Season 1 of The Good Place ended on one of the greatest twists in all of television, to the point where many feared that it was so good, the show would be a one-trick pony. Thankfully, that's not the case, and Season 2 is absolutely fantastic.
After the big reveal that Eleanor and her friends were in the Bad Place the whole time and that Michael was orchestrating their torture, Season 2 starts with a series of loops as Michael repeatedly tries to wipe their memories and start the experiment over again. After hundreds of iterations, Michael decides to form an alliance with the humans to break out and try to make it to the actual Good Place, basically kickstarting the main storyline for the rest of the show. Season 2 is a far more propulsive and action-packed season than the first, nearly every episode has some massive change in the status quo and every time you think something couldn't possibly happen, it does, even down to the last few episodes having the team sneak into the actual Bad Place. The level of quality in pretty much every single episode is off the charts, and I was pretty much hooked throughout.
Though even with all of the crazy storylines, Season 2 doesn't let go of what made the first season so fantastic, and if anything, expands on it even further. Even with the memory wipe, all of the characters are still great and well-developed, with Michael once again being a massive highlight. His whole redemption arc is really as fun as it sounds, and is elevated by Ted Danson's still fantastic performance. This season is also really funny, and it isn't afraid to put the characters in weird scenarios. There's a bunch of bottle episodes, an episode about Janet and Michael only, the debut of some incredibly goofy side characters like Derek and the Judge, and a legendary roast sequence. The philosophical elements are also there in spades, since one of the core tenants of the main storyline is the cast trying to figure out how to enter the Good Place. My only gripe with this otherwise fantastic season is actually the finale. It has a fine twist (though it obviously doesn't stack up to Michael's Gambit), but I hated how it had to wipe the characters' memories again. It was fine the first time because it was a shocking and interesting twist, but now it just feels like the characters are being reset every season.
Highlights:
Everything Is Great: This two-part premiere feels like a fantastic microcosm of the first season, containing pretty much all of its character development and big moments into a tight, tense hour. I also think it's hilarious that in Michael's second experiment, the cast figured out the truth about the Bad Place even earlier than the first time.
Dance Dance Resolution: The opening of Dance Dance Resolution is probably my favorite sequence in the entire series. That montage of alternate iterations and experiments, and the wide range of Eleanor's potential soulmates is absolutely hysterical. The ending where Michael asks the humans for an alliance was also a pretty great shock.
Best Self: Despite basically being a bottle episode that takes place in the "Good Place" town, Best Self was easily one of my favorites in the show. It's very low-key and introspective, as the team struggles with not being able to find a way to the Good Place. It also works as a nice farewell to the town where the show started, since we end the episode watching it disintegrate.
Rhonda, Diana, Jake, And Trent: As mentioned, the final few episodes has the team try to sneak into the Bad Place and find the Judge, and Rhonda, Diana, Jake, And Trent is easily the most tense and fun of them all. It's practically a thriller, with the cast deep in "enemy territory" and trying to blend in, not to mention all the insight on how the Bad Place works is really fascinating.
Overall, Season 2 is easily my favorite in The Good Place. Following Season 1's fantastic ending, it's fast-paced, tense, exciting, and ambitious, all the while keeping the great character work, fun comedy, and philosophical elements that made the previous season work.
5/5 Stars
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