Eagle-eyed fans of Mike Schur’s televised Schur-niverse spotted an old friend in the latest episode of The Good Place: Parks & Recreation’s tiniest legend, Lil’ Sebastian! But this may or may not be a Good Thing, depending on how you look at it.
During one of Eleanor’s memories in “The Worst Possible Use of Free Will” the gang is seen participating in “Pick a Pet” Day, where all the Good Place residents are given the opportunity to pick a furry, scaly, or even totally mythical companion. A few minutes into the episode, as Eleanor and Chidi are debating the merits of owning a “tarantula squid,” something very interesting quietly trots in the background: the fleeting profile of what appears to be a miniature horse.
While this brief sighting would ring unremarkable on any other show, anyone who’s well acquainted with Schur’s work knows that these worlds are inextricably connected, and the easter eggs are as much of a staple as the characters themselves. So when the Good Place’s official Instagram account posted a picture of D’Arcy Carden as Janet, gleefully posing with the horse above a caption containing nothing more than a mass of candles and a singular wind emoji (please listen to “5000 Candles in the Wind” by Mouserat, the only official Lil’ Sebastian tribute), that was all the confirmation Parks & Rec fans needed.
That’s great news, right? Our pint-sized equine is resting in the peace that he most certainly deserves. That is, until you remember that the Good Place was actually an elaborate extension of the Bad Place, created by Michael to torture Team Cockroach. And suddenly, this beloved cameo takes a dark-ass turn.
So what’s the truth here? Did Lil’ Sebastian, who was always regarded as a veritable angel on Earth, wind up in hell? And what could he have possibly done to earn such a fate? Ron Swanson wouldn’t stand for this. Hopefully we can get answers soon, preferably in the form of an authorized biopic chronicling Lil’ Sebastian’s life. What say you, Mr. Schur?