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The Power of Rehabilitation: Here's Our Take On The Good Place's Philosophy
The Good Place might have ended a few years ago, but its legacy and message still lives on in the real world. Today let's analyze the core notion of the entire show.
Gear up, Benches! We're gonna go a little philosophical with this one. The Good Place aired in 2016, and I dare say, became a bit of a savior of sitcoms. The show was different from anything the audience had seen in the last decade, quickly becoming a phenomenon, especially for its unique take on philosophy and philosophers alike. From Kant to Aristotle, Michael Schur's creation went on to search for the true meaning of being good and bad in today's world. But today we're here to dissect the core message of the show, rehabilitation.
Everyone Can Be Good With Enough Support?
The Good Place started with Kristen Bell's Character getting sent to the Good Place by mistake instead of the Bad Place. The whole of the first season revolves around Chidi, played by William Jackson Harper, teaching Elanore about philosophy in hopes of her becoming a good person who would have the right to stay in the Good Place. In fact the whole of the sitcom tries to answer one important question, can people become good with support and time? 
For 4 seasons that's exactly what the characters try to find out. In the end after all the lies, hilarious misadventures, and almost erasing earth, the answer turns out to be yes. Through trial and error again and again not only do our main characters become better human beings, but in the process, they prove that with enough support and the right teachings even a demon who was set on torturing them can develop empathy.
Is Everyone Deserving of Redemption?
The Good Place is without a doubt my favorite show, and it's just not because of its fun take on some of the most profound philosophies ever founded. But rather the absolute hope and trust its writers seem to have for humanity. From pointing out the fact that the point system at the core of the plot is faulty it sorts souls into the Good Place and the Bad Place, indicating that people are more than just numbers. In the final season, our leads try to convince The Judge, who can best described as a parody of god, that the best way to 'fix' Earth would be to let people learn from their mistakes in the afterlife, by giving them numerous chances to improve in the architectors fake 'Good Place' neighborhoods.
The Grey Between the Good and Bad
This show challenged my views on what we consider to be 'Good Place' and 'Bad Place' behavior. It challenges its audience to accept the Greyness of its characters, even the ones who you might think aren't worthy of 2nd chances. During the 4th season of the show, we get a colorful character named Brent. Now if I may say so myself, Brent was the archetype of an ash-hole, but even he got a bit better, given that it was at the very end of the experiment, but I digress.
For me, the sheer amount of trust our leads put into the goodness of people was enough to convince me, that maybe, just maybe, if provided with the right friends, family, and enough good intent, even the messiest shirtballs are capable of big forking redemption.
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