The Good Place recap: Season 4, Episode 12, “Patty,” Aired Jan. 23, 2020
It’s the penultimate episode, and I am emotional! This group of humans and demons and Janet so deserve to be in the Good Place, and I just want all of them to be eternally happy. Plus, getting to see the real Good Place is pretty cool. I am so not ready for next week!
Even though “humans can’t see the Good Place all at once or their brains will be scrambled,” let’s dive in.
No take-backs
Michael is really anxious at the start of the episode. He’s a demon. Who knows how the Good Place will react to his presence? He doesn’t belong.
Well, turns out he’s more than welcome. In fact, the Good Place crew gives him a swearing in to be an official Good Place architect. And just when it looks like everything is perfect for Michael, he learns the ceremony actually put him in charge of the Good Place, and the entire Good Place crew quit. Uh-oh.
Florizona British Library Extravaganza
Team Cockroach is welcomed with a gala that is supposed to be tailored to each individual, but since the humans walked in together, it was the most perfect mishmash of all of them. It’s at a Jacksonville motel for Jason, and people are wearing Jaguars jerseys. Eleanor spots a souvenir from her favorite wrestler. There’s a VIP area for Tahani. And Chidi finds Hypatia of Alexandria – Patty – played by none other than Lisa Kudrow!
“The Good Place is a disaster”
Eleanor and Chidi get stardust milkshakes with Patty, and she tells them the Good Place is screwed and needs their help. Patty tells them that in theory, the Good Place is amazing, but infinite perfection makes for “glassy-eyed mush people.” Patty summed up the problem efficiently: You get there, realize anything is possible, do everything, but then you still have infinity left.
Michael suggests erasing everyone’s memories periodically so that the Good Place would always be fresh, but Chidi points out that Michael used that method as a form of torture in the past. Then Michael remembers something Eleanor told him during his mid-life crisis a few seasons back, and they decide the solution is to allow people to leave the Good Place. This way, you can do everything you want to do in the Good Place, and if you’re ready and decide you want to, you can peacefully end your existence for good. You are not stuck in the Good Place forever if you don’t want to be.
Everything is fine
The Good Place residents are super into the proposed idea that lets them leave if they so choose. With that, they go back to the welcome gala, finally able to enjoy themselves in the Good Place again.
As for our team, Michael recreated some of the neighborhood from back when he was torturing the humans, though Jason now gets to live in a Stupid Nick’s. Michael seems pretty proud of himself, as he should be. Oh, and that bit of Cheleanor cuddling on the couch in front of the most beautiful sunset was delightful. If only the show ended here…
So that ending made me feel all warm and fuzzy, and now I’m just wondering what the writers have in store for the next episode that’s going to hurt us. There’s no way they’re giving us over an hour of happiness next week – and for the series finale, no less.
I’m certainly not ready to let go of this show, but time ticks on, and I’ll be back with you forkers next week for one last episode to conclude one of the best shows ever made.
What did you think of “Patty”? Let us know at @PureFandom on Twitter!
The Good Place series finale airs Thursday, Jan. 30 on NBC at 9:00/8:00c.
(Image: Colleen Hayes/NBC)
