The Good Place

• Title: The Good Place – Everything is Bonzer! / The Brainy Bunch
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• wiki: link

Each season The Good Place offers a slightly different set-up for our recently departed foursome. Given a second chance to prove they belong in the Good Place, Eleanor (Kristen Bell), Chidi (William Jackson Harper), Tahani (Jameela Jamil), and Jason (Manny Jacinto) have been sent back to Earth. While initially each shows signs of improvement, the all begin to fall back into bad habits which is when Michael (Ted Danson) begins sneaking down to Earth to nudge them each in the right direction and get them all together in Australia with Chidi who begins a study on the effect of near-death experience. Although strictly ordered not to interfere by the Judge (Maya Rudolph), Michael can’t help but want to help his friends. His meddling, however, also allows Trevor (Adam Scott) to insert himself into the group’s lives.

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• Title: The Good Place – Somewhere Else
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After convincing themselves, and the demon who was assigned to torture them, that bad people can in fact change after death our intrepid gang of misfits failed (or almost all of them failed) in their individual tests to make it to the Good Place. Enter Michael (Ted Danson) with a new suggestion for the judge (Maya Rudolph) as the Second Season takes another swerve putting Eleanor (Kristen Bell) back into her life after narrowly avoiding her unfortunate grocery-cart demise (and without the knowledge of her afterlife) to see if she can, in fact, be a good person without the certainty of a reward in heaven. Despite her initial high after her life-and-death experience, Eleanor eventually falls back into her old habits. Thankfully Michael still has just enough devil left in him to cheat and give her the proper nudge back to the right path.

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• Title: The Good Place – Rhonda, Diana, Jake, and Trent
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Disguising his escaped humans as low-level demon workers, Michael (Ted Danson) works out the second-half of his plan while leaving the group in the Hall Of Low-Grade Crappiness not realizing the hall is about to get a new exhibit (joining the likes of the first white person with dreadlocks), this one starring animatronic versions of all four humans. And then things go to hell, in this case literally. While Chidi (William Jackson Harper) doesn’t ever fit in anywhere, it’s interesting to see just how easily Eleanor (Kristen Bell), Tahani (Jameela Jamil), and especially Jason (Manny Jacinto) take to their new surroundings and get along with their ball-punching, torture-loving, evil new acquaintances (which include Bell’s real-life husband Dax Shepard).

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• Title: The Good Place – Best Self
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“Best Self” is a transitionary episode as the series shifts focus once again. Say what you want about some of the individual episodes, the series is certainly not afraid to take unexpected turns and keep the audience guessing about what may come next. Having tricked the demons into pursuing the missing humans to the Middle Place, Michael (Ted Danson) tries to stall for time by creating a transport to the Good Place that requires each of its passengers to be the best version of themselves leading to some heartfelt revelations all around, including Michael eventually coming clean with his friends.

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• Title: The Good Place – Janet and Michael
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“Janet and Michael” delves into one of the show’s unanswered questions since revealing that the afterlife community Eleanor (Kristen Bell) and her friends are stuck in is actually Hell rather than Heaven. Focused primarily on Michael (Ted Danson), the episode offers flashbacks to him stealing the robot intelligence he needs to create his community and his early interactions with Janet (D’Arcy Carden). The number of reboots of Janet has caused issue concerning Janet’s core programming. Michael’s reaction to her logical assumption that she needs to be destroyed in order to save The Good Place, offers a first glimpse of humanity for the demon architect. Maybe there’s hope for him yet.