When TV Teaches

If you recently loved The Good Place and felt the warm feeling of that ending, you may love Six Feet Under. If you feel like I, that Six Feet Under was the most complete and poignant ending, please explore The Good Place for some similar conclusions.

You may be thinking, how can a drama and a comedy make sense as recommended watching for each other? It's not the ways that they are different that matter, but the journeys both take similarly lift you. In their differences, they can give you wider perspectives on the meaning of life, death, and the after.

* Disclaimer: No specific plot points will be mentioned. I will try to speak broadly, but some "spoilage" may occur. *

Both shows told just enough story.

I give my hats off to any show who have a story they want to tell and refuse to extend a show despite popularity. There are many shows I loved the concept and beginning only to lose interest when they chose to ride the sensation wave. The hill that I would die on is that ANY show that had over a dozen seasons will never be consistently good and could be edited down to increase its storyline's integrity. Alan Ball was adamant about Six Feet Under ending when they've told the story they needed to. The Good Place also kept its momentum by sticking to just enough seasons to let the story coast to a beautiful end.

Both touch on philosophical ideologies.

You wouldn't expect a comedy to name drop philosophers like Immanuel Kant and talk about concepts like utilitarianism, nihilism, and altruism. While they presented simplified explanations of theories, it's pretty impressive to slip them in smoothly that viewers don't even realize what they're digesting. Let's face it, most folks would not be excited if I told you we're watching a show that centers on ethics and morality. Definitely, between laughing at the slapstick gags, fart jokes, and wild plot hijinks, I sat and thought about the ways one could and should grow to be more conscious of our actions.

While the Good Place is set in the afterlife, the characters are still learning as the people they were on Earth and gain redemption in their personal growth. The show took a deep dive into what it means to be a good person. Some folks didn't seem inherently bad in the show, but there were blindsides they had on Earth that created a lot of self-centered actions that left little room for actual goodness. The characters had to lean into this reality to truly change. We often think our good intentions are enough or make excuses for selfish actions as justifiable. A comedy made me ponder on personal accountability. I related to situations where the characters had to make difficult choices to my own short sightedness. The show had a refreshing way of posing ethical dilemmas and how ultimately there are no easy and straightforward answers. Life is a bunch of moral conundrums. Do you change tracks of a runaway trolley to save five people but it will kill one person on the 2nd track? The show has a character Janet that starts as a conscious database of information but evolves and learns from those in her care. She summed up what existence is like, "The more human I become, the less things makes sense."

Most shows that deal with death usually just give us a detached view, often focused on the family or how the death can further a plotline. In American culture, there's so much taboo when it comes to death. Much of Six Feet Under touches on Buddhism principles that deal with death head-on. Frankly, the practical and psychological Buddhist principles feel more authentic to processing loss in a healthier manner. We often come to crossroads wherein our discomfort we can choose transformation but often step back into denial and listen to our fears. It's the jump through the fire we fear. The process is messy and painful but there is the other side. We think we avoid it standing by the fire when in truth lingering means we slowly roast. Death in the western world tends to be one of these matters where the guilt comes from the false sense of ego that there is always more time. This show plays on showing how time isn't a given. Six Feet's characters reflect in parallel with the life of the dead they prepare. When you look at the fragility and impermanence of our existence, you can gain a sense of appreciation to have moments than blow through the motions.

Many people touched by death are in denial and this is a central theme they dismantle. We often grapple with the question, "Why?!" Often we romanticize the person as if you can't love and miss a person while acknowledging they are also a dirtbag. We pretend they are perfect than sit with the truth that many things can exist in one person. We want people to empathize with us while denying them room for their process to be different. Most people can recall funeral family drama that stemmed from misunderstanding and lack of empathy during this time when we need the most grace. Americans probably think funerals are mostly the same everywhere, but preserving a body and making a person look pretty is more based on our cultural discomfort with appearances. Looking at dead bodies reminds us our own mortality so we try to make them seem life-like. Six Feet Under looks at how unhealthy the way we are simultaneously obsessed and in denial about death. We need to lean into some truths for a true grasp at our grief, give death true respect and achieve healing. I often pondered each episode and how much of what I knew about living wasn't serving me. How many shows affect you so deeply that you question the way you should exist?

They gave us absolute and beautiful endings.

One of the tensest moments viewers experience is the endings to their beloved TV series. You hope that they do the show justice, but conclusions are tricky. Some end with more questions than answers. We've also had some anger-inducing twists. Some end lukewarm as if writers phoned it in. Thankfully, a few end on a good note. There is a special feeling when an ending closed the storyline well. It's so satisfying to end on a concrete conclusion, but it rarely answers every question.

The most unique thing they share is the way they end. I do not want to spoil "the how" for any of you, but be pleased to know they will satisfy with actual conclusions for every main character. I watched both heart-rending endings with mixed emotions to have experienced their whole lives with them.

I thought about each beautiful visual, celebrating the moment I have to say goodbye to these beloved characters. It felt writers of both shows knew when you talk about life, death, and the after, following that sequence in the story too is inevitable. It's a masterful thing to take such a painful subject and instead give us a send-off that fully has the viewer lean in and accept how life one day concludes.

If you listened to their messages, there was a piece of it written for you to hear.

It might seem odd that whenever someone I know has died, I think about both shows to remind me of the powerful lesson I learned; life has meaning because we have death. I lean into it and know that I have to lift the veil from a subject we Americans often shroud with fear, denial, and ignorance. It's powerful that a show guides me long after I watched them, influencing moments I needed consolation.

I hope that in viewing these shows you allow it to seep into your mind and soul too. Ponder the ways you can create a better life. Figure out how to create more meaningful moments in our temporary existence. When the time comes, and it will, you can let go. Allow your person to get into the car and ride into the sunset.