It's an impressive achievement to pack a primetime sitcom with as much philosophy as it did. Michael Schur is a great comedy writer but I had no idea he was more than that until this show. Apparently Ted Danson and Kristen Bell were the only actors who were told from the start

As for the twist, I thought of it more as a plot point. They were building up to it from the start and rest of the show hinges on it. At the risk of sounding negative, Season 1 was kind of like a long pilot episode to set up the true conflict of the series.

I'm not one to get emotional watching TV or movies but I definitely teared up at the end with Eleanor and Chidi