The Magic Panda Appearances You Likely Missed Throughout The Good Place
NBC's comedy goldmine "The Good Place", which enjoyed a four-season run and starred massive names such as Kristen Bell of "Frozen" fame, managed to do the unthinkable by successfully tackling both the highly volatile subject of religion and the (usually) excruciatingly dull subject of philosophy. The series dared to question traditionally held beliefs in a thoughtful way, and ultimately proposed that there is no such thing as a good deed done under the umbrella of capitalism. Also, there were magic pandas.
When thinking about the moral purpose of "The Good Place," it's easy to forget that the series was also intended to be entertaining. But faithful viewers know that every episode is packed with clever reasons to smile. One of the reoccurring Easter eggs was that of a panda, who served no greater purpose than to exist and be cute at the same time. When we say "reoccurring," we don't mean once per episode, but rather once per season, like the slow-burning Beetlejuice gag in "Community". The magic panda technically appears 3 times, and each instance is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it deal, so look closely.
Not sure what we're referencing? Well don't worry, we've got you covered.
Where is the panda?
The first appearance of the magical panda in "The Good Place" is in the Season 2 episode "Leap to Faith." Keep your eyes peeled right around the 12-minute mark and you'll catch the panda teleporting across the rooftops. The second appearance is in Season 3, Episode 7, titled "The Worst Possible Use Of Free Will," just before the 7-minute mark. Once again, the panda can be seen teleporting from rooftop to rooftop. The final physical appearance is around the 20-minute mark in the 11th episode of Season 4, "Mondays, Am I Right?" This time, the panda is teleporting through a crowd of people disembarking at the railway station.
There are two other references to the panda, though, where it doesn't technically appear. In the Season 2 episode "Dance Dance Resolution," there's a notecard, allegedly written by Jason (played to perfection by Manny Jacinto), that reads, "Catch that magic panda, use her powers." Of course, the rest of the characters dismiss this out of hand. And, finally, in Season 4's fifth episode, "Employee of the Bearimy," that darn magic panda's picture is hanging on the lowest row of the "Employee of the Bearimy" wall. So, if you needed official confirmation that pandas are secretly evil, there's that.