The Good Place introduces the show’s version of the afterlife right from the beginning, but it’s not until the end of season 1 that we see it for what it truly is. Though The Good Place‘s season 1 leaves clues about its twist ending, it isn’t really until that moment that it becomes apparent what’s really been happening over the course of the show.

The show’s concept works in part because The Good Place has an interesting group of characters with interesting flaws, and season 1’s twist invites the opportunity to explore that in more depth. Each season of The Good Place offers great opportunities to dive into the show’s characters, and this, combined with the show’s constant twists and its interesting setting of the afterlife, is a part of what makes it such a consistently great show. The Good Place balances humor and heartfelt moments, but some of its best moments are the ones that change up the story.

Season 1’s Twist Ending Is A Difficult Moment To Follow Up

Season 1’s The Bad Place Reveal Completely Changed The Course Of The Show

The reveal that the characters are actually all in The Bad Place might be the best moment in The Good Place, because it does a great job of paying off what’s been set up over the course of season 1. While the foreshadowing is hidden enough that the twist is difficult to predict, the reveal doesn’t feel like it’s coming out of nowhere. Throughout the course of season 1, Eleanor and the others are clearly not having as good a time as you would expect from what’s supposed to be the equivalent of Heaven.

Everything is so carefully orchestrated to make each of the characters miserable, and The Good Place‘s first season manages to be subtle about the real reason while also being clear that the afterlife isn’t as perfect as one might expect. Chidi and Tahani thinking they deserve to end up in The Good Place helps mask the reality of their situation.

Season 1 of The Good Place is so perfectly crafted that it leaves the following seasons with a difficult job. Reaching the reveal for the first time, it’s hard to imagine where the show might go, because it completely changes the course of the series. While there’s no bad season in The Good Place, season 1 is hard to follow up. The Good Place does a good job of continuing to tell an interesting and engaging story after that moment, but the high point of The Good Place has to be season 1’s big twist.

Even Before Its Twist Reveal, Season 1 Pulls Off Its Concept Perfectly

Season 1’s Concept Would Be Entertaining Even If They Were In The Good Place

Season 1 of The Good Place would still be fantastic even if the premise had been exactly what it first appeared to be, as it’s entertaining to watch Eleanor and Chidi (and eventually Tahani and Jason) try to hide the truth about the mistake of Eleanor and Jason being in The Good Place. In addition, even before we get to see the afterlife explored deeper in the following seasons, the setting of the neighborhood is fun to watch and interesting to learn about.

While there are clues about The Good Place‘s The Bad Place twist as early as episode 1 in the details of the neighborhood, it’s easy to believe that they are actually in The Good Place. In theory, the neighborhood sounds like a utopia, and it’s only once you look more closely at the details that it falls apart. Eleanor and Jason being mistakes and the characters having to wrestle with the afterlife not being as perfect as they might hope could also have been interesting stories for the show to explore if Michael had been telling the truth.

The Good Place Couldn’t Stay In The Neighborhood Forever, So The Reveal Was Good For The Show

As Good As Season 1 Was, It Was Smart For Later Seasons To Switch Things Up

As fun as season 1 is, The Good Place could have gotten stale if it had tried to continue following the same format. The reveal provided the perfect opportunity to explore the show’s version of the afterlife in a new way. Though the reveal that the characters were in The Bad Place left them with a huge moment to follow up, it also meant that The Good Place had the freedom to explore new directions and dive into the show’s afterlife in new ways.

Each season of The Good Place is different, and while season 1 might be the strongest, each of the other seasons are also a lot of fun to watch. The Good Place does a fantastic job of changing things up throughout the show while also feeling like it’s staying true to the story it’s been telling all along. The way that later seasons revisit earlier events and mess with the characters’ reality is engaging.

Even though things are changing, the core feeling of the mystery surrounding the afterlife remains. Whether Michael is trying his experiment over and over again, or the characters are getting to live out a new life on Earth, the show manages to call back to old ideas while exploring them in new ways. Each season of The Good Place is also full of moments that made fans cry, as its emotional core stays steady throughout the course of the show.

The Good Place’s Final Seasons Had A Difficult Job

Having A Satisfying Ending Was Especially Important For The Good Place

No matter what The Good Place‘s ending did, it was going to be difficult for it to be entirely satisfying. It was a smart decision for The Good Place to end when it did, rather than go on for too long. While the show’s concept could have had more steam, ending with season 4 helps the show feel strong the whole way through.

Though it would be a good thing for any show, The Good Place’s meaning and message made having a solid ending especially important. The Good Place raises a question that is impossible to answer entirely satisfyingly, and the show’s unique twist on theology is a big undertaking.

Throughout the course of The Good Place, Eleanor and her friends fight for the right to have a happy ending, and this made it inevitable that the show would explore what would be the happiest option for the characters’ afterlife. The show put a lot of pressure on its finale, and finding a satisfying conclusion might have been even more difficult than following up season 1’s twist ending. The Good Place did a good job of telling a difficult and compelling story, making it a TV show worth rewatching.