The Good Place — Character Index
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WARNING! Only spoilers for Seasons 3 and 4 are marked! Beware of major spoilers!

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Eleanor's circle

Doug & Donna

Doug & Donna Shellstrop

Portrayed By: Tom Beyer (Doug) and Leslie Grossman (Donna)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shellstrops.png

Eleanor: All my life I've been taking care of myself and you guys. I worked two after-school jobs because you blew half my college fund bailing your boyfriend out of jail.
Doug: So irresponsible.
Eleanor: And you blew the other half trying to frame her boyfriend.
Donna: It was so stupid! He was already guilty, dumbass!

Eleanor's parents. Not exactly the most caring people.

Both:

Abusive Parents: At best, they were negligent. At worst, they were this. Donna blew half of Eleanor's college fund to bail her boyfriend out of jail and Doug was a drug-addicted felon who tried to frame said boyfriend (who was already guilty) with the other half of the college fund. Donna also once told Eleanor to not get sad over her dog dying (which was Donna's fault due to her leaving the poor animal locked in the car on a hot day) because she didn't want to deal with it.
Alcoholic Parent: Especially apparent in Donna. Doug has the added bonus of also being into drugs.
Awful Wedded Life: Apparently, their marriage was pretty miserable, leading them to split up when Eleanor was young. Early on, Eleanor snarks that they could be used to torture one another in the Bad Place, and it would be extremely effective.
The Ditz: On top of being morally repugnant, they're also not very smart.
The "Fun" in "Funeral": In a flashback, we see Eleanor's garbage mother showing up drunk to her ex-husband's funeral and hitting on her own daughter's boyfriend.
Hate Sink: Unlike their Jerk with a Heart of Gold daughter, they have no redeeming qualities at all, although Donna does get better in Season 3.
It's All About Me: Neither of them care for anyone besides themselves, not even their own daughter. This is how Eleanor developed her cynical belief that everyone's only out for themselves, whether they admit it or not.
Jerkasses: Eleanor constantly describes them as awful excuses for human beings, and we're shown in various flashbacks that they did indeed live up to that description. This left Eleanor with the cynical and self-serving outlook she had up until her death, though she later realizes it doesn't give her a free pass to be a jerk herself.
Lower-Class Lout: They're trashy, stupid and have absolutely no class.
Manchild: They're both incredibly immature. Deconstructed as their immaturity and selfishness caused Eleanor to develop her dim view of humanity.
Parental Neglect: Constantly forgot their own daughter's birthday, and in general, they treated Eleanor as more like a casual acquaintance than their own child. They also didn't even so much as protest when Eleanor decided to emancipate herself and move out, at the age of fourteen.
Posthumous Character: Well, the show's all about dead people, but Doug and Donna were already deceased well before the events of the series back when Eleanor was still alive and are never shown in the afterlife. However, this is later subverted on Donna's part, as it's revealed she faked her death and was actually alive the whole time.
Wacky Parent, Serious Child: The absurdly stupid, irresponsible, and wacky parents to Eleanor's exasperated, self-sufficient serious child in every flashback they appear in. Eleanor also flatly states she's had to take care of herself and the two of them her whole life, which is why she's so determined to emancipate herself. It's also extensively deconstructed, as this did a lot of damage to Eleanor's mentality and emotional well-being, setting her up on a path of extreme selfishness and a general mistrust of people as a whole.

Doug:

Flat Character: Unlike Donna, he doesn't display any redeeming qualities or change at all. He's a lazy stoner, and that's about it.
One-Steve Limit: He's one of three Dougs who avert this trope. Notably, another one of them is a main character's father as well.

Donna/"Diana Tremaine":

The Atoner: In the Series Finale, she's mentioned to have become a way better mother to Eleanor and the two of them genuinely reconciled.
Dumb Blonde: Eleanor inherited her hair color, but not her intelligence (or lack thereof).
Eskimos Aren't Real: Donna apparently isn't aware that Guam is a real place.
Faking the Dead: Eleanor thinks both her parents are dead. Her dad is, as seen in the flashback of his funeral, but Janet and Michael inform her in Season 3 that her mother actually faked her death. Eleanor is understandably pissed.
Forgiven, but Not Forgotten: Downplayed - Eleanor can't fully forgive Donna, but accepts that she truly has changed for the better and decides to let her live her new life in peace and wishes her well, not even asking for an apology. And while Donna doesn't express it explicitly, she does admit that Eleanor has every right to resent her. Eleanor also makes it clear that Donna has to make Patricia her priority and not repeat her past mistakes.
Forgiveness: Owing to both of them ending up in the Good Place and dead, Eleanor has let go of her understandable hatred for Donna while setting boundaries in their relationship to not reawaken any trauma. Donna gives Eleanor the space she needs and meets up with her for dinner on occasion. She also seems to dedicate any time she spends with Eleanor to showing she has become a better person, and a kinder parent.
Heel–Face Turn: In Season 3, it's revealed that Donna faked her death, got remarried and has become a better person, with a new husband and stepdaughter she genuinely cares for and admits later on that she was a lousy mother to Eleanor.
Heel Realization: She accepts what a terrible mother she was to Eleanor and doesn't ask for her forgiveness, accepting that Eleanor has every right to hate her.
Implausible Deniability: Donna tries claiming she's Eleanor's sister at Doug's funeral, despite having just identified herself as her mother, and when Eleanor tracks her down in "A Fractured Inheritance", immediately tries to claim they're sorority sisters. According to Michael's list of Eleanor's insecurities in "The Worst Possible Use of Free Will", she's been doing this since Eleanor was born.
Karma Houdini Warranty: She gets away with a lot of nasty stuff like the emotional abuse towards her daughter, not the least which showing up drunk to her ex-husband's funeral and not giving Eleanor the space to grieve. Then she fakes her death to get out of debt, and seems to reform her life after marrying a single father with a sweet young child... until her grown-up daughter recently saved from death shows up on her doorstep, determined to find proof that Donna is a bad person who hasn't changed. Eleanor could easily reveal Donna's true past and the terrible things she did to Patricia and the school board, discrediting her and ruining her new life; the only reason Eleanor doesn't is because she doesn't want to ruin the completely innocent Patricia's life. Eleanor bluntly tells Donna that she has to make sure not to repeat her past mistakes with Patricia and treat her better than Donna treated Eleanor as a child.
Kick the Dog: Every flashback scene shows her treating Eleanor as her puppy to kick. She's gotten Eleanor's actual dog killed, mocked her father's death, and hit on her boyfriend. She also didn't apparently mourn in the first timeline when Eleanor died, given that she's shocked and guilty when Eleanor shows up on her doorstep in the second timeline after Donna faked her death. Marrying Dave and raising Patricia mellowed her, but as Eleanor points out, that doesn't make up for the emotional damage that Donna inflicted on Eleanor thoughtlessly.
Lack of Empathy: Not that Doug was that much better, but Donna's disregard for Eleanor's feelings was astounding. For one thing, there's insulting the girl's father to her face... at his funeral. Then there's what she said after Eleanor's dog died when she was a kid.
Donna: Your dog, Max, is dead in a duffel bag under the deck.
Eleanor: How did he die?
Donna: The short answer is: I don't know. And the slightly longer answer is: I didn't know how hot it gets in cars sometimes. The point is: don't be sad. Honestly, I'll get kind of annoyed if you do get sad because it's been a very long day and that bitch Carol from work was really on my ass about some stupid thing that I don't even know what it was. And at the end of that long day, I had to use one of my favorite duffel bags to do something very gross that I did not like. Now, let's celebrate that dead dog's life by bringing Mommy another bottle of white.
Lady Drunk: Literally every scene with Donna has her with a drink in her hand, though she gets better after turning her life around.
Meaningful Rename: Donna's pseudonym takes the surname of the classic evil stepmother, Lady Tremaine. She subverts the trope by being a pretty decent stepmother, though she was a horrible mother to her biological daughter as Donna Shellstrop.
Mrs. Robinson: Donna blatantly hits on Eleanor's boyfriend in front of her at Doug's funeral. By the time she ends up in the Good Place, she's overcome this due to her trials.
My God, What Have I Done?: Let's just say Donna isn't pleased to see her grown-up daughter on her doorstep, calling her out for stealing her pseudonym Diana Tremaine and faking her death. She spends the rest of the episode with a guilty expression as Eleanor probes her about the new "scam".
Never My Fault: Justified under Exact Words; she never really admits she was a terrible mother and messed up Eleanor when the latter was a child, after Eleanor in a furious rage confronts her in Season 3. The most she says is that Eleanor didn't get her character growth from her with a regretful expression. It's because taking care of Patricia made her suffer a Heel Realization that a mere apology won't suffice for emotionally abusing her first child, and there's nothing she can do to make amends. The most she and Eleanor can do is hug it out and part civilly.
Not Quite the Right Thing: Her abandoning Eleanor is portrayed as such. It was undeniably selfish and seriously damaged Eleanor but Donna has made a sincere effort to improve since and provided Patricia with the loving home she never gave Eleanor. In the end, Eleanor acknowledges her efforts but admits she will likely never be able to forgive Donna for her own poor parenting.
Outliving One's Offspring: She was still alive during both of Eleanor's deaths in original and second timeline.
Parents as People: As of Season 3. Her relationship with Eleanor is beyond messed-up, and nothing can reverse the damage she did and Donna acknowledges that Eleanor has every right to hate her. But she's a good mom to Patricia and is making an honest effort to be better.
Reformed, but Rejected: Eleanor fully accepts that Donna is genuinely a better person now and a better mother but also admits she can't forgive Donna for her horrible treatment of her as a child and later abandonment, a fact Donna accepts.
Took a Level in Kindness: Deconstructed. She did genuinely become a better person after creating a new life for herself, becoming a sincerely loving wife to Dave and a good stepmother to Patricia, but it just increases Eleanor's bitterness and sense of abandonment, showing that Donna was capable of change but didn't feel Eleanor was worth the effort, as a child or adult. While Eleanor leaves her be and acknowledges her improvement, she also makes clear she can't truly forgive Donna, at least not for a long time to come.

Wallace

Portrayed by: Seth Morris

"Now, you can't legally call it medicine, because it doesn't technically 'work' and it is technically 'chalk.'"

Eleanor's boss in the flashbacks to her life on Earth.

Bad Boss: Sexually harasses his employees, and when the company gets investigated for fraud, he sells everyone else out to save his own skin. Played with in that his half-assed, selfish smarminess puts him exactly on Eleanor's wavelength, making him a good boss from her perspective.
Exact Words: To avoid legal trouble for misrepresentation, he told Eleanor not to specifically refer to the pills she sold to people as "medicine".
Pet the Dog: Eleanor doesn't appreciate it, but he leads the singing for her birthday.
Snake Oil Salesman: He heads up a team which sells phony pharmaceuticals to the sick and elderly.
Wallace: So we sell two products here, NasaPRO and NasaPRO Silver. We aim this at seniors. Now, you can't legally call it medicine because it doesn't technically "work" and it is technically "chalk", so what you're gonna want to do -
Eleanor: You need me to lie to old people and scare them into buying fake medicine. I get it, man.
Spear Counterpart: To Eleanor. He has no scruples either about selling All-Natural Snake Oil, or about hitting on co-workers of the opposite sex. The flaws that sent Eleanor to the Bad Place are his flaws as well.

Brittany & Madison

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tgp_roommates.png

Left: Madison, Right: Brittany

Portrayed By: Meryl Hathaway (Brittany) and Angela Trimbur (Madison)

Eleanor's roommates.

Back for the Finale: As shown in "Whenever You're Ready", they worked their way to earn a spot in the Good Place after their deaths, going out to dinners with Eleanor and the others.
Character Development: The finale shows us that Madison and Brittany both went through their Good Place trials and passed, meaning they had to have grown and confronted their flaws. Eleanor is happy that while they passed, the program didn't change them as people (as they're still as loud, obnoxious, and obsessed with fun as they were in life, which she clearly missed).
Everybody Has Standards: Brittany is rather shallow, yet even she thinks Madison seriously overreacted to the ripped dress fiasco.
Frivolous Lawsuit: Madison sued a dry-cleaner business because she thinks they broke the back zipper on an expensive dress of hers (which was actually Eleanor's fault) first for the price of the dress... and then $80 million in mental anguish. The legal fees shut the dry-cleaners down.
Heel–Face Turn: Come the Series Finale, they have both passed their tests and have become good enough to enter the Good Place. They and Eleanor forgive each other and renew their friendship.
Jerkasses: Neither of them are very nice people. Even at her worst, Eleanor was just marginally nicer than these two. Madison has the Dress Bitch Incident and is just generally awful and unpleasant to everyone all the time. Brittany, meanwhile, laughs at Madison's (admittedly self-inflicted) suffering, makes and sells T-shirts to further said suffering, and uses Eleanor's credit cards to buy porn without even asking.
Jerkass Has a Point: Madison is an awful person and brought the Dress Bitch fiasco on herself, but it's hard to blame her for being upset with Brittany and Eleanor for making and selling T-shirts based on the incident. Even if Madison is a bitch, it's still an awful thing to do to a friend.
Manchild: Of the two, Madison is far more immature, prone to throwing tantrums and acting like a spoiled teenager.
Never My Fault: Madison never gets how the fallout of the Dress Bitch incident is her fault, instead accusing all those people taunting or humiliating her afterward of being "jealous". In the Series Finale, she's grown out of this owing to the trials.
Rich Bitch: Madison has lots of money, and abuses it regularly.
Took a Level in Kindness: "Whenever You're Ready" shows both of them eventually became better people after going through the new afterlife system and earned a spot in the Good Place.
Toxic Friend Influence: They're this to Eleanor. She's not exactly nice when left to her own devices, but she is infinitely worse when she hangs around them. Brittany especially has a habit of turning up when Eleanor's doing something and talking her into abandoning it.
With Friends Like These...: They and Eleanor mostly treat each other like crap despite being roommates that hang out with each other.

Sam

Portrayed By: Drew Brooks

One of Eleanor's boyfriends while she was alive.

Ambiguous Situation: It's unknown if he was the ex-boyfriend EMT that took care of Eleanor's body after she died. It would be in-character, though.
Armor-Piercing Question: Eleanor broke up with him because she argued out that the world was a big sack of crap and full of bad people, and his response was, "But shouldn't we try [to be good]?" Eleanor was unable to understand at the time that trying to be good was worth the effort.
Everyone Has Standards: He was horrified on learning that a coffee shop near Eleanor's apartment had a skeevy owner that felt up female interview candidates.
Hope Spot: At Doug Shellstrop's funeral, he was very supportive of Eleanor and was trying to help her process her mixed feelings since Doug wasn't the greatest dad but still her father. She still breaks up with him, despite his understanding.
Just the Way You Are: He made no effort to change Eleanor the way Chidi does, and instead gently coaxed her into trying to be a better person but without pressuring her. While he was horrified about the coffee shop thing, he wasn't going to be mean about it and force Eleanor to choose a different shop.
Nice Guy: He was generally a patient and understanding person, probably being the most decent boyfriend Eleanor ever had in her life prior to the start of the series.
Satellite Love Interest: Not much is known about him besides being an ex of Eleanor's, and that he made an effort to be a better person than she was.
This Explains So Much: He holds Eleanor protectively when her drunk mother shows up at Doug's funeral, and silently comprehends how Donna messed up her daughter.

Dave

Portrayed By: Andy Daly

An architect from Nevada and Donna Shellstrop's second husband (making him Eleanor's stepfather).

Good Is Not Dumb: Eleanor initially thinks that he's being bamboozled by her con artist mother and is simply too nice to know it. Turns out, he knows exactly what kind of woman Donna is, and he's ultimately right about her reformation since coming into his life.
Love at First Sight: In spite of Donna holding a knife to his throat when he first met her at the decommissioned bar, the two hit it off and ended up marrying.
Nice Guy: He's a decent fellow and dedicated family man.
Secret-Keeper: He actually knows that "Diana Tremaine" is Donna Shellstrop. The two plan to break it to Patricia when she's old enough to handle it.

Patricia

Dave's daughter, and Donna's new stepdaughter. Eleanor realizes that this means she and Patricia are stepsisters, and despite herself develops a protective instinct for her.

Children Are Innocent: This is ultimately why Eleanor won't turn in Donna to the cops; Patricia is a sweet kid and exposing her stepmother as a liar and fraud would destroy her life. Eleanor can also see that Patricia hasn't been corrupted by bad parents, and wants to give her that second chance.
From the Mouths of Babes: She keeps reminding Eleanor that she's too young for SATs and too old for some of the other activities that Eleanor mentions.
Parent with New Paramour: She accepted Donna into her life as "Diana Tremaine," to the point where Donna is basically her mom legally and emotionally. This causes Eleanor no end of Green-Eyed Monster until she realizes that Donna could easily slip back into her emotionally abusive habits.
Replacement Goldfish: Eleanor briefly resents Patricia for being this, as a young girl in need of a mom. Donna is a better mom to Patricia than she ever was to Eleanor, even giving dolls to the latter and homemade snacks. It comes out, however, that Donna doesn't see Patricia as that while she greatly regrets how she treated her older daughter. Eleanor bluntly tells Donna to treat Patricia as her second chance and she better not fork up the little girl's life.

Tahani's circle

Manisha & Waqas

Manisha & Waqas Al-Jamil

Portrayed By: Anna Khaja (Manisha) & Ajay Mehta (Waqas)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aljamils.png

Executor: "[The will] says "We bequeath the rest of our estate to Tahini." "Like the sauce."

"Hello, Tahani! We were just talking about how you're a huge disappointment compared to your sister."

— Manisha

Tahani and Kamilah's parents, who fawn over Kamilah and completely ignore Tahani unless it's to criticize her.

Abusive Parents: They are staggeringly cold-hearted to Tahani, withholding affection for the simple reason that they don't think she deserves it in comparison to her sister. This is occasionally played for comedy, such as when they misspell her name in the will. Manisha and Waqas just get worse the more we see of them; Season 3 makes it clear (with the themes of loneliness in Kamilah's art) that they didn't really love either of their daughters in a healthy way. Their affection for Kamilah was entirely based on her achievements. It takes a lot of Bearimies for them to realize they hurt both of their daughters when going through multiple Bad Place trials.
The Atoner: After finally realizing the error of their ways, they become this to Tahani and Kamilah.
Damned by Faint Praise: The most praise either of them is ever seen giving Tahani is calling a picture she drew "competent".
Doting Parent: After realizing how awful they were, they become this to Tahani and Kamilah, lavishing adoration and affection on them.
Foil: To Eleanor's parents. They're wealthy, snobby and refined in sharp contrast to the poor, loutish and immature Doug and Donna. While Doug and Donna were immature people who were completely unfit to be parents, they don't go out of their way to make Eleanor miserable, they're just horribly irresponsible. Contrast Manisha and Waqas, who openly prefer Kamilah to Tahani and think nothing of degrading her to prop up Kamilah.
Hate Sink: Between the horrible way they played favorites with their kids, general snobbery, and the fact they never even once considered how their actions hurt Tahani, it's safe to say they would deserve any tortures the Bad Place could inflict on them.
Human Popsicle: Tahani mentions that they're in cryogenic chambers.
Ice Queen: They're absurdly callous and unaffectionate towards Tahani and so cold to her it's amazing she doesn't need to wear a winter coat around them.
Jerkass: They're snobby, elitist, and absurdly cruel to Tahani. Not even trying to hide the fact that they love Kamilah more than her.
Karma Houdini Warranty: During her test, Tahani actually manages to shock illusionary versions of them by telling them how she died and how she likes eating Cheetos. Due to how they abused their daughters and how the points system is organized, their real souls were tortured offscreen in the Bad Place.
Kick the Dog: Every scene they share with Tahani, they will say something immensely cruel and shatter her fragile sense of self-worth.
Lack of Empathy: They don't seem even slightly concerned with how their behavior affects Tahani.
My God, What Have I Done?: It took them a couple thousand Bearimys, but they did realize what terrible parents they were and genuinely regret it. When they're allowed into the Good Place, their first action is to embrace their daughters and tearfully apologize to them both. They appear to spend much of their time in the afterlife trying to make up for it.
Obliviously Evil: They honestly don't seem to understand how horribly they treat their daughters.
Parental Favoritism: Very blatantly played favorites with their daughters, with Kamilah getting the lion's share of attention. While they'd give, at best, token acknowledgment of Tahani's work, they would heap praise upon everything Kamilah did.
Posthumous Character: Well, the show's all about dead people, but Manisha and Waqas were already deceased well before the events of the series back when Tahani was still alive and are never shown in the afterlife until the finale, in which they finally make it into the Good Place.
Rich Bitch: Both of them are wealthy, snobbish, and emotionally hard on their daughters.
Second Place Is for Losers: A flashback of Tahani's has them scolding her for not doing well enough at an auction, ignoring Tahani's attempt to point out that it's already managed to get to five million pounds, which they still regard as an embarrassing failure.
Took a Level in Kindness: In the series finale, after working their way to the Good Place under the new system (which took them a while) they apologize for their treatment of Tahani and Kamilah and tell them they love both of them.
You Are Fat: When simulations of them meet Tahani in the afterlife, Manisha makes a couple of pointed remarks about Tahani's weight.
Manisha: Apparently, wherever you've been, they've been keeping you... well-fed.

Kamilah

Kamilah Al-Jamil

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1x05_0003.jpg

"Tahani! You're a cocktail waitress now. Honestly, I think this is the right move for you."

Portrayed by: Rebecca Hazlewood

"I am auctioning off a lunch date with me. The bidding shall commence at £3 million."

Tahani's improbably successful sister.

The Ace: Youngest person to ever graduate from Oxford University, world-class painter, sculptor, social activist, iconoclast, Olympic archer (for which she won the gold, of course), Grammy award-winning musician, youngest person ever inducted into the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame (her album was so good the Hall of Fame waived the mandatory 25 year waiting period and inducted her just six months after her album was released), BAFTA award-winning documentarian (for a documentary she did on her own previously mentioned Grammy award-winning album), and person voted "Most Likely to Be Banksy". Indeed when Tahani is told that Kamilah's music was capable of curing malaria she doesn't even question it, though that was likely made up just to taunt her.
Aloof Big Sister: Inverted. Not only was she infinitely more accomplished and beloved than her older sister Tahani, they didn't have a good relationship because Kamilah would either ignore her or rub in her achievements.
Always Someone Better: Was this to Tahani, who would never measure up to her achievements.
Annoying Younger Sibling: When your younger sister is an Insufferable Genius Jerkass, this is bound to be the case.
The Atoner: In "The Funeral to End All Funerals", it's revealed she set up a scholarship foundation in Tahani's name to help young women go to college according to Michael. Later, in "Whenever You're Ready", she and Tahani fully made peace with each other after she underwent the afterlife trials and earned her spot in the Good Place.
Big Sister Bully: Inverted, as she's Tahani's younger sister yet is incredibly emotionally abusive to her, mocking her by saying that the latter becoming a cocktail waitress is the right move for her in spite of all her achievements, and outright saying that she doesn't think of her.
Broken Ace: Despite all her accomplishments and talents, Kamilah was a truly nasty, self-centered, and uncaring person. This is at least partially due to the emotionally abusive way her parents pitted her against Tahani.
Character Development: After she and Tahani reconcile, she becomes much more emotionally open and admits that their petty rivalry was horrible. Later, in "The Funeral to End All Funerals", it's revealed she opened up a charity in Tahani's memory giving out scholarships to underprivileged girls to help them go to college.
Child Prodigy: She was already creating complex modern art sculptures as a child (while Tahani was "merely" making photorealistic "representational" art), and was the youngest person to graduate from Oxford.^note
Conditioned to Accept Horror: In flashbacks, she's shown easily accepting the horrific emotional abuse her parents heaped on Tahani (and, to a lesser extent, her as well), even calmly saying, "Thank you for this opportunity" when her parents decide to have her and Tahani paint portraits — and whichever one is worse gets used as kindling. One gets the distinct impression it's simply because this is all she's ever known, and they are her parents. When she and Tahani reconcile, she admits their parents were "wankers" and is almost in tears when Tahani embraces her.
The Dutiful Daughter: Implied. As the only Al-Jamil child who does meet their parents' expectation, Kamilah has constantly been pressured to be amazing at every possible skill.
Even the Girls Want Her: Flashbacks show that everyone wants a piece of her, gender notwithstanding.
Freudian Excuse: Being forced to compete with Tahani by their parents had just as much an effect on her as with Tahani; she just channeled it into her work.
Heel–Face Turn: In season 3, Kamilah is able to reconcile with Tahani, sharing credit with her on her latest art project and revealing that all of her paintings held the common theme of four points arranged in a particular pattern, reflecting how their parents would sit together in front of her and Tahani and force them to compete for their approval.
Hidden Heart of Gold: At least some of her aloofness and disconnect is due to her parents making her compete with Tahani.
Informed Ability: A good portion of Kamilah's achievements, such as being such a talented musician she was inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame based solely on one album and only six months after it's release, are never shown on screen and some of her art is nowhere near the levels of groundbreaking genius it's praised for being. That's in addition to having everyone sing her praises and treat her like a saint despite her aloof, pretentious and generally unpleasant demeanor. Of course this is all intentional just to further highlight Tahani's frustration at being stuck in her shadow.
Insufferable Genius: She's absurdly pretentious and extremely arrogant about her (admittedly very impressive) achievements, to the point where you sort of wonder how anyone else can stand to be around her.
Jerkass: From what little we've seen of her interactions with Tahani, she doesn't seem to have been a very good sister. When questioned on whether she thinks poorly of Tahani, she admitted that she doesn't think of Tahani at all. She warms up considerably in Season 3 after recoiling with Tahani.
Jerkass Realization: She starts crying when a handcuffed Tahani hugs her and admits that their parents were ridiculously abusive. She also agrees that their rivalry was ridiculous.
Kick the Dog: In almost every scene she shares with Tahani, she is either standing by and gloating at how much people favor her or making cruel comments about her.
Makeup Is Evil: In most of her appearances, she wears very heavy makeup that, while well-done and often artistic, also makes her seem that much more unapproachable and emphasizes her snotty nature. In "A Fractured Inheritance," the episode where she makes up with Tahani, her makeup is still noticeable, but much more toned down than usual. In the finale, where she's reached the Good Place and has made total peace with her sister and become a much kinder person, she wears no more makeup than the other female characters, emphasizing her natural beauty and her newfound warmth.
Meaningful Name: Perhaps unsurprisingly, Kamilah is Arabic for perfect.
No Sympathy: In the new timeline, she doesn't seem to have realized that Tahani nearly dying was probably a traumatic experience for her older sister. She's still as much of a jerk as she was before.
Obliviously Evil: She genuinely doesn't seem to realize when she causes Tahani harm through her dismissive attitude.
Parody Sue: Subverted. Her numerous achievements certainly come off as such, considering the entire world considers her work in art, music, and activism absolutely ground-breaking. However, while the world sings her praises, she is very unkind to her sister.
Parting-Words Regret: In the first timeline, the last thing she said to Tahani was that she didn't think of her.
Real Award, Fictional Character: To drive home her improbable success, she has (at least) an Olympic gold medal, a BAFTA, and a Grammy.
Renaissance Man: She excels in a ridiculous number of fields, be it from the arts, athletics and academics.
Somebody Doesn't Love Raymond: Eleanor is pretty much the only character not to think Kamilah is the greatest person ever and says as much to Tahani when they first meet. Tahani is practically beside herself with joy upon hearing this.
Spoiled Brat: A lifetime of lavish wealth and praise for every accomplishment has left Kamilah with a very unpleasant demeanor.
Survivor's Guilt: Presumably before Michael disrupts the timeline and saves Tahani's life, as she watched her sister die and is forced to live with the knowledge that she wasn't very kind to Tahani when she was alive.
Villain with Good Publicity: Not a villain per se but she's adored by everyone who speaks of her and it's likely that they don't know about how cruel she can be to her sister. "Everything is Bonzer!" establishes that Kamilah is even willing to take credit for something she knows full well she didn't do, i.e. saving Tahani's life.

Larry

Larry Hemsworth

Portrayed By: Ben Lawson

"It's like mother said; I'll always be the pudgy one."

A handsome pediatric surgeon, and perhaps more well-known to the public as the non-famous non-actor Hemsworth brother (just don't remind him of that or even talk about Luke, Chris, or Liam in front of him, like, ever). Dated Tahani at one point in the past.

Actually Pretty Funny: Despite any mention of his siblings causing him to get upset, he's able to laugh when Tahani jokes about their family problems.
Birds of a Feather: He and Tahani are part of the Fiction 500 and made something of their life, but feel overshadowed by their siblings.
Broken Ace: He's a handsome and accomplished surgeon who was engaged to a stunningly beautiful and famous socialite yet is still racked with insecurity.
Butt-Monkey: He sees himself as constantly unlucky compared to his more famous brothers. While most of this is just Successful Sibling Syndrome, he does get the short end of the stick when Tahani completely forgets about their impending marriage and gets married to Jason so they can share her money, and she is forced to break things off with him as a result.
Chekhov's Gunman: Initially mentioned as a one-off gag in Season 2 when Tahani remarks how high-status even he is compared to Jason, and then makes an appearance on the cover of the magazine Eleanor's reading in the second episode of Season 3. The next episode he makes his onscreen debut where he rekindles his relationship with Tahani, leading to them getting engaged and making plans to move back to England which sours Michael's plans to keep Team Cockroach together.
Historical Character's Fictional Relative: A fictional relative of the three famous Hemsworth brothers.
Hollywood Pudgy: In-Universe, being the chubby son of the family is amongst his many complaints about himself. This is the same man who "barely" has an 8-pack, and Eleanor snarks if he's ashamed to have 0% body fat.
Informed Deformity: Parodied. Larry, who clearly feels overwhelmed by his brothers' fame, constantly complains about how dull and ugly he apparently is. He claims to have a forgettable face, is considered the "chubby" one at least according to his mother, and he rants about "only" being 6'4'' and barely having an 8-pack. As he is almost a Parody Sue with how good-looking and successful he is, the characters are dumbfounded by his exaggerated self-deprecation.
Chidi: Do you know what you look like?
It's All About Me: While normally genial and good natured, he's easily absorbed into his own self-pity.
The Maiden Name Debate: Inverted. He's perfectly willing to take Tahani's name, so that he'll never have to be reminded of his brothers again.
New Old Flame: An ex-boyfriend of Tahani's, and the two start dating again after reuniting in Australia, which is actually a part of Michael and Janet's scheme to stop her from getting with Jason.
Point of Divergence:
- If Michael hadn't saved Tahani's life and orchestrated their "chance encounter" in the new timeline, Larry would have never seen his ex again or rekindled their relationship.
- Likewise, if not for Michael and Janet accidentally condemning the Soul Squad, he and Tahani would have married, settled in England, and presumably spent their lives permanently cut off from their families while reuniting with the Brainy Bunch once a year.
Successful Sibling Syndrome: Parodied as Larry, despite being a classically handsome pediatric surgeon with "barely an 8-pack", is hilariously insecure about not being as famous as his actor brothers. This is apparently something he and Tahani have in common.
Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Has the looks although his insecurity undermines it heavily.
What Happened to the Mouse?: It's never mentioned when he will die, what his Bad Place trials are like, and when he will ever enter the Good Place.

Chidi's circle

Henry

Portrayed By: Dominic Burgess

One of Chidi's fellow lecturers.

Butt-Monkey: This guy's life seems to be an unending parade of unfortunate circumstances.
Easily Forgiven: Uzo was annoyed at Chidi's determination to be good which made him indecisive. Henry, in contrast, always forgives Chidi. When Chidi waited for him to go through a potentially life-threatening surgery to say he hated Henry's boots and lied about liking them two years ago, Henry just mildly says, "This is why no one likes moral philosophy professors". Later flashbacks shown they were still friends afterward.
Gentle Giant: He's a big, heavyset guy (Dominic Burgess is 6'5) but very jovial and good-natured.
Nice Guy: Nothing short of incredibly cheerful and friendly, which doesn't make it any easier for Chidi to tell the poor guy how ugly his boots are.
The Pollyanna: You can toss anything at this guy and he won't be upset. He looked sad on learning Chidi didn't like his boots but recovered quite fast given they kept hanging out. When suffering a serious injury during a workout and getting humiliated on YouTube, he gushed to Chidi about how he was famous.
What Happened to the Mouse?: It's unknown what his Bad Place trials were when he died.

Uzo

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tgp_uzo.png

Portrayed By: Keston John, Dallas Young & Che Tefari (young)

"Great job, Chidi. You filibustered recess."

Chidi's best friend since childhood.

Back for the Finale: Has a brief appearance in the final episode, where he shows up among the group of friends Chidi and Eleanor hang out with while in the afterlife.
Beware the Nice Ones: He's absurdly patient with Chidi's indecisiveness, but even he has his limits.
Childhood Friends: He and Chidi were friends as children and remained close into adulthood.
Deadpan Snarker: Even as a kid, this was his response to Chidi.
Forgiveness: By the time of the finale, he and Chidi have become friends again.
Nice Guy: He'd have to be to put up with Chidi's neuroses.
Parting-Words Regret: The last thing he ever said to Chidi was yelling angrily that it was literally impossible to be friends because of Chidi's indecisive nature. Chidi is crushed by a falling air conditioner not even thirty seconds later. The look on Uzo's face says it all.
Uzo: ...Chidi?
Satellite Character: Chidi's exasperated childhood friend. That's about it.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After Michael saves Chidi from being crushed by the air conditioning vent, and Chidi's takeaway from the near-death experience is not to buy one himself, Uzo finally loses his patience with Chidi and breaks off ties with him. This is what prompts Chidi to want to change his ways.
Secret Test of Character: He lets Chidi be his best man... but tells him that the wedding is a month earlier than it really is, to see, when the "big day" came, if Chidi was actually ready. Just as Uzo predicted, Chidi fails. Miserably.

Emeka & Ndeye

Emeka & Ndeye Anagonye

Portrayed By: Noel Arthur (Emeka), Sonya Leslie (Ndeye)

Emeka: You should get ready for school. I'll take you.
Ndeye: We'll both take you.

Chidi's parents.

Gone Horribly Right: Chidi made his presentation in the hopes of keeping them together. It worked but not for the reasons he believed and he instead reached the conclusion that every problem had a solution and set on his path of agonizing over every choice to find the right choice, no matter how minor.
Good Parents: They had flaws but they clearly loved their son and wanted to see him happy and made a genuine effort to improve their marriage for his sake and they really stand out as this when compared to Eleanor and Tahani's parents.
Happily Married: They went through a serious rough patch during Chidi's childhood but are still together decades later and glad they worked things through.
Like Father, Like Son: Chidi's father was a serious academic, just like he would grow up to be.
Outliving One's Offspring: Possibly. They're still alive when Chidi is well into adulthood and it's never stated if they died before he did in contrast to Eleanor and Tahani whose parents are clearly specified as such, meaning this trope may have been in effect for them.
Parents as People: Emeka's demanding professor position put a strain on their marriage. Chidi intervened by giving them an hour-long lecture about why they should stay together, making them see how their fighting was hurting their son. Also, unlike Eleanor, Tahani or Jason's parents, they actually put in the work to fix their life after realizing they were hurting their child while they were alive.
The Power of Love: This is why they worked through their marital problems—Chidi hosted a presentation on why they should not break up, and they were both horrified upon realizing that they were hurting him with being wrapped up in their own problems, deciding to go to counseling for Chidi's sake. Chidi, being Chidi, didn't realize this and assumed it was because he was a professor in the making until long after he died and because he had convinced them of his reasoning, inadvertadently laying the foundation for his belief that every problem has a moral solution and agonizing of always finding it. Michael says that Chidi reminded his parents that he needed them, and that gave them the motivation to fix their relationship problems.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: It's implied that their reconciliation after young Chidi's lecture inadvertently helped to seed his indecisiveness that would come to dominate the rest of his earthly life.

Jason's circle

Pillboi

Steven "Pillboi" Peleaz

Portrayed By: Eugene Cordero

"At least he died doing what he loved: a bunch of whip-its."

Jason's best friend and partner-in-crime from Jacksonville.

Affably Evil: Same deal as Jason. For a petty, destructive crook, he seems pretty nice.
Asian Airhead: He's played by a Filipino-American actor, and like Jason, he doesn't seem to have much in the way of brains.
Back for the Finale: Comes back in "Whenever You're Ready" after having earned his spot in the Good Place.
Bad Liar: His attempts to lie during his crook schemes are very easy to look through due to their absurd nature or poor execution.
Cessation of Existence: In "Janet(s)", a copy of Pillboi is briefly created in Janet's void and dismissed in short order.
Jason-Janet: Sorry, Janet. I didn't mean to conjure anything. I was just thinking about the good times I had with Pillboi chilling and hanging out in his broken hot tub. And then, he showed up.
Pillboi: Yeah! I was just chilling being nothing, and then, I was!
Janet: Goodbye, Pillboi.
Pillboi: (dissolving) Oh, dip! I'm not agaaaaaaaain!
Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Jason in life. Small-time Stupid Crooks they may be, but the two of them obviously have a strong friendship and aren't averse to marrying each other to get out of being convicted (that's not how it works, of course, but the sentiment is there).
Hidden Depths: Despite his love for petty crime, Season 3 reveals he works at a nursing home and genuinely enjoys it, and he does appear to do a decent job from the little viewers see of him at work.
Only Known by Their Nickname: Only called by the name "Pillboi" which is obviously not his real name. It even says 'Pillboi' on his employee badge at the retirement home. Season 4 reveals that his real name is Steven Peleaz when Michael pulls up his active points file.
Punny Name: His last name is Peleaz. Peleas is spanish for "Fights", fitting for a criminal.
Satellite Character: His only role in the story is to act as a supporting partner-in-crime to Jason.
Stupid Crooks: He and Jason do petty crimes, but their plans are not very well thought-out.
Villainous Friendship: In life, he always carried out idiotic criminal schemes with his partner-in-crime Jason. Despite their life of crime together, he genuinely cared about Jason and was saddened by his death.

Donkey Doug

"Donkey" Doug Mendoza

Portrayed By: Mitch Narito

Jason's dad (yes, really). Like his son, Donkey Doug also dabbles in crime.

Absurdly Youthful Father: He was only 18 when Jason was born.
Asian Airhead: Similar to his son, the Filipino-American Donkey Doug isn't very bright.
Back for the Finale: Comes back in "Whenever You're Ready" after having earned his spot in the Good Place.
Calling Parents by Their Name: Jason calls him "Donkey Doug", which both obscures the fact that he's Jason's father in early episodes and shows how they're more like siblings than father and son due to Donkey Doug's extreme manchild status.
Chekhov's Gunman: First mentioned in season 1, he appears briefly in the first episode of Season 3 when he backs out of Jason's dance crew, against the idea of avoiding crime. He becomes the focus of a later episode when Jason, Tahani and Michael attempt to redeem him as part of their new plan to help others, and Jason officially reveals he's his father.
Insistent Terminology: Refers to Jason as "my boy", but they find referring to one another as father and son to be too weird.
Kavorka Man: Apparently, up until he met Tahani, his technique for seducing women that were linked to Jason was nothing more than saying "let's go put stuff in each other." And yet it worked up until then.
Lazy Bum: Quits Dance Dance Resolution when Jason states the crew should devote themselves to being better dancers via an astoundingly small amount of working out, which is too much for him.
Like Father, Like Son: It becomes clear Jason's lack of brightness and crook ways were very much the influence of his father.
Loser Son of Loser Dad: Mentions that his father and grandfather were both petty criminals who eventually gave themselves up to the police so their kids could get away.
Luke, I Am Your Father: Parodied. He was mentioned in earlier seasons, but in Season 3 Jason explains to Tahani that Donkey Doug is his father. Tahani is weirded out by this.
Manchild: Even more childish and stupid than his own son.
Noodle Incident: He once tried inventing his own sport. Lots of people got killed because of it.
One-Steve Limit: He's one of three Dougs who avert this trope. Notably, another one of them is a main character's father as well.
Outliving One's Offspring: He was still alive when Jason died and even spoke at his funeral.
Parents as People: By his own admission, he's not the best father in the world, and his criminal activity and stupidity almost certainly set Jason on the path to becoming who he is. But he does care about Jason, and willingly gives himself up to the cops so Jason can run away.
The Stoner: He answers his door holding a bong, despite knowing that a visit from the police is a very real possibility.
Stupid Crooks: He believes that cops cannot arrest people for anything they heard before they reveal they're cops, and he devotes his life to get-rich-quick schemes which wind up involving large amounts of theft, just to sell idiotic products.
Tomato Surprise: Jason talks about Donkey Doug in season one, but he doesn't reveal Donkey Doug is his father until Season 3 - though he knew about it when almost everyone else didn't (including the audience).

Other Earth Characters

Doug Forcett

^{Click here to see him in the present day}

Portrayed By: Noah Garfinkel (photograph, young) & Michael McKean

A random stoner kid from 1970s Calgary who, during a magic mushroom trip, somehow explained what happens in the afterlife with 92% accuracy. His portrait is proudly displayed in Michael's office and he's a celebrity in the afterlife realm. Michael and Janet go to visit him to learn about his current life, only to find that his vision has had an adverse effect on his life.

Achievements in Ignorance: Got high one night and unwittingly achieved what all of humanity had failed to do for millennia: explain what happens to you when you die.
Actor Allusion: The present-day Doug lives off the grid, as does another character played by Michael McKean, Chuck McGill in Better Call Saul, though the latter does so because of a delusional electrical sensitivity condition rather than trying to live ethically.
All for Nothing: Doug has devoted every day of his life into making others happy, even animals, at his own expense, simply to try and get into the Good Place. As Michael and Janet learn, he has earned a tremendous amount of points... but it's still nowhere near enough to get him in. However, his efforts do help Michael discover the problem with the afterlife's points system. Averted when he eventually succeeds in getting in, due to the reforms to the afterlife system that he indirectly helped bring about.
Back for the Finale: Comes back in "Whenever You're Ready" after having earned his spot in the Good Place and looking like his younger self again.
Being Good Sucks: He's utterly terrified of doing anything that could jeopardize his chances of getting into the Good Place and as a result, he's become a complete and total "happiness pump" who pushes himself to uncomfortable extremes of altruism to make others happy no matter how painful and miserable it is for him.
Broken Pedestal: Subverted. Michael seems disappointed on meeting Doug but understands that technically Doug is abiding by the points system and tries to encourage him to be happy rather than "good" and "miserable". In fact, he maintains that Doug is a good person and at least he should have earned enough points to go into the Good Place.
Chekhov's Gunman: Is briefly talked about in the pilot episode and isn't brought up again for a long time, seemingly acting as nothing more than a brief joke. In Season 3, Michael and Janet seek him out in hopes of using him as a "blueprint for humanity" that others can follow to earn their spot in the Good Place. Unfortunately, Doug's so worried about going to the Bad Place that he goes to uncomfortable extremes to be good and earn enough afterlife points. This really drives the point home to Michael and Janet that the afterlife points system is flawed and that finding the perfect model to get into the Good Place is a lot more complicated than they thought.
Died Happily Ever After: It's mentioned that he eventually went through the door after his time in the Good Place felt complete.
Earn Your Happy Ending: After going through a great deal of grief in his life by trying to rack up the points necessary to get a spot in the Good Place, "Whenever You're Ready" shows him happily hanging out with the Soul Squad, partying with his new friends and getting to eat things that aren't radishes, lentils or recycled water.
Erudite Stoner: This is also what makes him famous in the afterlife. Apparently, he dropped magic mushrooms once and proceeded to guess most of what happens to people after they die. Reportedly, while all world religions got around 5% right each, he accurately described 92% of what actually happens.
Extreme Doormat: His vision about the points system, and the fear of ending up in the Bad Place, has turned him into one of these. He'll do literally anything to please others no matter how much he suffers as a result.
Friend to All Living Things: Tries to be this as part of his quest to do good deeds, but it's also deconstructed as the stray and feral animals he takes in often attack him. He also volunteers himself as a test subject for various products so they won't be tested on animals and he freaks out when he accidentally steps on a snail, driving him to give it a full funeral.
Go Mad from the Revelation: Not quite mad per se, but coming to understand how biased and strict the points system is caused him to become a miserable wreck of a person so dedicated to altruism he makes Chidi look downright relaxed and laid-back by comparison.
Heaven Seeker: Deconstructed. He's devoted his life exclusively to maximizing his afterlife points in order to make sure he gets into the Good Place, even though it makes him miserable.
Higher Understanding Through Drugs: Was the one person in existence to most closely accurately guess the true nature of how the afterlife functions while tripping on shrooms.
Morality Pet: For Michael, believe it or not. Michael, even during his days as an unrepentant demon, admired Doug for understanding ninety percent of the rules and doing his best to be a good person. When he meets Doug and sees how much he suffers while doing good deeds, he gets righteously furious upon learning that Doug won't make it to the Good Place anyway because 520,000 points is nowhere near enough.
Mushroom Samba: And one hell of a Samba it was. It actually made him describe the afterlife better than anyone else before him, plus every single religion. It also made him spend the day after stroking a blanket thinking it was his cat.
Nice Guy: To an extreme and unhealthy level. Doug is so devoted to gaining enough points to get into the Good Place that he will not do anything that could hurt his efforts and will do everything he can to increase his points.
Off the Grid: He lives a rustic and simple lifestyle in a log cabin for the aim of leaving as little environmental impact as possible.
One-Steve Limit: Averted. Eleanor and Jason's dads are both also named Doug.
Riddle for the Ages: How exactly he managed to get such an accurate conception of the afterlife. Season 1 implies it was just a lucky coincidence, but his obsessive devotion to improving his point total in Season 3 suggests he somehow knew his idea was more than just a drug-induced hypothetical. (It also showcases an interesting philosophical problem in terms of "moral desert." Because he doesn't know for sure that his idea of the afterlife is correct, he's still able to earn Good Place points. This is in contrast to the Soul Squad, who lost that ability after Michael explained the system to them. An unexamined Riddle is what would have happened if one of the main characters refused to believe Michael (or, considering Jason is in the mix, failed to understand him.))
"Shaggy Dog" Story: Season 3 reveals how he's lived his life since his revelation. Not only is his quest to live a moral life making him miserable, it is failing to get him into the Good Place due to the fact he earned negative points prior to his revelation, and the severe penalty he garnered due to his motivations and the effects of his actions, so there was no way that Doug would have earned enough points in his lifetime. Like other people before him, some living exemplary lives, the faulty penalty system ensured that not only the good point threshold would never be reached due to the lack of good points gained, but the constant point deduction due to the broken point system meant that reaching the good point threshold was never a possibility. Not even his 520,000 points at the age of 68 is sufficient. Hence why nobody had entered the Good Place in five hundred years—the broken point system made it impossible to do so no matter what. However, thanks to him and Shawn's gloating, the Soul Squad is able to find the problem with the system and fix it, so at the end, Doug is able to avert this by getting a spot in the Good Place.
Small Role, Big Impact: Shawn's gloating that even Doug will end up in the Bad Place encourages the gang to go further and find out just how horribly broken the points system is and to strive for the necessary changes.
Taking Advantage of Generosity: Doug is a victim of this, as people are well aware that he'll do anything to make them happy.

Characters / The Good Place - Earth

Eleanor's circle