Why could Doug Forcett earn points?

Why could Doug Forcett earn points? - Man in Black Suit Sitting on Chair Beside Buildings

After Janet and Michael accidentally revealed the nature of the Afterlife to Chidi, Elinor, Jason, and Tahani, Michael stated that their newfound knowledge meant that they could no longer earn any points towards entry to the Good Place because any positive action they took would be corrupted by the fact that they were doing it in an effort to get into the Good Place.

However, Michael later visits Doug Forcett, who discovered how the point system works in 1972 and has been trying to live an extremely good life in the interim. He's revealed to have 520,000 points and was briefly deemed by Michael to be a possible prototype for how to get people into the Afterlife, in spite of the fact that all of his actions are explicitly motivated by a desire to get into the Good Place.

Why was he able to continue to earn points after 1972?



Best Answer

It's a good question. While I've already forgotten this particular part of the show (other parts I just can't forget because of this se site. Lol), I think the bottom line is that Doug didn't get extra dimensional/supernatural/divine confirmation the way main characters did.

I figure it's like actual Heaven and Hell in, say, Christianity. Consider the parable The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). The rich man goes to Hell (or purgatory?) and has much regret, but it's not like the rich man didn't already know about Heaven and Hell. (Of course this is the opposite outcome of Doug. Doug goes to Heaven, but the rich man went to Hell [or purgatory?].)

Edit:

The explanation in the first episode was that Doug got high one day and told his friend what he thought the afterlife would be like, getting it 92% correct, much higher than anyone else in history. This is still effectively a lucky guess though so definitely falls into "belief" rather than "certainty". – Princess Ada




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Why could Doug Forcett earn points? - Man in Blue Button Up Shirt Wearing Black Framed Eyeglasses



How many points did Doug Forcett have?

In Chapter 36: Janet(s), it is revealed that Doug's point total is 520,000 \u2013 about half the required points to enter The Good Place.

Does Doug Forcett go to The Good Place?

Fast-forward a few years or however many Bearimys, and a bigger full-circle moment arrived when Garfinkel made a cameo in the series finale. It wasn't in portrait form this time, but Doug Forcett as his younger self, now in the Good Place and going all in on the buffet table at Jason's goodbye party.

Is Doug Forcett a real person?

The portrait of Doug Forcett (the man who guessed the system of the afterlife) is a picture of a real-life comedy writer named Noah Garfinkle. Noah Garfinkle is best friends with one of "The Good Place" writers, Joe Mande, which is how he wound up as the face of Doug Forcett.

What does Doug Forcett eat?

Doug Forcett, played by Michael McKean, is, to put it bluntly, a bit of a mess. He eats only vegetables that he grows himself, including lentils because \u201cthey require very little water and have the smallest carbon footprint\u201d.



How Afterlife Points are Assigned - The Good Place (Episode Highlight)




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