The Most Intelligent Character on ‘The Good Place’ Might Surprise You
The Good Place is a comedy that has become very popular in the past few years. It focuses on the age-old question of what happens to humans after we die and uses a lot of moral philosophy to guide viewers around the afterlife.
The Good Place has been lauded for being different from other sitcoms around because of its focus on intelligence. The show features a variety of characters who are smart and capable.
With that said, when it comes to who could be the most intelligent character on The Good Place, many fans might be quick to point to Janet. However, the answer is an unexpected one.
The characters on ‘The Good Place’ are smart in different ways
It’s important to note that all characters on The Good Place have their own ways of being smart. The show is quite good at presenting to viewers three-dimensional people who have different sides to them.
For example, Jason (Manny Jacinto) is someone who would not be considered intelligent by viewers. He is generally known as a bumbling fool who has a big heart but not much going on in his brain. However, he still brings a lot to the table by being skilled in things like dancing and making explosives.
Meanwhile, Tahani (Jameela Jamil) and Eleanor (Kristen Bell) are not exactly bookworms either. Yet, they are clearly very smart in social situations since they spent much of their human lives interacting with different people.
And then there are characters like Chidi (William Jackson Harper) and Simone (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), who were professors before they died, which means that they are very book-smart. However, they still have flaws associated with their intelligence.
For Chidi, his flaw is being extremely indecisive since he often thinks a lot about the consequences of every choice he makes. For Simone, her flaw is that she is quick to judge people and is stubborn once she has made up her mind.
Janet knows all the answers in the universe
Janet (D’Arcy Carden) is often thought to be the most intelligent character on The Good Place because she simply knows everything. She has answers for everything in the universe and can also carry out complicated tasks quickly.
Unlike the four humans, Janet does not have a lot of flaws. She is usually a nice and cheerful personal assistant who helps people without asking for anything in return, though she did develop more human emotions after being rebooted many times.
The most intelligent character on ‘The Good Place’ is actually Judge Gen
Although Janet is more intelligent than most humans, she is actually not as intelligent as Judge Gen (Maya Rudolph).
Judge Gen is the all-knowing judge who first appeared in season 2. She is the enforcer of the rules in the afterlife and often settles disputes between the “Good Place” and the “Bad Place.”
She also has abilities that other characters do not possess, such as telekinesis and manipulation of different worlds. It goes without saying that Judge Gen is the smartest character on the show given how much power she holds over the whole universe.
While fans like Judge Gen because of her wit and humor, it’s clear that she is still a flawed character. Although she claims to be neutral and objective, her rulings often serve to protect the status quo more so than provide justice.
As one viewer pointed out: “In general, the show is training us to be critical of structures/systems that claim to be objective but are really arbitrary (i.e., the point system). Gen’s application of the law is capricious and certainly not neutral or objective even if she poses it that way. The legal system of this afterlife, when working as intended, produces injustice… The friction between law and justice ties well into the themes of the show (at least, for me).”
