This Is The Best Friendship In The Good Place

The Good Place is a show about characters who evolve. When the series starts, the show's central characters are all flawed in one way or another, although some are more obviously flawed than others. Over the course of the show's run, though, each member of the ensemble grew and changed, and they all developed friendships and successful relationships that lasted through hundreds of afterlifes. 

Although there are plenty of great relationships on The Good Place, there's one friendship in particular that stands out because of the way it speaks to the evolution of both characters over the course of the series. Chidi (William Jackson Harper) and Eleanor (Kristen Bell) may have a love that transcends repeated afterlife resets, but Michael (Ted Danson) and Eleanor's friendship is the heart of the show. The two start out as enemies, but over the course of the series, we see how Michael and Eleanor's growth allows them to become closer as people, and how Eleanor's influence ultimately transforms Michael into a totally new person.

Although there's nothing romantic between Eleanor and Michael, the two of them are essentially soulmates. Michael starts the series by attempting to torture Eleanor and her friends, but the human-hating demon eventually comes to realize that the entire architecture of the afterlife is broken. Eleanor is, more than anyone else, the person who helps Michael realize that humans are flawed and can commit great evils, but they're also capable of tremendous change at any point in their lives. 

This realization leads to the friendship between Michael and Eleanor, and to Michael's ultimate decision to try life as a human. Without Eleanor's influence, Michael would never have become a person (literally), and we see Eleanor's influence guiding Michael even after she stops existing in the afterlife. 

For his part, Michael helps Eleanor through many of the big conflicts that she deals with over the course of the series. When she had doubts about her relationship with Chidi, Michael helps guide her toward the best answer. When Michael had doubts about his experiment to prove the afterlife was broken, Eleanor convinces him to keep trying. 

The relationship between Michael and Eleanor is the philosophical fuel that keeps the show going. More than any other element of The Good Place, it's a reminder that humans and demons can become better versions of themselves with a little bit of effort.