The show Michael, a demon put in charge of torturing humans who eventually manages to both redeem himself and a significant part of humanity in the process.
He’s definitely one of the series most charming characters (in large part due to the fact that he’s played by Ten Danson), but there are more than a few times when he has been both underrated and overrated.
Overrated: He’s Very Bad At Plotting
The entire conceit of the first season of the show was that the unwitting humans were actually trapped in the Bad Place, even though they thought it was the Good Place. The idea, of course, was Michael’s, and while at first it seemed like a good one, it soon turned out that he wasn’t nearly as good at plotting the demise of humans as he thought he was. In fact, many of his subsequent plots would fail in a similar fashion.
Underrated: He Managed To Overcome His Demon Nature
One of the overarching messages of the entire series is that no one, no matter how vile, is beyond redemption. In this case, it also extends to Michael. As a demon, one would think that he would be beyond the pale, but somehow Michael manages to overcome his demon nature and prove that he is, in fact, a good being, the kind of entity that genuinely does seem to want to make the afterlife better for the very humans that he once sought to torture.
Overrated: His Fear Of Vicky
While much of the series focuses on Michael and the four humans that he decides to torment, one of its most interesting characters is actually the secondary character Vicky. She’s a demon who seems to have a particular beef with Michael, due to what she (sometimes rightly) sees as his significant failings as a bad guy. Michael, unfortunately, also seems to be more than a little afraid of her, which rather undercuts his own attempts to be a demon worthy of respect and iration.
Underrated: His Ability To Play Off The Real Intent Of The Neighborhood As Long As He Did
Despite the fact that it turns out Michael isn’t very good at plotting, he still deserves a lot of credit for what he managed to do through the entire first season. After all, it’s not every demon who could manage to convince a group of humans that they were in the Good Place, all while secretly tormenting them and making their afterlives miserable.
If Michael hadn’t ended up redeeming himself, he might even have gotten a little credit with his fellow demons for his ability to so effectively torture humans.
Overrated: He Wasn’t So Good At Torture
Unfortunately for Michael, he ended up not being very good at torture in the long run. Sure, he was able to extend the illusion for an entire season, but after that it became pretty clear that he was going to fall flat on his face. While he deserves some credit for his perseverance (resetting the humans many hundreds of times), the brute fact of the matter is that Michael, when it comes right down to it, just doesn’t have what it takes to be a torturer.
Underrated: His Bond With Janet
In the beginning, Janet was just another part of Michael’s scheme to torture humans (after all, he did steal her from the Good Place). Gradually, however, the two of them began to form a bond that was independent of his nefarious plot. In fact, aside from Jason, Janet’s most significant relationship seems to be with Michael, and the clear bond between them (and the undeniable chemistry between the actors), makes this one of the show’s most appealing elements.
Overrated: He Was So Bad At Nearly Everything Some Fans Thought He Might Be A Human In His Own Bad Place, Where His Punishment Was To Fail Constantly
The mark of a good show is when fans start coming up with theories to explain various aspects of the plot. Unfortunately, sometimes Michael comes out on the bad side of these theories. In fact, there were some who speculated that, because he was so bad at nearly every aspect of being a demon that he might actually be a human, one who was sentenced to perpetually fail as his own personal form of punishment in the Bad Place.
Underrated: His Ability To Outwit Shawn
Some of the most fascinating characters to appear on the show were, naturally enough, demons. Even among the demons, however, Shawn deserves pride of place. He seemed to take an especial interest in both destroying Michael and in bringing as much pain as possible to the humans that he had taken under his wing. Fortunately for the humans, Michael ended up being more than able to outwit his nemesis, and it’s actually rather fun to watch these two evil beings continue to spar with one another.
Overrated: His Demonic Appearance Is A Bit Much
One of the ongoing conceits of the series is that the demons have appearances in the other parts of the Bad Place that are far more horrifying than anything humans could comprehend. This is as true of Michael as it is for everyone else, and he seems to relish describing his truly horrifying demon self to humans.
It’s amusing, naturally, but it is also one of those moments that feels like a little too much.
Underrated: His Love Of All Things Human
One has to give Michael credit for his ability to actually understand humans. More than that, though, he seems to actually be genuinely fascinated by all of the things that make humans, well, humans. Thus it is that, at the end of the series, he decides to give up all of the things that made him a demon and become fully human, with all of the limits and problems associated with that condition. It’s definitely a fitting way for this character to say farewell.