The final season of The Good Place arrived in two parts with the final episode landing on Friday. In the end, the series tells us more about how to live our life on earth than it does about what the afterlife could be like.
After the mid-season finale, Chidi is put in a position where he has to redesign the entire afterlife system or else humanity will be wiped out of existence for good. After a hefty philosophy session, the gang decides to create a medium place where people must take a morality test based on their time on earth. When they collect enough points, however long it takes, they are allowed to enter the real Good Place.
When the gang finally makes it into the real Good Place, they learn that everybody is bored out of their minds. They can have literally anything they want whenever they want and as a result, they experience a version of heaven paradox. Without any struggle or purpose, they are profoundly fed up. Michael then reminds Eleanor of a pearl of wisdom she gave him during his existential crisis. What makes human life meaningful is the fact that it will end.
The Good Place residents are subsequently given the option to walk through a door when they feel their time is over. The door will put an end to their existence should they feel they have gained everything they possibly can from their time in the Good Place. Sure enough, when the people learn that they have the option to leave, they are able to sit back and enjoy the party.
In the end, the afterlife that Chidi and the group create is one of peace. For a while, each member of the group enjoys the perks of getting anything they want whenever they want. As a viewer, we have no concept of how long they have been there. We never endure what would have to be billions of episodes of Chidi reading philosophy and Eleanor eating shrimp. Instead, we are shown each character at the moment they decide to walk through the door.
Inevitably, it is a tear-jerking moment when Jason becomes the first to leave the Good Place. It is a bittersweet moment. Ultimately, there is no happier ending a person can get. Jason spends as long as he wanted enjoying his time with his family and friends in paradise and then when he felt at peace, he was able to move on. Nonetheless, without billions of years to come to terms with the concept of the afterlife, we can’t help but feel sad about his journey coming to an end. This is what makes the show so poignant, profound, and beautiful.
In the end, the show says more about life on earth than it ever does about the afterlife. It teaches us about morality, purpose, and how to live our life as meaningfully as possible. It’s the mistakes and the bad days that make the good days so wonderful and when Michael finally achieves his dream of becoming human, we are given a brief reminder of how special it is to be human.
5/5
