The Good Place episode Jeremy Bearimy includes a spectacular homage to LOST

The link between The Good Place and LOST gets stronger with the introduction of Jeremy Bearimy.

Right out of the gate, The Good Place shared a good deal of DNA with ABC’s groundbreaking mystery series, LOST. Creator Mike Schur credits the drama for helping provide a framework for his “comedy about ethics”, and has generously sprinkled in Easter eggs for fans of the original series. Intense focus on a pair of eyes opening, the use of revelatory flashbacks, and the use of Australia as a meaningful setting were all hallmarks of LOST, and these devices have been used to great effect throughout the existing episodes of The Good Place.

While LOST focused more on religion than ethics, the series was chock full of references to famed philosophers. As the OG “mystery box” series, these references were often presented with scant context, leaving the viewer to puzzle together the pieces of meaning therein. But, whereas LOST was a drama that often convoluted its messages about good and evil in brainteasers about religion and faith, The Good Place is a straightforward comedy about the choices we make.

(Proceed with forking caution: Spoilers for episode “Jeremy Bearimy” ahead.)

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And Season 3 episode “Jeremy Bearimy” might have provided one of the best homages to LOST to date when Michael presented the loopy cursive timeline of the afterlife. Non-linear, the timeline swoops and curves in and out of itself, creating a closed circuit that never ends or begins. It just is. For fans of LOST, this type of maddening timeline is familiar. On the island, which, arguably, was a stand in for some form of complex afterlife placement test, time didn’t always pass chronologically like time on Earth. Specifically throughout portions of Season 4 and 5, the inhabitants of the island were jolted back and forth to very different eras. Perhaps the island was governed by the forces of Jeremy Bearimy, too.

Time travel became a key plot point on LOST right around the time a mysterious character named Jeremy Bentham was introduced. Bentham was also a famous British philosopher from the 1700’s whose most notable contribution to the world was the ‘greatest happiness principle‘, which the entire concept of Utilitarianism – something Chidi is fond of teaching – is based upon. Could Jeremy Bearimy be a direct reference to Jeremy Bentham? Given the fun word play of The Good Place, it’s certainly possible.

Last week, Janet may have set the stage for the name when she referenced a giant bear named “Blake Beartles”. Bear + name = cool, funky name! So it’s probable that the show just applied the Bear Principle to the name Jeremy Bentham and – boom! – it’s a Jeremy Bearimy!

There’s totes more evidence that the rollercoaster timeline directly references Bentham’s work. Bentham’s ‘greatest happiness principle’ is very clearly the foundation for the rules of the actual good place. Bentham posited that humans should always act in a manner that would create the most happiness in the world. Utilitarianism takes this principle to the next logical step, replacing ‘happiness’ for ‘good’, because anyone who’s been following Eleanor Shellstrop’s journey knows that happiness doesn’t always equal goodness.

While LOST left principles of philosophy and religion floating heavily through the narrative like an indifferent smoke monster, The Good Place consistently provides direct context for their theories about humanity, laying them bare via humorous exposition, snappy dialogue, and shirtless mental breakdowns (haaaaay, Chidi!). And at the end of “Jeremy Bearimy”, the Brainy Bunch suddenly comes to the collective conclusion that putting good into the world is the best way to achieve their own happiness while still on Earth, and then they agree to forge ahead together as a team.

While the survivors of Oceanic Flight 316 often experienced existential crises, toggling between lofty ideas of faith versus science, the four tortured humans on The Good Place navigate their crises of morality by working to find concrete answers while leaning on one another for support, ultimately delivering an inspiring and hopeful message about togetherness and humanity. The homages to LOST will continue – surely, The Good Place wouldn’t exist without it – but the beloved comedy has improved upon the formula, downloading an accessible roadmap for goodness into our brains each week with love and laughter.

‘The Good Place’ airs Thursdays at 8:30/9:30c on NBC.