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| Photo from The Good Place (NBC) |
“You said that every human is a little bit sad all the time, because you know you’re going to die. But that knowledge is what gives life meaning.” — Michael (The Good Place)
The concept of death is a daunting one. No one ever really knows for sure when it's their time or what will happen to them after. Numerous philosophers and scientists have spent millennia trying to find an answer, only to end up with more questions being pondered. Thankfully, Michael Schur’s hit series, The Good Place, is offering its viewers wisdom on the normality of death and why we should accept it.
At the start of the series, we meet four amazing yet far-from-perfect individuals in the afterlife. These are Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell), Chidi Anagonye (William Jackson Harper), Tahani Al-Jamil (Jameela Jamil), and Jason Mendoza (Manny Jacinto). These four peculiar people were led to believe that they had arrived at the good place (or Heaven as we call it). This ragtag group of neighbors would soon realize that they were being used to torture each other, leading to Eleanor’s realization that they are actually in the bad place. With a fear of eternal damnation, the squad goes on an arduous journey to not only save themselves but challenge everything they come across within the afterlife.
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| Photo from The Good Place (NBC) |
Throughout the series, there is one central theme that captures the essence of each and every episode: redemption. Even for someone as forkingly discourteous as Eleanor, not even death itself can prevent her from being the best version of herself. The same can be said for the rest of Team Cockroach (yes, they call themselves that). The Good Place leaves its viewers the message that the things we do in life are not bound by numerical scores, but rather by living out your best life, which is about being better than who you were yesterday.
This work of Michael Schur is entirely different from his previous classics like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Parks and Recreation, and The Office. Instead of another workplace-based sitcom, The Good Place went in an entirely different direction. It focuses on redemption and the concept of the afterlife. Who would have thought that a show about death and the afterlife could bring not only wholesome laughs but also answer, or at the very least, offer wisdom about a topic that is otherwise existentially sobering?
Another notable quality of The Good Place would be its unique way of storytelling. The way in which the show continued to break its original premise season after season, a technique rarely used especially in the comedy genre. It also ends episodes on a cliffhanger, a common ending for an hour-long episode or season finale, which is unconventional yet a very effective method in making the series very binge-able.
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| Photo from The Good Place (NBC) |
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| Photo from The Good Place (NBC) |
The series may have given fans a sense of closure for the characters, however, a lot of mysteries are still left unanswered. Even with the leftover inquiries, the fact that we aren’t really given an answer is greatly satisfying. The series retains the nature of death, something that will never be crystal clear to any of us. We may come up with theories and rely on religious beliefs but the profound truth remains.
At the end of it all, we are all reminded that death is a part of human life. As strange as it sounds, it is what makes us human. Even though it is terrifying because of its uncertainty, The Good Place teaches us that we will never have the answer, therefore we just need to accept and appreciate the mystery. The only thing we could do while we are alive is to never stop trying to be the best version of ourselves. It is only then that we may live our lives to the fullest by accepting and finding meaning in the mystery surrounding death. As Tahani Al-Jamil said in the series, “Knowing that you don’t have to be here forever will help you feel happier while you are.”
