The Good Place Season 2 Review

Episode Guide

Everything Is Great!
Dance Dance Resolution
Team Cockroach
Existential Crisis
The Trolley Problem
Janet and Michael
Derek
Leap To Faith
Best Self
Rhonda, Diana, Jake and Trent
The Burrito
Somewhere Else

After its surprise success last year and an ingenious twist during the final episode, the quirky, upbeat sitcom returns with another 12 episodes of afterlife goodness. With a returning cast and a wicked sense of humour oozing through the script, the second season replicates the great work done last year with another solid season of entertainment. After a strong opening, the episodes include more serious romance-driven subplots between the characters before the climactic ending that sees the characters leaving familiar surroundings in the hope of getting to the actual Good Place. The humour and absurdity of the show’s premise won’t be for everyone and those who haven’t seen the first season will be way out of their element here. For those who enjoyed the first season and are hoping for more of the same, The Good Place absolutely delivers.

Following Michael’s reset off the four humans, season 2 picks up where it left off last year with the characters reset and blissfully unaware of their new realities. That is until Eleanor and the gang eventually figure out what’s happening again leading to an interesting confrontation with Michael. As the series progresses, past relationships surface and more background around the Bad Place, Michael’s boss Shaun and the process to get to The Good Place are all explored, helping to flesh the series out and the drive the narrative forward in new and interesting directions. Although most of the season takes place in the fictional Good Place seen from last year, the latter half of the series explores The Bad Place and other areas outside the illusioned reality the gang are used to helping to bring more originality into the series.

Eleanor (Kristen Bell), Chidi (William Jackson Harper), Tahani (Jameela Jamil), Jason (Manny Jacinto) all return as their roles as the four tortured humans helped by robot Janet (D’Arcy Carden) and overseer Michael (D’Arcy Carden) who are the focal figures of the series. Their interconnected relationships and hilarious bites of dialogue toward each other are the reason The Good Place works as well as it does. This year sees Michael trying to learn ethics from Chidi, Janet’s new boyfriend Derek causing all sorts of hilarious mishaps and the group visiting The Bad Place. In many ways the second season is a lot more ambitious than the first, with a variety of creative scenarios used to push the narrative forward whilst never losing sight of the humour which remains quirky and smartly written throughout the 12 episodes

It was always going to be a difficult ask to replicate the originality and great humour the first season managed to ooze so effortlessly but the second season manages this perfectly. The humour is well timed, genuinely funny and plays on the archetypal traits for each character. Of course, the same issues around one-note characters still play a part here but the reset and situation this causes for the characters as they scramble to remember themselves goes some way to excuse the repeat of this for a second season. The Good Place is simply a fun, lighthearted sitcom that replicates the great work achieved last year and adds a sprinkling of originality to keep the series fresh. With a third season already greenlit, the future looks exciting for this excellent sitcom that manages another excellent season of entertainment.