# The Good Place \[edited title\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 21, 2016, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545 "2016-09-21T23:33:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/162 "2017-01-20T02:06:38Z")
OK. I didn’t see that coming. This show got so much better as it went along. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/163 "2017-01-20T02:26:27Z")
Holy mother-forking shirtballs! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/164 "2017-01-20T03:25:25Z")
I think people in the thread had suggested something like this, but it was a wonderful twist. The show has been a real treat. I don’t know if there will be any more episodes, but I realized I’d love to see what happens next. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/165 "2017-01-20T04:07:55Z")
I thought it was very interesting this evening. Very good ending and/or new beginning. I hope it comes back. Sent from my LG-V495 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![tenacious\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tenacious\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tenacious_j)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/166 "2017-01-20T04:34:38Z")
I was more “Holy motherforking shirtballs!” that it was the season finale. It just came back! ☹ I hope they bring it back. Tonight’s episodes were among the best. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/167 "2017-01-20T09:22:37Z")
That was deeply satisfying. TV twist done right. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/168 "2017-01-20T09:26:36Z")
Yeah, it always seemed odd that Chidi and Tahani were in the Good Place, for exactly the reasons mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/169 "2017-01-20T11:30:49Z")
I’ll echo the Holy shirt comment Did Baba john(?) have a loophole, or just a way to prolong the charade? Were the bad place folks were in on it also? How about Mindy? Brian ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/170 "2017-01-20T14:49:57Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > That was deeply satisfying. TV twist done right. Yeah. It was perfect. Totally obvious in retrospect but completely surprising at the time. It makes me want to go back and watch the whole thing over again from the beginning. I hope there is more too! ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/171 "2017-01-20T15:03:15Z")
I was extremely happy with it. It really was a show that was both entertaining and made you think. The way it ended I would be fine with it being a single season show. Of course, I wouldn’t turn down a second season but it’s just the right level of cliffhanger to let you wonder without needing a sequel. It does make you wonder how much of what they saw was real. Is Mindy real, or just another bad place imposter? Is Janet going to become more self-aware? Is Shawn’s real boss going to find out what happened and get pissed? I would _love_ for them to explore other neighborhoods, ones that are actually good and bad places. Given that this is supposedly the first time architects have stuck around, it might be interesting to see if some good places are actually hellholes and some bad places have worked out something pretty nice. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/172 "2017-01-20T15:06:28Z")
So…that was something. I liked it. I would say I’ll miss nice Michael but we’ll still be getting him it seems (although now we know better). Curious to see where this goes. One unanswered question: is the Medium Place a real thing or part of the deception? ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/173 "2017-01-20T15:34:20Z")
**Quimby** - My guess is that the Medium Place was real. Janet was acting off-program when she took them there. The fact that there was only the one person living there makes me think it was exactly as they say - a place without yogurt stands and without fire demons. StG ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/174 "2017-01-20T15:38:10Z")
“Celebrity Baby Plastic Surgery Disasters”. 😃 StG ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/175 "2017-01-20T15:43:02Z")
What made this different from other sitcoms was that it told a complete, overarching plot. And that the writers knew where they were going from the beginning. In that way, it was much like _Babylon 5_ (though less ambitious). I can’t think of an American sitcom that has done something like this. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/176 "2017-01-20T15:46:11Z")
Oh, this was so satisfying…It made all the things that bugged me make sense, and Ted Danson was so good at making the shift from good to evil. Definitely the best show on tv. And, yes, it works both as a series finale or as a cliffhanger for a new season. I’m happy either way. Oh, the burning lava demon coming into the conference room with a time dispute was very funny. That kind of corporate set up is exactly how I imagine hell to be. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/177 "2017-01-20T15:49:17Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > **Quimby** - My guess is that the Medium Place was real. Janet was acting off-program when she took them there. The fact that there was only the one person living there makes me think it was exactly as they say - a place without yogurt stands and without fire demons. > > StG I think that the medium place was still a variant of Bad Place. Mindy as she presented herself was even worse than Eleanor. I suspect she was another fake resident/demon, and the stolen train gambit was another aspect of the torture. Jason, Chidi, Tahani, and Eleanor were the only former humans. Everyone else was a demon or Janet. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/178 "2017-01-20T16:37:36Z")
Mindy made no real sense as part of the plot. Janet is the only one who knew about her, apparently, and Janet isn’t really part of the Bad Place. It could be that she was just there to put Tahani and Chidi into a jam. (I loved the throwaway bit where Michael is shouting into Bad Janet’s mouth to use her as a walkie-talkie. The little background gags are the best part of the show.) But it could be setting up a plotline for next season where they know something that Michael doesn’t. If there is a next season. The latest news I can find says that no decision has been announced. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/179 "2017-01-20T17:46:19Z")
> [@Tapiotar](#): > > I think that the medium place was still a variant of Bad Place. Mindy as she presented herself was even worse than Eleanor. I suspect she was another fake resident/demon, and the stolen train gambit was another aspect of the torture. Jason, Chidi, Tahani, and Eleanor were the only former humans. Everyone else was a demon or Janet. No. Mindy was both worse and far better than Eleanor. She lived a bad life, but reformed and planned to give her money to charity. She died before it happened, but the money did create a lot of good in the end. So the reason no one could decide was that was she bad – as evidenced by her life – or was she good – as evidenced by her change of heart and the results of that. You could argue either way, depending on your philosophical bent, which makes it understandable they couldn’t decide. But she really had no function in the plot. If she weren’t introduced, nothing would have change. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/180 "2017-01-20T19:09:00Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > No. Mindy was both worse and far better than Eleanor. > > She lived a bad life, but reformed and planned to give her money to charity. She died before it happened, but the money did create a lot of good in the end. So the reason no one could decide was that was she bad – as evidenced by her life – or was she good – as evidenced by her change of heart and the results of that. You could argue either way, depending on your philosophical bent, which makes it understandable they couldn’t decide. > > But she really had no function in the plot. If she weren’t introduced, nothing would have change. Possibly if the second season (assuming there is one) repeats some of the storylines, Mindy will remember the earlier visit but none of the “Bad Place Four” will. They might even pick up the pace, _Groundhog Day_ style, so that we get multiple iterations within a season and Mindy will be again surprised/naked for the second visit, startled/underweared for the third, then annoyed/dressed for the fourth, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545/181 "2017-01-20T19:35:50Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > No. Mindy was both worse and far better than Eleanor. > > She lived a bad life, but reformed and planned to give her money to charity. She died before it happened, but the money did create a lot of good in the end. So the reason no one could decide was that was she bad – as evidenced by her life – or was she good – as evidenced by her change of heart and the results of that. You could argue either way, depending on your philosophical bent, which makes it understandable they couldn’t decide. > > But she really had no function in the plot. If she weren’t introduced, nothing would have change. That’s assuming that there really is a Good Place involved. Remember, what was presented as the Good Place really is just another neighborhood of the Bad Place. Any info we have on how to get into the Good Place, the points system and all, was given by Michael (and Janet, programmed by Michael/Mike), and is therefore unreliable info. The way she talked to Eleanor made me think that she didn’t have any epiphany of the sort she claimed to have, and so I think she was another creature meant to make Eleanor feel bad about herself. Michael’s and Sean’s apparent lack of knowledge about where she was was an act to torture Chidi and Tahani . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-good-place-edited-title/766545.md?page=10)