Trivia / The Good Place S 4 E 13 "Whenever You're Ready"

• Adored by the Network: NBC went out of its way to accommodate the finale so that Mike Schur could end the show on his terms.
  • When Schur realized he couldn't fit the story into a double-length episode, the network rearranged its schedule to give the finale a 90-minute slot. And, instead of forcing Schur to pad out the script to fit the allotted time, NBC allowed the episode to end early and arranged for a brief aftershow hosted by Seth Meyers to round things out.
  • The product received a budget boost to do on-location shooting in Athens and Paris, allowing the scenes set in those places to have their full, emotional impact without the distraction of greenscreened backgrounds.
• Companion Show: There wasn't a full length after-show, but to round out the 90-minute episode block, this show's original airing ends with a brief interview of the cast by Seth Meyers in which he leads them in a collective toast to each other and Michael Schur.
• Creator Backlash: Nick Offerman hated the chair he praised in this episode, saying that it was awfully designed and constructed and claiming that the scene would make him a laughingstock among his woodworking friends.
• The Danza: It's easy to miss, but you can see on the poster that the name of the guitar teacher is 'Mary,' and she's played by Mary Steenburgen.
• Deleted Scene: Michael's life on Earth was originally going to be shown in more detail, including scenes that showed him becoming an architect and impressing his boss (the Asian man Michael is shown comforting at a bar). The sequence was abbreviated into the montage seen in the actual episode as Mike Schur realized that the audience just needed a taste to see that Michael is doing fine.
• Descended Creator: The show’s philosophy consultants, Pamela Hieronmyi and Todd May, appear as themselves in Chidi’s philosophy seminar. Eleanor actually argues with May about Chidi’s interpretation of May’s book, while Hieronymi is introduced by Chidi as discussing the trolley problem next week. She advises the group, "Bring ponchos. It gets messy."
• History Repeats: Seth Meyers previously hosted the cast of Schur’s previously-ended creation Parks and Recreation on Late Night With Seth Meyers the night that series finale aired.
• Life Imitates Art:
  • Manny Jacinto saved the necklace Jason gave to Janet from the set and gave it to D'Arcy Carden for real on the night they watched the finished episode. She wears it as a bracelet in the after-show interview with Seth Meyers.
  • Jameela Jamil revealed she also felt this way about the Passing the Torch scene with Michael's bow tie. This show was her first ever acting gig, and Ted Danson had taken her under his wing and been giving her informal lessons through all of the first season. This scene was Danson officially telling Jamil she'd "graduated" and was ready to embark on a long career as an actor.
• Real-Life Relative: Michael’s guitar tutor, Mary, is played by Mary Steenburgen, Ted Danson’s wife.
• Reality Subtext: Derek's eyes glow white in this episode. This was partly because Jason Mantzoukas was struggling with his lines because he didn't have time to memorize them, so the effect obscured the fact that he was looking down at the script rather than straight at the camera.
• Throw It In!:
  • The arch that the humans go through when they're ready to end their existence wasn't designed for the show, it just happened to have been left at the filming location by a recent wedding party.
  • Eleanor and Chidi eating koulouri wasn't supposed to be a call-back to Chidi asking for warm pretzels in "You've Changed, Man". It just worked out that way.
  • Chidi putting his hands in his pockets as he walks through the arch was a spontaneous decision by William Jackson Harper. Michael Schur used that take as the action perfectly encapsulated Chidi's arc toward becoming someone at peace with his own decisions.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Offerman's monologue is meant to describe a very rare and expensive chair he wanted to use for this scene, but they weren't able to get it in time, forcing him to use his actor skills to apply that description to a much less impressive feat of woodworking.
  • The scene where Eleanor and Janet reminisce on the bench was originally going to have them toast and give a speech about Jason, Tahani, and Chidi. While Eleanor gave her speech about each of the humans, clips of Michael on Earth would be shown, along with his own segment at the end. It was cut as they felt it wasn't really necessary (the entire episode was basically a toast to the humans), plus it went on too long, and already seeing Michael as a human lessened the impact of his own segment at the end.
• Word of God: Mike Schur in interviews clarified that his interpretation of the Ambiguous Ending is that the final disposition of Eleanor's soul itself is meant to be a mystery. The "sparks" left behind by her soul aren't a final answer of what happened to her soul as a whole, just one final effect her soul has on the universe before its exit.
• Word of Saint Paul: Although fans typically headcanon Michael as asexual, Ted Danson revealed he personally sees the scene with Michael's guitar teacher as a very mild Ship Tease hinting that Michael's human life will give him the gift of romantic love for the first time. (Of course he's biased, because the teacher is played by his real-life wife.)

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