Entertainment

'The Good Place' Needs To Resolve This Storyline

by Caroline Gerdes
The Good Place/YouTube

While I was watching the Season 1 finale of The Good Place, my husband, who has never seen an episode, asked me to explain who Janet is. I tried to explain that she was sort of a robot, but built by angels. Well, more like built by beings in the afterlife, that is sort of another dimension. (This stuff is super crazy when you say it out loud.) He then asked what "The Good Place" was, and after the show's doozy of a cliffhanger, that question was impossible for me to answer. [SPOILERS AHEAD] We left off with Eleanor and company's memory wiped, but Eleanor still somehow finding herself on a quest. Will Eleanor find Chidi on The Good Place Season 2, if the show gets renewed?

The two-part cliffhanger began with Eleanor, Jason, and Janet arriving at Mindy St. Clair's Medium Place, while Eleanor's fate was being determined in the Good Place. We had some laughs at Mindy's eternity in mediocrity with only Eagles hits, warm beer, and a truly medium VHS selection — oh Janet also tried to figure out sex with Jason. But, eventually the Judge came to a decision that Chidi and Tahani were going to the Bad Place in Jason and Eleanor's place, due to their absence. Of course, Eleanor raced back to The Good Place, dragging Jason, in order to save her friends.

In part two, Chidi, Eleanor, Tahani, and Jason all had to reach a conclusion about who was going to The Bad Place, now that everyone was accounted for and guilty of something bad since their arrival in The Good Place. At this time, Eleanor realized something and the biggest twist of the season was revealed. This wasn't The Good Place, the four of them were in The Bad Place. And, the secrets, bickering, plotting, and real Eleanor were all new ways of torture that were being tested. Michael isn't the sweet "Dad" figure we thought he was, he's actually an evil mastermind.

Since Michael is still working out the kinks in the community. He realized he had to keep Chidi, Eleanor, Tahani, and Jason separated in the next iteration. So, everyone got a memory wipe.

Eleanor is exactly back where we met her. She has no ethics training, and she's looking out for number one. Though, there's one pretty big difference between her new reality and the pilot, Chidi is not her soul mate, some beefcake mailman from New Jersey is (so appropriate for old Eleanor). Eleanor's new reality is shaken when Janet gives her the piece of paper Eleanor gave her before the memory wipe that reads, "Eleanor, find Chidi."

So, will Eleanor find Chidi on The Good Place? While this particular twist was a real humdinger, the show has sort of been shocking us with conclusions that have felt like cliffhangers all season. Many shows now use this formula to enhance our likelihood to watch the next episode when marathoning. But there's something particularly enticing about a network show that asks big questions using this format in a finale. Last Man On Earth similarly tantalizes its fans with questions of morality, human nature, and surprise endings. The Good Place's cliffhanger has definitely set us up for some shocking twists and turns next season.

While NBC has not made any formal announcements yet, there is no reason not to expect more episodes of The Good Place since the show has pretty good ratings and a passionate fan base.

It seems that it's not so much a matter of if Eleanor will find Chidi, but when Eleanor will find Chidi? And what will his life, eh afterlife, be like? And will she find Tahani? And Jason, too? What will Janet remember? Resetting the story has created endless possibilities for Season 2, and endless twists to come as episode cappers. So, c'mon NBC, renew the show already. I'm dying to see what happens next.