Spoilers for The Good Place season 2 finale
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Amidst all the craziness of The Good Place season 2 finale, some Easter eggs may prove it exists in the same universe as Parks and Recreation. After only a few episodes, it was clear that Michael Schur was attempting to create the Lost of sitcoms with The Good Place. Since then, the twists and turns of the surreal series have only added to the connections thanks to an overarching plot full of mysteries and world-building. And with The Good Place season 2 finale, the connections were made even more clear with the show's very own flash-sideways and a trip to Australia.
The Good Place is a show that rewards paying close attention, as anyone who's tried to catch all of the food and store puns scattered around the background of each episode will know. Writer Megan Amram has had a field day crafting jokes that mostly flash by, proving how dedicated the series is to deep cuts. Sure, sometimes the references are obvious like the Cheers nod in The Good Place's recent season finale. Often, however, the best jokes take some digging.
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Twitter user @ShinraAlpha spotted a couple of Easter eggs in the season 2 finale of The Good Place that may prove it's part of an even larger universe than it seemed. In fact, the show may exist in the same reality as Parks and Recreation.
After Eleanor (Kristen Bell) gives up on her newfound zeal to help people, she reverts back to some old habits. Namely, reading the very Pawnee-sounding Celebrity Baby Plastic Surgery Disasters. But two recent issues of the magazine feature some familiar looking adds. The first is for Glyde, a fragrance by sleazy perfume magnate Dennis Feinstein. The other is for Jean-Ralphio Saperstein's champagne company.
Naturally, these are just fun nods to Schur's most famous creation, Parks and Recreation, but if nothing else they seem to imply that both Jean-Ralphio and Dennis may exist in the reality of The Good Place. That's even more intriguing when you realize that Jason Mantzoukas plays both Dennis Feinstein on Parks and Recreation and Derek on The Good Place. Could Janet have modeled her malfunctioning rebound guy on Dennis?
The ending of The Good Place season 2 finale brought Eleanor and Chidi 2.0 together in Australia for the start of what should be an interesting season 3. So far, Schur has managed to maintain the show's spirit and through-line while entirely resetting the narrative each season. Given the audacity of the series so far, it wouldn't be surprising if some sort of The Good Place/Parks and Recreation crossover arrived for the season 3 finale.
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The Good Place season 3 will air later this year on NBC.
Source: @ShinraAlpha