Time to RECTIFY...THE GOOD PLACE

Spring is almost here and with it, a new beginning.  The possibility of a fresh start. Like the seasons, this is a time when nature starts all over again, a new cycle, a new opportunity with infinite possibilities, at least for the next months, but also for those believers and religious one, spring break comes in hand with Easter, which also brings to those the option of re vindication, to forgive themselves for all the wrong that have done and start all over again, a clean slate. So a time for anyone to take a break and breath before starting a new path is right here. And because of that, we always have the entertainment industry handling some options to inspire us or just entertain us while in our journey, because we always need a good laugh to forget a bad day and to remind us the good out there, or some advice and re flexion to inspire us and guide us through difficult times to find answers and keep going on the right track. Reason why this time we'll look up at two TV shows that might belong to different genres, but share a very deep meaning approach in very different ways. One is an intense drama while the other is warm but hilarious comedy. Both trying to show the human condition of imperfection. Because no one is perfect. And as hard as it is to admit it, we all make mistakes, and most of us, we keep making the same mistakes over and over, taking wrong decisions, and just going on a rabbit hole where consequences must be paid but some reason seems like we are attracted to those wrong situations as if the option of taking the right one or make a good decision is not longer available so we have the need to keep falling in order to learn and....

"Rectify" (2013-2016). An intense drama by Sundance Channel, that carves deeply into the human soul of, as it's title, rectifying. Exploring the live of someone that made a terrible mistake, but his actions not only will affect him but all the ones around hi,: family, friends, neighbors, people related to the victim. It's all a cycle that runs like domino effect followed by just one action, one that could be the right one or can go wrong. And when times heals, a new start comes, but that will be a hard path to go in order to move on. That someone is Daniel Holden, a middle  age man that after spending 20 years in prison for raping and murder, now has been released after DNA evidence just found, nullified his conviction. But then why did he play guilty all this time. What was going on in his head to be able to take that responsibility on his own? Was he afraid of something or was he protecting someone else? Whatever his real motives were now doesn't matter as he is a free man now but has to face a life that he left on pause. A lot of things have changed during 20 years. People had moved on but the mark of what he supposedly did, stays with him at the eyes of everyone else.  Can you really forget someone when you can't forget what they did to you or forgiving means a fresh start? Why we are drawn by labels and once we see someone in one way we can't see them evolving or as someone different? As we follow Daniel's journey trying to adjust to his new life we can't but root for him so he can start over and find his place. But it is not only hard for him but for all his family that had been to a hard time living with his absence and suffering the judgement of the rest of the town that only can see them as guilty as him.As if they were the ones provoking him to become evil or as if they are evil people too. He can moved on if everyone else is pulling him back and as hard as it has been for him as his family everybody deserves a second chance to prove them right or wrong.

As we see and meet all these characters, family and friends in Daniel's life, we realize they all are fighting their own battles. We just don't know what they are until we get the chance to get to know them. For example his brother, who seems like having the perfect life, taking care of the family business and marries to a beautiful and devoted woman, it is not a happy person. He has built this frustration against his brother, not for what he did, but for what he put them on because of that: business is crashing, their parents were struggling having their son away from them, their sister is just going from one bad relationship to other and traveling to stay away from home, his wife is religious that he can't express his anger with her. And now that Daniel is out, he has to face and deal with everyone's stuff just as if would be his own. So maybe at the end we actually influence in people to push them to do good or bad things, specially if they are sensitive to be influenced. Why can't we just work on our own and try to do better for our best sake instead on dropping our baggage into others? Life is a tough journey and every decision that we make bring a sea of new possibilities but most of the time we can't see ahead of them so we become victims of the destiny, and we have to learn how to love ourselves so no one can break us apart, and be strong enough to face tough times so they don't bring us down. This is a a beautiful story of redemption and love, from the eyes of an ordinary family that can be placed in any town in the country, with lovely characters full of different colors just as anyone you can meet in the supermarket or a the office. Just a middle class family trying to survive and find the right way to full fill their lives after been shaken by a life changing event. And mostly, the journey of a man that has a second chance, that will come with a big package of revenge and hate from others but with hope and love for himself. Is he gonna be able to make it through or will he fall again victim of his circumstances?  If you want to know the answer you know where to find it and might give you a new perspective of your own questions.

But if all this is too deep and soulful for you, you might want to take a look to a place that will make you smile and laugh while bringing also some interesting reflections about what you doing with your life. "The Good place" (2016-current) is a sitcom from NBC network, that even has been struggling with it's rating, has all the critics raving about it because it's originality and humor. Maybe the problem with this show might be fact that not everybody believes in that place, an afterlife place where if you had a good life, you are able to get a spot. But believes and religion aside, this is more about morality and how your actions matter. Because we all, at some point wonder what happens next?, we enjoy this life with the thought of something coming after this, and even we have no clue about it, it's what we do in this life what counts for whatever might come. And for so we've been buying the list of things that makes you a good person rather than a not so good one.Reason why we'll follow Eleanor, a young troubled woman that has died in an accident and  for some reason has ended in this good place made for all of those that earned a spot in paradise as a reward for all their great actions while alive. Only thing is that she hasn't done anything right. Actually her life was totally a mess. She went from one bad decision to another,  full of bad comments,  insulting jokes, and hurtful actions to others. She can basically be considered a bad person, a troubled one, just a bitch. So what is she doing in such paradisaical place? Well seems like there has been a mistake, or maybe not. it all depends the perspective. She might have her own reasons to behave like that, we just don't know her story but now we will as she has to learn to co exist with other people that seem to have their shit together and be more thoughtful and intellectual comparing to her. This clash of personalities is what brings magic to the show, bringing a diverse palette of personalities and characters that stock in this place have to learn to accept, communicate and respect each other while trying to figure out their place in this new environment.

Learning that all comes around regarding your actions is key. All of them will explore the cons and pros of making bad decisions and how each one of them speaks loud about their personalities and who they are. Have you ever wonder why things happen to you, and maybe everything is a re action of what you've done previously? If any one is totally good or bad, why should be a good or bad place to wait for? If we are aware that we can't be perfect and we'll make mistakes why keep pushing people towards perfection? You have to look great, perfect body, picture perfect face, perfect job/career, partner, family, and it just keeps going. Why can't we settle with normal or average? We are rebels by nature. We embrace chaos and the only way to avoid self destruction is by motivation towards a better good, something bigger than us, but again, we end being labeled by perfection or imperfection. Why can't we just be us and try our best to improve ourselves in our own persona? Why not accept that life is not always fair and neither we are so we will do our best from what we get and just try to find not the perfect place but the right one for us, the one that fit us better and will let us live and experience a life full of joy and sadness, excitement and frustration. Because only that way we can be humble enough to accept that there are things beyond our knowledge. And just like this funny show, we can just sit and enjoy the fact of being death or more alive than never while going back to what have we done and learn from it to understand where are we know and why are this way because the only way to move forward is being able to forgive yourself and others from anything that is pulling you back realizing that there is always a hidden motive behind those actions and until we figure them out we are as vulnerable as we can. But if what you need is a good laugh and have a good time thinking about how horrible person you've been or how great you think you are, don't miss this underrated sit com that will shock you with life changing twist and unique simple humor while touching core fibers of our won existence, deep enough to laugh loud as if being tickled by god.