The Good Place has already established itself as a fun sitcom about characters trying to make the best of an unstable situation. It also has a lot of underlying mysteries, so we can theorize between each belly laugh. After re-watching for clues, I'm developing a The Good Place theory involving pharmaceuticals that could explain what's wrong with Michael's neighborhood.
Recently, we learned that Jianyu (or Justin Mendoza) was not only an amateur EDM DJ, but that he "sold fake drugs to college kids" for money. That sounds familiar. What did Eleanor do for a living? She sold fake drugs too, by way of pushing pills that were "technically chalk" to the elderly. That's two people with variations on the same line of work that both ended up in The Good Place under seemingly false pretenses. Plus, what killed her? A pharmaceutical truck selling erectile dysfunction pills. I smell a conspiracy.
What could it mean? Maybe an evil pharmaceutical company is taking revenge by sending "bad" people, their own employees, to the Good Place so they ultimately destroy it. Maybe Michael's systems have some kind of virus and this is a metaphor, or he's being tested. Could it be a reference to the Marxist idea that religion is a drug for oppressed people? The Good Place does deal with many schools of philosophy, so it's possible, if not the strongest connection. Perhaps this a red herring, and I'm falling for it the same way I fell for so many Lost clues. Is this just the "Pharma Initiative," so to speak? Very possible. This show does like puns. At the very least, I would keep an eye on any further references to shady drug sales. It's definitely a connecting element in this universe.
Recently, The Washington Post published the theory that all characters on The Good Place are in limbo, not heaven, and that every one of them has a secret and believes they don't belong. While that would be interesting, I'm not ready to buy into the theory just yet. It's a little too much like Once Upon A Time for me. Plus, Chidi at least seems like a genuinely good person. Even Tahani is a good person at heart, even if she's not always nice to others. The difference between nice and good is an important lesson to learn as well. I also think that this show is aiming towards a statement about soulmates and relationships. Tahani and Jason may seem different, but maybe they are meant for each other because of those differences. Eleanor and Chidi could be the same way.
There's definitely something fishy going on with The Good Place, and while Jason and Eleanor may not be the only ones affected, I think whatever they have in common could be the key to unlocking it all.
Image: Justin Lubin/NBC
