When we first meet Eleanor Shellstrop in The Good Place, she is, by her own admission, a "trash bag" from Phoenix. She’s the kind of person who’d see a blind man about to walk into a fountain and instead of helping, she’d probably just film it for the laughs. She’s selfish, cynical, and has a deeply rooted suspicion that everyone else has an angle. Honestly, she’s not the hero we usually get in "prestige" television.
But that’s exactly why we’re still talking about her years after the show wrapped.
Eleanor isn't just a character; she’s a mirror. While we like to think of ourselves as selfless saints, most of us have a little bit of Eleanor’s "me-first" survival instinct tucked away. Her journey from a woman who sold fake medicine to the elderly to the person who literally saved the afterlife isn't just a fun sitcom arc. It’s a masterclass in how humans actually change—slowly, painfully, and usually because someone else took a chance on them.
The Fraud in the Neighborhood
The hook of the first season is simple: Eleanor is in "The Good Place" by mistake. She’s a "glitch in the system." While everyone else is a Nobel Peace Prize winner or a human rights lawyer, Eleanor spent her life dodging jury duty and being rude to service workers.
She survives by doing what she does best: conning. She enlists Chidi Anagonye, a literal professor of ethics and moral philosophy, to teach her how to be "good" so she won't get sent to the Bad Place.
What’s wild is that her initial motivation is 100% selfish. She’s not trying to be a better person because it’s the right thing to do; she’s doing it to save her own skin. This is where the show gets brilliant. It tackles the idea of Aristotelian Virtue Ethics—the notion that if you do good things long enough, even for the wrong reasons, you eventually start to become good.
📖 Related: The A Wrinkle in Time Cast: Why This Massive Star Power Didn't Save the Movie
Why She’s the Ultimate Slytherin
Let’s be real: Eleanor is a textbook Slytherin. She’s manipulative, ambitious, and has a sharp-edged wit that can cut through any social nicety. She calls herself a "hott, blonde Wile E. Coyote," and she’s not wrong. Her cunning is actually her superpower.
Think about the Season 1 finale. For all of Chidi’s books and Tahani’s connections, it was Eleanor—the cynical, skeptical, "trashy" girl—who realized they were actually in the Bad Place. She saw through the facade because she knew what torture looked like. She knew that "hell is other people," but she specifically figured out that the four of them were perfectly designed to drive each other insane.
- Chidi’s torture: The paralyzing weight of choices.
- Tahani’s torture: Being overshadowed and unloved.
- Jason’s torture: Having to keep his mouth shut (and being a fake monk).
- Eleanor’s torture: The constant anxiety of being a fraud.
Her ability to spot a scam because she is a scammer is what kept the "Soul Squad" alive through 802 different reboots.
The Chidi Factor: Love as a Moral Catalyst
You can't talk about Eleanor Shellstrop without talking about Chidi. Their relationship is the heartbeat of the show, but it’s not a typical TV romance. It’s an ethical partnership.
Chidi gives Eleanor the tools (Kant, Mill, Scanlon), but Eleanor gives Chidi a reason to actually make a choice. Before Eleanor, Chidi was a man who couldn't even pick a soup without getting a stomachache. Through her, he learns that morality isn't just a thought experiment—it’s something you do for the people you love.
👉 See also: Cuba Gooding Jr OJ: Why the Performance Everyone Hated Was Actually Genius
The show suggests that maybe "soulmates" aren't born; they're made through the hard work of helping each other grow. It’s a messy, sweaty, anxiety-inducing process. It’s also incredibly romantic in a "we’re all we’ve got in this chaotic universe" kind of way.
Breaking the Points System
One of the heaviest themes Eleanor tackles is the idea that the world is too complicated for a simple "good vs. bad" scorecard. In the 2020s, this feels more relevant than ever. How do you buy a tomato without supporting child labor? How do you drive a car without destroying the atmosphere?
The show (and Eleanor) argues that the system is rigged. The "Points System" was broken because it didn't account for the unintended consequences of modern life. Eleanor becomes the advocate for the "mediocre" person—the person who isn't evil, but just tired and trying to get through the day.
The Transformation of "Ya Basic!"
Eleanor’s catchphrase, "Ya basic!", starts as a defense mechanism—a way to put others down to feel superior. By the end of the series, she uses it on her own mother, not as an insult, but as an acceptance. She realizes that being "basic" or "mediocre" is part of being human. You don't have to be a superhero to deserve a chance at redemption. You just have to try to be slightly better than you were yesterday.
What Eleanor Teaches Us About Real Growth
Honestly, the most refreshing thing about Eleanor is that she never becomes a boring saint. Even in the final season, she’s still snarky. She still loves shrimp and celebrity gossip. She doesn't lose her personality; she just expands her circle of concern.
✨ Don't miss: Greatest Rock and Roll Singers of All Time: Why the Legends Still Own the Mic
She moves from "What’s in it for me?" to "What do we owe to each other?"
That’s a massive shift. It’s the difference between a person who hoards resources and a person who builds a community. When Michael (the demon turned friend) has an existential crisis, it’s Eleanor who steps up to lead the neighborhood. She takes the stress, the "anxiety sweats," and the responsibility because she finally cares about something bigger than herself.
How to Apply "The Eleanor Method" to Your Life
If you’re looking to channel your inner Eleanor Shellstrop (the reformed version, obviously), here’s how you actually do it:
- Acknowledge your "Trash Bag" tendencies. We all have them. Stop pretending you’re perfect. Admitting you’re selfish is the first step toward being less selfish.
- Find your Chidi. Surround yourself with people who hold you to a higher standard. You need friends who will tell you when you’re being a "legit snack" and when you’re being a "legit jerk."
- Trust your gut, but educate it. Eleanor’s instincts were always sharp, but they were aimed at survival. By learning ethics, she retrained her gut to aim for justice.
- Accept the "Jeremy Bearimy" of it all. Life is messy. Progress isn't a straight line; it’s a weird, loopy timeline that sometimes has a "dot" over the 'i' that breaks your brain. Don't quit just because you had a bad day.
- Focus on what you owe to others. Next time you’re in a conflict, ask: "What do I owe this person as a fellow human?" It changes the math every single time.
Eleanor Shellstrop’s legacy isn't that she became perfect. It’s that she proved that even an "Arizona trash bag" is capable of infinite growth. In a world that loves to cancel people for their past mistakes, Eleanor is a reminder that the "after" is just as important as the "before."
Take a page out of her book: Put down the margarita mix for a second, look at the people around you, and just try. It’s better than not trying, right?
Next Steps for You:
If you want to dive deeper into the philosophy that changed Eleanor, I recommend picking up T.M. Scanlon's What We Owe to Each Other. It’s a tough read, but it’s the cornerstone of the show’s moral heart. Alternatively, re-watch Season 2, Episode 7 ("Janet and Michael") to see the "Doctrine of Double Effect" in action—it’s the best way to see how Eleanor’s cunning and Chidi’s ethics finally start to merge.