The show is funny at times and I enjoy it as a yarn, but (and Last Man on Earth is the same way) they don't seem to have any sort of aim or road map. They seem like they're just doing whatever they feel like doing week in and week out.
shareFirst, it's a comedy. Dramas tend to have "direction" and comedies tend to, first and foremost, try and make you laugh. Second... the show's only 10 episodes deep! It's introduced characters and set the premise of the show up... and at this point we're sorta just seeing how things are supposed to play out with the initial idea of Elanor not belonging there and the powers-that-be trying to figure out with what to do with her. That's sorta the "direction" at this point and we expect that to be resolved in the upcoming episodes as the season comes to an end.
What kind of "road map" are you suspecting so far?
Anyhow, my concern would actually be that the show might introduce some new plot and potentially become too dramatic in any upcoming seasons. I like my comedies to be funny and nothing ruins a comedy like trying to add too much dramatic nonsense that gets in the way (or a baby! Never let characters get married and change things up by introducing a baby...).
If I had my way then almost all sitcoms would be something like Seinfeld or It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia with just a basic premise and absolutely no character growth.
Well you can make a comedy two ways. Serialized, like this show, or with mostly self-contained episodes, which is more popular because it syndicates better. With a serialized show, you kind of want them to know where they're going with things so that there can be character development and an overarching plot arc (rising action, climax, falling action, resolution, that sort of thing). This show could still have that, but it doesn't seem like they have a multi-season plan.
shareit doesn't seem like they have a multi-season plan
I'm just saying the show seems like it's high on premise and low on plot direction, that's all. It's still funny and enjoyable. I'm not just here to crap on it, so don't be so defensive. You sound like you've dealt with a lot of trolls on here who just want to crap on things, but that's not the case here. It's just something that stuck out to me about this show.
and the vast majority of comedies wouldn't really need themIn general, you don't see a lot of highly-serialized comedies. Basically just this and LMOE. Even HIMYM had way more self-contained episodes than serialized episodes. The obvious reason is syndication. share
I think there's a clear and consistent ongoing narrative. This is a much smarter show than The Last Man on Earth. It requires the viewer to pay a bit of attention in order to follow everything.
"If you want to take over the world, we don't teach that, but give it a go."
There are definitely a few little things here or there that could be analyzed, but has there been anything that secretly foreshadowed a future reveal?
shareTo each his own. While there's no clear end-goal like many shows seem to have (on-again-off-again relationship conclusion, final showdown, specific clear character developments, etc), other than likely Eleanor improving as a person, I feel like this one has much more of a clear episode-to-episode direction than most, if not all, recent comedies.
shareI can see the producers and writers already run out of the ideas.
shareI can see the producers and writers already run out of the ideas.
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Somebody said that after the first episode, and they were wrong.
I was terribly wrong. The producers have the season planned from the beginning.
Not aimless.
Of course they had the whole season planned out. Come now. They only had to do 13 eps. Much more compact season.
shareKudos to you for saying so! That was very graceful and gracious.
"Don't call me paranoid, it makes me paranoid!"
Each episode has added to the overall story. The story begins with trying to fit Eleanor into The Good Place. But the system is unravelling and the characters are learning that it's a sham. I feel like each episode has been extremely important and there's been zero filler. Name an episode and I can tell you what the episode accomplished. Seriously.
I have absolutely no idea where the story is going and I love it.
I mean, would you be happier if there was an obvious villain and we were headed for a generic showdown where "the chosen one" main character saves the day? That's every other show!
"The plastic tips at the end of shoelaces are called aglets. Their true purpose is sinister."
I have absolutely no idea where the story is going and I love it.This is what I meant when I said I enjoy it as a yarn. share
The last episode explained everything. It was all planned out, nothing aimless about it.
Only open the following if you want the secret explanation.
The Good Place was really a special corner of the Bad Place, designed to make people emotionally miserable rather than physically in pain. The targets were Eleanora, Chidi, Tahani, and Jason. Michael was the demon in charge. Eleanora figured it all out, and pointed out that Eleanora, Chidi, and Tahani actually improved their characters as a result. (Jason was a hopeless case). So Michael decided to start over -- with the new iteration being Season 2.
Leaving the finale aside, even from the start they clearly had an "aim" the aim was to show how Elanor changes and evolves into an actual decent human being.
shareaim was to show how Elanor changes and evolves into an actual decent human being.So the twist in Season 2 might be that the Bad Place that they now inhabit is really purgatory and they can improve themselves enough to progress to the real "Good Place."