48 hours laying in bed sick, I binged through the entire three season of the Good Place. Was it worth it? My God, yes. (My mom hated it, I feel obligated to disclose that)
It’s a sitcom based around comedy with deep underlining meaning and existential questions of humanity and worth. Without giving away spoilers, a group of people die and are put in the “Good Place” The four main characters are brutally annoying, but somehow charming and addicting to watch. There’s no God here. God is rarely talked about. the Bible is never brought up. Instead its a question of goodness. How much good did you do on your time of Earth? Every good or bad action/decision you’ve ever made is tallied into a point system. If you got enough points, you made it to the Good Place. The Good Place is more like Wisteria lane where everything is absolutely perfect on the streets, but behind close doors.. well… just watch.
Oddly enough, it reminded me of what Lost should have been if executed correctly. Bear with me.
The shows are both set up in similar timeline sequence that compose flash backs of former and present lives. In the Good Place, we see the characters lives before death. In Lost, we see their lives before the Island. At the base, there is both a question of redemption; can they leave their sins in their past lives and create a new self in their new world? Both shows are grappling with their past human lives to find themselves in eternal life.
In both shows, people died on the exact same day at the exact same moment sent to the exact same place. While in the Good Place, they are not in purgatory, they are in fact dead and aware they are dead. Maybe if Lost framed the show in this way, we wouldn’t have all felt like it was a giant waste of time and years of our live we will never get back. But it’s okay. I’m not bitter. Anyways, both shows are based on moral philosophy and studying fundamental truths. Hence the names of the characters in Lost; John Locke, Danielle Rousseau, Karl Martin, Daniel Faraday, and so on. But in the Good Place, we have moral philosophy professor, Chidi, actually teaching the other characters different frame of thoughts that they can apply to their lives in the Good Place.
In the Good Place, Eleanor’s (Kristen Bell) growth in character is dependent on her relationships and the support she receives from her new friends. Her evolvement and growth is consistent under the control that she finds her friends. Without their community relationships, she can not grow. It’s something to think about. Eleanor’s case is applicable to all of us. We can never be our best selves if were alone. We can not isolate ourselves and expect to be good, to grow, to have a life of value. Value comes in the relationships we form and those relationships start to form a better us.
While the show is lighthearted, it always has plot twists and poses moral questions that the characters must answer. It raises moral consciousness and provokes self reflection. What Lost should have given us.
Highly recommend.
