Who would’ve thought a show about a woman entering the afterlife and realizing that Heaven is actually the opposite, and getting her mind erased until the middle of season 2 would be on its way to more episodes? The first half of season 2 returned on September 20, 2017. With just two seasons available, "The Good Place" has maintained its status as NBC’s number two comedy.

What is 'The Good Place'?

This comedy and fantasy show has captivated audiences through its comedic tale of Eleanor Shellstrop, played by Kristen Bell, who navigates a made-up world created by Michael, played by Ted Danson.

Michael is the architect of The Bad Place who wanted to unite four characters to torture each other in a fantasy world disguised as Heaven where all of the other inhabitants are actually evil monsters.

In the last episode of season 1 Eleanor follows her notion that they’re not actually in the "Good Place" and they’ve been getting tortured the entire time. Chidi helped her create a compelling case and once they told Michael, he admitted to the truth and prepared to reset everything for a second trial.

This ending could’ve allowed the show to reach the end of a perfectly arranged plot but the creators managed to establish an afterlife with possibilities for growth. Since season 1 dealt with the problems revolving around Eleanor, season 2 dove into other issues involving Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, Jianyu, and their robotic Good Place servant, Janet Della-Denunzio.

Michael tried resetting the "Good Place" and erasing the character’s minds over 800 times within the first 3 episodes of season 2. Once he realized Eleanor was going to keep figuring out they were actually in the Bad Place, he decided to team up and figure out a way to keep the truth of how many times he’s reset the Good Place from his boss.

Love is the center of the show shown through Chidi and Eleanor’s relationships after dating through multiple resets: Jianyu and Janet's marriage in season 1 and Jianyu and Tahani's marriage in season 2. Michael then realizes in season 2 that he truly cares for them and doesn’t want to torture them anymore.

"The Good Place" is supposed to be a Heaven for people who had done extraordinary things while on Earth.

Eleanor Shellstrop, Chidi Anagonye, Tahani Al-Jamil, and Jianyu were chosen because they were actually horrendous people and fit the description for the kind of people Michael wanted there.

As season one progressed, we were able to connect flashbacks from the characters' past lives with their actions in their afterlives. It becomes evident that they all internally struggled with problems that made them act dreadfully in their pasts.

What can we expect with new episodes in January?

Season 1 built its story on how and why the Good Place was created as we learn about the diabolical ways Michael was torturing these characters. "The Good Place" is only up to its 8th episode in the second season, where we will catch up with Janet’s failing relationship and Tahani and Jason’s marriage.

Michael also struggles with becoming a good person but is well on his way. There are other problems that need to solve themselves and we can expect to find out what happens when "The Good Place" returns for the second half of season 2 on January 4, 2018.
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