#Do I believe Aziraphale did nothing wrong? No.

[lunaamatista]

I will make a longer post about this at some point but: if your theories about why Aziraphale has done bad and abusive things and has been having fun in la la land while ignoring all the horrors around him don’t include the fact that Crowley never told him how he’d been treated in Heaven, Crowley never told him he was at risk of being erased from the Book of Life, Crowley never told him what had he saw in Heaven’s Confidential Files, etc.

I simply won’t take you seriously.

[vroomvroomwee]

Crowley is Lucifer

(Ok I know some of you don't believe this theory but I highly suggest you give this a quick read anyway. I tried to make it short and easy and I'll be going chronologically, from s1 all through s2)

- First, let's get this out of the way, Lucifer and Satan aren't neccesarilly the same person. Even in the show the devil that appeared in s1 has only ever been reffered to as Satan, not even once as Lucifer.

- In the bible Lucifer was the one to tempt Eve with the apple, and who do we know that does that in the show. Crowley is literally THE snake from Eden.

- An obvious one perhaps, but the red hair is also a giveaway

- In the bible Jesus was tempted by the devil for 30 days, in the show Crowley says "I showed him all the kingdoms of the world", so that's another role Lucifer has that Crowley had in the show

- It's well known (even mentioned in the Sandman) that Lucifer was the most beautiful of all angels, and our demon is played by no other than David Tennant

Now on to season 2 because there's a LOT to unpack here

- He litterally started the engine of the universe which was one of Lucifers roles

- He's the first to say "let there be light", which is pretty fucking huge since that is Gods line

- "I worked closely with upstairs on it" even in the first scene they're telling us Crowley is an angel of very very high rank

- He fell for asking questions, which is litterally what Lucifer fell for, for questioning God. This in and of itself should be a pretty big indicator. "I only ever asked questions"

- Shax: "a miracle of enourmous power only the mightiest of archangels can perform"

Crowley: "How do you know I didn't do it"

And Shax just... doesn't counter that. She looks even skeptical, as if it COULD be a possibility, unlike Uriel who says to Aziraphale don't excpect us to believe you did it. Shax litterally doesn't shut the option down which confirms Crowley has the power not only of an archangel but of the mightiest kind

- In the bookshop with Gabriel/Jim he says "I don't remember. It [gravity] seemed like a good idea when we were all talking about it"

- "You're welcome to come in, you might even spot an archangel" don't tell me this was Crowley just egging Shax on and not being sneaky

- The fact that he could sense the demons coming. "Somethings wrong""It's coming in waves", when Aziraphale couldn't. It could be a demon thing but we saw Sandalphon, an archangel of lower rank, in the first season mention "something smells evil" so obviously angels can sense demons too, they just have to be powerful enough. And keep in mind Sandalphon was already in the book shop for quite some time, Crowley sensed them even before they had arrived (he also sensed the hell hound who was some fucking miles away)

- The.fucking.folder. "You have to be a throne or dominion above" and this dude opens these clasified documents like it's nothing. If this isn't an indicator of his high position as an angel I don't know what is.

- He's worked with Saraqael, another very high ranking angel

- "I'm the only first order archangel in the room"... and the camera imediately pans to Crowley, and for anyone who's read the book and watched the show you know that rarely anything is coincidental

- When the Metatron says they can't lose another prince of heaven. This... this fucking line. So it's relatively well known that Gabriel and Lucifer are brothers, and if Gabriel is one of the princes of heaven I wonder who the other one could be. "Two princes of heaven". And the Metatrons words were very careful, he doesn't say lost as in heaven can't find him, he says it in the context that they won't be sending Gabriel to hell since they won't lose another prince to downstairs

- In the bookshop when no one can identify the Metatron he turns to Crowley who imediately recognises him. Now you have this dude, who's literally on top of the angel hierarchy and is responsible for running heaven and the connection to God themself, surrounded by archangels and a principality you spoke to face to face with just a few years ago and... none of them can tell who you are, the only one who does is the literal demon. That tells us that Crowley has not only seen him in this form, but has probably worked with the Metaron himself personally. "Always asking damn fool questions", 10 million angels and he remembers what this one particular angel was like 6000 years ago

- Crowley is also very reluctant to reveal his identity as an angel. Now if he were just an ordinary angel of no real significance he wouldn't have a problem revealing his name, but... if his name was one that's the literal representation of all evil in this world, then it is understandable he keeps it a secret, in fear he might scare Aziraphale away

- And I wanted to leave the best for last. So you remember in the book when Crowley has to sign his name to start Armaggedon, and Hastur tells him "no, your real name" after which he reluctantly writes it. Now in the book we never see him write anything, but in the show we see him write a sygil, something that looks very mich like an L. An L... A FUCKING L. And now I wonder how this theory didn't come up sooner.

(Also he can fucking stop time, like dafuq)

Edit:

- "Oh looky here it's Lucifer and the guys" we all thought he was talking about someone else, he's just refferencing things other angels have said about HIM. FUCK

- I keep seing people saying Crowleys memories were wiped because he couldn't remember Saraqael and Furfur. But I think people forget, demons lie. He's lying to make them think he's not that angel they worked with, that he's not Lucifer. (In season 1 we hear him a few times refferencing his life as an angel, so he does remember most of it)

- Also saying if the Raphael theory were true then as showrunners they would have mentioned him somewhere for those not that familiar with the bible (or don't read much fanfiction). The refferences for Crowleys past are so so vague that it would be too sudden and confusing if he were Raphael. But there is one name that everyone is familiar with, no matter who you are how old you are or where you're from, a name that needs no introduction.

Edit 2:

- Back to him being the most beautiful angel, I don't think it was ever quite explained how every single demon when they're in hell looks... awful, but Crowley doesn't. Beelzebub has the spores all over their face, Hastur the maggots and the sh-, Dagon the scales etc. But Crowley doesn't, not even when he's in hell, he's always just so, well, pretty.

- I saw a few people asking about how Lucifer started the rebellion and Crowley wouldn't do that. I think it's the same Crowley who wouldn't get stuck in traffic after creating the M25, or the same Crowley that wanted to call Aziraphale after bringing down the entire London network, "you told them you invented the spanish inquisition, and started the second world war""so the humans beat me to it that's not my fault", "so all this is your demonic work?""no, the humans thought it up themselves nothing to do with me"

- Also I think Satan's in charge of hell not Crowley the same way the Metatron's in charge of heaven and not Gabriel (and who can very easily demote angels if he so wishes)

Edit 3:

- like some of you pointed out Lucifer is also known/means Light-bringer. And Crowley was the first to say "let there be light."

- The file he opens with Muriel is Gabriels file, a class A archangel, so if he knows the password to that it means that either he's on the same level as Gabriel, or above him.

[aydracz]

The GO bench in St James Park has been replaced with a different one

Very sorry to report that the sanded down bench they returned at the original spot in St James Park is actually NOT the OG fandom one.

There are some very prominent features the OG bench had. Most importantly, the shape of the back of the bench, the armrest shape, and the height of the bench itself:

OG bench (pic taken last year):

The new bench, unfortunately, has a different back shape (the tops of the left and right wooden planks at the back):

I did some ineffable detective work in St James Park this weekend of 25th January (with the help of @0xlilith and @fuckyeahgoodomens and @fuzzywhispersbear) and examined all the benches in the near vicinity and subsequently all the benches in the park, in case they just moved it to a different spot. They did not.

I now have a special photo folder in my phone featuring some of the possible candidate benches in St James Park, because that's what you do if you are a GO fan on a trip to London.

All the potential candidate benches that fit the shape criteria didn't meet the "recently cleaned" criterion or the "at least a bit visible carving scars in the right places" criterion.

(A very useful graphics made by @fuckyeahgoodomens)

It is, of course, possible that I am wrong and the bench is there somewhere and has been cleaned so well that not even the carving scars are visible. I just recorded all the Clues as I collected them and this is the logical conclusion:

I think it is realistic to consider that the OG bench was damaged beyond salvation and as such, was removed permanently. I feel like maybe some of the carvings were too deep and beyond repair. I might be wrong, they just might be rotating the benches and our bench is just sitting somewhere in storage, waiting for being cleaned and returned. (It is probably not in different park because all benches have a SJP at the back and I think they make sure to not mix them up).

I, personally, am actually fine with fans writing on the bench. It is within my personal limits of what is OK. But some of the fandom love was maybe too vigorous. And as a whole, I think that this shows us that we might try to treat the new bench with a bit more respect. By refraining from carving in it with a knife. By using plain pencils to write our little notes so that they don't destroy the bench, are easily cleaned and are not visible to regular visitors of the park, only for people who know what they are looking for. Use it as a scavenger hunt place (my personal favourite) to leave little trinkets and gifts for other fans (but hide them well so that they don't visually disturb regular visitors).

I am not openly promoting vandalism here. I am just being realistic and I seriously have nothing but love for the people who left their permanent mark on the bench. (And I would HATE for this post to be used for hating on these fans. Pls don't.) I believe we can find a sweet spot of showing our love for the bois and not damaging the bench beyond salvation.

And I think the management of St James Park is showing us that they are just doing their job and they don't hate us (hopefully).

Why? Because the heart padlock of Aziraphale and Crowley is still there. Someone even added another padlock and a little fly! And these things didn't disappear. I think this hopefully demonstrates that fandom activities in moderation are allowed.

The bench is a symbol of fandom love and as such, I don't think it can be lost. It is what we make it. There is a new lovely bench at the spot and it attracts GO fans just like the previous one did. And while I know many people (including me) will grieve the piece of fandom history that might have been lost, I think that this is an opportunity for a fresh start.

We'll be OK. This place still feels loved.

[inafever]

On how much Aziraphale has learned since season one:

This is about character development. Inside of a story, everything that happens, happens for a reason. It's meant to tell you something, to teach you or the character of your story, something.

So if the story continues and your character repeats the same mistakes again you know that they are bound to be doomed this time, and even worse the audience is going to certainly lose respect for them, cause they have made the same mistake twice, they haven't learned anything, they're gonna do it again another time, they don't deserve a happy ending. (yes I'm talking about good omens here) So you don't do that to a character that matters to you and you respect even the tiniest bit.

A Lot of us here are thinking that this is what has happened to Aziraphale's character at the end of season two, that he has done it again, repeated the same mistake again and has left Crowley to join heaven and it's been because of reasons like wanting to change Crowley (not true, see this post), still believing in heaven's goodness (not true at all), not being on the same page with Crowley (I'm gonna talk about this one especially in this post) and such likes. But these are the things he should've known better about after 6000 years and all the events that we've learnt about especially throughout season two. (It seems to be rather the whole point doesn't it?)

But we all seem to rather believe that he's made that mistake again nonetheless. so what we're doing here is trying to find reasons to justify the mistake and somehow make the reason behind the wrong actions something relatable to ourselves so we can forgive him when the time comes.

In fact I don't believe that he's made a mistake. for Aziraphale's character to be redeemable, what he has done, must be the only option that he's had for saving them both. I don't care what kind of situation could have resulted in him making this decision, but the only reason, the one and only reason, must be his love for Crowley. Otherwise it'll prove that he hasn't learnt his lessons or doesn't love Crowley enough to make a compromise, and in both cases, he's not worthy of love. He won't earn his happy ending by being tortured and feeling sorry and doing the apology dance for Crowley if he's hurt Crowley out of selfishness and stupidity again

But I'm sure he'll earn his happy ending and I'm sure he's learnt his lessons and it's too late for him to have unlearned them all in a matter of a few seconds. (He is an idiot but he's not stupid) and it's mostly because of this, that I believe the reason why he made that decision, must be very different from what it appears to be on the surface.

Anyway, this post is about what Aziraphale has learned and how he's changed.

I have made a post about their moments of conflict from both season one and two, it's here and you can look it up. This is where you begin to understand how Aziraphale has changed since season one because these are his dialogues after he's had a fight with Crowley in the bandstand, season one:

"even if I did know where the antichrist was I wouldn't tell you we're on opposite sides"

"friends? We're not friends. We are an angel and a demon. We have nothing whatsoever in common. I don't even like you"

"there is no our side Crowley. Not anymore. It's over"

And then there's season two, when they disagree on what to do with Gabriel, Aziraphale is the one to point out that they both rely on the life they've built together

He's asking him to help him take care of Gabriel together and in response Crowley leaves

In the final scene he asks Crowley to come back to heaven

"work with me" "We can be together as Angels, Doing good" "I need you."

He says anything he can think of literally to convince him to stay with him and it doesn't work

We start from "we're not friends" and arrive at "work with me. we can be together"

Even if we don't know the reason why he's insisting on taking Crowley back to heaven with him, this is an Angel that has picked up the pace. That wants them to be an us. No matter what.

But these are only a few dialogues. I think there's more than that. I think the show in five and a half episodes (out of six) has tried its hardest to make the point quite clear about how Aziraphale feels about Crowley (or how strongly he feels those emotions). all through the way he looks at him and through his gestures and soft touches from time to time

I'm gonna make another post of those moments separately and I'm gonna link it to this when I do.

update: (here's the post. not just average moments of Aziraphale looking cute, it's something about the way he looks at him)

And I'd like to even compare those wishful glances to some of those from season one, but I can't, cause they are nonexistent in there.

[amuseoffyre]

I’m emotionally ruined by the fact that Aziraphale hasn’t broken out of his heavenly conditioning. He still loves doing good. He gets happy when people tell him he’s an angel and says “it’s nice to tell people about the good things you’ve done now that I’m not reporting to Heaven”. He will literally put himself in harm’s way to make sure he does the Good and Right thing.

It can’t be understated how much Heaven’s influence still impacts on him. Aziraphale has been created, ordained and conditioned to believe it and he can’t just switch it off or walk away. Crowley didn’t get the choice. He was Fallen. He was kicked out and - as per the rules of toxic and terrifying cults - Aziraphale was always told for centuries and millennia, Falling was the worst thing that could happen. If you’re bad, you’ll be forced out. If you’re bad, you’re not one of Us. You’re one of Them.

When he did something he perceived as Right (ie. saving innocent children from death), but knew it wasn’t what Heaven intended, he broke down. Crowley found him a crying, shaking wreck afterwards because he was so convinced he was Evil. He was so convinced he was going to be dragged to Hell and that he was now a demon because he did one thing that saved some children but because it wasn’t a specific directive, it was Bad.

It shapes so much about him and it’s why the whole series looks like he’s having so much fun doing silly human things, but there’s this brittleness to it. He’s happy and excited and he’s doing his human-life things and having a lovely time, but he’s also constantly stressed because of the Need To Do Good. From the moment Gabriel turns up, he’s a nervous wreck and is trying to hide it by Doing Good, by Solving the Problem, by Fixing Things, by being so active and reactive rather than letting himself think about it. It’s a sign of exactly how frantic he is that he starts giving away his books and letting humans touch them.

Watch his face when the Archangels show up unexpectedly: that isn’t joy. That’s blind terror. He’s so afraid of doing the wrong thing in Heaven’s eyes, even though he made the active choice to do so because it was the Right thing to do. He’s a Guardian and he will protect, but he is so very afraid of the repercussions, even now. 

At the end of S1, Crowley said “they’re gearing up for the big one” so Aziraphale’s not oblivious. He knows a big one is coming. He knows something worse than the Antichrist will be on its way. And he’s trying so hard to pretend that everything is normal and fine and if he ignores all the looming bad stuff, it won’t happen. If we don’t say anything about it, nothing has to change.

But then the changes come knocking at his door holding a box and the choice is gone. He can keep trying to blinker himself to it, but then there are angels and demons in the bookshop and he’s had to use his halo and everything is falling apart.

So when he realises that he can get himself into a position where he can guarantee those repercussions won’t happen to Crowley? He will absolutely take it. He says himself “I don’t want to go back to Heaven”, but the instant the Metatron offers him a free pass for Crowley, to take Crowley out of both Heaven and Hell’s sightlines, to keep him safe (Another bee inside the hive, if you will), no wonder he grabs it with both hands.

The tragedy is that Crowley thinks that when they saved the world together, that was the end of Heaven’s influence in Aziraphale. When he was cast out the split between him and Heaven was sharp and clean. He doesn’t - he can’t - understand how deeply it has tangled around Aziraphale. It’s built into Aziraphale’s entire being and unravelling it isn’t that simple. Aziraphale’s trauma is a horrible, terrible Gordian knot and Crowley can’t understand that he couldn’t simply cut through it, because that’s just not how Aziraphale works.

[twilightcitysky]

Everything Is Meant (long S2 analysis, part 2)

Part one here

Okay, so that's how I think the pre-creation scene and Gabriel's arc connect to Aziraphale's choice. I also think the ineffable bureaucracy speedrun exists to prove totally different things to Aziraphale and Crowley: Aziraphale loves that they can love each other but notes they have to run away to be together; Crowley sees this and immediately thinks "hey, we can do that too!", forgetting that running away is not a solution Aziraphale has ever been interested in. It's the mentality of an individualist vs a group-oriented mind, and neither of them is necessarily wrong, it's just that their priorities are different and they HAVE TO TALK ABOUT IT, which they don't.

Continued analysis under the cut:

3. Let's take the Job minisode. Why include it? We already mentioned that it proves Aziraphale remembers Crowley as an angel, since he mentions it. And he believes Crowley is the same person he always was, and that he doesn't want to harm Job's crops or animals or children. Crowley tries to convince him he's a Big Bad Demon who is all in on this assignment, but fails utterly to kill even a single goat, soooo... Aziraphale comes to the conclusion that he knows what Crowley wants. Alert! Alert! This is a big problem! Crowley says, "What do you know about what I want?" Aziraphale: "I know you." Crowley: "You do not know me." But because Aziraphale got it right this time, he goes ahead assuming he'll always get it right, which is a crucial failure when it comes to the final reckoning. He doesn't ever ASK Crowley what he wants, he just assumes. When you assume you know what someone wants, you usually assume their priorities align with yours... he couldn't be more wrong about that. The Job minisode sets up this dynamic for them, and they never really manage to change it.

The other thing happens at the end of the minisode. Crowley acknowledges two crucial points: 1) he's lonely ("But you said it wasn't!" "I'm a demon. I lied"), 2) he doesn't think Aziraphale would like Hell. Aziraphale DOESN'T like Hell. Aziraphale hates Hell for what they've done to Crowley. He doesn't see Heaven as innocent or benign, but importantly, Heaven has never tried to hurt Crowley directly. They never threatened his safety. They never tortured him (as it's heavily implied that Hell did). Fast forward to the last ten mins of season 2: Aziraphale excited to tell Crowley that he can be an angel again BECAUSE: he never has to go back to Hell. They can never hurt him again, not the way they did before. And he doesn't have to be lonely anymore.

Last point before I leave Job: Crowley has the chance to cause Aziraphale to Fall, here, probably. ("I lied to Heaven to thwart the will of God!" "You did, but I'm not going to tell anybody. Are you? ...good, then nothing has to change.") He doesn't take it. He doesn't want Aziraphale to be a demon. He loves Aziraphale as he is. "Angel" as an affectionate. Aziraphale certainly doesn't use "demon" as a pet name for Crowley. I think they set up this scene to contrast the final one, and show how deeply hurt Crowley is that Aziraphale suggest he change.

4. Moving on to Victorian Scotland. This one confused me at first. I was delighted that they brought back the "the lower you start the more opportunity you have to rise" dialogue from the book, but apart from that I didn't really see the point of it. It seems like the statue of Gabriel and the fact that he and Beelz ended up at that pub in the present were more or less coincidental.

The point, I think, is actually not the girl, but the doctor. He's a person who is trying to do good by working in a system that's deeply flawed, and engaging in questionable moral practices for the greater good. (Cadaver dissection is still an essential part of medical school. You need dead bodies to understand living ones.) He shows Aziraphale a tumor he removed from a child who died, and Aziraphale clutches it to his chest. The camera zooms in and lingers to tell us that this is a guardian through and through. He wants to protect people. He wants to do good with every fiber of his being.

To Crowley, it's enough to just "be an us" with Aziraphale. He doesn't really want anything more than that. That's an issue! For one thing, it fosters unhealthy codependency, and for another, Aziraphale would never be happy without the opportunity to help and protect people. It's an essential part of who he is. Metatron knows that, and he plays Aziraphale like a fiddle. The doctor showed Aziraphale that you can make a difference even in systems that are flawed, and even if you have to do things you'd rather not do. Aziraphale doesn't want to go back to Heaven, but he truly thinks he can change things; thinks he can be a guardian with some real power. In his mind, that's the right thing to do.

Last thing that happens in Scotland: Crowley saves a soul from Hell, arguably, by preventing a suicide. He gets in Big Trouble. Whatever happened to him downstairs resulted in him coming back up, leaning on a cane, and asking Aziraphale to give him holy water. Go back and watch that scene knowing what we know now about the Victorian minisode. Ask yourself how Aziraphale must have felt. He likely blamed himself for what happened, because if he hadn't meddled then they never would have been there in the first place. He knew where Crowley was, and why he was there, and he had to sit with that knowledge for years. He desperately wants Crowley to be safe; is perfectly willing to push him away to keep him safe-- which is what he does do, the minute Crowley gets back.

Now think again about what Metatron offered him. A chance to keep Crowley safe forever. He'd never be harmed again. Aziraphale is going to take that offer, no matter what else is asked of him. He's shown over and over again that he'll sacrifice his own happiness to make sure nothing happens to Crowley. And he'll do it without talking to Crowley about it first, because he is a moron who doesn't know how to use his words. Leading Crowley to assume that Aziraphale doesn't love him. The idiot angel is doing it all out of love, but because he doesn't make himself clear Crowley doesn't know that.

Part 3: Maggie and Nina, and their roles as mirror couple/ Greek chorus!

[dalliancekay]

The 'Aziraphale Still Believes in Heaven' Take

Is one that I see so often. Too often. The way many fans (still) say Aziraphale is so naïve, he's never learned anything, he never changes, Metatron just offered him a promotion and he happily jumped on it. Happy to go back to Heaven. Still in their clutches. Leaving Crowley behind. Cos nothing lasts forever. Amirite? Poor long-suffering Crowley. So patient. Goes through so much. Aww. Takes that say that because Crowley never told Aziraphale about the venom in Gabriel's "Shut your stupid mouth and die already", Aziraphale has no idea that Heaven is not the good guys, that he still believes they are on the side of truth and light.

Takes that claim Aziraphale wants Crowley to come to Heaven and be an angel again so they can be happy like in the good old times. Takes that basically say that Aziraphale is stupid. And blind. LISTEN Do you mean this Aziraphale:

Who knew before Crowley did that something is rotten in the state of Denmark, that things are wrong and one can get in a lot of trouble for a thing as minor as a suggestion to improve things. Is this the Aziraphale that would seriously suggest to Crowley, who he was immediately deeply anxious over, to go back to 'good old times'? What good old times? How is Heaven a place of light when:

A bunch of angels comes down to Earth to bully and PUNCH ONE OF THEIR OWN?

Why would he think they are the light when they shame him for being who he is?

And yes, Aziraphale wants to do good. But that's not tied to him being an angel. And it's not a bad thing ffs! Crowley does good as well. Aziraphale might be the only one who knows, but he knows. Maybe getting humans out of the Garden to seek knowledge was always a (certainty) possibility, and maybe not, but it was Aziraphale's decision to arm them.

And She didn't make him Fall for it. And do you remember when:

Aziraphale first openly questioned that Heaven was actually doing what God actually wanted? He had a think after the Flood, didn't he. He did what he thought was right. He trusted Crowley over his fellow angels, with his own sense of rightness. He and Crowley saved the kids that Aziraphale triple checked the Archangels saw no problem in letting die to make things easier. And She didn't make him Fall for it. In Edinburgh:

Az re-evaluated his assumption that grave-robbing is bad and did a full 180 degree turn when he learned it can be spun another way, trying to save the grave-robbing girl AND the possible future lives of children that could be helped via more learning. And when we come to Metatron and his threats, we don't see the full conversation, but don't we see enough? Aziraphale says that he's not interested. Metatron keeps nagging at him. Pushing the symbolic coffee from Coffee or Death at him. Flattering him with obvious untruths. After all, Aziraphale knows what Heaven thinks of him. He tried to reason with Metatron before. Metatron tells him they know how deep his disobedience lies:

Aziraphale is not a fool. He knows this is an offer of come quietly or we will find a way to destroy you and your demon this time. Aziraphale didn't have to hear Metatron's quip of: "For one prince of Heaven to be cast into the outer darkness makes a good story. For it to happen twice, makes it look like there is some kind of institutional problem." He knows the system is rotten. He knows for a LONG time. Did you see his face when he met Muriel and realised what a lonely sad existence they lead.

AND Crowley doesn't love Aziraphale despite the fact that he's being used to get out of trouble, being made to listen about random things the angel enjoys from symphonies to food and plays, and who continues to believe in goodness and kindness. CROWLEY LOVES AZIRAPAHLE BECAUSE OF THOSE THINGS AND because he sees Aziraphale for what he is, an angel who thinks for himself, changes his mind, angel who is brave, who stands for the right thing, who sacrifices his own happiness for the safety of others, especially the demon he loves. They are the same. They are lonely. They are one of a kind. And they love each other.

Aziraphale wants to stay at home. In the home he built for himself and Crowley. On Earth where he's found so much to love. But he knows it is impossible. As Crowley confesses his love, Aziraphale struggles to stay on his plan. He'll miss Crowley terribly. He wants them to be together. For him, they were an 'us' the whole S2. However tenuously. Fragile existence and all that.

But even this was ripped away from him. And whatever he's planning, he knows he needs to do the first steps on his own. He can't submit Crowley to the torture that being in Heaven is going to be for him, an unwanted, despised angel. He can't make him come. He can only ask him. And Crowley said no.

So he leaves. Furious. And determined. Whether it is to burn the place down or find God and ask Her all the questions to Her face I don't know. But his love will push him through.

And if I see one more simplistic take of the snarky demon is really good isn't he, so that means the stuffy angel is bad (and needs to change to be worthy of the demon) I will curse their dreams with lines about shades of grey. AZIRAPHALE AND CROWLEY ALREADY LOVE EACH OTHER

[avoicebehindthestars]

Okay, but hear me out.

Aziraphale and the Metatron leave the lift, the Metatron leads them to an office, wordlessly and with a tight expression. Only once they are inside, door closed, the Voice of god deflates onto a chair, somewhat relieved. Aziraphale is pointed to another chair, sits at the edge, like a naughty student sent to the headteacher's office. 'Right, now listen carefully,' the Metatron says in a conspiratory voice. 'This room is fully warded, absolutely no one can listen in on our conversations here. Well, apart from the Almighty, of course, but I prefer to believe she's on our side. So! You don't want the world to end,' (Aziraphale stiffens at that), 'I don't want it to end either,' (wait, what?) 'Satan himself doesn't want it to end, what with his own kid still out there.' 'Satan?!' Aziraphale gasps, but his mind is sharp enough to process the implications immediately. 'You're in cahoots with Satan?!' 'Of course I'm in cahoots with Satan!' the Metatron puffs. 'The Supreme Archangel elopes with the Grand Duke of Hell, the chief guardian angel of humanity does what ever it is you've been doing with hell's plenipotentiary since the dawn of creation, the Archangel Michael has Dagon and Ligur on bloody speed-dial… What sort of situation did you think this was?' Aziraphale doesn't know which part of that to address first. 'I, uh…' 'Right,' the Metatron doesn't bother giving him room to speak. 'So! As far as I can tell, it isn't humanity being tested, it's us. Just like you said during Armageddon, it's all about the ineffable plan. The armies and the administrations want this war to happen so badly, they would impeach both me and Satan if we were to simply stop them, convinced that we're rebelling against god's word. But now that you're back in heaven, that miracle aptitude of yours will be just what we need!' 'What miracle aptitude?!' Aziraphale gasps. He's been feeling dizzy for a while now. 'Don't play coy with me,' the Voice rolls his eyes. 'Twenty five lazarii? If I were to perform a miracle of this magnitude, it would put me out of commission for half a millennium at least! And you, there you were prancing about your little street the very same day like it was nothing!' 'But it wasn't my miracle!' Aziraphale protests and his subconscious is already working out just how terribly things have gone wrong. 'It was mine and Crowley's! It was joint!' The Metatron freezes. Blinks several times while facts slot themselves into place and conclusions formulate. Finally, he groans and slams his forehead into his desk.

And the rest of the story is the Metatron playing the most awkward Cupid for Aziraphale to win Crowley back while they both try their best to delay Heaven and Hell's endevours to launch the Second Coming.

[mediacircuspod]

Okay so I know that we’re all upset at Aziraphale for this because of very obvious reasons. But can we take a minute to really look at where exactly he’s coming from? Because we only have Crowley’s perspective on the fall because we’ve only ever seen Crowley talk about it before. At least in his vague but colorful ways. Ex; Sauntering vaguely downwards, boiling pool of sulfur, etc.

But this season we get a little bit more on what Aziraphale thinks about Crowley becoming a demon.

And well. Aziraphale thinks that it was a mistake. More below the cut…

Full stop. Aziraphale thinks heaven was wrong about Crowley. He thinks God was wrong about Crowley. We see this in a few key scenes in both Seasons.

Let’s go Chronologically.

Job. Because I’ll never stop talking about the Job minisode. When Aziraphale’s caution is ignored in heaven, he goes to convince Crowley to stop and ignore the will of Heaven and Hell. (He doesn’t take into account that if Crowley doesn’t do the killing, another entity undoubtedly will.)

It’s the “I know you” and “I know [who] you were.” It’s the “I don’t think you want to do this.”

He had faith, even then, that Crowley would do what was right.

It’s the absolute and joyful giddiness of finding out that he’s right. That Crowley saved the goats, and probably the other creatures. That Crowley is going in that very beautiful house in order to save the children.

It’s the tragedy of Jemimah asking if Crowley is a demon and Aziraphale answering “Technically”. Crowley answers too, and he knows that there’s nothing technical about his state of being.

It’s the “you’re a little bit on our side”. And for all that Crowley denies, denies, and denies—Aziraphale doesn’t actually hear him. He hears “Yes. But I’m not an angel though, am I?” Aziraphale interprets, “I’m on my side” as “I’m not permitted to be on heaven’s side”.

In Rome, he extends Crowley an invitation to eat with him. He forgets himself. Tempting is Crowley’s job. He has to remind himself that Crowley is a demon, even if he’s a good person.

When they meet to watch one of Shakespeare’s gloomy ones, he looks to Crowley to do him a favor, and Crowley does. Without fuss. Just to see Aziraphale happy. Aziraphale smiles at this with familiar excitement. And a knowing look. (I want to shake him and screech, “Being good is not the same as being Good”)

Scotland. Crowley does a very good thing in this minisode, and he faces a very serious punishment for doing that good thing. Aziraphale can do nothing because Crowley is a demon who is good. And that is not a virtue in Hell, and the angel is confronted with the fact that Hell is not safe for Crowley. That hell will never be safe for Crowley, and we begin to see Aziraphale seriously worry about the arrangement and what it could mean for Crowley from this moment on.

And then we see a lot of Crowley saving Aziraphale from various scrapes and bad situations. We see Aziraphale refusing to give Crowley access to dangerous materials and then giving in so he doesn’t fall into more danger.

Aziraphale not only wants Crowley safe, he wants Crowley saved.

And at the end of season 1 and the majority of Season 2, Aziraphale embraces who he and Crowley are together. And he’s genuinely joyful about it, even with an undercurrent of sorrow he feels from being disconnected from heaven. We get hints of this throughout the second season… “You need to tell someone about something clever you did before you pop” “I can’t report to heaven anymore” “I’m afraid I’m out of miracles right now”.

This is the whole point; he never stops wanting to be good. And he never stops believing in Crowley’s goodness, either. Maybe even more than his own. (Aziraphale has to convince himself of his own righteousness almost as much as he has had to convince himself of Crowley’s evilness.)

And this brings us back to THE SCENE. Because right before Aziraphale makes his offer to Crowley. The Metatron has to make the offer to Aziraphale. And The Metatron plays Aziraphale like a fiddle.

The Metatron plays his cards exactly as he should right from the beginning, with ordering Aziraphale a coffee and making him drink it. It’s a subtextual threat, and Aziraphale probably doesn’t realize it, but Nina’s coffee shop is called “Give me coffee or give me death”. The coffee doubles as a gift from the Metatron to endear himself to Aziraphale and also as a signal to the audience that this guy is a very big deal, as well as a very big threat.

And then the Metatron separates our two entities from one another. Crowley has always given Aziraphale more courage when it comes to defiance, so Metatron invites Aziraphale away from the safety of his home(both the bookshop AND Crowley).

And then. And this is the Kicker.

The Metatron apologizes.

Not in the usual way humans do, but in the way that Crowley and Aziraphale do. By saying, I was wrong. You were right.

The Metatron praises Aziraphale. We were wrong about you.

The Metatron says that the only candidate for Supreme Archangel is him. You are heavenly.

The Metatron offers Aziraphale a way to bring Crowley with him. To bring Crowley back. We were wrong about Crowley.

Aziraphale looks at the Metatron in the face as the voice of God says Crowley’s fall was a mistake, and you can make it right. (The Metatron doesn’t actually say that in those words, but they ARE the words Aziraphale hears.)

So of course he’s excited to tell Crowley. Surely Crowley knows that his fall was a mistake too. Surely this is excellent news. The best news they’ve been given in a while. They were right after all. They can fix it. Together.

But then Crowley says no. And just as much as we think Aziraphale rejected Crowley—which of course, yes, he did—Crowley rejected Aziraphale too. And Aziraphale doesn’t understand why.

(And Holy Crap Aziraphale IS WRONG. Okay he’s wrong and it’s crazy, but I can follow the line right from before the beginning. Neil Gaiman and company, you are absolutely fantastic writers, I love how wrong they both are, and I love how wonderful they’re both trying to be, this was an incredible season.) FUCK THIS GUY!!!!!!

[lookitsstevie]

Do you believe in the coffee theory?

(Megatron poisoning Aziraphale with the coffee to change sides)

Hi hi!

Thank you for the ask! I have to admit I'm not the biggest fan of the theory, Aziraphale's reasoning makes complete sense to me and it feels like it's one of the most Aziraphale things that has happened. And I want him to take responsibility of his actions and decisions and grow up from it : (

But that's just me of course, and the Metatron meddling with the coffee theory does sound it makes a lot of sense with all those little clues. I'd still prefer it to be 100% Aziraphale but I'm okay with it being 98% Aziraphale asjfksjfks I just don't want "Oh it was Metatron all along, hahahah Aziraphale you did nothing wrong, let's blame it on this bigger evil force" bc it doesn't sound like Neil's writing and tbh it's kinda lazy direction to take 😔 I want to see Aziraphale's character developing beautifully in S3. I want him to be a complex, interesting, multi faceted character who has flaws and makes mistakes and knows how to say "you were right, you were right, I was wrong, you were right" (preferably with a little dance 😉)

I decided to post this answer on my blog rather than make it private like I always do, hope you don't mind! Let's see if this ages like fine wine or really bad milk 😂 Thank you again for the ask!

[actual-changeling]

okay but can we PLEASE allow crowley to have emotions? can we let him be angry, upset, bitter, frustrated, and NOT immediately want to forgive aziraphale? can we let him be a complex being with complex emotions and trauma who is allowed to be heartbroken over aziraphale choosing heaven instead of him?

yes, they love each other. yes, they both hurt each other in that final argument. yes, neither of them is completely wrong or right.

for six thousand years, crowley has done *everything* to accommodate aziraphale. he has swallowed his emotions, crossed his own boundaries, tried again and again to get aziraphale to listen to him so he can finally make him understand how the fall changed him and how deeply fucked up the entire heaven/hell system is. it is why i cannot see the apology dance seen as "cute" or "romantic" because it's crowley once again ignoring his emotions to save aziraphale from heaven and himself; he did NOTHING wrong! aziraphale should be the one apologizing, not crowley.

and while yes, aziraphale has been on his own journey and is struggling with his own trauma, he needs to start putting crowley before his personal comfort. he needs to stop expecting crowley to throw his feelings in the wind and come crawling back to him with an apology on his lips.

the final argument was crowley saying he's DONE doing that. he's done meeting aziraphale on his side, either they'll meet in the middle or not at all - and rightfully so. aziraphale hasn't been listening to him this season, he never has.

do you really think if crowley had given him the details of the trial in heaven, gabriel's trial, anything at all that aziraphale would have believed him? no! he wouldn't have! his entire schtick is finding increasingly insane explanations for the shit heaven pulls so it doesn't contradict his personal view of it.

their relationship has never been healthy, unconditional love is NOT healthy or good. it's simply not. crowley is allowed to have hard boundaries and conditions, he's allowed to not forgive him immediately (or at all, although we all know he eventually will). aziraphale is ALSO allowed to be upset. i know that we all want them to be together and happy, but trauma recovery and personal growth aren't that simple. they're both more than the relationship they have with each other.

[aziraphales-library]

hey!! i was looking for established relationship fics specifically featuring hurt aziraphale (either physically sick or mentally/anxious/traumatized etc) and crowley wanting to take care of him but aziraphale struggling to accept that it’s okay to be protected and taken care of and crowley has to convince him. that may be too specific but i was wondering if you knew any like that? Thanks and have a great day

Hello! You may find fics of interest on our #insecure aziraphale, #aziraphale's trauma, #not actually unrequited love, and #mental health tags. Honestly, the biggest trouble I had with this request was the established relationship part. I can find the fics of Aziraphale struggling to accept love and care, but most of them are getting together fics. Here are the ones I found that I hope fit your requirements enough...

More of an Angel than All the Angels in Heaven by Fire_Traveller (T)

When Aziraphale finds an old rude note from Gabriel, he has a rather serious breakdown. Luckily, Crowley soon finds him and offers him some comfort and reassurance...and a hug, of course...

I won’t stand for it by Dancer_in_the_rain (T)

“Look, if you don’t want to see me again, that’s fine. I just would have liked to know what I did wrong. But if you don’t want to talk about it, I guess I’ll just-“ His hand started slipping from Aziraphale’s and in a sudden rush of panic the angel gripped onto the demon tightly. “No!”, he gasped, the thought of his beloved leaving indefinitely suddenly feeling like a crushing weight on his chest. Crowley looked back down at him, his expression confused and hurt. “Tell me what’s going on here then, angel. What has suddenly gotten into you?” Aziraphale worried his lip between his teeth, unable to meet the other’s eyes. He could feel his heart beating up his throat. Was he really about to tell Crowley? Well, yes. Crowley deserved his honesty. If anything he didn’t deserve Aziraphale throwing him out and not even giving him a reason. Even if it was a good reason. He felt like fainting when he looked back up again into the face that he loved so much. The face that he felt so undeserving of loving. “Would you… do you think I should get a new corporation?” Or: Aziraphale overhears Crowley reprimanding his plants and starts to wonder if he’s even good enough for his demon.

Definitions of Love by organizechaos (T)

Aziraphale thinks that all the abuse and trauma he endured in heaven is ‘love’. After being freed after the apocalypse, the angel is beyond happy. He wants nothing more than to spend eternity with Crowley but the demon is ready to put a name to their feelings. They both know that they care for each other deeply and when Crowley finally has the courage to put it in words (‘I love you’), it sends Aziraphale spiraling into believing Crowley will start treating him like heaven did. "We- we don't have to pretend anymore.” Crowley stuttered out, golden eyes looking frantically about the angel. His sunglasses were clutched tightly in the palm of his hand, “The apocalypse is over, it has been for years. Can't we- can't we say it now?" his voice wavered only slightly. "I don't love you, Crowley." Aziraphale emphasized each word to better help the demon understand. He had never truly loved something in all his years of existence, he didn’t think he was capable. To love another being — especially Crowley... "I could never love you."

a moment's silence by viperinz (T)

Crowley rubs a hand down his face, sighing. “Then you know that you shouldn’t have done that.” “It was the only choice I had. If you got smitten—” Aziraphale swallows, feeling his back throb in pain. “You would have died right where you stood. I could not allow that.” Crowley’s mouth turns into a thin line, his fury radiating through the room. “So, what? It was better if it was you rather than me that took the hit?” “Yes!” Aziraphale exclaims, sitting up in bed. He winces as his back protests the movement, but he needs Crowley to understand. “You deserve better than what I was able to ever give you, and you need to help Muriel and the Messiah. If I ceased to exist, nothing would change the outcome of stopping all of this.” “No, you don’t get to say that.” Crowley walks up to the bed. “If you think I’ll ever stand to lose you again, then you’re bloody wrong. The outcome would be different because I wouldn’t have you, you daft thing.”

After everything is said and done, Aziraphale has to learn to adjust to life on Earth after seven years of being in Heaven. Luckily, Crowley is there to help him heal, and to give him the love that he feels he's lost.

Wings of Porcelain by Dickenangelo (T)

"I think they're pretending it didn't happen." Good Omens, p. 218. Not everyone is happy to pretend that the failed Apocalypse never happened. Some of those unhappy entities pay a short visit to Aziraphale’s bookshop, a visit that would cost him not only his wings but also his newly regained confidence, as well as his favourite mug – and that is completely unforgivable. His demon is there for him. Of course he is! But what can he do when the angel’s mind seems to turn against him?

- Mod D

[1941-crowley-slut]

I saw someone say the other day that maybe in season 3 Aziraphale returns to earth and gets into serious trouble before making up with Crowley, so Crowley does save him but pretends this is nothing but business, that there is nothing between them.

And at the time I was like "Oh it'd hurt if this happened" but after thinking about it a bit more, I'm not... buying it.

No hate to that person at all, it's just like, are we looking at the same Crowley? How many times have we seen him come back and apologize even though he did nothing wrong?

Season 1, Crowley asks Aziraphale to run away with him so they're on their side. Aziraphale refuses, says there is no "their side" and that he doesn't even like Crowley. Crowley soon comes back, APOLOGIZES, and then tells Aziraphale to run away with him again.

Season 2, Crowley makes it clear that he will not help Aziraphale with Gabriel, which is perfectly valid. Even if Aziraphale doesn't know what the other has seen from Gabriel, they both know Gabriel has never been the nicest so it's only logical that Crowley doesn't want to help him. It's a boundary. Yet 2 minutes later Crowley returns to the bookshop and not only says "Fine I'll help you" but he says "I was wrong" and is made to do the apology dance. And he does it. Even though he wasn't in the wrong, even though he still hates Gabriel and doesn't want to help him, he pushes his ego aside and resorts to this just to keep Aziraphale safe. Because he loves him that much.

Okay, maybe if something like the scenario I mentioned earlier was to happen in season 3, maybe this time Crowley wouldn't apologize (though I still think he might). But I know from what we've seen that when it comes to being upfront about their relationship, Aziraphale has always been the one trying to deny it. Aziraphale has been trying to hide behind technicalities, convince himself that this is just a simple alliance they form when it's right to do so. He knows that's not true, but that's what he says out loud. "We're not friends, Crowley. I don't even like you!"

Crowley is absolutely whipped for the angel. Smitten. And based on how we've seen him react previous times, I don't think he could stand to even pretend there is nothing between him and Aziraphale, upon seeing him again. Especially if Aziraphale himself was trying to acknowledge Crowley and their bond, Crowley would MELT. There's NO WAY he'd take a look at the angel's face and go "Sorry, do I know you?"

And if he did decide to do some pretending because he's so hurt, it'd be a very short time before he came running back.

But again, I think this is more hurt for us than it is for them. I think it's so intense because it's the end of the season and Crowley confessed and all of that, but in reality we have seen things like this happen before. The divorce in season 1 was very heartbreaking as well, the difference was that soon after we got to see them reconcile so it was all forgotten about (and okay yeah there was no kiss or confession but still).

My point is we have seen so very little of their lives together. I'm sure they've had disagreements and bickering and arguments and heartbreaks before, and maybe this is a little bigger because Crowley finally confessed his love to the angel, but I wholeheartedly don't believe that that is enough reason for Crowley to give up on Aziraphale, or even pretend to give up on him.

[humbledragon669]

S2E2 - The Clue Write Up P6 -Land of Uz: from the final return to present day onwards

I am sure I can get this episode wrapped up with one last section so let’s jump on in. I suppose the first thing to note is that the double spread we see Aziraphale staring so intently at is different to the one that started this flashback sequence off. Presumably he has, in the present day, been reading through the pages as he been reminiscing. There are a few figures missing from the drawing we can see on the plate, most notably Crawley himself. The figure in the background would appear to be Aziraphale, though the features are vague and make it difficult to say with any certainty. I find Crawley’s absence interesting in particular, seeing as the presence of his adopted character of Bildad the Shuhite is documented in the Epilogue of the Book of Job, and it makes me wonder if Aziraphale was intending to ask Crowley about this when he emerges from his reverie (only to find the demon gone of course). I have so many silly little questions about this turn of events in the book shop: what was Aziraphale going to ask? Was he simply confirming that the footsteps he heard did in fact belong to Crowley? When did Crowley leave? Why did he leave? Where did he go? Was there a one-sided conversation where he announced his intention to go? Did he speak to Jim before he left? I don’t know why this bothers me so much that Aziraphale comes back to the present to find himself alone with us having no explanation as to where Crowley has gone, and perhaps it wouldn’t bother me so if Aziraphale didn’t clearly have the start of a conversation on his mind. I doubt we’ll ever find out the answers to these questions now either ☹

There is something to be said for Aziraphale’s character assassination of Gabriel at this point in the storyline.

AZIRAPHALE: You know, you really used to be… awful. I mean… SO awful.

He’s not wrong, by any stretch of the imagination. It’s clear that Aziraphale is confident with his evaluation, and I do believe that there is a part of him that says this both to help him try and muddle through the oddities of his situation and to provide some background for Jim himself. I also believe that his making this statement, out loud, to someone other than himself, should signal to us just how far his character has come since the days from Uz that we’ve just seen. It’s fairly clear to see how uncomfortable he is with Gabriel’s attitude and actions in the Land of Uz scenes, but he manages to reconcile this discomfort with the assurances that it was all for the will of God that things had to be so. Nothing has changed in the present day - Gabriel’s thoughts and actions have already happened and the reasoning for them is constant - and yet Aziraphale’s evaluation of the situation is entirely different. No more the compliant angel that can forgive any unpleasantness by attributing it to God’s will; he has seen the vile being for what he was and, perhaps due to his present company (or lack thereof), does not fear the wrath of God (or the Heavenly host) by pointing it out. Not only that, his perspective on the entire incident has changed. Where he previously showed discomfort with the actions being taken by Heaven, his focus now lies of the behaviour of a particular individual. In short, it’s a much more human-like response; judging thoughts and emotions rather than actions and outcomes.

Remember all those questions I had earlier on about Crowley and his whereabouts? Well, the next scene doesn’t really help to answer a single one of them, and may in fact just create new ones to add to the list because we see him walking back towards the book shop. So, wherever he went, he went on foot. And given the way the scene unfolds, it looks like he’s on his way back to the car to… what? Leave the Soho area? Without saying anything to Aziraphale? Perhaps it was simply to get something from the car and take it into the book shop. Whatever the reason, the car isn’t parked in its usual place. Usually I might say there’s something to be said for this but in this instance I think it’s just a convenience for filming as it could have made the conversation between him and Nina a little difficult if he hadn’t had to walk past the coffee shop before arriving at the car. Talking of subtle inconsistencies though, there’s this tiny detail:

Not getting the basis of reference? Alright, here’s a little comparison conversation from the previous episode:

So, despite the fact that Crowley is very capable of understanding and using sarcasm (as explicitly stated during the previous episode), that piece of subtext appears to have gone completely underneath his radar in this conversation with Nina. Personally, I think this has something to do with his personal stake in the topic of conversation - the likelihood of success of his rainstorm idea as a surefire way for people to fall in love. He does look genuinely disheartened that Nina doesn’t seem to consider his grand idea for romance to be all that love-inducing at all. This observation aside, the biggest thing this streetside conversation does for me is further cement my dislike of the Nina character (it’s the contemptuous “Mister-Six-Espressos-in-a-Big-Cup” line. Seriously, what’s that about?), and I don’t think that’s the intention. The entire exchange doesn’t even feel particularly natural to me - Nina’s contempt, the sudden rainstorm questioning that leapfrogs into an unspoken probing about Maggie, the defensive conclusion about Nina’s partner. It just feels so stilted to me. Perhaps it simply goes hand-in-hand with the Bentley’s unusual placement on the street - as a scriptual stepping stone to get us to THAT conversation about the Bentley. Speaking of which…

I think this is Aziraphale at his most adorable. Just look at his little face, so excited! If we ignore for a moment the fact that we can actually see him crouching down behind the car if we look through the passenger side window, there’s a little something that might be worth mentioning. There’s a little music “sting” we can hear as he pops up from behind the car:

Now, this could be just a sweet little noise inserted into the soundtrack for comic effect. In a really sickly sweet and fluffy way, it could also represent the feelings invoked within Crowley when he sees Aziraphale (*simultaneous “ahh” and gagging noises*). There is another possibility though, because it sounds a little like a miracle noise (hence why we have to ignore the fact we can see him crouching down beforehand). It is entirely possible that he miracled himself into position to greet Crowley, something which we have seen him do before (albeit at a time when Crowley might have simply turned and walked away if he had spotted him). And I actually feel like there would be more questions about his behaviour if he doesn’t miracle himself into position: how long has be been there for? Why is he hiding? Why does he wait on the passenger side given he’s about to talk to Crowley about the possibility of driving the car? How does he know Crowley is going back to the car in the first place? Just another batch of questions I doubt we’ll ever have the answers to, although these ones I feel less bothered by. I do love Crowley’s assumption that Aziraphale just needs a lift to go somewhere, and I find the idea that the angel just conveniently miracles himself next to the passenger door if ever he needs a lift to be highly entertaining.

This angel 100% knows he’s crossing a line, doesn’t he? He’s hilarious, honestly. And for once, has actually managed not only to read to cues he’s getting back from Crowley, but has pre-empted them, having already constructed a counter argument for what he knows will not be a receptive response to his suggestion.

I’m sorry, what’s that now? What sort of “use” are you both getting out of it with that facial expression, Mr. Fell? I don’t think there’s a single person in the world that would watch that and feel like the sentence was devoid of double entendre. Regardless, and skating over the comedy that is so delightfully crafted into this scene, there’s a clear statement here about the state of their relationship - that Aziraphale no longer considers the two material objects that they hold dear to one another no longer belonging to just one of them, but are shared. And it’s nice to see that the ability to read cues from one another has returned to business-as-usual so quickly - I love watching Aziraphale arguing that he can of course drive the Bentley because he has a license. I don’t really think that’s what Crowley meant when he said the angel couldn’t drive his car! And yet, the end of this conversation has also been carefully crafted by Aziraphale; he presents the care of the book shop to the demon as a sort of an exchange of trust between them (you can trust me with your car, and to prove it, I’ll entrust the book shop to you in my absence), but really he just needs someone to watch Jim, which I don’t think Crowley would have been happy to do in any circumstances. Honestly, this demon really did just get the bum end of the deal. This entire exchange, apart from being hilarious (especially that little hand slap that we sadly only get to hear and not see), is actually a lovely insight into a side of Aziraphale’s character that we really don’t get to see very often. He’s cunning and crafty, and mischievous with it. And confident. This isn’t him stuttering his way through a problem he doesn’t know how to get out of - there’s no hand wringing, no flapping. Just calm asserted application of plans. And it’s clear to see that Crowley knows he’s been utterly ambushed by it. Delightful.

Back inside the bookshop, we’re treated to an array of book titles. It’s been a while since we had such a richness of potential subtext, so I’ll break them down into a table and try and keep it brief. Here’s the shot of the bookshelf that Jim is “sorting”:

And the table below contains their details with possible links to the Good Omens storyline:

Link to @fuckyeahgoodomens post about The Crow Road.

There are another two books added to the shelf after the shot of it leaves our screens:

Pride and Prejudice, which follows the turbulent relationship between a young couple, who must overcome their pride and prejudices before they can be free to fall in love. Possible connections: too obvious to write down.

Good Omens. Meta-as-fuck. ‘Nuff said.

Jokes aside, I’m sure I have but scratched the surface here. I may come back to do a more thorough deep dive if I have time before the finale drops. Or maybe not if I think it might involve actually reading some of them - as I’ve said before, I find classic literature beyond dull. If anybody wants to take up the mantel on that one, have at it.

This last trip to Uz is one I think we all know and love dearly, and I don’t want to really spend a lot of time simply retelling what you can all see on the screen with your own eyes. Instead, I’ll just highlight a couple of poignant take-aways, for me at least:

Devastated as he clearly is, Aziraphale has resigned himself to his fate of being cast out of Heaven completely. No fuss, no mess - he intends to simply allow himself to be taken to Hell.

It would seem that, ever since the Garden of Eden, Aziraphale has been dispatched to Earth on a full-time basis. How much of his upset is caused by his sadness at being removed from Earth, rather than his removal from Heaven? Granted, this angel has proved incapable of separating “who/what he is” from “where he comes from”, which would present something of an existential dilemma to him, I just don’t hear an awful lot of regret specifically over the possibility that he could no longer be associated with Heaven.

We know from Crowley’s brief retelling of his fall that it involved a very long, very painful, descent from the Heavens and into the bowels of Hell. Presumably Aziraphale would remember the details of how the rebellious angels were originally cast out of Heaven, yet he appears to believe his descent will be somewhat more dignified.

Aziraphale openly says that he knew it would be Crawley sent to escort him to Hell. Why would this be? If he genuinely believed that his rebellious actions had been discovered, would it not be more sensible that he be summoned back to Heaven to face trial and punishment?

Crawley’s response to Aziraphale’s tearful please is simple - I’m not taking you to Hell because I don’t think you’d like it there. I think this speaks volumes about Crawley’s state of mind towards Aziraphale at this point - he likes this angel just the way he is, and even given the chance to place them on an even keel, allowing them to spend more time together, he wouldn’t do it.

Despite the fact that he has just had a hand in saving the lives of three innocent children, Aziraphale is still incapable of understanding that being good or evil isn’t as simple as being one of the other, that there is something of a spectrum involved. Not only that, the action he believes that has tipped him over into demon territory is simply lying, the insinuation being that if he had done what was expected of him, he could still call himself an agent of good. So, to sum up: lie to Archangel Gabriel = evil demon; allow three innocent children to be killed without reason = good angel. I don’t suppose it takes much of a genius to comprehend why this particular moral dilemma might have sparked a severe identity crisis in him.

Crawley’s actions towards Aziraphale (aside from laughing at his clear distress!) are (sorry Crowley) extremely kind. He understands what Aziraphale is going through, having gone through his own crisis of faith (and suffering the consequences) thousands of years before. And he’s not just kind in what he says, but gentle with it. He leads the angel to the only conclusion that feels truly justified and offers an olive branch of friendship between them with a veiled confession of his own loneliness, planting the seed in Aziraphale’s mind that perhaps they don’t need to be alone in their own individual lonely states.

Phew, that was a lot of subtextual stuff in that little scene (it’s less than three minutes long), and I don’t think it’s a surprise to any of us that the acting between Michael and David here is stellar. There’s one last thing about the scene that I think is worth noting, and it’s to do with the soundtrack.

Sound familiar to you? It’s no secret that there are musical motifs that run throughout David Arnold’s score for both seasons. This one (a particular treatment of the main theme tune for the show) can also be heard in the final episode of season one, as we see Adam running through the orchard:

There are some subtle instrumentation and tempo differences, sure, but the motif is the same. And why do I think this is important? Well, the subtext for Adam’s final scene in season one is one of personal growth - the events of the previous episodes have forced a change in his perspective that triggers the beginning of his movement from childhood into adulthood. Where he starts to understand that good and evil can’t always be simply defined by labels, that there are subtleties are play. And isn’t this exactly what is happening with Aziraphale in this final Uz scene? I think this is Aziraphale’s metaphorical “leaving the garden” scene. And, just as we saw him do in the final episode of season one, he goes through it with the guidance and support of Crawley. It’s a really beautiful parallel between the two seasons, and an excellent way to end the episode.

And there we have it, the end of this episode.  Looking ahead to my notes for the next episode, it looks like I might manage to get that one done if a few less parts (and that is likely to do with the fact that the Crowley and Aziraphale are largely apart for present day parts of the episode!), but we’ll see. For now though, and as always; questions, comments, discussion, always welcome. See you for the next one!

[ineffable-baker-street]

there is nothing i love more than considering the fact that aziraphale created the concept of war and violence on earth, because he refused to be an angel. he gave away his flaming sword and just like that the first humans had the first weapon.

in the garden of eden, aziraphale believed himself to be good and righteous and a proper angel, but then he does something decidedly not angelic. he helps a human, purely because those individuals were in danger, and he didn't want them to be hurt. he did not consider the great repercussions of centuries of war and death, because humans don't consider the greater good if an individual life that they care for is at risk. and then suddenly there's a wily serpent next to him, pointing out just how un-angelic he had been, but praising him for it at the same time.

that was the first day that aziraphale learned that if he were to be an angel he would have to make choices that would harm individuals, in order to maintain the moral high ground, and to continue to weave a righteous ineffable plan. because if it had been any other angel stood on that wall, they would not even have considered giving a weapon to a human, the great consequences would be too severe and in their minds the ineffable plan would not approve. but adam and eve would have left the garden and promptly been eaten and the ineffable plan would not have continued as it was destined to. because if it could potentially cause themselves harm, an angel will never do something against the great plan, because we all know what happens if an angel asks too many questions, let alone makes too many mistakes.

a human however, makes situational choices, and tries to do whatever will have the most beneficial outcome. this is aziraphale's first human act, and he will make many more in the years to come. but... only because crawley told him that it was not angelic. crawley laughed and looked delighted with just how "not good" aziraphale had just been, despite reassuring him that an angel cant do the wrong thing. but there's subtext there, and they both know that he's a demon, he lies, and suddenly it becomes clear that if a supposed demon could approve of his choice, but aziraphale, a supposed angel, had also thought he made the right decision, then perhaps everything isn't so black and white after all. because to care for the earth, as a human does, and as crowley and aziraphale do, is to search through the shades of grey until you find just the right one.

and so aziraphale gives away his sword, and thus creates weapons of violence, and eventually millions die to those weapons, but it doesn't matter, because the first humans survived, and aziraphale was not only the creator of war, but also the protector of life.

[wistfulnightingale]

The Chess Moves Theory Set (New Ideas About the Final 15)

*An 8-Part set of Interconnected MetaTheories that support each other and might start to answer some interesting questions.

Did you have any nagging thoughts about things that didn't make sense from the last 2 episodes of Good Omens S2? Out-of-character moments, or odd changes in mood, or just little things someone said that stood out, but you weren't sure Why?

Me too.

For me, it was Especially because I became convinced that Aziraphale and Crowley committed to each other as loving partners on that bus ride home from the almost-Apocalypse, and that we were seeing An Old Married Couple as S2 opened. They were sweet, but stable, with set looks and comfortable touch and familiar quarrels, and now a sudden dramatic crisis had strolled up to their doorstep in all his naked glory...

So, for many months I was poring over YouTube videos, rewatching full episodes -- with headphones, or not, with captions, without sound, with sound but not watching the visuals.... Bonkers, right? But, as the Cheshire Cat said, "We're all mad here." And Alice later told the Hatter, "...I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are!"

I saw so many wonderful questions about S2 being asked by my fellow madly devoted Ineffables fans. It occurred to me that maybe we needed to ask all the questions at the same time, in order to come closer to the answers we were looking for, instead of looking at one question as the key. Similar to chess, where no singular move can win the match without the other moves and counter-moves.

I came up with 8 Mini-Theories I christened The Chess Moves Theory Set that all impact and support each other. Some may seem too wild or weird for the ineffable path you follow, some you might love, some may (I hope) turn out to be on the right track, and some may prove to be altogether wrong. But I did my best, and I do believe all of them are supported as theories by what I discovered and what I describe in each meta-theory analysis. I hope they are also consistent with the vision Terry Pratchett had for the final story. Even if I was mistaken, at least it gives us something fun to talk about until then!

Tumblr doesn't make it easy to prep and link 8 theory posts and a Master Post -- I tried (oh so hard!) to put cross-links in each one for you, and it just couldn't happen at posting time. Annnd, I'd also foolishly put my works-in-progress from "draft" into "private" 5 days ago! This makes it even tougher for you to get to them. So here's a nice shiny new post with all 8 Mini-Theories plus the Master Post that explains how Chess and Magic connect to all this:

The 8 Chess Moves Theory Set:

1 - The Metatron Misdirection

2 - The Metatron's Second Coming

3 - Ineffables in Check

4 - A Hefty Jigger of Death

5 - Nothing Lasts Forever

6 - The Circle Kiss Theory

7 - The Nightingale DID Sing

8 - Aziraphale's Jubilant Smile

Also: The Chess Moves Theory Set, Why Chess & Magic?

(If anyone has trouble with any links in any of the blogs, please let me know asap, and I'll try to fix it! I had some issues when I tried to cross-link everything!)

I also linked them in my pinned post on my blog page, "I Believe In Nightingales" at @wistfulnightingale.

I hope you enjoy them, if you decide to check them out! I'd love to have you along on this crazy ride until we get to the final chapter for our Beloved Ineffable Husbands!