Broadcast TV The Good Place Season 4 - Final Season (1 Viewer)

[sleroi]

But the point of having a life, and the whole point system, was to prepare for the afterlife. So if the afterlife is rendered to be just like earth life, then what was the point of it all?

Im very eager to see how this all ends up.

 

[Jake Lipson]

But the point of having a life, and the whole point system, was to prepare for the afterlife. So if the afterlife is rendered to be just like earth life, then what was the point of it all?

In no way was their Earth life only a preparation for the afterlife. The point of living, whether on Earth or in the afterlife, is what you do with your life and your relationships with the people around you. That's why Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani and Jason made each other better people in the afterlife, because they cared about each other. If they choose to end their afterlives, it doesn't take away the meaning of what they did with them or the value that they had to each other.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

This show is still really funny, but the actual "good place" was a little disappointing and underwhelming.

I felt the same way, but that is in keeping with the themes of the series. If the Bad Place was flawed, it makes sense that the Good Place is also flawed.

But the good place is run by a mere five person committee who dont care that their residents have become mush brained lifeless souls instead of being truly happy?

I wouldn't say that they didn't care; they just couldn't find a solution. The problem is that life is driven by struggle, and the Good Place represented an absence of struggle. How do you introduce elements to make the afterlife meaningful without making the Good Place less good?

And while Eleanor's solution philosophically makes sense, its kind of depressing too.

If this entire show is an a philosophical exercise, then it makes sense that the end is about the End. That being said, there's still one episode left. so the show might still have some tricks up its sleeve.

 

[Jake Lipson]

there's still one episode left. so the show might still have some tricks up its sleeve.

And it's an extra-long episode, too. The finale will air in a 90-minute block with the extended episode followed by an after show interview with the cast. They typically cram so much story into each episode that I fully expect there to be something we haven't considered yet that comes up in the finale, and I'm looking forward to seeing what it is.

I wouldn't say that they didn't care; they just couldn't find a solution.

Exactly. Ever since they were introduced when Michael was convinced that the Bad Place was hijacking the points system, the Good Place committee has been shown to be completely ineffective because they are so obsessed with being good at all costs that they can't do anything for fear of offending somebody. It makes total sense to me that they wouldn't be able to wrap their heads around how to make eternity meaningful if eternity has no challenges.

After the episode previous to this one, when the four humans and Michael actually set off for the Good Place, I read some people on other forums saying they were surprised that it wasn't the finale. I would have been extremely disappointed if it had been the finale because, after four seasons of waiting for it, I wanted to actually see the real Good Place. I wouldn't have expected it to be this, but that's why the writers are smarter than me in this regard. It felt very realistic that they get to this thing that they've been trying to get to for so long, and the characters have a set of expectations for what they think it will be, and then it ends up not being that. Seeing them confront the challenge of fixing the Good Place is much more interesting than just watching them sail off into the sunset as our coda.

 

[NeilO]

Quite surprised we get so much The Good Place on Thursday, I have absolutely no idea what to expect.

 

[Jake Lipson]

This is funny.

 

[joshEH]

They said on Twitter this morning that the finale itself will be 50+ minutes, followed by a live cast-interview with Seth Meyers. I hope history repeats itself like the live Leno after the Cheers-finale, and the cast is appropriately hammered. Actually, that's what they should do, just interview a drunken Ted Danson and the rest of the Cheers cast.

 

[NeilO]

So, I guess we'll get up to an hour of show and then a half hour after show tonight? Or perhaps 45/45 or some other combination.

 

[Jake Lipson]

The question is does the 50 minutes for the finale include the commercials or not? If the episode itself is 50 minutes, plus commercials, then the after show will be pretty short. The entire block is 90 minutes according to my DVR.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Mike Schur did a deep dive retrospective interview with Entertainment Weekly.

https://ew.com/tv/2020/01/30/the-good-place-finale-mike-schur-looks-back-on-four-seasons/

 

[David Weicker]

The Good Place: The Complete Series - May 19th, 2020 (Shout)
https://www.shoutfactory.com/product...roduct_id=7358

Per Shout’s Facebook post, this will have a dedicated disc of bonus features:
https://www.facebook.com/57640591309...7855599886310/

 

[Jake Lipson]

That was deeply emotional and immensely satisfying.

I don't want to spoil anything so won't post more until some of the rest of you chime in having seen it, but I thought it was wonderful.

The Blu-ray release is a wonderful surprise too. I'm glad I didn't get around to buying the DVD-only versions of the first three seasons. The Blu-ray will be a day one purchase for me for sure.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

To borrow from another recent masterpiece:


That finale was funny and sad and poignant and melancholy. By the end, I had no satisfactory answers to the great questions of the universe. But I was deeply moved by the journey to tackle them.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I had no satisfactory answers to the great questions of the universe.

There is no answer.

But Eleanor is the answer.

I think what this show has always focused on is that the answer is in our relationships and what we owe to each other, and the finale was fully in keeping with that theme.

Spoiler

Eleanor underscored this when she compared Mindy to a version of herself if she never met her friends. I found it such a great place for her character to end on, not being ready to leave until Mindy was convinced to go into the system. She was sticking around to help another person, not herself, and that was a marker of her growth.

On another note, do you think that Tahani will be an architect forever, or will she eventually want to retire and go through the door?

 

[NeilO]

The question is does the 50 minutes for the finale include the commercials or not? If the episode itself is 50 minutes, plus commercials, then the after show will be pretty short. The entire block is 90 minutes according to my DVR.

Looks like the 50 minutes was without the commercials as the after show was very short.

 

[NeilO]

The Good Place: The Complete Series - May 19th, 2020 (Shout)
https://www.shoutfactory.com/product...roduct_id=7358

Per Shout’s Facebook post, this will have a dedicated disc of bonus features:
https://www.facebook.com/57640591309...7855599886310/

The big question is whether all the extended material is included for all the episodes. I believe that most episodes have an extra minutes or so on Netflix and some of that was included in the DVD releases, but not all.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I would assume that the episodes on the Blu-ray will probably match what Shout Factory released for the DVDs of the first three seasons. Hopefully it reflects whatever Michael Schur wants. If there is a dedicated disc of bonus features, that suggests that he will probably be involved in the release in some capacity. Whatever it is, I will take it.

 

[TravisR]

To borrow from another recent masterpiece:

Even getting a mention (along with the great Carrie Coon) in the finale.

 

[Tommy R]

Absolutely LOVED the finale.

Spoiler

It gave the perfect amount of insight (or rather thoughts and ideas) on the afterlife and the meaning of existence. There’s still some deliberate mystery with what happens when you walk through the final archway in the woods, but I don’t see how they could possibly answer such a mystery completely. It was all just so very moving and very satisfying.

 

[DaveF]

Oh wow! What a finale! What a send off to Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, Jason, Janet, and Michael.


Season 3 finale was amazing. The prior two seasons were incredible, fun and shocking twists. Season three cashed in 36 episodes of earned love for the characters in its finale minutes.

To my complete surprise, and after the the somewhat less thrilling fourth season (because how could it possibly pay off the build of the prior three seasons?), the fourth season series finale beautifully spent all the emotion and heart and love the series had earned for its characters over the past four seasons. A show that had the courage to end when it was done, and give it all to its viewers. Wow. Just wow.