The Good Place: Does it actually exist or is Michael lying?

The Good Place has bumped off a lot of sitcom characterizations. As we embark into season three, we have to wonder… is there really a Good Place?

Every time you think you know what’s going on in The Good Place, Mike Schur and writers turn it all upside down.

As we make our way into season three of this ethical sitcom, things just seem… weird. Judge Gen points it out to Michael at the end of the latest episode. And it makes it feel like the Earth we’re on in this show might still be some sort of simulation.

Of course, the writers have balked at that (even if it’s potentially true), so… if it’s still our Earth, that’s concerning.

THE GOOD PLACE — “Everything is Bronzer! Pt. 2” Episode 302 — Pictured: (l-r) Ted Danson as Michael, D’Arcy Carden as Janet — (Photo by: Justin Lubin/NBC)

We’ll say, it sure as heck feels too hard to get into the real Good Place. And as we sit and think about it more, we’ve never directly seen that the Good Place exists — nor have we been told anyone who has been able to make it there. The closest we’ve come is hearing that “every US president except Lincoln” is in the Bad Place.

But that still doesn’t state that Lincoln made it into the Good Place. Mindy St. Clair has a Medium Place, and there were mentions of our Team Cockroach all being put into their own separate Medium Places.

So is the afterlife just made up of the Bad Place and a bunch of Medium Places for those who nearly make the point threshold?

Honestly, at this point, that seems like the most believable option. We’ve only seen Mindy St. Clair’s Medium Place because it was the closest to Michael’s neighborhood.

Judge Gen seems very invested in Michael and Janet not interfering more than they already have with this bet. Maybe it’s because she wants to see if the point threshold is too high. Or if the system needs tweaking.

Now with Michael and Janet running around powerless on Earth, who knows what will happen with Team Cockroach? More importantly–how can Michael continue to interfere with it all to save his friends?