The Good Place: our review of the first season

New creation by Michael Schur, to which we owe Parks and Recreation or Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Good Place was one of the most anticipated series of the season, thanks to the return in a leading role of actress Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars). Accompanied by Ted Danson (CSI, Bored to Death), it is a season of 13 episodes that we were able to discover from September 2016 to January 2017 on NBC. After a double pilot episode that set the scene and the characters, the rest of the series turned out to be good quality overall. Discovering Eleanor's evolution in her new life, accompanied by her guide Chidi (William Jackson Harper of Person of Interest), meeting Tahani (Jameela Jamil) and Jianyu (Manny Jacinto of iZombie) and witnessing Michael's questioning is pure pleasure.

 

Even if we sometimes wonder where the writers really want to go, we get caught up in the game and the episodes scroll one by one, all more inclined to make us appreciate the adventures of the Good Place. It is nice to follow the evolution of Eleanor, who was far from being a saint during her lifetime. And yet, little by little, we feel in the character a character that she did not suspect, ready to reach out and evolve. Kristen Bell's interpretation, too rare on screens, gives her the little something extra that makes the character so endearing. At his side, Michael is the Architect of the Good Place, the creator of the place. The character is initially presented as someone very sure of himself, and we discover over the season that it is the opposite. The most zany character in the series is undoubtedly Janet (D'Arcy Carden – Inside Amy Schumer), a kind of consciousness that appears and disappears according to the demands of the inhabitants. Her lines hit the nail on the head every time and her wedding to Jianyu is perhaps the funniest moment of the season!

 

On a more technical side, the series presents us with a real universe. Colorful and tangy, it feels like a theme park. The colors are warm and the decorations are sought after. A few special effects here and there, rather successful, punctuate each episode. The appearance of a lava monster in the finale is rather effective (and especially hilarious!). The fact of having episodes of 22 minutes and especially a season of 13 episodes do not leave too much time for the writers to get lost in parallel stories. The storyline around Eleanor is well handled, which gives the opportunity to all the little side stories (the real Eleanor, the past of the characters) to complete it in the best way.

 

But where we can applaud the writers is on the occasion of the final double episode. They managed to concoct a completely unexpected and crazy twist that revives the interest of the series and, we hope, a future season 2. Seeing Eleanor relive her life in the Right Place, away from Chidi and the others, promises good times. The character's quest is just beginning in the final minutes of the episode, and NBC could miss out on a great season 2 if mastered. It remains to be seen what the leaders of the channel will decide, despite the drop in ratings since the pilot.