Well, it’s over. After journeying through the Bad Place, the Medium Place, the Judge’s chambers, a Janet void and, finally, the Good Place, the series has ended. Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, Jason, Janet, and Michael’s adventure through the afterlife is through, though the series finale provides a fulfilling sense that life goes on even when one story ends. So how does this particular tale come to a close, and what does it all mean? Well strap yourself in, because The Good Place had to make a few more profound statements before ultimately going off the air.
After last week’s penultimate episode in which Chidi and the gang created an elegant solution to the unbearable eternity of the afterlife, the finale begins with a sad optimism as Jason Mendoza decides he’s ready to move on. He and Janet have spent the better part of trillions of years together, and after finding a sense of fulfillment of peace Jason walks through the door that takes him out of the Good Place and into the great unknown.
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Tahani Al-Jamil has spent her latter days going through a to-do list before she learns her parents have finally entered the Good Place. Tahani and her sister Kamilah, who now have a better relationship, are surprised to see their parents are repentant for how they treated the children back on Earth, and then have a joyous reunion. This provides Tahani with a sense of fulfillment, and though she first decides to leave through the door, she then asks Michael to teach her how to become an architect.
Eleanor and Chidi remain for thousands more Jeremy Bearimys, and it seems like Chidi’sexcitement with the afterlife is starting to wane. Eleanor worries her man is getting ready to move on and makes a last ditch effort to satisfy him with the perfect date. But she cannot prolong the inevitable. Chidi reveals that he’s felt the desire to leave the Good Place for a long time now, though he remained a lot longer to stay with her.
Eleanor convinces him to remain with her for a little bit longer because she’s not ready to leave, though she knows that Chidi is ready to move on. She cannot justify asking him to stay, knowing it would be selfish, so she ends up giving him her blessing to leave. They have one last hangout session with Janet and Michael before watching the sunset, and Eleanor can’t shake the sadness that they’re going to be apart after spending eternity together.
After Chidi walks through the door, Jason pops out and reveals that he did not walk through the door yet as he forgot to give Janet a gift. He gives her a necklace with their initials, then follows Chidi through to the unknown.
Michael is having his own existential crisis as his duties as a council member for the afterlife are no longer required, and Eleanor goes back to watching the video Mindy of the Medium Place made when Chidi and Eleanor first admitted they love each other. She then attempts to convince Mindy to take the afterlife test and leave the Medium Place, with Tahani as her architect.
Eleanor thinks she’s ready to go through the door, but she’s interrupted by Michael who attempts to cross over with the knowledge that he has no other purpose in the afterlife. Michael and Eleanor have a heart to heart where she has a realization. After meeting with the Judge, Eleanor gets the ability to give Michael what he always wanted: to be human. They have a tearful goodbye and Michael heads to Earth to live a full life as a human and ultimately enter the system he created, without any idea about what his future will hold for him.
Michael enjoys his life as a human, even sharing a cameo with Ted Denson’s real wife Mary Steenberger, while Eleanor finally walks through the door to end her time in the Good Place. The series then ends with a piece of mail being misdelivered to Michael’s neighbor, who quickly returns it to the former demon turned human. Michael opens it to delight, excited to see he’s received a rewards card for a grocery store. He then tells his neighbor something he’s always wanted to say: “Take it sleazy.”
With that, the show ends and we see all of the main characters achieve of sense of peace and fulfillment, ready to move on to the next great adventure after experiencing so much together. The Good Place has always been a story about what we owe to each other and the ethical weight of being a good person. It’s great to see our heroes not only be rewarded for their contributions to the universe, but also find ultimate happiness after everything they’ve accomplished.
