he needs points to go to the Good Place, doesn't that invalidate his candidacy anyway? Michael comes to a totally different conclusion in this episode, related to the fact that the world is complicated, and that even making a nice gesture can involve polluting the planet during transport, using an unethical corporation to buy someone a gift, etc. But I thought this was all building to something to do with intent, and now it seems like that's not what's going on. Usually, when I'm confused by this show, it's a good thing, because it means I can't see the full picture. But here... I'm genuinely a bit concerned that they're missing a piece of their own world-building.

The Good Place: Janet(s) (3x10)

Wow. That was brilliant. Probably the best episode of the season thus far, and that's saying something, since there haven't exactly been any duds.

Cons:

Okay. The only thing I have to say in the "cons" section might arguably not be a con, but I do want to mention it. Throughout the history of this show, there have been so many great surprises and plot twists and rule-changing reveals, and each and every one of them has kept me on my toes and surprised me in the best way. This week, the big reveal is that nobody has been sent to the Good Place in over 500 years. Honestly, I was expecting this. Or something similar. I wondered if anyone had ever been to the Good Place, or if the Good Place even existed, but I had definitely already worked out that the points system was faulty. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing to figure out a plot twist ahead of time once in a while, but I just wanted to mention that this was the first and only time in this show's whole history that a new development didn't completely blow me away. I figured out the whole "this is the Bad Place" twist in Season One, sure, but I hadn't realized that the whole neighborhood was part of the trick. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop with this twist, I guess. I'm sure I'm going to love whatever comes next.

Pros:

Where to even start? D'Arcy Carden was incredible. She plays Janet, but also Chidi, Eleanor, Jason, and Tahani for the bulk of this episode, and she does an amazing job. So much so that when I think of the important conversations that Chidi and Eleanor had this week, I see Chidi and Eleanor having them, not Janet dressed up in their clothes. Really good stuff.

The Good Place: Don't Let the Good Life Pass You By (3x09)

This is going to probably sound stupid to some people reading this, but it has only just occurred to me that we've never seen the actual Good Place. I'm intrigued as to what's in store.

Cons:

Michael is supposed to be something of an all-knowing demon, so it bothers me that he didn't point out what seems like a pretty clear logical fallacy. The reason the soul squad is doomed to the Bad Place is because they know the truth about the afterlife. Any good they might do, they're ultimately doing for selfish reasons. But doesn't that also hold true for Doug Forcett? He straight up admits that all the good he's doing, he's doing so he gets the points to make it to the Good Place. Doesn't that mean his motivations are impure? Obviously this episode is doing a lot to make us see how messed up the points system is, but even so... shouldn't Michael or Janet have noticed this fallacy?

Pros:

Whatever. I trust the show to know what's going on, even if Michael missed it. And the introduction of Doug Forcett, the man who we learned about in the pilot of this show, was nothing short of genius. Once again, The Good Place has decided to throw out a big chunk of its premise and refresh itself. What Doug is doing, even if it is in service of getting the most points, is pretty objectively crazy. He is causing himself such pain in order to do good in the world. Even counter-productive good, like giving his shoe to a sociopath teenager because it "makes the kid happy." That's nonsense! And Michael, despite what he wanted to believe about Doug being the ultimate blueprint to a good human life, is forced to admit fairly quickly that the system doesn't make any sense.

The Good Place: The Worst Possible Use of Free Will (3x08)

Yay! Chidi and Eleanor!

Cons:

Uhhhhhh.... Hm. Nope.

Pros:

Okay. Let's start by briefly mentioning the end of this episode, where it appears that our villains have found a way to get to earth. It looks like the respite for our core group of characters might be coming to an end. I particularly loved the bit about Vicky coming out of the cocoon, having missed soooo much since she was put in there. I can't wait to see where this is going!

This episode focused entirely around Michael and Eleanor, as Michael reveals Eleanor's past memories to her to show her how she and Chidi fell in love. Eleanor is at first excited to discover that she has the capacity to love, but then gets caught up in a staunch belief in determinism. She becomes convinced that she was manipulated by external forces to fall in love with Chidi, and that free will is a lie. Michael has to convince her that she was constantly screwing up his plans, and that proves that she has free will. Her denying of it now is just a coping mechanism, because she's afraid of being vulnerable.

The Good Place: A Fractured Inheritance (3x07)

This show!!!! I cannot!!!

Cons:

I literally cannot think of anything to complain about. I was going to say that I miss seeing stuff in the afterlife, but to be honest, I think it's great that we're not seeing that. It makes perfect sense to create some distance from that part of the story, at least for the time being.

Pros:

I like how thematic this episode was - after last week with Jason's dad, this week we see the two ladies both exploring very contentious familial relationships. This connects the two plot threads, while also giving different character combinations a chance to work off of one another. Eleanor and Michael spend the episode together, Tahani and Chidi do as well, and Jason and Janet provide good subplot humor.