When I heard that The Good Place had come out with another season on Netflix, I was overjoyed. Of course, I was absolutely crushed with the realization that the following season would be their last, but decided to shove that emotion in favor of watching the new season. 

For anyone who’s been living under a rock for the past two years or so, t his is your warning. Major TGP spoilers ahead. 

Whew. Now that’s out of the way, I’ll preface this review by stating that I watched the new season with quite a critical eye. I’ve experienced the disappointment of when the second or third season doesn’t quite measure up to the glorious first season (cough, Riverdale), but The Good Place didn’t let me down. At the end of the last season, we were left on a cliffhanger after learning that our four protagonists were back on Earth, this time to get a second chance at being better people. 

That doesn’t go as planned. The first episode, “Everything is Bonzer!” shows a deeper insight into our protagonists. Eleanor tries to do better for the environment, but when the world doesn’t give back to her, she soon returns to her old ways. After a misunderstanding with a coworker, Chidi’s indecisiveness returns with a vengeance. Tahani soon craves the spotlight once again, and Jason’s plans for life are…less than ideal. Things also start to go awry when forces of the Bad Place conspire to capture the group, resolving to not let them slip away once more. 

Despite asking hard-hitting philosophical questions, The Good Place contemplates the intricacies of human life and interaction with perfectly timed jokes and characters. The timeline of life and humans is explained in a looping manner, looking quite similar to the signature of ‘Jeremy Bearimy’. 

I’m quite glad that the show decided to deviate from focusing on attaining the protagonists salvation, and instead focus on helping others reach the Good Place. It paved the way for more character development and understanding. Jason’s past and inherent heart of gold was revealed with his desire to help his father and past colleague, Pillboi. Tahani was able to reconcile with her sister after realizing that their rivalry didn’t divide them, but brought them closer. 

There wasn’t one fast or slow moment: the season was perfectly paced, keeping me intrigued and invigorated throughout the twelve episode season. The tension introduced within the first two episodes gradually built up to the crescendo of the season finale: the original experiment, repeated to see whether or not the same outcome could be achieved. If the “bad humans” show progression, then it might be an indication of the points system being tampered with. 

Of course, another cliffhanger marked the end of the season finale, “Pandemonium”, and it’s left me wondering which way the showrunners will take this beloved story in their final season.