Film Theory: The BAD Truth about The Good Place Ending (ft. Pitch Meeting) 

Remember when Jason figured out it was the bad place 😂😂😂😂 a real low point for Michael

Okay Jason is a “pre-successful” DJ not a failed one.

"Ya basic... That's a human insult... it's devastating... you're devastated..."

I love telling this story. I met Ted Danson (Michael) once while the show was on air. I told him it was my favorite show and how much I loved it. He was so ecstatic and thanked me and told me he was really excited for me to watch the next season (which was season 3 or 4) and how he knew I would love it. He was the sweetest person I’ve ever met and he was really passionate about the show

“JASON figured it out? JASON? this is a low point for me. yeah, this one hurts. ow.”

Hold on MatPat, Jason wasn’t a failed DJ; he was PRE-successful.

Michael's giggle when Eleanor figures it out will never not give me chills

I know he’s a demon in this show, but Ted Danson just seems like the sweetest man to me

2:35 Jason Mendoza: "I wasn't a failed DJ, I was pre-successful." Gets my parents every time.

I’m surprised you didn’t mention that in S02E02 “Dance Dance Resolution” when *Eleanor* and *Chidi* are trying to come up with a plan after they escaped to the medium place, *Mindi* shows them a list of all the plans they have tried before and one of them was, “Make Michel think he’s the one in the bad place”

I once watched like 5 minutes of an episode of The Good Place and laughed and said "wouldn't it be really funny if it turned out they were in the bad place?" and they just looked at me in shock and I didn't know why at first.

The season one twist is so underrated. It truly got me when I first saw it. I also loved the call back to it in their test good place with Brent (was that his name?) and Chidi. When you watch the season one finale back there’s a MASSIVE clue that really should have given it away. Real Eleanor comes into Fake Eleanor’s house and says she is taking one of the slots to the bad place. She wasn’t there when that agreement was made - how would she have known about it?? It’s so obvious yet it took me several viewings to notice it. Also, just to add as an aside, I loved the little nod to the Good Place in Lucifer at the end of season five, when Lucifer goes to heaven and the guy that meets him there cannot swear, saying “what the fork?!” or something like that. Brilliant stuff.

Eleanor: Like who died and left aristotle in charge Chidi: *p l a t o*

The last word said in this series is “sleazy” Just felt like pointing that out

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Eleanor. I was talking about my testicles" Is such a good line 😂

4:58 I remember when Eleanor went back to Mindy’s in one of the reboots and she showed a list of failed ideas thst they have tried in the reboots before. One of them said “Make Michael think HE is the on in the bad place.”

Thing: *exists* MatPat: The main character is secretly kidnapping children and torturing them whilst being a child him/herself.

Actually, since he's Human now, once he dies and passes his test, he can eventually go through the door like the others. So.

YES IM SO HAPPY THAT YOU DID A VIDEO ON THE GOOD PLACE Edit: I just realised that this was posted 2 yrs ago 😭

Really digging this video up because I just finished the show. But, I think the point that was missed was not about torture but about trials and change. The humans changed, but due to the wheels Michael put in motion, everyone went through some form of betterment. When they finally got to the Good Place, they found that without change, without struggle, without sisyphean tasks, paradise is worthless. Michael's struggles were what earned him his worth, but we see that even he, even the committee, even the frog loving doorman grow weary of everything they've ever wanted. He earned his mortality tooth and nail. Those were the steps towards allowing him to become one with the ocean in the end. What started as torture for the four humans was realised to be trials. This realisation was Michael's initial growth that kicked off the entire arc; from demon to deity to mortal to dust.

You missed something here: You concluded, at the end, that Michael would eventually die and watch friends disappear for eternity without ever being able to leave himself. Demons can't leave through the door... but humans can, and Michael is human now. He'll die, eventually make his way to the Good Place, and, when he's ready, will now be able to go through the door himself, since he's human.

but matpat, the whole reason he became a human was so that he'll eventually get to walk through the space dust door himself when he's ready. suffering over, good conclusion for everyone

“Micheal’s existence is one of ceaseless torment, insecurity, and constant disappointment” High School Students: first time?

after his human life, Michael will go through the system and will be allowed to go through the final doorway when he wishes

Getting an actual DEMON to become human, die, then become good enough to get to the good place is like THE ULTIMATE way to test the system.

Ted Danson as Michael couldn't have been a more perfect choice, he balances the plotting demon and the sensitive dreamer sooooo well and so uniquely

I'm sorry Mat, you're amazing and you can usually find a needle in a haystack to nitpick in shows, but The good place was 104% perfect, their plot was amazingly well written and tied together, there's no space for a crazy and amazing theory like usual. But still, I had fun, this is legitimately my favorite series of all and I'll always love watching more content about it.

All I can say is THE GOOD PLACE is the best series I have ever watched. It was something out of the box and I loved it they should do a little spin of series of Michael on earth or just Janet.

Just a question: Since Michael becomes human at the end, doesn't that mean that once he reaches the afterlife he will be able to enter the doorway and become dust himself?

Maybeee the whole show was michaels test to get into the good place after he died as a human at the end of the show, so it’s in a loop? Jerimy berimy baby

Remember when Shawn called out PewDiePie in season 4 😂

I've always wondered what happened to the leaders of the good place after they ran away saying not to try to find them. But there are only so many places to go in this universe. Like are they just hanging out IHOP?

Eleanor lays it out explicitly: he's human. He will live as a human. He will die as a human, not knowing what comes next. He will go through his reincarnations as a human. In time, like Chidi and Jason and Eleanor and Jameela, he will reach bored-stiffness (er, sorry--nirvana...) and choose to go through the gate. If he takes her offer, he will just become one more working part of the solution he himself helped develop. Which makes Michael the central figure who is redeemed, rather than the central figure who is never redeemed.

“Everyone here thinks I’m Taiwanese, I’m Filipino. The good place is so racist” I just snorted. I have a Filipino friend and he constantly gets a similar thing.

11:18 the fact that he’s never retired is really what sells it for me

I like how they use the concept of prisoners’ dilemma to model how repetition can solve the dilemma. ...I also like how Jason gets a ton of stuff right and has great ideas.

Remember when Micheal joked that only Phoebe from friends should be in the good place, but then Lisa Kudrow showed up in the the good place as patty. then what happens when the actual lisa kudrow shows up?

I thought the point of the ending was that he could finally go to The Good Place and then pass through the door when he's ready. It's Janet who's really lost everyone for good.

I've just finished watching the show and my theory goes a tad deeper. I think they all have been going through their trials all along, trials they created. Since time in afterlife is looped and even Janet says she experiences all of time simultaneously, it makes sense that all that happened already. They show that they can enter human timeline at any selected point. After the final scene I was thinking that if humanity had conscience already, then the ending must've happened before the show started. So my theory is that Chidi became Eleanor's little voice and Jason became Doug's voice, then told Doug how the point system works when he got high enough. Jason did like to talk after all. Maybe Doug's missing 8% was what the team came up with for the purgatory.

0:09 very creative spoiler alert

I love how subtle, yet accurate it is when Matpat mentions "physical torture" and shows an eggplant being stomped.

The whole thing with Michael becoming human is just that, he’s human now. He’ll have to go through the system when he dies and eventually will walk through the door like the rest of his friends. On that note, The Good Place is one of my favorite shows in recent years, so please do your other theory on it

I mean, since he was turned into a human in the last episode, when he dies and lives out his afterlife in the good place, he'll be able to go through the door and "die" in the eternal way he saw his friends die. Since the problem with him not being able to "eternally die" was originally that he was a demon, him being a human and living out a human life/afterlife will allow him to eternally die once he wants to again

Michael *definitely* needs a hug, I really feel about him demons can be good and angels can be bad, not everyone is truly perfect. I would like to give him a hug

You forgot the part: *”jAsOn fIgurEd iT oUt!?”*

When it was revealed that Michael could become human I thought he was gonna be born and live an entire life. Who would wanna start their life in their mid 70’s?

I've seen the entire show at least 5 times. *the cube glows green*

As someone who has died briefly and been resuscitated; then awoke to find my life was now worse due to a disability, this gave me huge amounts of existential dread.

One problem: you ignored the fact that when Micheal comes back to the afterlife, he goes through the system *just like anyone else*, as the show clearly outlines. This means he would not be trapped watching people die forever, as he would have the ability to walk the the Last Door when he was ready.

“Picture a wave, in the ocean. You can see it, measure it, its height, and the way the sunlight refracts when it passes through. And it’s there, and you can see it, you know what it is. It’s a wave. And then it crashes on the shore, and it’s gone. But the water is still there. The wave was just a different way for the water to be for a little while. The wave returns to the ocean where it came from, and where it’s supposed to be.” Ok I love this show.

Another theory: What if Janet is actually the one being tortured? Think about it for sec. Janet’s whole shtick is that she’s a robot, and not a human, or as she likes to put it “not a girl”. This in itself is torture for her because no matter how hard she tries to connect with the humans and understand their habits and emotions, she can’t, simply because she is not one of them, not matter how hard she tries to be. Another thing: the second way that Janet is being tortured is the fact that she’s basically a robot slave for everyone else in the good place. Anyone can just request her at any time and get her to bring or do anything they want, no matter how big or small or weird or wild it may be. She essentially has no free will over her own actions because she is constantly doing what others want when they want, which causes her to slowly go insane and start glitching (as seen in season 2, episode 7). Last but not least, in season 4, when they all get to the actual good place. Yeah sure, Janet is no longer being tortured in the sense that she doesn’t have to work anymore and do stuff for other people, but then everyone she loves leaves. Micheal becomes head of the good place, tahani becomes an architect, and Eleanor, chidi, and Jason all walk through the portal and become space dust. Janet may be in paradise, but now all of her friends are gone, so the real question is Is she really in paradise or was the entire show just one big, elaborate scheme designed to torture her for eternity?

Just my thoughts about Michael's story. He's the key to everything because, out of all the eternal beings, he was the one with the imagination to devise something new. Yes, it results in psychological torture for him but his journey leads him from being an evil demon to becoming a good person. The other eternal beings learned things too which led to change. Michael eventually earns his reward in the Good Place but one which is unique to him - living on Earth as a mortal human. So what could happen to him after his physical body dies? As he became a real human it's very likely that he could eventually go through the final doorway but there's also another possibility. His human friend, Tahani, chose to become an architect so maybe Michael would choose this path as well. His experiences as an immortal being and a mortal human would give him a unique perspective.

No one: Matpat: this is not what it seems it is philosophy

You forgot to mention that phoebe is the only friends character in the good place.

I literally just watched this entire show in the span of the last few days. I was actually expecting this to be the final plot twist because I saw the same patterns with Michael. Happy they didn't pull the trigger on it though, might not have been as satisfying an ending.

This show was honestly one of the best shows I have ever seen in awhile

"You won, and you still somehow failed." *TASK FAILED SUCCESSFULLY*

Slightly Revised Theory: The four seasons are Michael in the New Bad Place becoming a better person. When he finally lets Vicki take charge of the reformed system and recognizes that he can't just dissipate like Eleanor and Chidi, he passes the test and finally gets to become human and go to Earth, fulfilling his dream in his own personal Good Place.

Don't forget when the lady in the middle place showed them their prior plans one of which was "Convince Michael that he is in the bad place"

10:16 task failed successfully

For foreshadowing for this theory there’s also, “make Michael think he’s the one in the Bad Place,” from Season 2 Episode 2. I watched this entire series on Netflix, though for season 3 and 4 I used cellular data, one of my favorite parts of being in Japan.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, I was talking about my TESTICLES"

I forking love this show I keep tryna get ppl to watch it with me

Just found out you did a theory on one of my all-time favorite shows. While I disagree with the theory, I'm overjoyed to see it get the MatPat treatment and hopefully reach some new viewers!

Also, when they were at Mindy Saint Claire's one of the ideas on the back of the board was 'make Micheal believe he's the one in the bad place'

But Micheal also ended up finding love on earth. The woman teaching him guitar is the actor of Michaels real wife and the director of the good place has straight up said that it was a way of showing Michael finding love himself.

I actually think that this theory would be better if the last episode was michael beating the test and he gets to live in his idea of the good place.

My theory was that his work since season 1 is the good person trial so that he can become a better person after his death on earth. Which kinda makes sense when considering that time in the afterlife doesn’t only flow in one direction

Wasn’t the whole point of Michael becoming human so that he could take the test, go to the good place and turn into space dust along with Jason, Chidi and Eleanor? That would mean that Michael wouldn’t have to see all of his friends turn into space dust because he would turn into space dust, wouldn’t it?

actually jason figured it out. the first time he said that they're in a prank show which is technically correct edit: y’all sorry 4 this comment lmao i obviously don’t remember what happened when i wrote it but i must have not seen where he put that clip in the video

I'm so thankful for this show, as someone whose never taken a philosophy/ethics class, I'm so glad they found a way to teach us that was highly entertaining, and deeply thoughtful. Thank you Michael Schur, for trying to help us be better people.

I love how Ryan keeps showing up in MatPat videos.

Since Michael is human now, he can go through the good place door when he's ready. That's part of the reason Eleanor helped him be human. Because he couldn't go through the door as a demon but he can now.

The ending of the good place made me cry, not gonna lie Man it sucks when good shows end

1:00, at pitch meeting, I knew exactly what to expect.

Loved the theory!! I’d love to see what your other idea was for a theory too! The good place was such a good show!!

2020:*starts* God: Now in terms of how I handle this moving forward, obviously, Earth is cancelled.

I love how season 1 twist was literally in the title card. “The Good Place creates by Michael”

I love the slightly altered tune for the intro.

A fun story about The Good Place. I went to a live comedy show this one time in LA during the time I was watching The Good Place, and one of the actors in the comedy show played the guy in the parking lot where Elanor died who was selling pamphlets for the Clean Energy Crusaders. When I got home I watched the episode where Elanor was saved from her death and later joined the Clean Energy Crusaders, and someone in my family said, "Wasn't that the screaming goat guy from the comedy show?"

This theory feels like it ignores the concept of bitter sweetness and that happiness doesn’t necessarily equate to fulfillment. Which is a huge point the show makes.

The "We're the good place; we can't just _do_ stuff" line has always infuriated me.

This is a pretty ingenious take, and adds yet another layer to the sequence of reveals in the show, in the very manner of the rest. One of those "once you see it" vibes that turns the entire show on its head. I wonder what Michael Schur would say about it (or if he would say anything even if it was 100% spot on.)

“The real bad place is the friends we made along the way” BORTLESSSSSS

"An insecure mess contemplating his own demise" is basically me in a nutshell

Glad MatPat has good taste. Kristen Bell is the obvious choice for everyone's celebrity crush

Literally just a few hours ago, I finished this show. And I'm with you MatPat- Chidi's waves returning to the ocean speech made me A LOT

00:42 that joke don´t make sense in some countries , because it´s a Netflix Original (like they put has one, even Netflix just have the rights of distribution but whatever) in some places

I honestly believe this was the creator's initial destination for the show; one last big twist, probably revealing Michael as the one being tortured and Eleanor as the torturer. But at some point they realized the relationships between the characters (especially Eleanor and Michael, and Eleanor and Chidi) was just too special and profound to convolute it with that type of twist. Who knows, maybe they knew exactly how they were gonna end it since the beginning, but it definitely feels like they were building towards another huge twist that never came. But hey, that's just a theory!

Michael was made a human at the end of the show, if he does get into the Good Place again he will be a normal human, not a giant squid monster demon. He’ll be able to become space dust just as his friends did.

I think the part you seemed to have forgotten. Michael can ABSOLUTELY leave the good place once he dies since he's human now. One day, he'll eventually will get through the system, make it to the good place get to do everything he didn't get the chance to during his stint on Earth, and eventually, his wave will go back to the ocean. I just finished this show, it was brilliant. Michael Shur, thank you

This video might be 2 years old but I'm so glad that the good place is getting some publicity I absolutely love the series and nobody's talked about it even when it first ended or came out and I love it

How did i watch an entire show just to watch an episode of film theory

There is a significant error in this theory though. Michael is now human, so when he does reach the good place, he *will* be able to go through the door.

I loved The Good Place and wish it could have continued. It was a very deep series that was presented in a light and beautiful way.❤️ I enjoyed learning about Moral Philosophy from Chidi and was so heartbroken when we lost Chidi to the universe.😭 I loved the cast and it warmed my heart that Michael was given the chance to live out his life as a human on earth. Great work on your summation. I enjoyed your insight and humor! ❤️✝️

12:12 There's something else. When Michael and Eleanor confirm amnesiac Chidi's suspicions that Chidi is in the bad place...yeah so it's like a pattern. Michael reveals to Eleanor, Eleanor reveals to amnesiac Chidi and then someone will reveal to Michael...or something.

Matpat: Warning everything is going to be spoiled Me: oh. oh alright then.

Does anybody remember when Chidi and Elinor went to Mindy St. Claire’s house then they looked at plans that they had in past timelines? “Make Micheal think *he’s* in the bad place.”

absolutely love this show would recommend you watch it 9:55 the answer: just like how you have cupcake when you are supposed on a diet (*PUT IT DOWN*) you start with the healthy food (not enjoyable experiences) then you have a cupcake once in a while (enjoyable experiences) then back to the healthy food (unenjoyable experiences) and continue the cycle that and let people die

I really hope you make that second good place theory mat, I'm still excited