After being thrown every possible curveball in existence, Team Cockroach finally figured out a way to save humanity on The Good Place Season 4 Episode 10.
We may have thought the same thing countless times in the past, but it’s for real this time. Right?
With only a few episodes left in the series, everyone in the afterlife had to reach a compromise at some point. However, Shawn was the last demon we expected to give in.
Shawn’s compliance has changed the game for good, and Earth’s population might not be erased from existence, after all.
Fine, if you’re gonna make me admit it. Fighting you is the most fun I’ve ever had.
Shawn
To put it plainly, Team Cockroach’s idea is genius.
Their plan to make a person’s time on Earth a baseline and the afterlife the real test blends everything the four humans have been through into one simple solution.
Earth is the place where these characters were originally influenced. But since the system is corrupt and no one has a chance to make it into the Good Place, no progress they make will matter.
No one on Earth has the same opportunities, and a person shouldn’t be punished for being born into a situation they have no control over. This new afterlife resolution gives everyone an equal chance and a clean slate.
Your time on Earth won’t be a test that you either pass or fail, but instead a class you take. And the test will come in the afterlife.
Eleanor
While the plan is incredible in theory, there are still a lot of kinks to work out. If a person learns from each reboot they experience, when do the reboots stop? How many chances do they get?
Someone might require one reboot, and someone else might require one hundred. What’s the limit?
Chidi is a great example of the impact the number of reboots can have on a person. He started learning from his mistakes and became better after The Good Place Season 1, but it took vivid memories of 800 lifetimes for him to finally become the person he needed to be.
He may have proved The Good Place experiment a success with his improvement, but the real change in Chidi took place after all was said and done.
His ability to tell Eleanor that he loves her in such a matter-of-fact way didn’t come as an immense shock. Out of everything he’s been through, Eleanor has become the thing he’s most sure of.
Eleanor: I know you’re trying to think of ways to save every soul who’s ever lived and whatnot, but we may only have a half-hour left to exist, so I just wanted to check in with you vis-a-vis…us.
Chidi: Oh, okay. Yeah, cool. I love you.
Eleanor: Woah. Really?
Chidi: Yeah. I love you. So, do you love me?
Eleanor: Yeah! I do.
Chidi: Well, then cool. You and I are on our way to coolsville.
Eleanor: You seem oddly sure, which is unlike you. But it’s kinda doing it for me.
But seeing the time knife did change him for good, and, at first, Chidi was almost unrecognizable.
His anxious and jittery demeanor was replaced with a confidence that viewers could feel radiating off of him.
William Jackson Harper did an incredible job portraying a new version of Chidi while simultaneously staying true to who the character is at his core.
Chidi’s struggle with indecision was a comedic point of the series, but now that it’s coming to an end, Chidi deserves to have some semblance of peace.
And as long as Chidi was constantly questioning the ways of the universe, he would never be able to truly achieve it.
Now that Chidi has settled into this new version of himself he’ll be able to enjoy the afterlife rather than stressing out about how it came to be.
That does rely on the humans making it into the real Good Place, but at this point, they have to.
Is it possible that The Good Place will pull a fast one and leave viewers shocked and angry with the ending? Sure. But it would go against everything the series has stood for from the very beginning.
Although it may be a sitcom, The Good Place has always taken their life-lessons very seriously. Eleanor and her friends have proven time and time again that good will always persevere.
Even when all hope is lost, Team Cockroach finds a way.
We need to come up with a system that will result in the least amount of cruelty and suffering to those who don’t deserve it. This is a problem of justice.
Eleanor
No matter how much time they have, or how many odds are stacked against them, they fight until the very last second and they win.
It’s hard to believe that this theme won’t play a large role in the final episodes.
The Good Place does a good job at surprising its audience, but it does an even better job at telling a consistent story and getting across a message of hope.
Stray Thoughts:
- The Pirates of the Caribbean 12 poster featured in the background of Janet’s void is the movie we didn’t know we needed. Who doesn’t want to watch Jack Sparrow fight Aquaman?
- Cheleanor is back and better than ever! Eleanor pining over Chidi was the worst part of the season, so we’re excited that they’ve finally found their back to each other. We’re also thankful that they don’t have to face anymore relationship complications.
- Jason is proof that a person can be incredibly dumb and incredibly smart at the same time. His comment about the trolly problem was not only a great callback to The Good Place Season 2 Episode 6, but an intelligent comparison to the sacrifice the group was attempting to make for the common good.
- D’Arcy Carden was the MVP of the episode. No one can play Bad Janet, Disco Janet, Neutral Janet, and our very own Janet as well as she can.
It’s your turn, TGP fans! What did you think of the episode?
Has Team Cockroach finally figured out the perfect plan? Or will the show throw them another curveball?
How do you think the series will wrap up? What do you want to happen before it does?
Drop a comment down below and let us know your thoughts and predictions!
And don’t forget that if you missed the episode you can watch The Good Place online right here at TV Fanatic!
The Good Place airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.
Rachel Foertsch is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.