Editorials
The Best Episode of The Good Place Is… “Best Self”
I have a pet peeve.
I can’t stand it when people turn a TV show on to play in the background. It eats away at me that they aren’t putting their full attention to the piece of art on the screen, and are missing jokes or character moments because they’re browsing the internet or doing something awful like playing with their cat.
The Good Place/NBC Example.
My annoyance isn’t fair or justified. Everyone is allowed to enjoy whatever content they want in whatever way they want. No matter how you enjoy something, odds are someone else will enjoy it differently. That can be hard to accept; we tend to want other people to extract the same level of enjoyment out of something as we extract ourselves, and we assume we know the best way to do this.
Like when you take your best friend to your favorite burger place, where they have the best toppings and secret sauce, and your friend gets a plain, topping free, sauceless burger.
“No,” you say as politely as you can mustard, “you have to try the secret sauce. You need to get the whole experience.”
“No thanks,” your friend says, in the least aggressive way possible.
“Why did I even bring you here?”
The Good Place/NBC Tahani’s face here accurately portrays my emotions.
This is how I feel when someone makes a grocery list while watching TV. This is how I feel almost every time someone watches The Good Place Season 2 Episode 10 “Best Self,” even if they’re paying attention.
***Spoilers for The Good Place Below***
The Good Place is hilarious. Because it’s funny and charming, it makes a great background show to throw on while you’re dusting your living room.
It has a unique setting and plot as well, which also makes it fantastic viewing for those who like to sit and pay more attention.
But there is a third layer to the series. It’s deep and philosophic and is available to be analyzed and digested by those who want to do so.
The Good Place/NBC Also known as being Chidi.
I want to do so. To my devastation, my friends don’t always want to do so. So I’m going to do it for them!
“Best Self” is the most deeply human episode of television I’ve ever seen. Peel away the clever jokes and gags, and the next layer of the intricate plot, and you get to a core that is all of life packed into 22 minutes.
The episode starts with reformed demon Michael telling our heroes Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, and Jason that they are finally all going to head to the real Good Place together. The four humans have one last round of fro-yo together and fantasize about the heaven that awaits them.
Watch The Good Place Best Self Right Here
Once their magic balloon arrives, they have to pass the magic gate that only opens if they’ve become the best version of themselves. Of course, Chidi can’t get on because he isn’t sure that he’s his best self.
Then Michael confesses that he lied, that the magic balloon won’t work even if they all pass the gate, and he has no idea how to get them into the actual Good Place. They’re stuck in the neighborhood, and by morning the Bad Place demons will come and get them, dragging them into an eternal hell of torment and torture. No matter what they have done or what they do now, they’re screwed.
The Good Place/NBC We’ve all had this moment.
That’s life.
Every single living organism on this planet, in this universe, is screwed. No matter what it knows or does, each living thing is going to eventually die, and there is absolutely nothing that can be done about that. In this way, every living thing is equal; no life is better or more valuable than any other life because, in the end, it won’t be life at all.
Most life, though, can’t actually perceive or understand the finality of our dooms, and our ability to do so is what separates us and makes us definitively human. It’s the same reason Michael couldn’t truly understand humans until he understood death in “Existential Crisis.” This ability to understand the finality of life is what allows us to truly live.
The Best Forking Gifts to Buy a “Good Place” Fan
So that’s what the humans decide to do on their last day. Eleanor orders a ton of alcohol from Janet, and they begin to party. The friends dance, get drunk, talk about their feelings and their fears, and take comfort in the only thing they can take comfort in; each other.
The Good Place/NBC
If you just watch this episode as another chapter in a story about a crazy afterlife that houses demons who have holiday weekend Ikea as an entire department of torture, it’s honestly a little boring. Very little happens, as basically the cast just hangs out in a single location for 22 minutes, making it a bottle episode. It’s fine, but it’s no “Dance, Dance, Resolution,” with its insane 300 mph pace, or “Michael’s Gambit” with an incredible twist.
Analyze a little deeper, though, and you’ll find an episode of television that perfectly encapsulates human existence.
The unrealistic hope they display at the start as they fantasize about the perfect Good Place, the heartbreak Eleanor feels when Chidi dreams about meeting his soulmate, the pain Michael experiences when he disappoints his friends after revealing he lied to them about getting into the Good Place; the range of emotions captured by these characters in such a short time reminds you of the rollercoaster that is human emotion.
The humanity doesn’t end there. The silly jabs at each other during their toasts are funny character jokes, but also a display of how we cope with our own and each others’ faults. They’re a display of love between people who have shared the trials of (after)life together. There is a comfort we feel when someone truly knows us well enough to point out the specifics of our personalities, and what is human life but trying to create that kind of bond with others?
And then there is Michael’s Human Starter Kit. Made an honorary human, the demon Michael gratefully opens his gift and pulls out car keys, band-aids, a stress ball, and a Dr. Oz diet book; all “garbage that [he has] no real use for.”
The Good Place/NBC Who doesn’t love never using their stress balls?
And yet he does find a use for them. By assigning meaning to the objects as they pertain to people and as they relate to him as a gift from his friends, Michael finds value in something meaningless. “Welcome to being human,” Eleanor tells him.
The episode immediately shifts to the friends doing the same thing, as they create meaning in their last day by dancing and having fun with each other. They take what’s left of their lives and they live it. Tomorrow they will be doomed forever, but for now, they are free. Free to laugh, free to cry, free to feel, and free to dance.
In the end, after discussing what their personal Bad Place will be (a nice contrast to the start of the episode where they discuss their Good Place), the friends decide to do the most human thing of all.
“Attempt something futile, with a ton of unearned confidence, and fail spectacularly.”
The Good Place/NBC Go us.
We cannot win. We can’t escape our own doom, and we can’t create some transcendent meaning to our lives. All of our attempts at it will fail, but my goodness, we are going to keep trying.
“Best Self” packs in so much about human existence and reminds us that even if we don’t have a larger purpose, we’re responsible for creating the meaning in our lives, and we do so through each other. We can’t stop the end from coming, but we can make the time we have left worth something to us and the people around us. We can find meaning in the void.
“In a way, the Good Place was inside the Bad Place all along.”
My Good Place is shutting the lights off and over analyzing everything I see on screen, but everyone’s Good Place is different, and no one’s way is right. So if you want to do the dishes while watching TV, go for it. Have it on while you vacuum the floor, put together the furniture you got over the holiday weekend at Ikea, and cook up a plain, topping free, sauceless burger. It doesn’t matter, we’re all doomed anyway, so watch TV, and live, in whatever way makes you feel alive.
The Good Place/NBC
Be your “Best Self” and watch here
It’s time to heat up the summer with plenty of new and returning TV shows.
The summer months are, obviously, best spent outside enjoying the warm weather, unlimited BBQs, and pools and beaches, but when you’re ready for a little getaway, TV shows and characters are always around to keep you entertained.
With the WGA strike possibly continuing into the fall, summer television might be the last time we get any new seasons for the next few months, so embrace it.
As always, the slower-paced summer months are also the best time to catch up on any shows that you’ve been wanting to watch!
Here’s what’s on tap for summer 2023—let us know what you plan to watch in the comments!
May 2023
30 for 30: The American Gladiators Documentary (May 30, ESPN)
The Ride (May 30, Prime Video)
Drag Me to Dinner (May 31, Hulu)
Nancy Drew, season 4 (May 31, The CW)
June 2023
Manifest – season 4 part 2 (Netflix, June 2)
The Idol (HBO, June 4)
The Lazarus Project (June 4, TNT)
Cruel Summer, season 2 (Freeform, June 5)
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, season 16 (FX, June 7)
The Real Housewives of Orange County, season 17 (June 7, Bravo)
Alone, season 10 (History Channel, June 8)
Based on a True Story (Peacock, June 8)
Never Have I Ever, season 4 (Netflix, June 8)
The Crowded Room (Apple TV+, June 9)
The Full Monty (FX and Hulu, June 14)
The Big D (June 14, USA)
Temptation Island, season 5 (June 14, USA)
The Wonder Years, season 2 (June 14, ABC)
Project Runway, season 20 (June 15, Bravo)
Outlander, season 7 (June 16, Starz)
The Walking Dead: Dead City (June 18, AMC)
The Righteous Gemstones, season 3 (HBO, June 18)
Secret Invasion (Disney+, June 21)
The Bear, season 2 (FX, June 22)
I’m a Virgo (Prime Video, June 23)
2023 BET Awards (June 25, BET)
The Bachelorette, season 20 (June 26, ABC)
Grown-ish, season 6 (June 28, Freeform)
Hijack (Apple TV+, June 28)
The Witcher, season 3, part 1 (Netflix, June 29)
Warrior, season 3 (June 29, Max)
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, season 4 (June 30, Prime Video)
And Just Like That …, season 2 (HBO Max, June TBD)
Black Mirror, season 6 (Netflix, June TBD)
July 2023
The Horror of Delores Roach (July 7, Prime Video)
The Prank Panel (July 9, ABC)
The Afterparty, season 2 (Apple TV+, July 12)
Full Circle (Max, July 13)
Foundation, season 2 (Apple TV+, July 14)
The Summer I Turned Pretty, season 2 (July 14, Prime Video)
The Real Housewives of New York City, season 14 (Bravo, July 16)
Justified: City Primeval (FX, July 18)
Minx, season 2 (Starz, July 21)
Praise Petey (Freeform, July 21)
The Witcher, season 3, part 2 (Netflix, July 27)
Good Omens, season 2 (July 28, Prime Video)
Heels, season 2 (July 28, Starz)
Survival of the Thickest (July TBD, Netflix)
Reservation Dogs, season 3 (FX on Hulu, August 2)
Heartstopper, season 2 (Netflix, August 3)
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu, August 8)
Painkiller (Netflix, August 10)
The Upshaws, season 4 (August 17, Netflix)
Archer season 14 (August 30, FXX)
Ahsoka (Disney+, August TBA)
As for what we can look forward to in the fall and beyond, well, Lupin Season 3 is scheduled for October 3 on Netflix. Other shows in the works without premiere dates include Bridgerton Season 3 and The Crown Season 6 on Netflix, Ironheart and Loki on Disney+ and Gen V on Prime Video!
Break out the red, white, and blue because it’s Memorial Day weekend.
The holiday, honoring and remembering fallen military personnel, is typically characterized by a three-day weekend consisting of parades and outdoor grilling.
But if you’re planning to kickstart summer indoors, there are plenty of great shows and movies to binge-watch with friends, family, or even solo!
You can opt for some Memorial Day-themed movies, or you use this time to finally get around to that “one show” you’ve been meaning to watch! Or even use this time wisely to catch up on shows that will be dropping new seasons in the next few weeks/months.
If you’re looking around for new shows to feed your eyeballs, look no further than this list of must-watch during Memorial Day weekend shows that are all streaming RIGHT NOW!
Manifest – Netflix
The last 10 episodes of the groundbreaking plane drama are preparing for landing on June 2, which. means that this is the perfect weekend to catch up on all this Manifest. Where did the passengers of Flight 828 go when they disappeared for 5 years?
Sweet Magnolias – Netflix
It’s almost time to return to Serenity to catch up with your three best gal pals, Maddie, Dana Sue, and Helen. The beloved Netflix drama just announced a summer premiere, so this is your time to binge all the episodes you haven’t seen yet!
How I Met Your Father – Hulu
HIMYF, the Hilary Duff-led HIMYM spinoff, is one of the biggest sitcoms on TV right now. Along with its promising cast, it delivers a fast-paced yet quirky and hilarious storyline that makes it a breeze to watch during a long weekend.
Cruel Summer – Freeform
Love a good mystery? So do we. And Cruel Summer, which was a breakout hit in 2021 when it dropped its first season, kept audiences on their toes right down to the last minute of the season. The first season of the drama—spanning three different summers—focused on Kate Wallis, a popular teen who goes missing, and Jeanette Turner, a dorky outlier who is accused of knowing who abducted Kate and keeping it a secret. Which one of them do we believe? Binge all seven episodes and prepare for the arrival of season 2 in June!
The Bear – Hulu
There may be a lot happening in Jeremy Allen White’s personal life right now, but that shouldn’t deter you from enjoying Hulu’s The Bear, where he plays a young chef from the fine dining world who comes to run his family’s sandwich shop following a death in the family. There’s a lot to dig into with this one, including White’s poignant performance and an organic chemistry with the cast.
And the murder mystery continues on YOU Season 4 Episode 2.
Joe, er, Jonathan, has been going above and beyond to figure out which of the members of the elitist circle could be the murderer that’s trying to frame him, but it looks like he’s being played at his own game.
Honestly, it’s kind of refreshing to see Joe on the other side of things for once—running around terrified like a chicken without a head and trying to put together the pieces of a puzzle.
He’s not in a city that’s familiar to him, and he’s definitely not in his element. And while he fell into a friends circle of some of the most insane and damaged people on earth, his charm isn’t working on them or in his favor in the same way that it has countless times before.
And what’s making this all the more disturbing is that there’s someone out there that’s actually more deranged than Joe. Joe pales in comparison to the person that’s stabbing people left and right and keeping body parts as tokens of some sort, likely to frame Joe in the long run by planting those body pieces on his belongings or in his apartment.
The person is hiding in plain sight and utilizing all common and familiar murder mystery tropes, including that the second victim is always the first suspect.
The crimes are gruesome and terrible, but it’s also hard to feel bad for any of the victims as the whole bunch—maybe aside from Rhys—is genuinely unlikable. Mostly everyone in the wealthy group has no redeeming qualities, and most of them don’t even seem too phased by the deaths in their inner circle because the truth is that none of these shallow people actually like or care about each other.
YOU does a great job at making us question Joe’s sanity and then immediately introducing people who are even worse than him, proving that the world seems to be full of unhinged people everywhere you go.
Joe doesn’t have much to go on at the end of episode 2 as every single person he’s come across could potentially be the killer. He has, however, seemingly figured out some kind of connection between Malcolm and Simon’s deaths, though it’s unclear if that has any bearing on their deaths.
Blackmail seems to be a common thread, with Malcolm likely blackmailing Adam, who fancies himself a golden shower from the bus boys at his establishment, while planning to take down Simon, a fraud who stole artists’ work to pass off as his own. Joe learned the truth about Simon from his assistant, who crashed the opening and threw red paint at him (he had it coming). She also confirmed that Malcolm was trying to expose him, and while she definitely has the motive, I don’t think she would stoop that low. She wanted to make a statement—she didn’t want to be the statement.
You. Aidan Cheng as Simon Soo in episode 402 of You. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2022
At this point, the only person who stands to gain anything from the destruction of both men is Kate as she was in a relationship with Malcolm and a gallery partner with Simon, whose secrets threatened her career. But I’m not convinced that she’s responsible. She genuinely seems like one of the only good and level-headed people in the group, not to mention she’s also concerned about Malcolm’s disappearance meaning she likely has no idea he’s dead.
It could’ve been Adam to keep his sexual kink a secret, but I don’t think he’d have it in him.
The timing of Roald’s arrival was suspect, as was his immediate distaste for Jonathan, so I’ll keep him on the list. Joe may be the new guy, but he shows up right before the second murder.
If I truly had to put my money on someone, my prime suspect is still Rhys. There’s just something off about him, plus, he carries himself as if he’s above them all, so it would make sense if he was trying to make them pay for their sins or something. He’s also very observant, thus, he’d be knowledgeable about all of their deepest and darkest secrets, which could be used against them. It would also make sense that he used his status and smarts to dig up dirt about Joe.
The killer seems to be having an absolute blast toying with Joe, even beating him at his own game by figuring out his identity.
Hello, Joe.
It sent a chill down Joe’s spine—and I didn’t think it was possible to freak Joe out. In an attempt to stay ahead of the killer, Joe is somehow trying to play catch up.
What if it’s Marienne? What if she’s turning the tables on him? It seems like the killer is using Joe’s psychological warfare against him, which means that they have a lot in common. It has to be someone that Joe has connected with on a personal level already, so aside from Rhys and Kate, that leaves Nadia rounding out the top three suspects. She’s been helping him figure out the murder mystery genre, which might be a clue as to her involvement. Plus, we find out that she had some kind of personal relationship with Malcolm, though it’s unclear if it was sexual.
I really hope that she’s just a genuine person helping her teacher, but at this point, we can’t rule anything out.
And finally, there’s the possibility of Adam and Phoebe’s security guard, Vic, who is silent but deadly. He sees everything that’s happening (he ticks off the observant box for sure) but doesn’t say anything, though we know he’s not above blackmail because when he catches Joe snooping around, he takes a lump sum of money to remain quiet.
What did you think of the episode? Who do you think the killer is?
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel1 week agoThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Series Finale Review – Four Minutes (509)
Quiz5 days agoQUIZ: Which ‘Nancy Drew’ Character Are You?
What to Watch1 week agoMemorial Day Weekend: 5 Best TV Shows to Binge-Watch
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel2 weeks agoThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – The Princess and the Plea (508)
Netflix2 weeks agoWhen Is Season 3 of ‘Ginny and Georgia’ Coming Out?
Chicago P.D1 week agoIs Adam Ruzek Leaving ‘Chicago PD’?
Coffee Table News3 days agoWhen Does ‘Manifest’ Season 4 Part 2 Release on Netflix?
Chicago Med1 week agoChicago Med Season Finale Review – [SPOILER] Exits the Series (822)