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Post by Hachiman on Jan 21, 2020 21:16:47 GMT -5
I was happy for more Raylan, and Olyphant killed it playing Raylan for laughs, but it did feel dated. Crazy, but Justified ended damn near 5 years ago now. Find a newer show to reference, show! I have mixed feeling on Maya Rudolph. Like you said, she is great in small doses, but that really is about it. I can't think of a main role she has done where I really loved what she was doing, and those larger roles tended to feel like she was just playing herself. The odd thing about Maya Rudolph ... what would you consider a "main role" for her? Just scoping her TV appearances, almost all of her gigs are cameos or 1-3 episode runs. With the exception of an 8-episode main role on Forever, which is a Hulu show, all of her series regular work since 2012 has been voice work: Big Mouth, Bless the Harts, Big Hero 6: The Series. At 7 episodes so far, and likely more, The Good Place is becoming one of her longest stints, but I wouldn't consider it a "main" role. I'm less familiar with most of her film work, outside of the kids stuff (again, voiced) and Bridesmaids. So I'm not sure how big the parts were in the other stuff. I remember being disappointed when the judge was revealed, because bit parts like this are just what Maya Rudolph does. Like, "Of course they went with Maya Rudolph" and not some actual "get." And because they're always these cameo-style parts, it does feel like she's playing "Maya Rudolph" instead of whoever. Sometimes it's great. Her Dionne Warwick on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was hilarious, even if or perhaps because it was just an SNL character. In spirit, I mean. Damn, you right! I was mainly thinking of Bridesmaids and Away We Go as well as Up All Night (where she was just a really prominent side character) but there's not a lot to work with and those roles were all more or less ten years ago. I guess that she shows up in so much stuff, that it seems like they are larger roles? |
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Post by MrsLangdonAlger on Jan 24, 2020 16:37:12 GMT -5
I have theories about what they'll do with the final episode. I doubt I'm right but spoilered just in case:
So, we flash forward some years (though what do "years" mean in The Good Place anyway?). Eleanor and Chidi have been enjoying their life together. Maybe we even see a montage of some of the best things they've done. But one of them wants to leave and see whatever comes next first. I'd guess Chidi but maybe they'll do a twist on what we'd expect and have it be Eleanor. A huge part of the plot is them working through how to let go of each other.
OR (and maybe and?) Michael is ready to go, but he's the head of The Good Place! Eleanor takes over. |
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Post by Powerthirteen on Jan 27, 2020 13:30:43 GMT -5
I hate to say it but season 4 is still just doing nothing at all for me, to the point where I'm struggling to care what will happen in the finale.
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Post by Superb Owl 🦉 on Jan 27, 2020 14:33:05 GMT -5
I hate to say it but season 4 is still just doing nothing at all for me, to the point where I'm struggling to care what will happen in the finale. I think the back half has had some decent ideas, but they fucked around too long with the new neighborhood test. Like, I would have rather had 2 episodes of the stuff they were doing in "Patty" and lost (at least) one of the Brent episodes. |
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Jan 27, 2020 15:16:14 GMT -5
I still love this show top to bottom, it still makes me laugh, but I will admit that the final season hasn't been as ... sharp? to me as the first three. That's OK. I am glad it's going out while they can still surprise and delight. There are so many plotlines that could have been dragged out and I admire the boldness in zipping right through them. I think MrsLangdonAlger's theory is plausible, especially the Eleanor/Michael part. I also like the idea that all of the people from Team Cockroach's past will start showing up in the Good Place, having become better people. I suspect the finale will be sweet and life-affirming, because that's what Michael Shur does. All in all I have to say that I'm just... grateful for this show. Corny as that might sound. It's been a source of joy. |
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Post by Powerthirteen on Jan 28, 2020 15:22:42 GMT -5
Also, the demons need a joke other than "penis flattening" and "butthole spiders." Those jokes are now finished. Thank you.
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Crash Test Dumbass
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Post by Crash Test Dumbass on Jan 28, 2020 22:09:48 GMT -5
I'm probably biased because I'm Buddhist (if a shitty one), but there seems to be a lot of Buddhism in what they're offering to the universe? The chances to go through the afterlife and then be reborn with a vague memory of how to do better seems like what I've read about reincarnation, and the offer to just be at peace and no longer exist sounds like nirvana (which literally means "to be blown out like a candle"). I don't remember the philosophers on Chidi's board when he made the pitch, but I vaguely remember a lot of them being Western, so maybe it is a stretch?
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Post by Hachiman on Jan 28, 2020 23:56:40 GMT -5
I do like that they actually took on the idea of how humans, even the very best ones, would respond to living happily for eternity. As someone brought up as a Christian, this was always something I wondered about Heaven. The mechanics of it are really vague and also differ between denominations but most of the ones I know of don't address whether you would truly be happy to go on for eternity without also having some sort of spiritual change where you're no longer really human or yourself. We need some adversity or scarcity people get bored and unhappy, yet Paradise is a place without suffering or end. Its a contradiction, but I loved that they didn't ignore it.
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Post by William T. Goat, Esq. on Jan 29, 2020 7:14:19 GMT -5
I think it should have taken more than one episode to both bring up and resolve the Heaven problem. It felt too abrupt.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Jan 29, 2020 8:46:49 GMT -5
I do like that they actually took on the idea of how humans, even the very best ones, would respond to living happily for eternity. As someone brought up as a Christian, this was always something I wondered about Heaven. The mechanics of it are really vague and also differ between denominations but most of the ones I know of don't address whether you would truly be happy to go on for eternity without also having some sort of spiritual change where you're no longer really human or yourself. We need some adversity or scarcity people get bored and unhappy, yet Paradise is a place without suffering or end. Its a contradiction, but I loved that they didn't ignore it. I thought a little about the version of the afterlife presented in Coco, where your spirit lives on for as long as you're remembered on earth. The problem with that is that it means celebrities exist in the afterlife for much longer than most ordinary folk. It's too bad my dad doesn't really watch TV (and I'm not sure what he would think of The Good Place) because it'd be a fascinating discussion to have with him. |
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Post by Superb Owl 🦉 on Jan 29, 2020 9:14:53 GMT -5
I think it should have taken more than one episode to both bring up and resolve the Heaven problem. It felt too abrupt. The pacing of the plot this season feels a little like they never quite wanted to shut the door on going to a fifth season, doesn't it? |
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Post by Ben Grimm on Jan 30, 2020 21:47:11 GMT -5
Well, that kind of wrecked me.
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Post by liebkartoffel on Jan 30, 2020 21:51:44 GMT -5
Whew. That was good and sad and I liked it very much.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Jan 30, 2020 22:03:31 GMT -5
I did not ever think that Jason Mendoza would make me sob so much.
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Post by Angry Raisins on Jan 31, 2020 11:18:06 GMT -5
I'm one of those who thought the series lost its way a bit in the last couple of seasons - good moments, but less of the confident plotting and density of jokes that first drew me to it. And I was wary of a self-indulgent, endless-hugs finale, both in memory of how Parks and Rec ended, and how S4 looked to be going for that sort of thing earlier on.
So credit due for exceeding expectations: this was a really nice, thoughtful episode.
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Crash Test Dumbass
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Post by Crash Test Dumbass on Jan 31, 2020 16:56:25 GMT -5
I'm not crying, you're crying, shut up. That was a beautiful ending and the show went out on top.
Also, how did it take four seasons to get "dammit, Janet!"?
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Post by The Spice Weasel on Jan 31, 2020 22:47:19 GMT -5
That was sadly adorable or adorably sad. Perhaps two things.
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Post by Hachiman on Feb 2, 2020 20:10:20 GMT -5
Man, its over. You know, between this and Arrow ending, I have had a hard week. Like a few other folks mentioned, the last 2 seasons weren't much of my thing for the most part. I still liked them, but I didn't enjoy them nearly as much as the first two seasons and it often felt like I was on this conveyor belt since the story kept moving forward to the next challenge. I thought the location work for Paris and Athens was super neat though and at the risk of being a Tahani, I've stood right where they filmed it. It was the Pont Des Arts between the Louvre and Notre Dame.
The ending here was touching and well done. I didn't cry, but I was up for like half the night thinking about the show and how it ended. For me, that's the highest praise I can give something. And I am still torn on the idea of the door, but I also totally understood it. Ultimately, life is about moving on.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Feb 5, 2020 13:08:16 GMT -5
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Crash Test Dumbass
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Post by Crash Test Dumbass on Feb 5, 2020 15:48:33 GMT -5
After I twigged that the prices were the episode numbers, I think I understand why people were disappointed with season 4 and why it didn't quite register for me: I'm not used to watching in real time, and the long mid-season gap made me forget that all the Brent stuff and all the 'rebuild the afterlife/future of humanity' stuff were actually part of the same season. That, and I have a memory span the length of whatever it was we were talking about. |
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Feb 5, 2020 16:01:48 GMT -5
After I twigged that the prices were the episode numbers, I think I understand why people were disappointed with season 4 and why it didn't quite register for me: I'm not used to watching in real time, and the long mid-season gap made me forget that all the Brent stuff and all the 'rebuild the afterlife/future of humanity' stuff were actually part of the same season. That, and I have a memory span the length of whatever it was we were talking about. I mean, season 4 wasn't my favorite, but I wouldn't call myself disappointed; the show had a clear direction for itself and they followed that. Maybe it wasn't how I would have written some of those plots, but it was still funny and thoughtful and all of the things I wanted The Good Place to be. The show took a lot of risks and I admired that. Of course, people are allowed to have their feelings! But I think it was clear from season 1 that it was never going to keep being exactly the same. |
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Crash Test Dumbass
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ffc what now
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Post by Crash Test Dumbass on Feb 5, 2020 16:37:44 GMT -5
After I twigged that the prices were the episode numbers, I think I understand why people were disappointed with season 4 and why it didn't quite register for me: I'm not used to watching in real time, and the long mid-season gap made me forget that all the Brent stuff and all the 'rebuild the afterlife/future of humanity' stuff were actually part of the same season. That, and I have a memory span the length of whatever it was we were talking about. I mean, season 4 wasn't my favorite, but I wouldn't call myself disappointed; the show had a clear direction for itself and they followed that. Maybe it wasn't how I would have written some of those plots, but it was still funny and thoughtful and all of the things I wanted The Good Place to be. The show took a lot of risks and I admired that. Of course, people are allowed to have their feelings! But I think it was clear from season 1 that it was never going to keep being exactly the same. I heard some people were disappointed. I was more talking about my lack of memory. I think. It ended at the top. It was a great show, and I might even watch it all again, since there weren't heartbreaking moments in middle-season episodes like other series I'm trying to remember but please see above re: my memory. |
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Post by Ben Grimm on Mar 24, 2020 20:57:02 GMT -5
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