Janet is definitely more than she seems, and probably connected to whatever version of God exists on the show.
But I think the one learning and growing is Michael though. He’s definitely not a normal demon as the others are depicted, or he would never have come up with the “Bad Place Lite” idea in the first place. He might be a bad person who has forgotten his earthly life, or perhaps some sort of fallen angel in need of rehabilitation. I’m still not entirely sure the torturous Bad Place is even real.
I think he’s in some sort of purgatory and his learning to be a better person/demon/angel is the real goal of whatever “place” he’s in, and the humans are there to help him improve while at the same time improving themselves. They’re not good, exactly, but they’re better than Michael used to be. Together they’ll overcome their bad sides and become worthy of the real Good Place.
Not sure what role the other demons are playing. I’m guessing Michael will get a surprise twist ending this season like the humans did last season. The demons are actually torturing Michael with the help of the humans, or they’re really in purgatory, not the bad place, acting as an opposing force for Michael’s struggle against evil or something. But Michael isn’t in control of things like he thinks he is.
They were very careful to avoid that last season until the final episode where Michael was pitching the Good Place to Shawn (after the twist was revealed). There was one scene where the two of them were talking at the train station, but Chidi and Tahani were watching them.
This year, we saw it when Shawn was in Michael’s office, but by then the audience knew the secret. There hasn’t been a scene where Shawn was shown where none of the others were present.
I was going to ask, has there been a scene where anyone or anything is shown out of the perspective any of the four humans or Michael?
But I remembered there was that last Medium Place scene with just Mindy, Derek and the duffel bags cocaine. I guess whatever tricks are being played on the humans and Michael, the Medium Place is real and isn’t playing a part.
My daughter’s theory is that the payoff will be that this is all is Michael’s Bad Place. Like Sisyphus, he will forever be frustrated in his attempts to get that big promotion. No matter how carefully he plans and how foolproof the plan is, there will always be an Eleanor who figures it out, a Vicky who plots against him, and a Shawn who threatens him.
I can definitely see that, and it’s the type of thing I think will happen. But I expect it to be a little more upbeat than that. He’s growing, he’s making a connection with the humans. He showed real emotion and called them his friends. That’s why I’m leaning towards some sort of purgatory with a payoff where they eventually all go to the real Good Place.
Of course, that’s roughly what the characters thought they were doing this season, and this show likes to throw us curveballs.
Or it all could be aliens, or future humans, giving our heroes a chance to advance ethically.
Not that I’m pulling for such an outcome. But the show creator and writers have been very careful to avoid any and all “religious” elements. Ethics? Yes. Morals? Sure. But life-after-death as a reality designed by a Deity? Not so much. We have some ‘design’ by what we’re told are demons, but who’s in charge of the demons? Who created the demons and who set up the rules for a Good Place and a Bad Place?
On these topics the show is silent. It’s possible that the final reveal will not just leave them unexplained, but make them entirely irrelevant.
Well most of that was pretty dull, I never thought Michael had a plan to get to TGP, so that wasn’t much of a surprise. The mission to go all the way through the real Bad Place is a nice twist. It’ll be fun watching D’arcy Carden playing Good Janet playing Bad Janet, (which I assume will be part of the plan.)
I really liked the episode - seeing The Good Place all dissolve at the end was crazy.
Wife and I had to pause the TV at the beginning - when Michael told Jason the vehicle wasn’t Optimus Prime, and Jason lets out a frustrated “awwwrrrr.” We just couldn’t stop laughing at that one!
The texts from Shaun (soon vs soup) and Michael’s description of how disgusting kissing is had me rolling again.
I could watch Eleanor kidding-not-kidding insult Tahani all day long. This wasn’t one of the more riotously funny episodes, but it still had plenty of laughs, and was very touching.
Was I the only one eagerly waiting for Michael to step on the magic balloon scales (before we knew they were totally fake)?
Interesting how The Good Place and Future Man have almost the same description of kissing–one describes it as putting food holes together, the other describes it as putting rat holes together (by people from a dystopian future where people eat rats.) Both were probably filmed at a similar time, though, so maybe coincidence.
Yes, that CGI was well done. I’ll miss the set (‘Little Europe’ at Universal). But no doubt the Bad Place sets will be pretty amazing, so there’s that to look forward to.
If they’re going to delve into the performers’ actual bios, then surely the 1993 “blackface” incident (at a roast of Danson’s then-girlfriend Whoopi Goldberg) will take pride of place.