Written by Avani Goswami
NBC’s The Good Place officially said their final farewell in Thursday’s night finale, ending in the same comedic, sentimental way that has made the show so entertaining and wholesome for four full seasons.
The Good Place finale was bittersweet, but gave proper closure to characters we’ve come to love. The core four, along with former demon Michael (Ted Danson) and not-girl Janet (D’arcy Carden), were finally living in The (real) Good Place, accomplishing what they never thought was possible. Once they accomplished all they wanted to, they could walk through a door and end their time in the universe forever.
In terms of philosophy, the journey to becoming a good person was the core of the show. Eleanor (Kristen Bell) went through many trials from being an “Arizona dirtbag” to a philosophy student with the capacity to care about and open up to others. The bonds she formed with the other humans in the same position as her changed her for the better, and proved that given the time, anyone can become better. The last few episodes in particular focused on the reason for someone’s existence, and finding a purpose once you have become the person you want to be. Earlier episodes of this season played with this idea, but the finale fleshed it out: there is no point to life if there is no end.
In the finale, Floridian DJ Jason (Manny Jacinto) was the first to decide he was ready to walk through the door, after he played a perfect game of Madden with his dad. He was followed by Tahani (Jameela Jamil), who found satisfaction in the afterlife, learning an array of new skills she never got to learn on earth. She became an architect for good place neighborhoods, instead of ending her existence, to live out her goal of helping others who take The Good Place test and work to qualify for The Good Place.
Chidi (William Jackson Harper) was next, deciding he’d gained confidence and lived out his best days with Eleanor. He even gave a particularly emotional speech, contingent on a metaphor about change. Eleanor was desperate for him to stay, as Tahani and Jason were gone, and she was afraid of being alone again as she had through her childhood. However, Eleanor’s true growth showed when she decided to let Chidi go instead of selfishly trying to keep him in The Good Place for her benefit. Eleanor’s character arc, along with her friends’, is the most satisfying part of the finale. It’s fulfilling to see them become much better people, while never losing the original spark that roped you into the story in the first place.
Eleanor struggled the most to find her true purpose and sense of satisfaction in The Good Place. She helped Michael become a real human, which was his biggest dream, and inspired Mindy from The Middle Place to take test to try to enter The Good Place instead of living in solitude. These acts fulfilled Eleanor, especially when she helped Mindy—a woman very similar to herself—accept that she can’t do everything alone and that she wants someone to care about her.
It’s hard to say goodbye to a show that guided the audience along an optimistic adventure to discover the meaning of life and the ways in which we can become better people. The show brought us a heartfelt, hilarious take on what awaits us after death, but the concepts introduced in the show are something we can all learn from right now. We all can only hope to become just as great people, and leave the universe satisfied with all we’ve done. And it’s the perfect ending to see the characters do just that.
I can honestly admit that after four intense seasons of the show, stocked with pop culture references and exciting plot twists, the only bad thing about The Good Place is that it ends.
