Eh. I really didn’t like Season 3. As the second last season, imho this should have been when The Good Place hit its stride. But it just felt so… formless. I couldn’t really tell where the story was heading and what message it was trying to deliver. I mean yes, overall there’s that whole philosophy thing and it is trying to tell you to be a better person, and there are some funnies in it. But it didn’t have one unifying story, unlike the previous seasons, and you couldn’t tell what the end point was for Season 3.

Synopsis

The Good Place follows the adventures of four deceased humans who discover that the afterlife is not quite what it seems, and rally against their fates to change it, even as they learn about morality and what it means to be a good person. Season 3 sees the humans returning to Earth with no memory of their afterlife, and the struggle between immortal beings to change what the afterlife should be like.

Directors: Dean Holland, Morgan Sackett, Jude Weng, Beth McCarthy-Miller

Writers: Michael Schur, Jen Statsky, Joe Mande, Megan Amram, Josh Siegal, Dylan Morgan, Matt Murray, Cord Jefferson, Kate Gersten, Andrew Law

Cast:

• Kristen Bell (Eleanor Shellstrop)

• Ted Danson (Michael)

• William Jackson Harper (Chidi Anagonye)

• Jameela Jamil (Tahani Al-Jamil)

• D’Arcy Carden (Janet)

• Manny Jacinto (Jason Mendoza)

• Marc Evan Jackson (Shawn)

• Maya Rudolph (Judge Gen)

• Michael McKean (Doug Forcett)

No clear narrative arc for the season

I think the main problem was that there were many strange, meandering storylines that felt like they were rambling on and on and on. I mean it’s okay to explore different facets of the characters and pay off jokes that were set up earlier in the series. And you could make the argument that the season was broken up into mini-arcs. But I didn’t know what I should be expecting by the end, and so any attempt to subvert expectations would have gone out the window because I had no expectations to subvert.

So without a clear road map and story signposts… I felt kind of lost this season. Yes, I know the characters want to get into the real Good Place. But at the same time, I don’t know what their motivations were and what they wanted. So without knowing this, I couldn’t really see how the story was being propelled forward. I liked the creativity and chaos, mind you, but not knowing what the end goal was made me uncomfortable.

Comically chaotic

Nevertheless, the escalating cosmic chaos and resultant stakes were fun to watch, especially since we seemed to be exploring the reaches of the universe. The series engaged in a fair bit of world building (it also had the budget to do so), and I like learning about the mythology of various series (and even cultures), so yeah! I liked how epic it became towards the end of the season.

A few interesting standalone episodes

There were also some interesting episodes, like the one where everyone became Janet (D’Arcy Cayden) and the Doug Forcett (Michael McKean) ones. This season definitely traded off a more big picture story arc for individual gems. Not the best way to have handled it (or at least I wouldn’t have done that), but without that we might never have had that Janet episode. So, okay, I guess there was a reason for it.

Too much focus on Eleanor and Chidi

But what I really hated about this season was how it eventually hung on Eleanor (Kristen Bell) and Chidi’s (William Jackson Harper) love. I mean, that’s great and all, but I was never really for them as a couple. I would literally have picked any other couple (Chidi-Tahani? Jason-Tahani? Jason-Janet? Janet-Michael…?) than these two, because they just don’t have believable chemistry. They seem like buddies, not lovers. And this whole lack of authenticity for the series’ star couple broke it for me. To eventually make the season finale about them just made me go bleah. I really didn’t care if their love didn’t work out.

Should you watch it?

The Good Place Season 3 really needed someone with more vision to lead them through, and better romances to keep the story fresh. There were some nuggets of creativity, for sure, and it had its fun moments. But if you ask me, this was probably the weakest season of the lot, and I don’t think I would have continued if I didn’t already know the series would end with its fourth season.

Rating: 7/10

The Good Place Season 3 is available on Netflix.

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