What the “Fork” is This Show?

Design By: Brody Copas

Design By: Brody Copas

Aired on NBC on Sept. 19, 2016, The Good Place introduced the world to a unique spin on life after death. Their idea was not a heaven or hell, but a good place and a bad place. 

Each human on earth is graded by a point system, and the people with the most amount of points find their way into the Good Place. Eleanor, a person that made it into the Good Place, and Michael, the architect, are introduced. Eleanor makes her way around the Good Place and finds herself at her dream house where she meets her soulmate Chidi, an ethics professor. After they meet, Eleanor reveals that she does not belong in the Good Place, but Chidi, being an ethics professor, is willing to help Eleanor become a better person. 

Throughout the show, Chidi and Eleanor find themselves trying to become better people while meeting others that face the same challenges. While the story changes multiple times, the overall message that everyone owes each other something is present throughout the whole show. 

The writer of the show, Michael Schur states that “our problem on earth is selfishness,” which created the moral question of the show, “What do we owe to each other?” 

Take Eleanor for example, she lived by the idea that “if I just go off by myself and I don’t form any close bonds with other people, I don’t owe them anything and they don’t owe me anything.” However, we quickly learn while watching the show that “everybody loses when people are selfish.”

After understanding that being selfish is not the answer, Eleanor quickly wants to find a way to reverse what she has done. She does this by creating a bond with a group of people and helping them solve any issues they possess. 

The Good Place takes the beloved characters on an adventure going from a Good Place, to the Bad Place, the Medium Place, IHOP and even back to earth. This presents the audience with a rollercoaster of emotions and poses an important moral question creating one of the most satisfying endings television has ever seen.