The Moment The Good Place Redeemed Its Villain

NBC's The Good Place was a breakout hit when it's first season debuted in 2016. The initial reveal that our main cast of The Good Place were actually in The Bad Place was a major twist most didn't see coming. Then throughout the following seasons, The Good Place had another major twist in mind, the redemption of it's main villain Michael. But how exactly did The Good Place transform a literal Demon into one of the greatest sitcom characters ever?

#thegoodplace #teddanson #nerdstalgic

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[CheesewedgeFTW]

I think the moment Michael truly wins the audience over is when he tricks the demons into thinking the humans escaped by hiding them all underneath the train. He almost bursts into tears when he sees the humans safe and sound and it is so adorably wholesome.

[carmelodistasio]

It still amazes me that this show got made at all. Having in the pitch "Let's make a comedy show about the human experience, heaven, hell, earth and moral philosophy" and not get inmediatly trown out of the room of the bureaucrats must have been an incredible feat. Not to mention getting to finish several seasons of it with a coherent well though, and overall great finale. We need MORE people like this.

[kimberlyterasaki]

Another note: when they suspect Michael of having been switched out with an imposter and ask him to reveal himself, he says that he’s worried they will never treat him the same if they see his true form. And they RESPECT that. They find another way to test things and eventually find out it was Janet who was replaced. This show is top notch.

[thiagots]

I always loved the "Jason figured it out?!?!"

[kendrickkelly]

"The Good Place" is one of the few shows I wish I could forget and experience for the first time all over again.

[NerdsmithTV]

"Jason figured it out? Jason?! This is a real low point. Yeah, this one hurts." Will always be my favorite line from the series.

[NevTheDeranged]

One of a very small number of shows that a) didn't overstay its welcome, and b) stuck the landing. Just a near-flawless gem from start to finish.

[sammylincroft]

That trolley problem bit at the start is so poetically perfect because the actual point and as close to solution as the origional author of the trolley problem devised it to point out is that you cannot solve the problem by working within the confines of the problem. Its a point about how the arbitrary rules of philosophical though problems can force us to make inhumane decisions. Just like how the good place's afterlife is broken but because they refuse to work outside the rules of the system they can't stop it.

[Rampala]

You made me cry without even mentioning the "Picture a Wave" scene. 😭 Michael's character arc is very well written, but having an actor as talented as Ted Dansen really transformed the performance.

[zidini]

The finale makes my cry through every second of it. Ive never had such a overwheling emotional reaction to a fiction. What an amazing show.

[RoseNoir]

What I think is really underappreciated is how much of a mentor figure Eleanor was to Michael, not just Chidi. Chidi might have taught him the theoretical side but Eleanor was the one who guided him and taught him how to do the right thing from her own personal expeirence. Its why at the end of Derek, shes the one he comes to for advice and I think her telling him to "stick with it, demon buddy" helped solidify how much Michael cared for them.

[AMoniqueOcampo]

One of my favorite Ted moments was when he starts becoming a "guardian angel" (for lack of a better term), starting with the bar scene and he talks to Eleanor, connecting her to Chidi. I also love that even after Michael starts to redeem himself, he has to learn how to best interfere and meddle. I love him!

[andrejsasd]

In my opinion, The Good Place had THE BEST finale of any series I've seen. Such a beautiful sendoff to all the main characters. And the series didn't overstay their welcome- 4 seasons were enough to tell the story and keeping it short enough to avoid becoming too repetitive or going off the rails.

[Celeste-in-Oz]

As much as I’m a fan of Schitt’s Creek, I always thought the final episode of The Good Place should have won the 2020 Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. By a mile.

[imam]

Oh I know this video is going to make me rewatch The Good Place

[songbird]

This is a show that I genuinely think people need to see at least once in their lifetime. The light but important look at life, friendship, love, and goodness is so important for every living person to consider.

[BrendanPappas]

I was so terrified the entire time I was watching this series until the very end that they were going to pull another twist in which Michael had actually been against them all along. So happy that’s not what happened 🙏 Also, this is undoubtedly one of the top three comedies to come out over the last ten years 💯

[Magdalenas]

Love this show. Perfect casting all around, written well, cinematography, and just all around spectacular.

[TrueTgirl]

I started watching the good place off a whim of curiosity about the memes I'd seen from it. A few weeks later, I found myself sitting alone at 1AM with tears welling in my eyes as I struggled to process the ending of one of my favorite shows to ever be televised. Nothing else has ever made me laugh so hysterically or feel such deep cathartic release so many times over. Michael was, unquestionably, a huge part of that. In my mind, he is the purest demonstration of the "anyone and everyone can be better if only given the chance to do it and some love to guide them" theme in the show. The longest way to go from where he starts, by far, and he makes the journey beautifully.

[MandrakeArya]

For me, THE moment was when Janet asked Michael to kill her to go on with the plan, but he refuses and when she pushes him and asks why, Michael suddenly just scream "BECAUSE YOU'RE MY FRIEND" almost crying 🥺
I was crying with him and I really understood he was turning good