The Good Place: The 10 Most Heartbreaking Moments

When it comes to heartbreak in most stories, the audience often thinks of character deaths. In The Good Place, this typical example of heartbreak doesn’t quite work as most of the characters are already dead in the afterlife like Eleanor and Chidi or are immortal beings like Michael or the Judge.

Yet, The Good Place still has plenty of heartbreaking scenes. These moments may be smaller and tamer than what many fans are used to, but they still tug on one’s heartstrings as the main characters confront difficult truths about themselves, and their relationships are tested in irrevocable ways.

10 Chidi Forgets Eleanor’s Name

After Chidi’s memory is erased and Eleanor acts as the architect of the experiment, she introduces him to the neighborhood and shows him around. It is already hard enough for Eleanor to interact with the love of her life while he has no memory of her or their relationship together. It becomes even more heartbreaking when Chidi forgets Eleanor’s name.

To Chidi, Eleanor is the architect of the neighborhood he’s just met, but to her, he is the man she loves and knows so well. This small moment sets the stage for how difficult this dynamic will be for Eleanor while Chidi has no memory of her or their past.

9 Eleanor Breaks Down

With her leadership questioned by her friends and the experiment falling apart around her, Eleanor breaks down and doesn’t feel like she has what it takes to continue being at the helm. After being unable to properly run her own life, Eleanor doesn’t think she possibly has what it takes to lead an experiment whose outcome will determine the fate of all humanity.

The feeling of being overwhelmed and inadequate feels relatable and it is disheartening to see these negative feelings consuming fan-favorite Eleanor. Fortunately, Eleanor has a great support system and Michael gives her a much-needed pep talk that helps her see that her human imperfections make her the perfect person to lead the experiment.

8 Chidi Feels Like He’s Being Punished

Michael and Eleanor realize they need to make things more stressful for Chidi to push him and the other subjects toward becoming better people. Eventually, Chidi confesses to Eleanor that he feels like he’s being punished, that he’s worried that he did something wrong, and the universe is trying to get back at him.

This moment is equally heartbreaking for Chidi and Eleanor. It’s heartbreaking for such a selfless and moral person like Chidi to feel like he’s being punished and he did something wrong, especially when he doesn’t know what it is. It is also heartbreaking for Eleanor to see that she went too far and hurt the man she loves because she’s hurting and angry about him leaving her, even if it was for the good of the experiment and all of humanity.

7 Eleanor Sees That Her Mother Can Change, But Her Mother Couldn’t Change For Her

When Eleanor learns her mother Donna Shellstrop is alive and has settled into a new life as a suburban mom, Eleanor struggles to accept that Donna has genuinely changed her selfish ways. Eleanor admits to Michael that’s what hardest for her is not that her mother changed, but that Donna was always capable of this change, and just thought Eleanor wasn’t worth changing for.

So much of Eleanor’s self-esteem issues were rooted in her parents being neglectful and never really caring about their daughter. Seeing that her childhood didn’t have to be that way reopened some of those old wounds and stunted some of the progress Eleanor made. Fortunately, Eleanor was ultimately able to be happy for her mother and the positive ways she changed.

6 Michael Sacrifices Himself

With only one pin left to get to the Judge’s chambers, Michael gives the pin to Eleanor and pushes her through the portal. He makes a huge sacrifice by choosing Eleanor over himself, even though it means staying behind in the Bad Place at the mercy of the ruthless Shawn. This moment shows how far Michael has come as a character, but it is still devastating to see him sacrifice himself and potentially suffer terrible consequences.

Thanks to Janet, Michael is able to escape Shawn and the consequences he intends to inflict. Even though Michael and Janet reunite pretty quickly with Eleanor and the other humans, it doesn’t lessen the heartbreaking impact and uncertainty initially following Michael’s sacrifice.

5 Eleanor Worries About Spending Eternity Alone

Among the many tear-jerking moments in the series finale, Eleanor worries about being alone when Chidi says that he is ready to move on from the Good Place. Eleanor spent so much of her life alone and feeling unloved. In the afterlife, she found her true family through Chidi, Tahani, Jason, Michael, and Janet.

With Tahani and her fitting ending of learning how to be a Good Place architect, and with Jason and Chidi moving on from the Good Place, Eleanor feels like she’s going to be alone again. Being alone is already tough for Eleanor and is only more difficult and daunting when facing the possibility of being alone for the rest of eternity.

4 “Janet” Breaks Up With Jason

Janet and Jason have one of the most successful relationships in The Good Place, but their relationship was tested early on in season 4 when “Janet” broke up with Jason. She explained that running the current experiment was overwhelming, Jason wasn’t giving her the space she needed, and their relationship was endangering the experiment.

It’s later revealed that this was actually a disguised Bad Janet breaking up with Jason as one of many steps to sabotage the experiment. Regardless, it was devastating to see a relationship seemingly end between two individuals who shared such a unique understanding of each other and a deep bond. Janet was one of the only people who ever accepted and celebrated Jason for who he was and it was heartbreaking to think that that had changed.

3 Tahani Learns How She Died And Why She’s In The Bad Place

Tahani learns that she died after being crushed to death by a golden statue of her sister. She also learns that she is in the Bad Place because she cared most about outshining her sister and getting attention and acclaim for her charity events. She cared more about herself and not about the people she was supposed to be helping.

The humiliating nature of her death and the reason she’s in the Bad Place helps Tahani realize what a vain and shallow person she was on Earth, forcing her to confront the fact that she’s not the person she thought she was. On the bright side, though, this revelation helps motivate her to become a better version of herself in the afterlife.

2 Chidi Learns Why He’s In The Bad Place

In The Good Place‘s most shocking plot twist, the four humans learn that they were being tortured in the Bad Place all along. It’s also revealed that the morally upstanding Chidi is in the Bad Place because he hurt everyone in his life and made them miserable with his indecisiveness.

Chidi dedicated his life to always making the right and moral choices in any situation. It is upsetting to realize that trying desperately to do the right thing just hurt everyone else, it contributed to Chidi’s sudden death, and it led to him being punished in the afterlife.

1 Saying Goodbye Before Chidi’s Memory Is Erased

When Simone is revealed to be one of the subjects for the new experiment, Chidi realizes he needs to have his memory wiped as his past relationship with Simone will endanger the experiment. After all the personal and afterlife obstacles Eleanor and Chidi overcame, it is gut-wrenching to see them saying goodbye to one another.

Chidi won’t know or remember Eleanor the next time he sees her and neither character knows if their relationship will ever be the same again. As if this isn’t enough to make everyone cry, Michael shares a video montage of Eleanor and Chidi’s love and their relationship. The emotional look back on their beautiful relationship and the uncertainty of whether it can be rekindled again makes this the show’s most heartbreaking moment.

About The Author

Matthew Rudoy
(278 Articles Published)

Matthew Rudoy is a freelance writer who loves to write about his favorite movies and TV shows. In addition to Screen Rant, he also currently contributes to Dork Side of the Force. He has previously self-published two fantasy/sci-fi novels titled CORRUPTION and DESTRUCTION. While his favorite movies and TV shows tend to also fall in the fantasy and sci-fi genres, he enjoys and is open to anything that provides an engaging story, strong character development, and in-depth world-building. Matthew is grateful for the opportunity to write for Screen Rant and looks forward to continue contributing to the site.

More From Matthew Rudoy