It’s the 31st of January which means a couple of things Netflix-wise, but the two that really stuck out, for me at least, were the last episodes of the great show “BoJack Horseman” which I have yet to finish watching and the finale of the fourth season of “The Good Place” – which is in fact the last episode of the whole series.
IMPORTANT: SPOILERS ALERT!
I finished it already and in my definitely-not-subjective opinion it’s one of the greatest endings to a show. It’s got many great messages in the ~50 minute span. It “revives” some beloved and maybe slightly forgotten characters from the past. Most importantly – it concludes the journey for the main characters, which is the main goal.
The whole motion-picture was a very pleasant experience, but there’s a couple of moments that made me… smile, so to say. Moments that stood out. With that said, here’s my top moments of the episode.
1. “How did you… know?”
After that door, that basically makes you die, was created in the second to last episode, some of us were already thinking that that might be the way the show ends – and it was. The first one to go was Jason. He was the first one to realize “It’s time.” and decide to “disintegrate into the Universe” or whatever.
There was this intelligent deep and short conversation between him and Chidi at his Going Away Party. Chidi asked Jason: “How did you… know?“. And that sparked one of those Smart Jason moments. His words I’ll always remember (well not always, but you know). He said “Look, it wasn’t like I heard a bell or anything. I just suddenly had this calm feeling, like the air inside my lungs was the same as the air outside my body.” He adds “It was peaceful.”
These words are such Ethic words. All about that soul peace. Hearing this made me think about that time when I realized what feeling happy is like for the first time… It’s hard to see what it feels like, you just know. Feels nice. 🙂
2. Are Ghosts Racist?
This scene is far from being the star of the show, but it just kind of jumped in my face so to say for being relatively funny.
There’s this moment at Jason’s party when his best-friend is giving a speech and long story short, he comes to the conclusion that they’re not real, so they’re “all just Caspers the Ghosts and whatnot. Which is funny. because Jason and I ain’t even white.” So he asks “Why are all ghosts white?”. So he says “Oh, dip, are ghosts racist?”
And I don’t know. It’s not like it’s comedy line of the year, but it’s just kind of an interesting observation. I just thought it’s a good reminder of all the original jokes and ideas of this show and how entertaining it is.
3. Tahani Meeting Her Parents
When Tahani and her sister met their parents in the good place, they were surprised to receive so much love from them, since they were so cold with them during their “alive period” It kind of reminded me again about how our time on Earth is limited and there’s no time to waste and we need to express our love to everyone we care about. It’s not like we know if there’s a place in the afterlife where we’d have more time.
4. Eleanor and Chidi on the Couch
The evening before Chidi’s departure, he and Eleanor spent their evening just chilling – being together. At some point in their “chill” Eleanor said “You got a John Locke quote or a piece of Kantian wisdom you can throw at me?“
And this wisdom that Chidi dropped was indeed very… wisdom-y? Basically his answer was:
Picture a wave… in the ocean. You can see it, measure it, its height, the way the sunlight refracts when it passes through and it’s there and you can see it, and you know what it is, it’s a wave. And then it crashes on the shore… and it’s gone. But the water is still there. The wave was just a different way for the water to be, for a little while.”
That’s one concept of death for a Buddhist. The wave returns to the ocean where it came from, and where it’s supposed to be.
To which Eleanor responds with “Not bad, Buddhists.” And Chidi continues “Not bad. None of this is bad.”
None of this is bad.
Indeed. Such a simple, obvious thing with the wave it seems, yet when pointed out, it’s such a beautiful metaphor for life.
5. Michael Moves On
Something I really enjoyed seeing is how Michael’s story evolved. I honestly did not think this was the way he was going to… go. Also the way he got excited for experiencing every single little thingy happening was such lesson on how we need to cherish life more. Every little objective we complete is an achievement, no matter how small.
6. He’s real. He’s a real frog.
It’s weird how the “gatekeeper” already had so many frog apparel as gifts from so many people, but Michael was the only one that thought of getting it to the next level. It just reminds us that the littlest effort can make a difference.
7. I wonder how Michael’s doing?
I assume he’s doing the same as every human.
Some good days.
Some bad days.
He’s got a few friends.
A few people he can’t stand.
He’s learning some things all by himself.
And, hopefully, learning to ask for help when he needs it.
He’s messing up, and trying again, and messing up again, and then getting things wrong, and then trying to make them right.That’s what everyone does.
– Eleanor Shellstrop
That’s The Good Place for ya. That’s why I love it so much. That’s why all the people that watch it love it. Because of the message. As I was watching this finale, I couldn’t help but think about the beautiful message of this whole show is.
There really isn’t enough time in our lives to be focused on negativity. Help people. Love each other. Call your loved ones. Get your heart broken. Go through changes. Dance. Do what you love. Don’t be selfish. Just – enjoy life.
August 