I'm not being hyperbolic when I say I think this might have been the best ending to a TV show that I've ever seen.
It's definitely very high on my list. Not sure if it's my favorite, but how can it be when you have TV shows with universally-acclaimed, perfect endings, like Dexter and Battlestar Galactica?
I knew the guitar teacher was somebody I recognized. It was Danson's wife, Mary Steenburgen.
Anyway, what a great show.
How do you recognize her? Is she an actor as well?
She also had a role on Justified.
Are...are you guys joking? She's been in a billion movies. Stepbrothers and way before that she was in Parenthood, with no less than Steve Martin, Jason Robards, RICK MORANIS, KEANU REEVES (very young), AND JOAQUIN PHOENIX (super duper young).
I didn't even know she was married to Ted Danson, but despite his fame from Cheers, I'd be more prone to call Danson "Mary Steenburgen's husband" than her his wife.
I liked the BSG ending. Lost, too. Never watched Dexter.
But this? This was forking special.
I mean, yeah, I was kinda trolling because 'round these parts people seem to universally hate those endings. Along with Angel, for some people at least. I liked them all, though I'm still not sold on the penultimate lead-up to Dexter's ending.
I think The Good Place may be tied at the top. I still come back to Psych as one of my favorite TV series endings of all time. I'm not sure The Good Place actually topped it, but it is very close. Either way, awesome finale.
Are we doing spoilers for specifics on the finale?
Looking back, I like that they didn't have any big "twist" or reveal about what the door leads to. I know the questions I was asking before the finale are "whats gonna happen when they go through the door?" but I think that was with the implicit idea that the story would continue. I like how, recognizing that the story would end, they turned it back towards the relationships in the show and not towards some big reveal like "it was all a test" or something like that, which I think would have been a satisfactory ending from a lore standpoint, but not have the emotional weight behind it because its too much like "it was all a dream" and that it wasn't real. This ending, where they just played it straight was much better emotionally and satisfactory ending.
There was a reveal at what happens at the end.
They turned into those motes of light.
One drifted down and it influenced the guy who threw away the mail which wasn't for him to dig it out of the trash and deliver it to the rightful owner.
In returning to the universe, they become random acts of kindness, helping others be just that little bit better when it comes time for them to try to get into the Good Place.
Are we doing spoilers for specifics on the finale?
Looking back, I like that they didn't have any big "twist" or reveal about what the door leads to. I know the questions I was asking before the finale are "whats gonna happen when they go through the door?" but I think that was with the implicit idea that the story would continue. I like how, recognizing that the story would end, they turned it back towards the relationships in the show and not towards some big reveal like "it was all a test" or something like that, which I think would have been a satisfactory ending from a lore standpoint, but not have the emotional weight behind it because its too much like "it was all a dream" and that it wasn't real. This ending, where they just played it straight was much better emotionally and satisfactory ending.
There was a reveal at what happens at the end.
They turned into those motes of light.
One drifted down and it influenced the guy who threw away the mail which wasn't for him to dig it out of the trash and deliver it to the rightful owner.
In returning to the universe, they become random acts of kindness, helping others be just that little bit better when it comes time for them to try to get into the Good Place.
This show is up there for me. Its up there with Babylon 5, with MASH, with BSG, with Avatar the last Airbender and Star Trek, in that it influenced me and how I viewed the world. It will stay with me in some form for a long time if not forever.
The Ending? Good, fitting and obvious in hindsight. And its greatest impact is that I have seen the series from start to finish, because of that the ending if each individual story struck even harder.
This is a masterpiece of television storytelling and one that really only can be made for television. It was a prestige TV show really, only it was on a network.
The sky was full of stars, every star an exploding ship. One of ours.
Are we doing spoilers for specifics on the finale?
Looking back, I like that they didn't have any big "twist" or reveal about what the door leads to. I know the questions I was asking before the finale are "whats gonna happen when they go through the door?" but I think that was with the implicit idea that the story would continue. I like how, recognizing that the story would end, they turned it back towards the relationships in the show and not towards some big reveal like "it was all a test" or something like that, which I think would have been a satisfactory ending from a lore standpoint, but not have the emotional weight behind it because its too much like "it was all a dream" and that it wasn't real. This ending, where they just played it straight was much better emotionally and satisfactory ending.
There was a reveal at what happens at the end.
They turned into those motes of light.
One drifted down and it influenced the guy who threw away the mail which wasn't for him to dig it out of the trash and deliver it to the rightful owner.
In returning to the universe, they become random acts of kindness, helping others be just that little bit better when it comes time for them to try to get into the Good Place.
Oh, I agree, but
My point more was that there wasn't like a twist to it. It was basically exactly what telegraphed it to be.
The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it. ~ Terry Pratchett
This finale was just a goddamn victory lap. I loved every second and was teary for just about everything.
Bravo Schur, Bravo.
I am in the business of saving lives.
+19
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Zilla36021st Century. |She/Her|Trans* Woman In Aviators Firing A Bazooka. ⚛️Registered Userregular
I was pondering for a moment there that if Michael went through the forest archway he would just wake up, and the dreamed/simulated universe and afterlife dimension conjured by the mind of a sleepy Eldritch fire squid would end.
Can't run a simulation if the simulation hardware/platform gets 'turned off'. :P
I am going to be thinking about this show for a long, long time and I think I've just requested 'What We Owe Each Other' and 'Death' via interlibrary loan.
I am in the business of saving lives.
+5
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minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
That was up there with Six Feet Under, Halt & Catch Fire, and Justified in terms of great endings, in my book. It was just really beautiful and full of love.
Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
+1
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minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
edited February 2020
Kristen's comment in the aftershow was spot on. The show was wonderful despite being/because it was just a little too short. Like life.
minor incident on
Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
+3
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WACriminalDying Is Easy, Young ManLiving Is HarderRegistered Userregular
Who's got two thumbs and just ugly-cried at work? This guy. Thank god for short-staffed shifts and semi-private cubicles.
What a delight this whole thing has been. I don't know if I can ever rewatch it, it just feels...perfect, and complete.
Man I gotta say one last time before the thread fades back into the wave, I'm happy this series happened if only for Jason existing. There's always some trouble with defining a specific stat setup that some folks end up with in D&D, and it is the low Int, high Wis character. It's a hard concept of being very wise, but also very dumb. Jason Mendoza is the ur example of that character archetype, and it starts in the first scenes he's speaking in, and just keeps getting more clear as the series progresses.
+16
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Ninja Snarl PMy helmet is my burden.Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered Userregular
I'm not the crying type myself either and this finale was on for literally minutes before it had me crying and then I cried right through to the fucking end and then I felt great afterwards. That may be the highest praise I've ever given any show ever.
Here’s a crazy thought: I think that eventually, Tahani will be the last human, and eventually the last being from this incarnation of the universe. When the universe closes down and everyone from the other architects to the Janets to Gen herself goes home, as the perfect hostess Tahani will be the one who stacks the chairs, turns off the lights, and locks the door. Tahani will become God.
She’ll take a day off, and then create a new universe.
Shadowhope on
Civics is not a consumer product that you can ignore because you don’t like the options presented.
Anyone interested in the idea of afterlife becoming tedious or anything like that might want to check out "The Makropulos case" by Bernard Williams (PDF) which was one of the works written on the chalkboard at the beginning of the episode. It's one of the classic philosophical works on the topic of whether immorality would be great or whether you'd eventually want to, say, walk through the door.
Anyone interested in the idea of afterlife becoming tedious or anything like that might want to check out "The Makropulos case" by Bernard Williams (PDF) which was one of the works written on the chalkboard at the beginning of the episode. It's one of the classic philosophical works on the topic of whether immorality would be great or whether you'd eventually want to, say, walk through the door.
Here’s a crazy thought: I think that eventually, Tahani will be the last human, and eventually the last being from this incarnation of the universe. When the universe closes down and everyone from the other architects to the Janets to Gen herself goes home, as the perfect hostess Tahani will be the one who stacks the chairs, turns off the lights, and locks the door. Tahani will become God.
She’ll take a day off, and then create a new universe.
And we end up with a new universe that strangely evokes this:
What a finale. I cried at least seven times (one of those was in the after-show interview) and had tears welling up at least another half-dozen.
It's the rare show that has me laughing at the same time as I'm blinking tears away too. This is, by far I think, Mike Schur's best show. That is not to say, that it's all him, from what I've seen, everyone involved with it absolutely killed it. The writers, the actors, the props department, the digital effects (aka David Niednagel). Every part of it.
Just what a journey. I cannot wait to see the main cast in whatever they do next.
I love good place but it’s also schurs least funny show
I think 99 is the funniest but least heart (still a ton of heart)
Parks and Rec is middle both
Good place has the most heart but least funny (still a ton of funny)
In terms of quantity (ie jokes per episode), sure. But in terms of quality, I gotta disagree. Top ten jokes across all three series, gotta be half of them are Good Place. Heck, Chidi himself IMO has the top two (time kNiFe, and Jeremy Bearimy "that broke me").
I know Belland Danson will almost definitely move on to good projects, but I really hope Jamil, Jacinto, and especially Harper get to showcase in something new.
I love good place but it’s also schurs least funny show
I think 99 is the funniest but least heart (still a ton of heart)
Parks and Rec is middle both
Good place has the most heart but least funny (still a ton of funny)
In terms of quantity (ie jokes per episode), sure. But in terms of quality, I gotta disagree. Top ten jokes across all three series, gotta be half of them are Good Place. Heck, Chidi himself IMO has the top two (time kNiFe, and Jeremy Bearimy "that broke me").
I know Belland Danson will almost definitely move on to good projects, but I really hope Jamil, Jacinto, and especially Harper get to showcase in something new.
It was a total throwaway joke, but the one where Tahani was explaining how her favorite show had been on the BBC for 16 years and had nearly 30 episodes was one of my favorites.
Starting part 1 of the finale podcast now. It is 1 hour and 40 minutes long.
Part 2 is 1 hour and 25 minutes.
I've heard good things about the pod, and with "Shawn" hosting, I don't doubt it.
But I held off once I made the decision to wait until I did the full series rewatch, and are better able to intersperse the showand the pods chronologically.
I love good place but it’s also schurs least funny show
I think 99 is the funniest but least heart (still a ton of heart)
Parks and Rec is middle both
Good place has the most heart but least funny (still a ton of funny)
In terms of quantity (ie jokes per episode), sure. But in terms of quality, I gotta disagree. Top ten jokes across all three series, gotta be half of them are Good Place. Heck, Chidi himself IMO has the top two (time kNiFe, and Jeremy Bearimy "that broke me").
I know Belland Danson will almost definitely move on to good projects, but I really hope Jamil, Jacinto, and especially Harper get to showcase in something new.
Bell's talked about retiring from starring roles actually. Or taking a break until her kids are older.
Self-righteousness is incompatible with coalition building.
I love good place but it’s also schurs least funny show
I think 99 is the funniest but least heart (still a ton of heart)
Parks and Rec is middle both
Good place has the most heart but least funny (still a ton of funny)
In terms of quantity (ie jokes per episode), sure. But in terms of quality, I gotta disagree. Top ten jokes across all three series, gotta be half of them are Good Place. Heck, Chidi himself IMO has the top two (time kNiFe, and Jeremy Bearimy "that broke me").
I know Belland Danson will almost definitely move on to good projects, but I really hope Jamil, Jacinto, and especially Harper get to showcase in something new.
It was a total throwaway joke, but the one where Tahani was explaining how her favorite show had been on the BBC for 16 years and had nearly 30 episodes was one of my favorites.
If you weren't ugly crying while belly laughing at the Chidi calandar in the finale, you are a monster. That was an incredible joke
Also, first amazing revelation from the podcast
The scene where Elenor was walking through the magic doors to go from Michael's office to the house to Greece and all that. It was all a single shot
I challenge anyone who has seen the finale to make it through this music piece (fork, even just a minute or two) without tearing up. If you can do that, its proof positive you're a demon. (got the name from the podcast)
Here’s a crazy thought: I think that eventually, Tahani will be the last human, and eventually the last being from this incarnation of the universe. When the universe closes down and everyone from the other architects to the Janets to Gen herself goes home, as the perfect hostess Tahani will be the one who stacks the chairs, turns off the lights, and locks the door. Tahani will become God.
She’ll take a day off, and then create a new universe.
And we end up with a new universe that strangely evokes this:
Man. Maybe breaking bad had a better ending? But I dunno. This was so perfect. Wow.
In recent years I'd say Justified and The Shield both had better than Breaking Bad. Hard to compare to this, because this show as shorter, and a comedy. I will say that this is probably one of the more solid from start-to-finish shows, including the finale, that I can think of. There was no bad season. There was no arc I was sick of. They stuck the landing. Great show.
I knew the guitar teacher was somebody I recognized. It was Danson's wife, Mary Steenburgen.
Anyway, what a great show.
How do you recognize her? Is she an actor as well?
She also had a role on Justified.
Are...are you guys joking? She's been in a billion movies. Stepbrothers and way before that she was in Parenthood, with no less than Steve Martin, Jason Robards, RICK MORANIS, KEANU REEVES (very young), AND JOAQUIN PHOENIX (super duper young).
I didn't even know she was married to Ted Danson, but despite his fame from Cheers, I'd be more prone to call Danson "Mary Steenburgen's husband" than her his wife.
Back to the Future 3 was my first introduction to Mary Steenburgen, way back when.
Posts
She also had a role on Justified.
It's definitely very high on my list. Not sure if it's my favorite, but how can it be when you have TV shows with universally-acclaimed, perfect endings, like Dexter and Battlestar Galactica?
But this? This was forking special.
Are...are you guys joking? She's been in a billion movies. Stepbrothers and way before that she was in Parenthood, with no less than Steve Martin, Jason Robards, RICK MORANIS, KEANU REEVES (very young), AND JOAQUIN PHOENIX (super duper young).
I didn't even know she was married to Ted Danson, but despite his fame from Cheers, I'd be more prone to call Danson "Mary Steenburgen's husband" than her his wife.
I mean, yeah, I was kinda trolling because 'round these parts people seem to universally hate those endings. Along with Angel, for some people at least. I liked them all, though I'm still not sold on the penultimate lead-up to Dexter's ending.
I think The Good Place may be tied at the top. I still come back to Psych as one of my favorite TV series endings of all time. I'm not sure The Good Place actually topped it, but it is very close. Either way, awesome finale.
They turned into those motes of light.
One drifted down and it influenced the guy who threw away the mail which wasn't for him to dig it out of the trash and deliver it to the rightful owner.
In returning to the universe, they become random acts of kindness, helping others be just that little bit better when it comes time for them to try to get into the Good Place.
None of them top my all-time favorite however.
The Ending? Good, fitting and obvious in hindsight. And its greatest impact is that I have seen the series from start to finish, because of that the ending if each individual story struck even harder.
This is a masterpiece of television storytelling and one that really only can be made for television. It was a prestige TV show really, only it was on a network.
Oh, I agree, but
Bravo Schur, Bravo.
Can't run a simulation if the simulation hardware/platform gets 'turned off'. :P
What a delight this whole thing has been. I don't know if I can ever rewatch it, it just feels...perfect, and complete.
She’ll take a day off, and then create a new universe.
Seems to work for conservatives.
And we end up with a new universe that strangely evokes this:
It's the rare show that has me laughing at the same time as I'm blinking tears away too. This is, by far I think, Mike Schur's best show. That is not to say, that it's all him, from what I've seen, everyone involved with it absolutely killed it. The writers, the actors, the props department, the digital effects (aka David Niednagel). Every part of it.
Just what a journey. I cannot wait to see the main cast in whatever they do next.
I think 99 is the funniest but least heart (still a ton of heart)
Parks and Rec is middle both
Good place has the most heart but least funny (still a ton of funny)
In terms of quantity (ie jokes per episode), sure. But in terms of quality, I gotta disagree. Top ten jokes across all three series, gotta be half of them are Good Place. Heck, Chidi himself IMO has the top two (time kNiFe, and Jeremy Bearimy "that broke me").
I know Belland Danson will almost definitely move on to good projects, but I really hope Jamil, Jacinto, and especially Harper get to showcase in something new.
It was a total throwaway joke, but the one where Tahani was explaining how her favorite show had been on the BBC for 16 years and had nearly 30 episodes was one of my favorites.
Part 2 is 1 hour and 25 minutes.
I've heard good things about the pod, and with "Shawn" hosting, I don't doubt it.
But I held off once I made the decision to wait until I did the full series rewatch, and are better able to intersperse the showand the pods chronologically.
Bell's talked about retiring from starring roles actually. Or taking a break until her kids are older.
If you weren't ugly crying while belly laughing at the Chidi calandar in the finale, you are a monster. That was an incredible joke
Also, first amazing revelation from the podcast
...but is it tall enough?
In recent years I'd say Justified and The Shield both had better than Breaking Bad. Hard to compare to this, because this show as shorter, and a comedy. I will say that this is probably one of the more solid from start-to-finish shows, including the finale, that I can think of. There was no bad season. There was no arc I was sick of. They stuck the landing. Great show.