The Good Place

[beehammer]

(archived from tumblr)

So pleased with that one little bit in the season one finale of The Good Place, where Eleanor, who’s been leaning on the weirdly-appreciative compliments toward Tahani all season, has that moment of honesty where she realizes and admits that okay, she actually might be into Tahani.  This might not just be her not knowing how to friend good or her going for physical compliments because she’s got the socialization skills of a rabid muskrat, this might be her finally learning how to recognize different shades in the close friendships and interdependencies she’s spent her entire life running from.

Like, I get the frustration with shows where a character is dead to rights bi or pan but “doesn’t like labels” or is just “working through some things” or whatever the chickenshit excuse of the week is, or has suddenly and dramatically switched orientations because the writers are hacks.

But there also needs to be space for honestly-written characters who are figuring things out about themselves or coming to grips with things they’ve wanted but never thought they could/should have as a facet of personal growth and narrative arc.  And I think The Good Place got it right this time.