The Good Place Season 4 Review

February 1, 2020 at 6:41pm
By Jason Stettner

There’s something truly special, and profoundly deep about The Good Place. This show dives into layers of philosophy while also attempting to answer some of the most hardcore elements of regular life. The marks we leave on others, and the general good we do as people. What exactly do we owe to ourselves, and others around us.

This final season of the show really did wrap up in a satisfying, and constantly changing series of episodes. Like with the magic of previous seasons it’s almost like a whole season within just some of the episodes. The pacing is rather insane, with a lot being covered and the time the show runs just whips by. You’re always left wanting more, and that’s special. Very few shows are that addicting, that enticing and of course so surprising.

This last season is all about the afterlife, and trying to fix what is ultimately a broken system. It follows the core group as they deal with problems, travel places they’ve never been and prolong the judge’s ruling in order to find something better. It takes the work of collective group, and some twists in order to work on this. It’s great, with every moment being a treat. It does have some comedic moments, but just feels fantastic to watch and witness outside of the laughs that are present.

While only four seasons in, this show feels as though it reached the peak of what it could achieve. It could have very well kept on going, but this feels like a natural and interesting spot to conclude things at. The characters are all quite comfortable in their roles, with Eleanor (Kristen Bell) once again basically being the lead spot. You have Michael (Ted Danson) once again being charming while continuing his enlightened path.

There’s the darkness from the sinister, yet great Shawn (Mar Evan Jackson). The last two conflict, and then are rounded out by the rest of the main cast. Tahani (Jameela Jamil) continues to delight, Janet (D’Arcy Carden) always steals the scene and Chidi (William Jackson Harper) had crazy character changes. Finally we have Jason (Manny Jacinto) that really had some stand out scenes here, from his own monk-like journey to his simple yet complex understanding of some key moments. Everyone comes together in a perfect way, and the supporting cast is also excellent.

They had some neat surprise cameos in this one, and they all worked naturally into what was going on. The sets were always well done, using the usual core location in fun new ways while branching out further into the wilds of new places. There was a good sense of progression, character growth and development into the systems of which society might work after regular life ends. It was a particularly emotional finale, but one that ended on a high note where everything did make perfect sense after all.

The Conclusion

The Good Place Season 4 is a perfect conclusion for this show, it answers all of the questions I had while going deeper than I would have imagined it could have. It was both emotional, and funny being a great ride the whole time through. You’re never quite sure what’s going to happen, and that surprise is fun. You might try to guess what happens next, or come up with theories and they always come up with some way to swiftly change the direction of where things are headed.

They use time effectively, the pacing is excellent and you’re always wishing it could go on further. That’s not really needed though as they cover all the ground they want to while leaving you hooked on what’s to come. I never would have guessed where things actually were going to head at the start of this season, or even during the episodes as they went by.

It’s great fun to have a show you theorize about, and then are always satisfied by the different sort of outcome they develop. This show was glorious, and a forking great time. It’s somewhat sad to see it go, but I can always think of these seasons as telling a complete and perfect narrative that only got more exciting as you watched it.

The Good Place Season 4 Review at Home with TV Viewing

Rating Overall: 10