I don't want to start this off as a downer but you have to admit, the world is going through a lot right now.
I mean the political scenario around us in many different countries has much to be desired. I read an article recently about how we are on the final stage of late capitalism and as an Economics major, that did not make me feel good at all.
To cope with the news that comes out daily that I can do nothing about but just watch, I decided to go under my blanket and finally catch up with "The Good Place" and suffice to say, it has reminded me that not all is lost.
The world may feel like it's crumbling, but "The Good Place" reminded us that there's still some good left. The show's message is that anyone can be good, and nobody is broken beyond repair. Sometimes folks just need some help getting there.
The comedy series tells the story of Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell), who dies and goes to the afterlife called "The Good Place"…only to find out they have mistaken her for someone else. She decides that she wants to fit in with the rest of the residents of "The Good Place," and seeks to become a better and more ethical person with the help of her afterlife mentor and soulmate, Chidi (William Jackson Harper) who conveniently used to be a Moral Ethics professor when he was alive.
Yes, the premise of this show sounds super confusing and very weird. While the offbeat summary guarantees plenty of belly laughs, the series' creator Michael Schur makes sure the series toes the fine line between the sunny setting and the dark, otherworldly underbelly of The Good Place itself, a conceptualization of heaven or paradise that certain religions adhere to.
The beauty of the show is that it is super confusing and very weird but also sort of wonderful, once you continue.
Each episode is short and is guaranteed to have a twist at the end, especially during the first and second season, in such an entertaining way that it keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Four seasons in, the show has become a guiding light for how to be good to one another, and how to be funny without sacrificing thoughtfulness.
And maybe that's a reminder for fans, too: "The Good Place" is ending, but the task of making the world a little better, kinder, and more fun shouldn't.
