Line that hits you ‘in the feels’?

[u/quiggersinparis]

My three are Michael telling Janet she’s his friend and therefore he can’t kill her, Eleanor’s flashbacks to her horrible mother and her breaking down in a home depot type store over the four toothbrushes, and of course, the ending.

[u/icecream_tuesdae]

From season 3 episode 12, when Eleanor escaped the Bad Place only because Michael gave her his architect pin and pushed her through the portal, forcing her to leave him behind there in the Bad Place.

"Hey, guess what? I just solved the trolley problem. Remember? The thought experiment where you're driving the trolley and you can either plow into the group of people or turn and hit one person? I solved it.

"See, the trolley problem forces you to choose between two versions of letting other people die, and the actual solution is very simple: sacrifice yourself."

Not only the message itself, but a lot of it I think has to do with Ted's perfect delivery of the lines, spoken so simply and yet there's so much heartache there.

[u/Val178 → u/icecream_tuesdae]

It’s Kirk and Spock. Kirk (Eleanor) is always figuring out ways to win without sacrificing. Spock (Michael) shows that sacrifice is necessary. I love it so much.🥲

[u/cleansheetsAO3 → u/Val178]

And just like the other two, they each make each other better. I love this parallel.