Spoilers ahead!
After four fantastic seasons, The Good Place has finally come to an end, and a lot happened in a few short episodes. Here’s a rundown of what happened.
A “Medium Place” Is Created
Chidi’s new afterlife system is based on Eleanor’s idea of a “medium place.” Rather than being judged on their life on Earth, humans take a morality test in an afterlife specially designed to challenge them based on their life. When or if people earn enough points, they are allowed to enter the Good Place.
The Good Place Sucks
When Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, and Jason enter the Good Place, they learn that everybody is discretely miserable. Getting everything they want whenever they want has turned their brain into “mush,” and their lives have been stripped of any meaning. This inspires Michael to utilize human wisdom given to him by Eleanor. Human life is meaningful because it ends. And so Good Place residents are given the option to leave when or if they feel their time is complete.
Life Is Like a Wave
When Chidi feels ready to move on, he explains to Eleanor that life is like a wave in the ocean. For a while, it takes a certain form, and then it disappears back into the ocean, where it becomes a part of something bigger. This is how he understands his existence coming to an end. When Eleanor walks through the door, she becomes a peaceful ball of light, which gives a gentle nudge to the people on Earth, when they are faced with a small moral decision.
There Will Always Be Mysteries
The Good Place offers a profound and imaginative postulation of what the afterlife could be like. Ultimately though, the ending reminds us that there is a wonderful power in not knowing. Even Janet, the not-a-girl not-a-robot that knows everything there is to know in the universe, is unsure about what happens when people pass through the final door. Life is full of mysteries and that is one of the things that makes it so impossibly interesting.
