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[The Good Place] Like a Wave Returning to the Ocean

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  • SpawnbrokerSpawnbroker Registered User regular
    This show has reminded me of how much I missed watching Kristen Bell in something.

    And also has shown me that Ted Danson is a really good actor.

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  • Kipling217Kipling217 Registered User regular
    You know, having just binged watched this on Netflix. One of the things that is obvious in hindsight is how none of the other residents in S1 are concerned about the Bad Place at all.

    I mean if these people are supposed to be Saint level selfless and they are okay with other people being tortured? I am not talking about the Hitler types, but the idea of people like the main 4 being tortured should really have been more of an issue for them.

    Which makes me think that the real Good place would be a "walking away from Omelas" type deal for its residents. Being in paradis but feeling like hell.



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  • MegaMan001MegaMan001 CRNA Rochester, MNRegistered User regular
    Kipling217 wrote: »
    You know, having just binged watched this on Netflix. One of the things that is obvious in hindsight is how none of the other residents in S1 are concerned about the Bad Place at all.

    I mean if these people are supposed to be Saint level selfless and they are okay with other people being tortured? I am not talking about the Hitler types, but the idea of people like the main 4 being tortured should really have been more of an issue for them.

    Which makes me think that the real Good place would be a "walking away from Omelas" type deal for its residents. Being in paradis but feeling like hell.


    None of the other residents are actually residents - they are all employees of the Bad Place, designed to help torture Eleanor / Chidi / Tahani / Jason.

    I am in the business of saving lives.
  • TofystedethTofystedeth Registered User regular
    ElJeffe wrote: »
    One of the main ideas is to make it more fun for those involved.

    People will go to a lot of effort if they think something is fun.

    Coming by every once in a while for hijinks is fun.

    Being forced to sit next to someone completely silent for 1000 years is work.

    How many thousands of years has he spent burning people though. Sometimes you need a change of pace.

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  • kimekime Queen of Blades Registered User regular
    MegaMan001 wrote: »
    Kipling217 wrote: »
    You know, having just binged watched this on Netflix. One of the things that is obvious in hindsight is how none of the other residents in S1 are concerned about the Bad Place at all.

    I mean if these people are supposed to be Saint level selfless and they are okay with other people being tortured? I am not talking about the Hitler types, but the idea of people like the main 4 being tortured should really have been more of an issue for them.

    Which makes me think that the real Good place would be a "walking away from Omelas" type deal for its residents. Being in paradis but feeling like hell.


    None of the other residents are actually residents - they are all employees of the Bad Place, designed to help torture Eleanor / Chidi / Tahani / Jason.

    Thus, "obvious on hindsight" :P

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  • AlphaRomeroAlphaRomero Registered User regular
    The idea of spending eternity with my normal human body and mind, even with infinite nice food seems an absolutely nightmare. I don't know if the Good Place is the same, but the indulgences would get tired eventually. At least you can apparently stay up to date with video games though.

  • MegaMan001MegaMan001 CRNA Rochester, MNRegistered User regular
    kime wrote: »
    MegaMan001 wrote: »
    Kipling217 wrote: »
    You know, having just binged watched this on Netflix. One of the things that is obvious in hindsight is how none of the other residents in S1 are concerned about the Bad Place at all.

    I mean if these people are supposed to be Saint level selfless and they are okay with other people being tortured? I am not talking about the Hitler types, but the idea of people like the main 4 being tortured should really have been more of an issue for them.

    Which makes me think that the real Good place would be a "walking away from Omelas" type deal for its residents. Being in paradis but feeling like hell.


    None of the other residents are actually residents - they are all employees of the Bad Place, designed to help torture Eleanor / Chidi / Tahani / Jason.

    Thus, "obvious on hindsight" :P

    Holy shit, I am an idiot. Sorry.

    I am in the business of saving lives.
  • RT800RT800 Registered User regular
    Definitely get the feeling it isn't just Chidi, Tehani, Jason, and Eleanor that're being tortured here.

  • ElJeffeElJeffe Moderator, ClubPA mod
    One thing about s1 that works to the show's advantage - especially as regards the end - is that we didn't know what kind of show we were watching. For starters, we didn't even know it was the sort of show that had twists, so the first few times that sort of thing happened, it caught us off guard.

    Beyond that, we didn't know how absurdist the show would be. The internal logic is different in The Office vs Parks and Rec vs 30 Rock vs Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and until we know what we're watching, it's hard to know whether it should be striking that the characters on the show seem okay with horrible things happening to people.

    That was part of the genius of the show. It knew how to play with our expectations to maximize the impact of every revelation and every twist. It's why I think that this is probably the most impressively realized single season of a sitcom ever.

    And it's also why i think it's a good decision that they're supposedly laying off the big twists for a while. You can really only pull that off once before everyone starts looking for twists, and that rarely turns out well.

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  • DedmanWalkinDedmanWalkin Registered User regular
    When you die, you don't seem to remember how you died. Have we considered that the same occurs when a Bad Place "demon" is "retired?" Maybe, after Michael's speech to the board, they retired him. His torture is seeing his creation given life but always failing. He tries to continue it as long as possible, avoiding the Judge. The next twist is Michael doing everything right, not getting caught for awhile and then when he does, getting to continue. He then has his epiphany, Eleanor will always beat him because she knows the truth from the beginning. He reveals this to her and then she does an evil laugh, calls him basic, and resets everything.

  • LostNinjaLostNinja Registered User regular
    edited September 2017
    So I just binged S1 of netflix and watched the season premiere on Hulu all this weekend, and I gotta say I'm not sure how a second season of this is going to work after the S1 twist (which was amazing!). I'm curious to see how they manage to keep it interesting after
    Michael eventually gives up on wiping their memories after they figure it out. I mean we have to get to that point eventually, and when we get there isn't that just when they start doing normal torture and the show ends? I guess it will probably turn into them trying to escape, but where is there to go? I'm guessing the "middle place" is part of their construct.

    Another possible twist, this is all really a torture set up for Michael.

    Also is every episode now going to be an hour or was that just for the premiere?

    LostNinja on
  • enlightenedbumenlightenedbum Registered User regular
    edited September 2017
    It was technically two episodes without a second credits sequence. It's a half hour show.

    enlightenedbum on
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  • ElJeffeElJeffe Moderator, ClubPA mod
    edited September 2017
    We know that Michael wiped the memories from our four, but we don't know for certain that's standard policy. It could be different for the Real Good Place or for the Real Bad Place.

    Also, i don't know where the show goes from here, but they've already had several events where it seems like there's nowhere else to go. And then they keep going to new places.
    Like, "Eleanor already admitted to Michael that she doesn't belong! There's nowhere else to go!"

    "Eleanor already solved the big mystery! There's nowhere else to go!"

    "They already blew through the first do-over!
    There's nowhere else to go!"

    I ain't worried.

    ElJeffe on
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  • cloudeaglecloudeagle Registered User regular
    Great interview with D'Arcy Carden on what it's like to play an AI.

    Also, there's a vague hint that
    Janet goes off the damn rails this season. There's a lot of fun.

    So. Stoked.

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  • SorceSorce Not ThereRegistered User regular
    Ride or Die Janet, Ride or Die.

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  • TofystedethTofystedeth Registered User regular
    Not sure how much of what he said in the intro is true, but he did say they wipe the memory in the case of embarrassing or traumatic deaths. So far they were all pretty embarrassing.

    Also pretty sure we haven't seen how Tahani died yet.

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  • surrealitychecksurrealitycheck lonely, but not unloved dreaming of faulty keys and latchesRegistered User regular
    edited September 2017
    janet and jason need to end up together in a beautiful romance forever

    also she needs to learn the art of djing

    also i do wonder if fake eleanor will end up with chidi in the long run

    surrealitycheck on
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  • SpawnbrokerSpawnbroker Registered User regular
    I need more Bad Janet in my life

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  • SpawnbrokerSpawnbroker Registered User regular
    edited September 2017
    I need more double posts in my life

    Spawnbroker on
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  • VeeveeVeevee WisconsinRegistered User regular
    I need more Bad Janet in my life

    Good Janet, Bad Janet, Janet Janet, it doesn't matter. I just need more Janet.

  • KamarKamar Registered User regular
    If I had to guess, I'd assume this season will progress
    to them screwing things up again, and Michael realizing he has to work with them to cover up his failures.

  • Crimson KingCrimson King Registered User regular
    how come chidi, the ethics professor, doesn't start asking serious questions about hell in the first five seconds of the show

    like, surely the fact that the vast majority of humanity get tortured for eternity sets off a few red flags for him

  • RT800RT800 Registered User regular
    I dunno.

    Is Chidi supposed to be a good ethics professor?

  • King RiptorKing Riptor Registered User regular
    edited September 2017
    how come chidi, the ethics professor, doesn't start asking serious questions about hell in the first five seconds of the show

    like, surely the fact that the vast majority of humanity get tortured for eternity sets off a few red flags for him

    Chidi is so indecisive it killed him. If he even thought to ask he'd spend forever wondering if he should ask

    King Riptor on
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  • Crimson KingCrimson King Registered User regular
    other notes:
    i'm at the university of queensland a lot so it's funny to me that chidi apparently taught there

    where this season is going is, michael is forced to work with eleanor and pals to hide the fact that his hell isn't working from shawn

    i feel kind of weird about just sitting here watching people get tortured, apparently forever. it didn't bother me as much in preacher for some reason. maybe because the people in preacher were actually bad? maybe because preacher is not a sitcom, so the tone is different. i mean the world this all takes place in is horrific beyond human comprehension and i don't know if we're supposed to just like, not think about it

  • ShadowhopeShadowhope Baa. Registered User regular
    edited September 2017
    how come chidi, the ethics professor, doesn't start asking serious questions about hell in the first five seconds of the show

    like, surely the fact that the vast majority of humanity get tortured for eternity sets off a few red flags for him

    Chidi is so indecisive it killed him. If he even thought to ask he'd spend forever wondering if he should ask

    It's not just that he's indecisive. It's that he's extremely focused on himself. He cares about doing the right thing, but he's unable to put it into any kind of larger context. The welfare of others doesn't hit his radar; he's too concerned with striving towards his own moral perfection. Also, he used almond milk, even though he knew it was wrong.

    Shadowhope on
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  • CouscousCouscous Registered User regular
    how come chidi, the ethics professor, doesn't start asking serious questions about hell in the first five seconds of the show

    like, surely the fact that the vast majority of humanity get tortured for eternity sets off a few red flags for him

    Chidi is so indecisive it killed him. If he even thought to ask he'd spend forever wondering if he should ask

    It took Chidi three years of agonizing over lying for him to say he didn't like the red boots his friend got. Questioning the morality of the afterlife to an angel in the afterlife? Pfffffff.

  • King RiptorKing Riptor Registered User regular
    other notes:
    i'm at the university of queensland a lot so it's funny to me that chidi apparently taught there

    where this season is going is, michael is forced to work with eleanor and pals to hide the fact that his hell isn't working from shawn

    i feel kind of weird about just sitting here watching people get tortured, apparently forever. it didn't bother me as much in preacher for some reason. maybe because the people in preacher were actually bad? maybe because preacher is not a sitcom, so the tone is different. i mean the world this all takes place in is horrific beyond human comprehension and i don't know if we're supposed to just like, not think about it

    I think those are the stakes. The idea that you end up there for largely mundane bullshit based on a system you have no say in is what's ultimately unfair about the whole scenario

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  • TofystedethTofystedeth Registered User regular
    Speaking of the system, i rewatched the first episode last night, and the examples of good and bad things in the introductory video are pretty great.
    Good - Stayed loyal to the Cleveland Browns
    Bad - Discussed your veganism unprompted

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  • TofystedethTofystedeth Registered User regular
    Also under Bad, "told a woman to smile", which evil Ben Wyatt was constantly doing.

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  • DasUberEdwardDasUberEdward Registered User regular
    Speaking of the system, i rewatched the first episode last night, and the examples of good and bad things in the introductory video are pretty great.
    Good - Stayed loyal to the Cleveland Browns
    Bad - Discussed your veganism unprompted

    Whoo I got a good thing going!

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  • DrezDrez Registered User regular
    Just keep in mind, that’s potentially just Michael being an asshole. No reason to believe that anything we’ve seen or heard regarding the good place is true. The only thing we can be relatively certain of is what is revealed within conversations between Michael and characters outside of the main 4 characters, and only in Season 2, post-reveal. And for all we know...
    ...that may be bullshit too. I’m quite keen on the theory that this is either Michael’s Bad Place, or his retirement.

    My point is, you probably shouldn’t root for the Cleveland Browns.

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  • TerrendosTerrendos Decorative Monocle Registered User regular
    I think I might be in love with Tahani you guys

    How tall is she though? 'Cause I'm 5'10" soaking wet and I feel like that might be too short for her

    Also I'm not dead and she's fictional but, you know, the height thing too.

  • TofystedethTofystedeth Registered User regular
    Terrendos wrote: »
    I think I might be in love with Tahani you guys

    How tall is she though? 'Cause I'm 5'10" soaking wet and I feel like that might be too short for her

    Also I'm not dead and she's fictional but, you know, the height thing too.
    Wikipedia wrote:
    The Emporis Standards Committee defines a high-rise building as "a multi-story structure between 35–100 meters tall, or a building of unknown height from 12–39 floors" and a skyscraper as "a multi-story building whose architectural height is at least 100 m or 330 ft."

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  • VeeveeVeevee WisconsinRegistered User regular
    Terrendos wrote: »
    I think I might be in love with Tahani you guys

    How tall is she though? 'Cause I'm 5'10" soaking wet and I feel like that might be too short for her

    Also I'm not dead and she's fictional but, you know, the height thing too.
    Wikipedia wrote:
    The Emporis Standards Committee defines a high-rise building as "a multi-story structure between 35–100 meters tall, or a building of unknown height from 12–39 floors" and a skyscraper as "a multi-story building whose architectural height is at least 100 m or 330 ft."

    Or there is http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3553139/ which gives a height of 5' 10½" (1.79 m)

    Sorry Torrendos, but no matter how you measure it you probably are not tall enough for this sexy skyscraper.

  • SorceSorce Not ThereRegistered User regular
    I just want as many scenes with Eleanor and Tahani talking to each other as possible, because the height differential just makes everything they do way more hilarious.

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  • XeddicusXeddicus Registered User regular
    I thought Tahani was taller, it must be because she's standing next to Bell a lot.

  • surrealitychecksurrealitycheck lonely, but not unloved dreaming of faulty keys and latchesRegistered User regular
    Xeddicus wrote: »
    I thought Tahani was taller, it must be because she's standing next to Bell a lot.

    shes actually 7 feet but theyre metric

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  • VeeveeVeevee WisconsinRegistered User regular
    Xeddicus wrote: »
    I thought Tahani was taller, it must be because she's standing next to Bell a lot.

    I think Tahani is usually in heels that make her look more like Ted Dansen's 6'2", which really accentuates Bell's 5'1" height

    I don't think Elenor has worn any heels, either... costuming is doing a pretty good job here, too.

  • King RiptorKing Riptor Registered User regular
    So I have a theory on how this season ends
    Janet as we know was stolen for Michael's experiment. They never get to tell her it's the bad place. I think that she'll find out activate some kind of alert and we'll get a set up for the real good place to come in and see what's going on.

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