Warning: This article contains season two spoilers. If you haven’t watched it yet – you really should have...you’ve had half a year.
It feels like the wait has been eternal, but finally ‘The Good Place’, the hit comedy about philosophy and the afterlife, is back for round three.
The previous two seasons took us on a rollercoaster ride of emotions when we saw pretty much all of the main characters get together in various formations, often unknowingly repeating the same relationships, and a number of moral challenges dictating whether our four faves will make it to the titular ‘Good Place’.
As the most recent season rounded up, our morally dubious protagonists were ultimately given a second chance on earth, with the chance to prove they might make better decisions with a couple nudges in the right direction.
The show has been hailed for its offbeat intelligence, and for consistently bringing light to our lives throughout a time that was politically bleak; so expectations are understandably high for the upcoming run. Here are nine things we’re hoping to see in the episodes to come:
1. Eleanor’s full backstory on earth
Learning about what our protagonist was like on earth offered a lot of moments of tongue-in-cheek comedy in the last two seasons. Remember, we’re talking about a woman who was a top seller at a sham pharmaceutical company where she sold fake medicine to the elderly. But the main context in which we’ve been able to get to know Eleanor has been during her ethical awakening in the afterlife.
What we want to know is, just how bad a person was she before her death? How did she end up that way? And will she be able to turn things around without an awareness of the nature of the afterlife?
2. Eleanor and Chidi
We were shook when Eleanor’s feelings for Chidi blossomed the first time round, but now they’ve slept together in eight different reboots. We love watching their mutually supportive, and let’s face it, incredibly intellectually stimulating dynamic play out in what seems like an inevitable attraction between the two, so we’ll be needing a lot more from them in this season.
3. Eleanor and Tahani
It’s been heavily hinted at that Eleanor is attracted to Tahani, and in one timeline they are soulmates. But we wonder whether the show’s makers will make anything of this potential other than an occasional quick gag – this is another dynamic we’d like to see explored.
4. More meme-able content
“This is the Bad Place” became our favourite Netflix-grown meme this year. The moment Eleanor realises she’s actually in a version of hell where they use subtle methods of torture, has felt relatable over the last couple of years:
And although Michael doesn’t really understand anything about humans, he definitely lends himself to the era of the meme:
5. More philosophy lessons that are actually fun
Wait a minute...we’re learning about theory in our spare time and actually really enjoying it?
The Trolley Problem scene, in the episode of the same name, gave us life (even though the whole premise was about killing people), and also created a genuinely funny sketch out of something we hadn’t thought about since R.E. lessons at school.
There have also been many similar moments in this show where Chidi in particular has made a typically inaccessible subject hugely relatable. We actually want to learn more.
6. The low-down on Tahani and Jason
Where are they? At the end of season two we saw Eleanor hunt down Chidi with impressive speed, but we’re yet to find out where the other two members of the group have been plonked on earth. We’re interested to see what their lives are like, and how their living selves differ from the posthumous personalities we’ve got to know.
7. Answers about the nature of Michael’s experiment
As many have questioned – is it a simulation much like Michael’s trolley-problem experiment, or are they actually alive? And if they are alive, will they have to live their whole lives until they die?
We know we’re watching them in their lives on earth now, hoping that a push in the “right direction” will be enough to set them morally straight, but how much of a push is Michael allowed to give them without nullifying the point of the exercise? And is this whole season really going to be set on earth?
8. To finally meet someone from the REAL Good Place
If none of our main characters made the cut, how good do you really have to be? We want to know.
9. More Janet
She is all of us.
The third series of ‘The Good Place’ debuts on UK Netflix on 28 September, with new episodes every Friday.