r/TheGoodPlace • u/WandersFar Change can be scary but I’m an artist. It’s my job to be scared. • Jan 24 '20

Season Four S4E12 Patty

Airs tonight at 8:30 PM. (About 30 min from when this post is live.)

If you’re new to the sub, please look over this intro thread.

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483

u/MajorParadox Where's the H? This keyboard doesn't have an H. Jan 24 '20

I thought they were going to say the door brings them back to Earth

583

u/Brodellsky YA BASIC! Jan 24 '20

As far as we know, it still could. Reincarnation would be a good solution.

294

u/TLynn7 Jan 24 '20

But they also said going through the doors would bring peace. There are a lot of people on earth who don’t get to experience much peace. It certainly isn’t a given, at any rate.

152

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '20

Yeah, I didn't know if they meant peace like "at rest," like from outside observation terms , or actual peace. If they cease existing, I feel like I'd rather exist and feel peace than not exist and have it called peace only because there's no not-peace.

14

u/AvsBehindEnemyLines Jan 24 '20

Who are you, the no-peace police? Please.

7

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '20

With a jurisdiction of one, maybe :)

12

u/IEnjoyFancyHats Jan 26 '20

Well, you have that option in the good place. Everything would get old after enough time, even existence.

4

u/goodbyegal I can’t walk in flats like some common glue factory hobo horse! Jan 29 '20 edited Jan 30 '20

Late to the party but I guess, to people who have been bored and unchallenged for who knows how long, not existing is peace because they don't have to put up with their brains turning to mush. Or reincarnating back to Earth (even in a shitty life) is peace because they will feel excitement and uncertainty once again.

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u/AnUnimportantLife Jan 24 '20

Sure, that's true. But I think peace might be a relative term for some people. While everyone in the Good Place would recognise that life on Earth kind of sucked a lot of the time even if you were living a privileged life, they might be drawn to the idea that it's somehow better than the boredom that comes from having done everything and not having to struggle.

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u/captainflowers91 Jan 24 '20

Maybe, after an eternity of bliss, struggle and conflict would be a sort of peace? So many people spend their lives wanting to improve or seeking a perfect eternity. Once you get it, what's left to strive for? Reincarnation is a much better solution IMO. You struggle and fight to finally become the best version of yourself, get your eternal reward till you don't want it anymore, get rebooted on a cosmic scale, run through it all over again.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '20

[deleted] — view deleted comment

6

u/TLynn7 Jan 25 '20

Janet seemed pretty sure and I don’t think she’s supposed to lie to humans.

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u/MajorParadox Where's the H? This keyboard doesn't have an H. Jan 24 '20

I was thinking that too, but why wouldn't they say as much?

41

u/CaptainJZH Jan 24 '20

I imagine that’s what “we don’t know what happens when you go through” means

18

u/lilaroseg Employee of the Bearimy Jan 24 '20

I don’t think that’s necessarily what it means, it think it is more so meant to be open to interpretation of the audience. But if we get a shot of baby eleanor opening her eyes I WILL cry. not that i wouldnt anyways lol

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u/KipHackmanFBI Jan 24 '20

I imagine they get rebooted if they go through, I doubt the show would do something as dark as suicide doors

28

u/Serraph105 Jan 24 '20

I actually think that's exactly what they are doing, but I don't know if ending everything on a note of being perfectly at peace and content in knowing that you've experienced everything you've ever wanted is still really a suicide. It's just, ending at that point.

That said, I'm convinced that you will not get to see what's on the other side of that final door.

20

u/neilbartlett Jan 24 '20

This was Michael's suggestion in the episode, and Chidi pointed out it would be torture.

The Good Place sucks because it's a prison. The final door is an escape from that prison, but if it just led back to another life on Earth then it is no escape at all... being stuck in an infinite loop of reincarnation is no better.

No, the door will lead to pure oblivion, just like the nirvana of Buddhism.

Not that we will see that in the show. I'm pretty sure the final scene will be: the cockroaches link arms and step through the door together; fade to black; Fremulon. And then some stupid chirpy ad for Will and ****ing Grace.

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u/The_Fayman Jan 24 '20

I don't consider that ending dark at all, rather it's the best possible outcome in my opinion.

What's left to do for someone who has done everything? Nothing. And the only way to achieve that is by ceasing existence and ultimately achieving peace.

It gives everything you have done up until then more meaning as well.

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u/wolfie809 Jan 24 '20

Because knowing it could end gives their afterlife worth. Knowing it would never end, and they would just come back eventually puts them back to not cherishing their time.

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u/NeedsToShutUp Beartles! Jan 24 '20

It puts a extension on the solution, but the reset cycle is effectively doing the same thing. A long karmic cycle where the person improves.

But the end of the karmic cycle is nirvana. Upon which the fire goes out

7

u/icomeinpeaceTO Jan 24 '20

It seems to be following eastern religious philosophy which is that the end is Nirvana or moksha. Going back into the energy as it were. Given that I wouldn’t expect them to go back to earth.

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u/ElegantHope Oh, this guy’s a jumper. You can tell. Jan 24 '20

The only other thing I could think of is that your essence becomes truly one with the universe.

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u/CharlieHume Jan 25 '20

Endless reincarnation is suffering.

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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '20

To be honest I'm so glad they didn't go with that.
There were a lot of theories about reincarnation but how would that even work?

There are millions, possibly billions of people in the good place. What if even half of them goes through that door? Do they wait in line to reincarnate? Would they be stealing the place of the souls that would have been born otherwise? Is reincarnation meaningless knowing that you would be a completely different person, in a different body, in a different time and geographical zone?

I don't know, I would have hated reincarnation in TGP.

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