What the fork! After the disappointment of Season 3, Season 4 really nailed it in a way I never expected. It married the best of Season 3 (the individual ideas and the sheer creativity) with what was wonderful about the series (the characterisation and powerful serialised arcs) to deliver a wonderful final season for the show. The only problem is probably the new mortals they have to deal with, because those guys are…. not fun to watch.

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 4, which is the final season, sees the humans overseeing an experimental afterlife environment in an attempt to change the system of afterlives, even as they search for a way to get their own happily ever after.

Directors: Morgan Sackett, Dean Holland, Kristen Bell, Drew Goddard, Rebecca Asher, Steve Day, Anya Adams

Writers: Michael Schur, Megan Amram, Jen Statsky, Joe Mande, Cord Jefferson, Josh Siegal, Dylan Morgan, Matt Murray, Kassia Miller, Christopher Encell, Dan Schofield

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 (The Judge)

• Kirby Howell-Baptiste (Simone Garnett)

• Brandon Scott Jones (John Wheaton)

Balanced storylines for new and old characters

I liked how the series knew where it was going and that it put in the effort to resolve all the characters’ storylines – while still juggling the plot threads for the new (kinda obnoxious) characters introduced. It was a wonderful send off that really made me feel like I was saying goodbye to good friends, friends who had grown and changed, friends whom I knew very well, friends who were dear and near to me.

Characters come full circle

Letting the characters come full circle by becoming designers of the very afterlife they were trying to escape was a rather interesting plot development that made sense, organically, but was a most unexpected twist. And it afforded them many more interesting situations, which made for good conflict and hence, television. I liked that they spent quite a bit of time managing their own afterlife environment, because it felt like the logical payoff of all they had gone through in earlier seasons.

Manages to maintain suspense all the way till the end

Even though the series tried to rebuild (and give an answer to) the problem of the afterlife and how people are assigned to The Good Place and The Bad Place, it still kept a sense of… mystery. I mean, our heroes are engaging in a cosmic endeavour (although it sometimes doesn’t look it) to make it fair for everyone who dies, and you’d think they have all the answers. But they don’t. There was still a Final Door. And with that, there was still some element of mystery and the unknown about the afterlife, which is what we really should be feeling about it.

The Judge is still dumb

Unfortunately, the most powerful cosmic being of them all, the Judge (Maya Rudolph), was… dumb. I kept rolling my eyes at her and how galactically stupid she was. I mean, really! For all her power, she can’t see that she’s being played? Are you sure the entire universe isn’t The Bad Place with a Judge as inane as that? I really felt that Gen needed to be punished in some way at the end, but we didn’t get that. Oh well.

The new mortals are also dumb

The new mortals were also vexing too. I guess that made for good comedy, since uh… our favourite humans have learnt their lessons in morality? Nevertheless, they really grated on me, especially the narcissist Brent. I felt that they should have all just gone straight to the real Bad Place (even Simone) but well… the original humans also should have gone to The Bad Place when we first met them, so yeah, okay.

Should you watch The Good Place Season 4?

Overall, The Good Place’s final season was brilliantly executed and an excellent ending to the series proper. I liked that it was a drama with elements of comedy, rather than outrightly being a comedy. Also, I hope to meet Michael Schur one day, because he created this show, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Parks and Rec, and I think I am a fanboy of his now.

Score: 8.4/10

You might also want to read:

• [TV Show Review] ‘The Good Place’ S3: Too much Chidi & Eleanor, not enough plot
• [TV Show Review] ‘The Good Place’ Season 2 breaks its own rules for surprising growth and hilarity
• [TV Show Review] ‘The Good Place’ is absolutely brilliant