The title of this blog post is perhaps undue optimism on my
part—saying this is a review of season 1 of The Good Place implies that there
will be a season 2. I don’t know what
the collective brain trust at NBC is thinking, but if there is a God in heaven
then the further adventure of Eleanor Shellstrop in the afterlife will be televised
next season.
The Good Place ended its 13-episode run on Thursday with a
double episode that included one of the most astonishing reveals in the history
of television (um, spoilers?). After 13 episodes,
it suddenly occurred to “fake Eleanor” that The Good Place was actually—The Bad
Place! What was supposed to be 1,000
years of self-inflicted torment for four characters was cut short when Eleanor
realized that seemingly befuddled, mild-mannered Michael was, in fact, an evil
genius.
I have said before that Ted Danson as Michael deserved an
Emmy nomination for The Good Place, showing acting range undreamt of when Danson
was picking up annual Emmy nominations (11 nominations, 2 awards) for Cheers. But Danson’s transformation in the last
episode of Good Place, when benevolent Michael turns his feckless grin into a
malevolent sneer, was pure genius. I
haven’t seen such a quick and convincing change of character since the episode
of Dollhouse where Alan Tudyk changed from a hapless nerd into the murderous character
known as Alpha in a split second. Forget
nominations, give Ted Danson the Emmy for Supporting Actor in a Comedy.
Not that the rest of the cast didn’t raise their game for
the season finale. D’Arcy Carden always
had a demented twinkle in her eye as the digital factotum Janet, but her
deciding to marry dim bulb Jason (Manny Jacinto) was sheer deadpan lunacy. Jamela Jamil got even haughtier and hotter as
Tehani, a statuesque serial fundraiser so attractive that even the supposedly straight
Eleanor considered having a relationship with her. And of course, the key to the whole thing
(after Danson), William Jackson Harper’s perpetually panicked Chidi, for whom
it should come as no surprise that he was in The Bad Place as he had a stomach
ache almost from the moment he met “fake Eleanor.” The fact that three hot women
professed their love for him inside of an hour should have tipped him off that
something was amiss.
The show ended on a note so outrageous that the producers of
Lost would have laughed at any writer who proposed the idea—wipe everyone’s
memories and start over next season (or wait, was that a plot on Lost?).
It was always unclear what The Good Place’s long game was, and how the
show could maintain the premise beyond what would amount to a 13 episode, 6 ½ hour
miniseries. Michael Schur’s gambit was a
stroke of brilliance, allowing the show to continue but at the same time making
everything fresh.
I will not urge everyone reading this to write to NBC and
demand that The Good Place be renewed, because the suits at NBC want your
feedback as much as Donald Trump wants to know what people really think of the
ACA. But if you believe in karma, try
sending some good deeds into the universe and telling the Powers That Be that
thanks should be in the form of a season 2 of The Good Place. It won’t make the world into The Good Place,
but it will make things a wee bit better.
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