The Good Place Season 4

[kngen]

It's back and as funny as ever. I did think was a bit underused, though.

That really was a great episode. And was delighted to see Timothy Olyphant. I need to watch it again, but he played it as Raylan Givens, didn't he? Cocky and self-assured even though he'd been dropped in a situation that was hugely complex and not necessarily in need of his presence.

[phantom_power]

Confirming what I think we all had gathered anyway, the Good Place Committee is a sick burn on the Dems:

https://news.avclub.com/michael-schur-on-the-good-place-committee-there-s-a-re-1841023769

[JumpAction]

I still haven't watched this show yet but I've been meaning to get around to it. I heard it has an Anna Kendrick reference which is enough really to get me invested.

[kngen]

Have we ever actually seen the (proper) Good Place? Strikes me that somewhere that everything was wonderful all the time would get pretty boring (like playing games on cheat mode), so maybe there's an angle there?

Hellloooooo vindication!

[Small Man Big Horse]

Hellloooooo vindication!

Ha, nice work there good sir, you got it in one.

I thought that was another lovely episode, packed full of fantastic lines, but I have no idea where they're going to go next, what with the season finale being a double episode too.

I'm surprised that rather than death then didn't come up with a reincarnation door (at least as an option to ending it all), but maybe that's something they'll mention in the finale.

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

I remember a short that was posted a few years ago, Limbo, starring H. Jon Benjamin and Natasha Leggero, about a guy dying and spending hundreds of years in some kind of paradise (well, limbo), with some special instruction attached, in case he would be bored and wanted to finish it all.

It's slightly NSFW (especially if your colleagues don't appreciate Benjamin's hairy bum), the video now requires a password, but you'll find everything you need here.

https://www.reddit.com/r/answers/comments/82lsin/what_happened_to_limbo_the_short_film_written_by/

But I don't see how they would use a similar ending for The Good Place, especially given its hopeful tone.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

I thought for a while that this one was the finale, since it seemed to wrap everything up. It felt very rushed though, so I think I'd have been disappointed if it had been the ending.

[alan nagsworth]

I am still loving this, but I thought the most recent episode was quite rushed and unnecessary at this very late stage in the series' runtime, and that's saying something when you consider the blistering pace the show has moved at from the very start. I'm eager to see what the last two episodes will throw up but this one sort of already felt like the end, with another problem-solving plot crammed in.

I'm aware that it has to reach a conclusive end of sorts now but I enjoyed this episode significantly less than almost everything else that's come before it. "This place appears to be perfect! Oh wait it isn't, and it's been stagnant for centuries! No one can fix it! Oh we fixed it immediately!" You know what I mean?

[phantom_power]

I like the fact that the solution to the problem was to basically make them all mortal again, with all the attendant not knowing what comes next that we all have. It seems like the only way to get past the whole eternity thing and hopefully they don't explain the after-after-life any further

[alan nagsworth]

hopefully they don't explain the after-after-life any further

"Probably best not to think about that right now but it's FUCKIN' 'ORRIBLE"

[oy vey]

The latest episode is kind of a retread of the Twilight Zone episode A Nice Place To Visit. I'm guessing the last episode will add the idea that "the good place" is not a location, rather a state of mind, in addition to the "you can leave" and/or a circular memory-wipe/rediscovery solution which isn't very satisfying IMHO. We'll find out soon...

[Blumf]

I think we've got to see what problems arise when the former Bad Place guests get to go to the Good Place.

Will what's her name, in the Medium Place get a look in? Also Doug Forcett must surely die.

[samadriel]

I am still loving this, but I thought the most recent episode was quite rushed and unnecessary at this very late stage in the series' runtime, and that's saying something when you consider the blistering pace the show has moved at from the very start. I'm eager to see what the last two episodes will throw up but this one sort of already felt like the end, with another problem-solving plot crammed in.

I'm aware that it has to reach a conclusive end of sorts now but I enjoyed this episode significantly less than almost everything else that's come before it. "This place appears to be perfect! Oh wait it isn't, and it's been stagnant for centuries! No one can fix it! Oh we fixed it immediately!" You know what I mean?

Yeah, I'll have to agree with you on that one, the problem was as hastily dealt with as it was hastily introduced; I have faith that the finale will be good, but this was a bit of a stumble. I was surprised that the notion of reincarnation wasn't even brought up -- when you're considering ways to break the monotony of heaven, it's a bit of an elephant in the room.

[phantom_power]

Presumably reincarnation just isn't an option in a spiritual reality where heaven exists

[kidsick5000]

There's going to be some upset for no other reason that Michael Schur's outlook seems to be that death should be the end.
It might be too bleak for some people.
Or maybe our protagonists realise that deep down, Michael's first Bad Place was the most fun they had in their lives.

[phantom_power]

It will turn out to all be Adrian Pimento's ketamine trip

[Nice Relaxing Poo]

I have to say I find Tiya Sircar delightful.

[Moribunderast]

As someone who's had an interesting time with The Good Place (have always liked it but not always found it particularly funny or gripping - just very pleasant, though obviously it CAN be quite funny) I have to say I thought that was a really beautiful finale and about as perfect as they could have done for that show. Marc Evan Jackson and D'arcy Carden are treasures.

[beanheadmcginty]

Bawled my fucking eyes out.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Bawled my fucking eyes out.

Likewise. But I'm not happy about it. I understand what Schur's getting at (and wouldn't want an afterlife that went on forever either) but on a strictly personal level I can't say I enjoyed

Spoiler alert

watching these characters kill themselves.

[close]

[tookish]

I'm both excited and very, very sad to see this lovely show end. Watching the characters grow has been an absolute pleasure. Not to sound like a damp cunt, but I have found the focus on the importance of growth and effort, rather than on perfection, extremely healing on a personal level.

We rewatched the first episode yesterday evening for nostalgia reasons, and seeing Chidi walk in and say 'Eleanor, I'm your soulmate', having seen those characters grow into their love for one another, was a beautiful fucking thing. They really are soulmates - they just had to become the right people for each other first.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

I cried manly tears. Considering the whole series only started a few years ago, that seems like quite something.

[BritishHobo]

Well wasn't that just the most lovely, wonderful finale you've ever seen.

I watched the middle chunk of it in the canteen in work, trying very hard not to cry. And then the rest just now, when I absolutely let loose. Just perfect, and beautiful.

[oy vey]

They changed the tone from comedic to poignant - it worked for the Blackadder 4 finale and so it is here too. Forking great stuff.

[Gulftastic]

Unlike Blackadder 4, the Good Place properly earned the sentiment.

Cried a bit watching that. It was just lovely. I think Chidi's goodbye got me the most.

[oy vey]

Funny enough Michael's conclusion did it for me. Fuck, I want that zest for life on Earth. Why not eh?

[BritishHobo]

Yeah. Ted Danson has been extraordinarily lovely throughout this show, the most joyful, infectious performance. Just his fucking face and little gasps, I was crying like an idiot, and when his

Spoiler alert

guitar teacher

[close]

appeared, it did me in. Wrecked. What a champion Michael is. What a show to be able to take him from being the surprise villain to being the nicest, loveliest person on TV.

[phantom_power]

I have never felt on the verge of tears for an entire hour-long episode of television before, until now. Just sad and lovely and poignant and heartfelt. But still very funny. I think the sentiment of the show in general, and the finale in particular, will stay with me for a long time

[alan nagsworth]

I thought it was about as conclusive and final as it could have hoped to be, but continuing from my criticism of the penultimate episode, I thought the pacing was off. Not nearly enough time spent on Tahani or Jason (although the monk bit was lovely and I really click with how that joke works on a cyclical level in a Buddhist way). The first act of the episode just felt quite rushed, and I think they could have done better to build up to this.

That said, despite the fact that I expected it to absolutely ruin me a lot more than it actually did, on the whole I thought it was wonderful. Michael's ending was the most satisfying conclusion by a long stretch. Danson has been a ray of sunshine throughout this entire thing and that was the perfect send-off. And Chidi's goodbye was the most affecting. Again, that Buddhist ocean wave shit, fucking hell. I should get more into Buddhist wisdom because I'm really deeply moved by that.

This show is a brilliantly singular and unique vision and it's been a total joy to observe this journey which genuinely feels extremely close to how the human mind could ever (fail to) perceive any kind of afterlife: dreamlike, rich, endlessly deep and multifaceted. A fantastic piece of work.

[kidsick5000]

What a great finale. I don't think I've seen a bow so perfectly wrapped on a series.
" I suddenly had this calm feeling like the air inside my lungs was the same as the air outside my body" was a wonderful moment