They were sat down all at once and told the truth—it led to some pretty shocking reactions, according to Entertainment Weekly, which got its hands on a video

of the candid moment.

Only stars Kristen Bell and Ted Danson were clued in about the secret twist early on. Everyone else found out that their characters were actually trapped in The Bad Place

towards the end of the season. 

He found it ironic that a show about ethics featured such an ethical quandry (keeping the cast in the dark) at its center. In the end, he wasn't too eaten

up over it.

According to Schur, keeping the cast in the dark led to more realistic performances. It was like they were just as lost as the characters they played. 

Yup, many members felt that the semi-lie actually benefited them, since their performances were unintentionally more realistic. +100 Good Place points for a positive lie, I guess?

Unlike other shows, where writers seem to be penning scripts by the seat of their pants, creator Schur had the twist set in place from episode 1.

Since the original twist informed so much of what happened beyond season 1, writers were tasked with fleshing out Schur's ideas and setting up a potential season 2.

Much like planning season 2 while writing season 1, the writers set up season 3 while writing season 2. Somewhere in LA, there's a cork board with a

bunch of index cards about season 3. What would it get at auction?

The second season finale was built in a way to be different from the season 1 ending, which meant no twist. The writers are approaching the storytelling organically.

The flashbacks that were a major part of season 1 were used as character builders, but they also informed the audience that these supposedly saintly characters weren't as

squeaky clean as they should be. 

Yeah, you read that right. "Parks and Recreation" and "The Good Place" are tied together in some pretty interesting ways, like...

Parks And Rec player Jean-Ralphio may not be a great businessman, but his self-titled champagne brand has managed to make it to at least one other town.

Jason died in a Swanson brand safe on "The Good Place." Ron Swanson would probably look at this as natural selection.

Dennis Feinstein body fragrances pop up in both shows. On "The Good Place," an ad for the brand is featured on a magazine Eleanor is reading. At least

in the real Good Place people aren't assaulted with these scents (probably). 

It's not commented on much, but Pawnee is home to a large family with multiple businesses in town. They have apparently gone to fake heaven, where the Lerpiss

name makes an appearance on the Good Place scoreboard in season 1.

They might have been subtle, but they were there. Let's take a look at some of the more overt potential spoilers throughout season one. 

She assumes her parents are in hell "torturing each other." Sure, it was hyperbole, but she still essentially got it right. She just got which characters were doing

the torturing wrong.

He thinks he's on a prank show. He's essentially right. I mean, it's not being broadcast, but still. Actually, chances are demons ARE watching it on TV. 

Janet claims that it's literally impossible for her to visit the characters in the bad place. Well, it's not a lie—since THEY ARE ALREADY THERE. Crafty, Janet. Super

crafty.

With all of those would-be savior folk holed up in the Good Place, you'd think they would be voicing some concern about people being tortured downstair. This practically screams, "Undercover

demons!"

According to TVGuide, the plot-driven nature of the show straight-up scares him, since it would be so easy to make a wrong move. So far, so good, bro. 

Schur claims he's only about 70% sure of what he's writing at any time... and that's when the work is character and not plot-driven.

Even though the show is built on a crazy twist, Schur ensures (ha) that the stories are driven by what the characters are doing and how they're reacting

to situations. 

Schur plans to move away from narrative tricks to land the stories. This means focusing more on what is going on between the characters.

A great example is Jason—who we first meet as a silent monk. This is accepted by the Western audience but ultimately proves to be completely misguided. 

"Out there," as in "they exist," and "out there," as is "THEY'RE BONKERS." Let's take a look at some popular ones. 

Reddit to the rescue—one user suggested that Janet is so knowledgeable not because she's been programmed that way, but because she created everything. She IS God. I can

see it, TBH. 

This theory could totally be true as well—Michael is long dead and has been toiling away in the Bad Place this whole time. The fact that he's so

bad at being bad lends credence to the theory. 

Getting away from likely theories and more into super-stretch territory, one theory floating around is that everyone is trapped in purgatory. Kind of a cheap reveal, right?

These theories really cover every level of the afterlife, don't they? A user on Reddit has suggested that maybe these characters are actually good and their reward in

the afterlife is continued personal growth. Kind of a dark take on the term "reward..."

Since the Bad Place is so poorly run, everyone downstairs will be fired and Michael, being the only demon left, will be put in charge. 

The core four will be sent to a new place to work on themselves. This is actually (kind of) coming true. The theory adds that they will be

tasked with helping others improve as well, but that obviously hasn't happened yet. 

Creator Michael Schur has said some interesting things about how the show connects to a very unlikely completed show—"Lost." But how?

Schur reached out to "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof to get help when coming up with the concept of "The Good Place." He needed help since the comedy creator wasn't well-versed

in sci-fi writing. 

Since "Lost" was so good at coming up with insane twists that wowed the fanbase, he sought direction from Lindelof on how to emulate that kind of success

on his own show—it worked. 

It's about the people. "Lost" ends in an unsatisfactory way for a lot of people, since the ending is more rooted in character than in answering questions. "The Good Place"

is much the same in that it puts its characters first—but here's to hoping it can blend the answers and twists into the fabric of the final episodes. 

Fans were amazed that season 2 ended with the characters going back to Earth (or something Earth-like). While not a major twist, it still tossed the status quo out the window. Where

is the show heading?

I mean, they have to, right? Eleanor and Chidi already have, and it's pretty much a given that the others will join in on the fun at some point.

These semi-detectives managed to piece together what was going on in season 1, so maybe they'll manage to do it again. It'll be interesting to experience it from the other

side—since the audience is in on the secret form the get-go. 

It seems like a stretch to say that everyone will be trapped on Earth for all of season 3. But then, maybe that will be the twist. Only time will

tell. Here's to watching with bated breath!