Review (sort of): The Good Place

This is kind of a review, I suppose, but mostly just a recommendation. If I did an in-depth review (which I might one day), I’d spoil way too much – and if you haven’t watched this show then I really don’t want to do that for you.

I just finished The Good Place. If you’ve not heard of it or watched it… do.

The basic premise: a woman named Eleanor dies. She was a somewhat unpleasant person. But she wakes up in heaven – ‘The Good Place’ – and has to try to blend in so that nobody realises that she is definitely not supposed to be there.

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It starts out as a light-hearted comedy, but to my pleasant surprise the show pivots – while staying hilarious – into not just comedy but philosophy. To blend in in the Good Place Eleanor has to learn how to be a better person – which involves some really well-delivered lessons on ethics delivered by a recently-deceased professor of philosophy. Not only did I enjoy this show a lot, but I also learned a lot from it. And it was fun doing so.

For a (spoiler-free) example, consider the show’s take on the ‘Trolley Problem’:

There are a lot of twists in this show. If I say anything more – or tell you pretty much anything about the later seasons – I’d be spoiling it. So if you haven’t watched the show, do. 

All I’ll say is that it only got better as it went on, and the finale – that glorious hour-long finale – was everything the characters and the show deserved and more.

“Picture a wave…”

It’s the best-conceived images of an afterlife system that I’ve ever read or seen. It’s also brilliantly acted, hilarious, and has more twists and turns than a twisty-turny thing.

Watch The Good Place. You might learn something.