Why Eleanor on "The Good Place" is the biggest success of the show

Spoilers for The right place Season 3, episode 4 to come. When The right place started, there was no doubt that Eleanor was the worst person in the group of bad people who did not belong to Good Place. Tahani was egocentric but generous. Chidi was doing his best to be good, even though he could never make a decision, and Jason was totally unaware of what was going on. He was too subconscious to be really bad on purpose. Meanwhile, Eleanor was basically perverse. That's why it's so shocking that now, during season 3 of The right place, Eleanor is so good – for the sake of God. It's basically the biggest achievement in the series, and the proof that you can Learn to be a nicer person, even when you are doomed to be damned.

In the episode on Thursday, Michael revealed what is the right place to the four humans and thus compromised their ability to enter it. Because they knew the reward of the afterlife, their moral actions could not count anymore. Predictably, this threw everyone in the group for a loop – but no one handled it better than Eleanor.

After discovering that nothing that they did for the rest of their lives would count for their own lives after death, everyone reacted in their minds. only them manners. Chidi had a complete collapse of nihilism (the theory that nothing in life means anything) and basically started to behave like old Eleanor. He made fun of his students for their "nerds", he stopped worrying about the rules of society and generally did not want to do anything productive.

Tahani reacted by trying to give all her money, which is good in theory, but she always works well because she thought she should do it, and giving money is the only way for her to become a "nice" person. But as its original designation of Bad Place indicates, no matter what charity you do on Earth, it is your attitude that counts. She keeps pronouncing her name as if it does not concern anyone, and she is usually nuts, even accidentally. And Jason is distraught, as always.

But Eleanor has achieved real growth.

Eleanor could hardly be blamed for having initially wanted to return to his rough manners. Knowing that you are going to the wrong place when you die, that's a lot to swallow. But although Eleanor immediately hit a bar, grabbed a free drink from the bartender, and generally began to regress, she could not help but do what was necessary when she found the wallet again. from someone. She went to steal money, but something stopped her before she could put it in her pocket. Instead, she found the man (via two address changes) and sent him back.

Seeing how happy that was, she wanted to continue doing well. She came back to the group to tell them that even if their lives were too difficult, they could start doing good for others. their enter the right place. Everyone was on board, but the fact that it was Eleanor's idea shows how far she is. She does not have to help anyone. That will not help it. There is no moral dessert, and yet it is always moral.

And so in just two and a half seasons, Eleanor went from worst to worst, while everyone else stayed exactly where they were. Chidi is still tortured by all aspects of philosophy. Tahani is always vain and tasteless and obsessed with money – that she seeks to obtain it or give it away. Jason still does not know nearly everything. But Eleanor has raised the potential of the right place. Which means that unless the next episodes change things, it could be the only one of the four who Is get into the right place at the end.

If the judge discovers Eleanor's idea of ​​helping people solely for reasons of modesty, she could change her mind about Eleanor's eternal damnation. His new actions are so good for no other reason than helping people push him to soar to the right place when she dies. But even if it is not the case, it is not the goal of Eleanor. She really wants to be a kind and helpful person. And that is why she is really, finally good.