User Reviews

This is more of a philosophical entry for people who watched the episode than a review. It contains spoilers, so beware.

The title of the episode is "Whenever you're ready" and I'll just admit right off the bat, that i was not. I really enjoyed this show immensely and I felt connected to the characters and I wasn't ready for the show to be over. But shows end, and good shows should always end with you wanting more. It did and I do, but that's not what this review will be about. I came here for closure and community in a way. I wanted to know if others felt lost and saddened by it all, like I am.

The final episode was not what I expected. Jason, Chidi and Ellinor all decide to go through the door, thus ending their existence and disappear like a wave in the ocean. And it is absolutely heartbreaking. After reading the reviews on here it is clear that some find it heartbreaking and sad like myself while others heartwarming and reassuring. For a show this concerned with moral philosophy we shouldn't be surprised though. But I didn't expect the ending would launch me into such a deep state of self-reflection as it did.

I am completely terrified of death. I have been for as long as I can remember and it's awful. I'm not religious in any way, and while I hope there's an afterlife, I doubt there is. If there is though, I would love for it to be like The Good Place (fake or otherwise) but honestly I would take any sort of life after this one. The part that made me sad and I think most of the others giving the finale bad reviews, is that the characters chose to end it. I have an incredibly hard time imagining getting to a state where I'm done with existing. I can't even imagine wanting to get to achieve that state. It's terrifying, it truly is. I look at my grandparents and wonder how they come to terms with death because I don't think that I ever can. Being so fulfilled that you are okay that everything is over seems impossible and undesirable to me. This show didn't change how I feel about death or a possible afterlife. But it did force me to think about it in a new way, and that made me sad for a while. That's a huge accomplishment for any show, even more so for a comedy.

In the end I realized I need to work some things out. I don't want to be scared my entire life, and I hope I one day join Jason, Chidi and Ellinor in a state of true fulfillment and acceptance. And I hope the same for you all.

• Sebastian

Just finished watching this on Netflix & I have to say this was one of the best TV finales I've seen in a very long time. A lot of shows these days seem to run too long then finish abruptly but this was perfect. They gave a perfect amount of importance to every single character & even fit time in for cameos. For me this was just very comforting where everyone finally reached peak fulfilment & happiness & were ready to move on. Eleanor asking Chidi to wait to leave until she was asleep really hit right in the heart & was delivered so perfectly. I loved that Michael will get to be a human for however long & he finally got to really say 'take it sleazy' such a perfect ending. I will miss this show a lot, such wonderful characters who obviously had a wonderful writing crew behind them but they went out while still on top. An amazing finale for a beautiful show!

This was one of the best finales I've seen and here are a couple of reasons why I think that:

1) No plot twists, no cliffhangers. The series and the story ended. I am really glad everything was not ruined by some dumb plot twist like "Surprise! Last three seasons were just even more elaborate plan and you're still in bad place. Enjoy your memory being wiped again!" or generic "Ok, we're sending you back to Earth, try to be good people now." Authors had a vision, a plan, a story, and that is what we saw.

2) Although all the characters have become inseparable, their farewell was individual so we could see their personal growth, not just "We came together, we're going through the final door together." We had the chance to say "Goodbye!" to each of them in their own way.

3) It was really emotional. I must admit that I spent about 2 hours to watch this 1 hour episode, because at some moments I was crying so hard, that I just had to stop the show and take some pause to collect myself. Btw, I'm 30 y/o male. But it wasn't just sad. There were jokes, there was some comfort, beauty and.... calm in all that. It was just perfect finale.

Before I begin explaining why I love "The Good Place" so much, I just want to genuinely thank everyone who had a hand in the creation of this beautiful TV series. For me at least there has never been one episode that I haven't enjoyed, laughed at or disliked in anyway. I felt a strange calm whilst watching this that I don't think I've felt in almost any other TV series finale. I was completely devastated when I heard the news that this show was ending when series 4 would finish airing, however, over time, that has turned out to be the best choice this show has ever made.

I love when a show has a mapped out beginning, middle and end, and this series finale certainly shows the strengths of that strategy better than almost any other. I also appreciated the extended run time for this finale which helped it to feel less rushed and complete. I'm perfectly content with the way that each character ended their journey, and for once after a series finale has happened... I'm at peace. I'm not bitter about any of the choices made like some series finales ("How I Met Your Mother", I'm looking at you!), I'm beyond happy with how this show finished.

Ted Danson is one of the best living legends and I just loved Michael's character journey through this series, and to have him end up as a human right at the end was better than any other decision I could've made to end his journey. Chidi finally feeling at peace and not having a stomach ache over the decisions that he has made was also perfect. My heart broke for Eleanor as she realized that her journey was about to end, and she was left alone, until she was at peace.

Jason waited like 1000 years in a forest (we don't really have a correct passage of time here since it isn't measured) just to give a necklace to Janet... and that just felt right for him. Tahani finally gets some closure with her parents and even becomes an architect for a neighborhood!

Overall, everything just felt right whilst watching this, it felt like it had been mapped out and completed perfectly. Thank you to everyone who made this show, take it sleazy!

This has to be my favourite end to a sitcom. Not too many episodes, a damn good narrative that knows exactly when and how to end. TGP is the feel good show I really needed to watch. The way moral philosophy acted as the one constant theme for the main plot was really entertaining and informative at the same time. It makes you really think. The moral lessons were some of my favourite bits but its Chidi's "Waves" quote that will stay with me. The finale gives the perfect farewell to all the main characters. They've experienced it all there's to experience. Now it's the little things that really fulfilled their experience and prepared them to know exactly when the time is right. I mean they could've made another season of the main characters fulfilling their wishes and living happily in the good place. But the show jumped to their last days because the creators were probably ready to leave.

I get that a lot of people rated this highly. I, myself, loved the show and up until "Patty", the show was on point.

With everything that Chidi and Eleanor went through, overcoming all odds to have their love conquer all. It made no sense to have Chidi end his existence and leave Eleanor behind.

I wasn't keen on the whole "end your existence" idea, but ok, if you are going to go that route, why not have them walk through together.

Eleanor waking up next to a picture of Chidi was the equivalent of someone losing a loved one, which shouldn't happen in a place like "The Good Place". That was a missed opportunity, in my opinion.

I think Tahani finding her calling as an architect was great and the other three could've found something else to do.

Lastly, Eleanor's gift to Michael of making him human, lacked any real closure between the characters. No hug, just standing there and thanking her.

Overall, "Whenever Your Ready" wasn't quite what the series needed for closure, but fortunately, it didn't hurt the integrity of the series. It will still be missed and remembered fondly in syndication.

Oh My God.... What an unbelievable, perfect finale. The secret of the acceptance of the vanity of existence is a simple bench at the edge of a bush. You cannot find a single flaw in this episod. Everything, every detail is pure genius, art and poetry. The calendar of eternity, Jason who waits all alone trillions of bearimies before leaving, just to be able to see one last time his beloved Janet, Michael who accomplishes the real dream of his whole life, being humen, the fireflies spreading in the sky. The first time you watch this episode you are taken by the awe and the wonder and the perfection of what you are witnessing. When you watch it once again you can't help but crying from start to finish. You cry for the existence itself, for the cruel, puzzling thing it is, you cry for uselessness of any attempt to solve the problem of existence, yet you can't escape that problem. Vanity and nothingness. This finale suceeds in performing a true work of Art of a genuine buddhist flavor. Cheers for this unique show.

I put off watching this episode for a while as the final scenes of the previous one gave a glimpse of what was to come. At the end of the previous one, they'd 'won' and so sat down to wait until the end. The end being an effectual suicide out of boredom. I guess they wanted all of the stars to go through the door to give closure to the show. I really wish they'd gone with another route though. Only Tahani got to experience a glimpse of what could have been.

The whole issue with how eternity plays out as they've written it is that they get bored because they no longer make a difference. They learn skills and complete games and tasks that they'd set themselves but they don't make any difference to anyone else. Anything they did after 'winning' is pointless. Tahani goes on to make a difference to others in the afterlife at least.

What would have been more interesting and more hopeful is if they'd ended the show with a different 'exit' for the afterlife. By having it that people can be reborn on Earth. It could have been ended with them all choosing to be reborn as new beings and we could have been left wondering if they might remember some parts of their previous lives, if they'll remember it all after dying again, whether they ever find each other in their new lives, whether soul mates might be a real thing or not, whether Jason and Janet's love might end up transcending the universe, whether other versions of Chidi and Eleanor might meet and live full lives on Earth and have a family rather than dying at 30. There could still be the 'final end' doorway but there could also be another doorway for people to be reborn whereby their souls have a chance to have genuine new experiences and to make a difference in the world.

All in all, for a series that rebooted itself almost every season, it felt like a real opportunity was missed and the last two episodes in particular felt rushed. They took the whole season to fix hell and about 5 minutes in episode 12 to fix heaven which was by adding a suicide option.