#Furfur wants to be Aziraphale and Crowley's third and they are not having it

[ingravinoveritas]

What exactly are you up to, boys...

[noneorother]

I went dumpster diving into the posters for Good Omens Season 2 and found a few pearls.

I found it odd that this season had SO MANY official posters. Hours and hours of work and real dollars from Amazon went into the production of these things. This one won a freakin Clio award. I know Neil confirmed he didn't have a lot of control of what went into these 21 (Or 22 depending on whether or not you count the umbrella piece that was made before season 2 shooting began. Personally I don't!) pieces, but I will leave no stone unturned, so here we go. I combed through every single season 2 poster I could find so you don't have to. Here's everything I've found so far:

1. The allegiances poster

After having watched season 2, knowing what we know now, this poster seems very much to me like a Game of Thrones style family at war image. We have a perfect mirror down the center, with Aziraphale/Angels/Nina&Maggie on Aziraphale's traditional left side, and Crowley with Beelzebub & Jim as reflections of Maggie/Nina, and Shax and Michael(?) as reflections of the three angels on the other side of the mirror. It seems unbalanced, unless you count the floating white head (conveniently watching in the background) as The Metatron...

Which means Michael is... not on the same side as Uriel and Saraqael? She's also grouped in with the Metatron and Shax, on the side of the demons. How very odd. Gabriel & Nina also have a mirror in that they've both turned their backs to the crowd. Gabriel is willing to go live with Beelzebub in hell, and shut down Michael's plan and the Metatron's scheming for a second Armageddon, so that literal turn towards Beez and away from everyone else makes sense to me. The Nina one however? Not so much from what we've seen. Why is she turning her back on the angels & demons? 2. The individual posters

Interestingly, the individual posters all line up pretty much exactly with the all the allegiances this season. You just have to look at the way the characters are slanted vs. how the backgrounds behind them are slanted. All 3 bookshop posters and all 3 street posters are slanting left, with their characters also slanting left. They are who they say they are, and they're on the same side.

Michael and Uriel have right slanting backgrounds, so odds are heaven is supposed to slant right. Uriel is following the rules and slanting right, but of all the characters on the posters, Michael is the only one really betraying the background slant, and is slanting left against her background. Something's up with Micahel. They're not on the same side as they claim to be. Saraqael is more mysterious, as the only one sitting straight, and the only angel to have a left slanting background. Shax seems to be slanting left with a left slanting background, which puts her in the same pose as Uriel, but mirrored. While Beelzebub is weirdly slanting right with a right slanting background, making them a bit of a traitor, like Michael. Shax, Saraqael and Michael have some explaining to do. Lastly, and I think mostly obviously, there's clearly a missing poster in the set. Why doesn't hell have a third green poster? Is it supposed to be the Metatron, and they didn't want to spoil the surprise? Furfur maybe? Why wouldn't poor old Furfur get a poster when he has more screen time than Uriel? I don't think this is very important other than it's funny : everyone single person is holding something in their right hand, except for Shax and Crowley, who are holding things in their left hands, and Muriel, who's holding fucking NOTHING. Poor baby Muriel lolsob. One thing I do think might be important is that there are 21 posters in total + 1 missing one. So maybe 22 posters for season 2? How appropriate. 3. The triple phone box

In both the Nina street poster and the group street poster, there's are a set of 3 red phone boxes down the street. We never see phone boxes in series 2. Seriously, not once. Every other detail in these ones is from Whickeber street footage: gumball machine, post box, newspapers, coffee sign, puddle, walking extras... The only thing out of place is those blasted phone boxes. As far as I can tell it's literally the only thing in all 21 posters that never appears in the show in some form, and this background plate is used for all the street posters, so the phone boxes are in quite a few of them.

4. Crowley is showing his good side, Aziraphale is always facing away from Crowley.

Crowley is always shown with his head tilted to his right this season, body tilted towards Aziraphale and always with long sideburns. Even in the illustrated poster his default is head to the right, sideburns long.

EXCEPT for this poster. This is the only time he's looking away from Aziraphale, and his snake tattoo is visible. And his sideburns are short. Either nobody noticed this or they refused to fix it. There's also the matter of Aziraphale facing his body away from Crowley in every single image except the allegiances poster, where they face each other. So cute.

5. The sneaky details posters

This one has: 1. Pride & Prejudice 2. Treasure Island 3. A tale of two cities 4. The Crow Road 5. Catch-22 9.

AND whatever the hell this photoshop artifact/invisible thing coming out of the scroll on Aziraphale's desk. I checked every version I could find of this poster and it's always there. It looks like someone tried to edit out something that was there and sort of got it mostly right. Which is completely ludicrous given the amazing amount of flawless photoshopping and collaging going on in this image. These are the magicians linking rings from the 1941 magic shop. Mystery solved!

This one has the yellow book on the bookstand, the record, and : 1. Only one clock hand on the grandfather clock, facing 6. 2. A feather duster on the floor (but weirdly it's grey not yellow). 3. The dark horse statue with Crowley's old sunglasses on it. 4. Aziraphale's bowtie ON THE FLOOR. What. Why. I can only conclude that in this poster either A) Aziraphale and Crowley have left these things behind (meaning no more bowtie for Aziraphale in season 3) B) They are currently not wearing these items somewhere else in the bookshop....

_____________________________________ I ran out of images. So the dome poster will have to be it's own post!

[cobragardens]

The 3 Falls of Anthony J Crowley

So far, Crowley has told three different stories to three different audiences about why he Fell, and there's some important information that can be inferred from them. Let's get nerdy.

(Nb. C. 25% of this is from a previous post I made about Crowley's memory problems.)

Here's Crowley's 1st story (gifs courtesy of Fuck Yeah Good Omens), in 1867:

In Book Omens this line is narration about Crowley, and means that Crowley didn't embrace evil and side with Hell so much as he just wasn't into the whole Heaven shindig.

In Show Omens, this phrase becomes a little more fraught, because Crowley says it about himself, and he says it to Aziraphale.

Aziraphale has just disagreed with Crowley's assertion that the two of them have a lot in common. Az thinks Crowley means their origins as angels, and demurs, "I don't know. We may have both started off as angels, but you are fallen."

But what Crowley means, as we find out in pretty much every other scene the two of them share in S1 and S2, is that that he and Aziraphale have a lot in common now, in their current positions. He wants Aziraphale to see him as a friend--and to be his friend--so he elides the difference his Fallenness makes to Aziraphale, all "Ehhh, it wasn't really a fall kind of Fall, it wasn't that bad."

Also, given the conversation they have in the Final Fifteen, I feel like his phrasing is kind of important here, because falling is not voluntary, but sauntering is. In saying this Crowley is claiming that to some degree he chose to reject Heaven.

It's entirely possible that Crowley may have been lying to Aziraphale in 1867--he is, as he says, a demon, and he's lied to him before to make something bad seem less bad--but maybe not. Remember what the Metatron says about Crowley:

And this is another interesting point: The Metatron knew Crowley as an angel. The Metatron. The being who, after shepherding Aziraphale out of the bookshop, turned back and looked at Crowley with hate.

(And tense music playing, in case you weren't sure.)

So maybe that's it. Maybe Crowley just chose to be on his own side.

But in 2019, and addressing God, Crowley's story of his Fall is slightly different:

I think we can take this as Crowley's sincere belief. It's unlikely that he would lie when speaking to God, because that is Aziraphale's job because he doesn't have any reason to do so: God hasn't been listening to Crowley for 6,000 years at this point, and if She were listening, lying would not work. So Crowley probably believes he's telling the truth here with this story: Crowley believes one reason he Fell is that he asked questions.

But is he right?

Another line from the Metatron:

The Metatron seems to speak of Crowley's habit of asking questions as though he finds it obnoxious rather than damning, so maybe the questions weren't the problem. Then again we know that the Metatron is a lying piece of shit and an authoritarian who doesn't want his regime questioned, willing to erase memories and destroy lives to cover up the 'institutional problem' that Heaven doesn't know what the Plan is and is run by a handful of warmongers who want everyone dead or indentured.

Either way, this is the third time in the series someone has talked about the problem of Crowley asking questions, so my guess is his questions were probably a salient feature of his Fall.

Onward!

Before we look at the 3rd story, remember that we have strong evidence now that Crowley has had his memories erased by Heaven.

But we also know Furfur, another demon, still has his memories. Inference: Heaven don't erase the memories of every angel who Falls. This suggests that Heaven erased Crowley's memories because he had knowledge in those memories Heaven didn't want him to have anymore.

This may not be specific knowledge. We know Crowley has a high security clearance in Heaven and therefore must have been a high-ranking angel, and we know he created a nebula with Saraqael, so presumably there was a lot of stuff in his head Heaven wanted stripped out.

But I think there was something specific, and here's why. Firstly, there's no reason to assume that importance in Heaven is a guarantee of importance in Hell. Furfur could have been a high-ranking angel too before ending up an admin in Hell. (Hell does not seem to be any more of a meritocracy than Heaven does.)

Secondly, it's clear that Crowley doesn't know his memories have been erased. If he knew, then when Furfur says "We were in the same Legion? Just before the Fall? Doing dubious battle on the Plains of Heaven? Remember?" he'd say something like "Don't be stupid, of course I don't remember, Heaven erased my memories."

Instead he says,

Now, maybe Crowley is just being a dick here. Certainly we're supposed to take it that way until he goes up to Heaven with Muriel and doesn't remember Saraqael either.

But what if he's being truthful? If Crowley is being honest (and a dick), that would mean the Fash didn't erase all of Crowley's memories of his time in Heaven. We know this because Furfur says he and Crowley fought together "on the Plains of Heaven," and "just before the Fall" [emphasis added].

This suggests that Maybe Heaven didn't erase time from Crowley's memory. Maybe they erased people.

Okay, now here's Crowley's 3rd story about how he Fell:

It's a cute line, but what if it's not just a throwaway joke referencing what people say about kids who go down the wrong path and become criminals?

Crowley mutters this 3rd story to himself, so we can be confident Crowley believes this to be true. But Crowley doesn't know who the wrong people are. He doesn't know whose company got him thrown out of Heaven, because his memories of all those people have been taken from him.

And taken together, these three stories and Crowley's stolen memories suggest a bigger, more disturbing inference: Crowley doesn't know why he Fell. (Or sauntered vaguely downwards.)

Like Crowley, Job was once a favorite of God. But he has fallen out of that favor and been delivered to demons for reasons God refuses to tell him.

We the audience are meant to draw a parallel between Job and Crowley. We know this not just because of the speech Crowley cathartically gives Job's goats, in which everything he says to the goats can be just as easily applied to Job or himself, but from two other indications. Here's one:

Job is wearing Crowley's color.

The other is the minisode title, "A Companion to Owls." This phrase comes from the Book of Job, specifically Job 30:29. Job, lamenting what has happened to him, says,

 I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.

In Biblical symbolism, dragon=serpent=snake=demon. And in some Mesopotamian beliefs--one of them Judaism--owls were associated with demons as well:

and

and

So the Job of the Bible is saying in this verse the same thing the Job of Good Omens says: God has forsaken me and delivered me to demons. Or even: God has forsaken me and I am now being treated like demons are treated.

And he's also saying something else. In the Bible, owls symbolize loneliness, desolation, and solitude. They're consistently depicted as living in barren, abandoned, isolated places. Seriously. Go search owl(s) in a Biblical concordance and read all 30 entries: it comes up a lot. If you're a companion to owls, you're alone (except for the owls) in the wilderness. You're forsaken.

WHOMST do we know whose signal color is yellow, who's a brother of demons, and who admits at the end of the episode that being alone and forsaken in the wilderness is lonely?

So. Job, a character whose claim to fame is that God punished him and he didn't know why, is a mirror character to Crowley. This on its own isn't enough to say definitely that Crowley doesn't know why he Fell, but combined with the three different stories he tells about his Fall, I think there's enough textual evidence to conclude that Crowley isn't entirely sure why he fell; he only has educated guesses. Either he knew and the memory was erased, or he was never told at all.

My question about Crowley's Fall is this: Who pushed him?

Was Crowley's Fall an act of God Herself, or was it an act of Heaven? What did the fucking Metatron have to do with it? What was Crowley's crime? When Aziraphale takes charge of Heaven and the Second Coming, will he read Crowley's file?

[fellthemarvelous]

Surrender the angle

Let's about a talk about "SURRENDER THE ANGLE", okay?!? Do I enjoy writing meta that comes across as bonkers? Yes. Yes, I do!

I can't help but wonder about this (and we all know Neil Gaiman is a fan of double meanings).

It doesn't say "Surrender Gabriel", and it makes me think of this scene from The Wizard of Oz in which the Wicked Witch of the West is making it perfectly clear what she wants from the merry old Land of Oz (which is strikingly similar in sound of the Land of Uz, which I don't think is an accident, but that's not for this post).

There are two angels in the bookshop, Jimbriel and Aziraphale, and a third angel standing outside just taking notes while the demons hassle Aziraphale, Crowley, Gabriel and all the humans.

Aziraphale actually helps Gabriel and Beelzebub escape, which goes against what Heaven and Hell both wanted to do to them.

And then Aziraphale goes back to Heaven after a chinwag with The Metatron.

And I'm sure many people would like to disagree with me because Aziraphale is easy to scapegoat as the bad guy by many people in this fandom, but we did not see the entire conversation between Aziraphale and the Metatron.

"Surrender the angle" assuming that angle is simply a misspelling of "angel".

Again, Aziraphale plainly stated that he did not want to go back to Heaven. I don't think he agreed to go back because he thought it was a good idea.

I think he fucking surrendered himself to Heaven. I've touched on this briefly in this post about Aziraphale's conversation with The Metatron and this semi-crack post about the portal to Heaven in the bookshop.

But there is also another angle (see what I did there?) to consider!!

Because looky-looky here!!

Not only is angle used in the Bible, but takes us back to A Companion to Owls!

Lo and behold, this verse from Job is about the Leviathan!!

The Second Coming has already been set in motion (remember the zombies Furfur unleashed on Earth and "the dead shall leave their graves and walk the Earth once more").

Remember Shax looking for demons who are doing good deeds?

Remember that Crowley was pulled into Hell in Edinburgh after doing a good deed in the presence of Gabriel's statue, which furthers the idea that Aziraphale and Crowley are never not being watched (see my post about Goldstone's)?

Remember when Michael found evidence of Aziraphale and Crowley working together in season one and presented it to Gabriel?

Am I making sense to y'all? Do you understand what I'm putting down here?

Which leads me to wonder...

Are Aziraphale and Crowley "not talking" because of the fact that they've been caught and have to play it safe? They have to communicate through other means? Which is what has lead me to my thoughts about Saraqael and why I can see Crowley becoming a Duke of Hell.

What's the angle of it all???

[drconstellation]

More Half-and-Half-A-Miracle Thoughts

Part 2: The Dark side of Aziraphale

Updated 10 Nov 2023

Part 1: Miracle Power Ranking is here. Part 3: The Third Archangel is here

There was one that thing that struck me about the miracle working scene: why did Gabriel offer crossed hands to the duo?

Gabriel offers his right, his good, heavenly angel-sided hand to Crowley first, and his left, his sinister-sided demon hand to Aziraphale.

And this is NOT an accident.

Its been observed that Gabriel, in his amnesiac state like this, has reverted back to a more base-state angelic being, one of joy, and love, and curiosity. He's acting on instinct here.

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying. The demon has more light in him than the angel, and Gabriel and can feel that instinctively. This really shouldn't be a surprise to us, its been in our face all along. Now don't get me wrong - Crowley is still a demon, and Aziraphale is still an angel, I'm not saying that they aren't. Mostly we talk about how Crowley isn't all that much of a demon at heart, just "going along with Hell as far as [he] can," but we don't really talk about much about that other side of Aziraphale other than wishing to see more of his BAMF! side.

You know what - its a side that thanks to all of the rest you ops and meta-ists out that that I've come to both fear and appreciate. And let me tell you, if I found myself in a dark alley on a bad night I would hope to God it was Crowley I bumped into , because I feel he would at least give me the choice to walk out alive. I don't think Aziraphale would, I would be at the mercy of how ever he decided he wanted to manipulate the situation...and I find that rather chilling.

Crowley might be the charred demon with a heart of gold, but Aziraphale is the two-sided bastard of an angel he loves. All bright light casts a shadow. Its easy for us to be blinded by the shining light of goodness and right and the side of God (er, hang on, isn't the GO God an eldritch horror in disguise...?) and not be able to see what is hiding behind it.

We rarely see the back of Aziraphale's waistcoat, because he is rarely seen without an overcoat on, a covering of social propriety. There is the noticeable occasion in S2E1 when Crowley comes back to do the apology dance then they perform the hiding miracle (see screenshot below, and it was still hard to chose a good angle for all it went on for several minutes!) and perhaps in S1 when he spends all night reading Agnes Nutter's book. Both times its only in the privacy of the book shop, under the cover of night. So its easy to miss that the color of the back panel is a most un-angelic color: a dark viridian green. I know I keep banging on about this, but its important, and in more ways than one.

[Edit: Since I first wrote this, I've written a mega-meta on all the colours in GO, and some of the following interpretation has changed a little - but the significance of the green still stands!]

All the angels wear some form of a pale colored neutral palette, ranging from white to beige to taupe (white, off-white shades and shades of brown,) with dove-grey for the known in-show seraphim, Gabriel, Michael, Uriel and Saraqael. Gold and blue are also associated with Heaven. But Aziraphale is the only angel to wear green and shades of blue-green. He's quite unique in that department.

The colors of Hell are completely different. Black, lots of black. And red, different shades of red. The demons are actually quite a colourful lot, but do tend towards the darker shades. Red is a colour of passion, not just a demonic colour, although it can be associated with the demonic sinister left hand side. The main colour of Hell is actually green - the thick green light that you almost of have to swim through in the crowded halls of Hell, and examples like the green stag on Furfur's sash. It represents chaos, in competition to the rigid lawful nature of Heaven.

So while Aziraphale mostly presents a socially acceptable angelic front, its telling only Crowley has properly glimpsed that dark, shady, bit-of-a-bastard unpredictable side to him - and likes it. (More from Cobragardens about it here in 1793 Paris and 1601 at the Globe.) I mean, come on - this is a being that sent a man to his death so he could go on lunch date? A lunch date he practically concocted just so he could see Crowley. wtf? A being of love who was about to shoot the Antichrist to stop Armageddon? A being who quietly and efficiently discouraged the mafia who threatened to set the book shop on fire from ever returning? (See, told you I didn't want to meet him a dark alley...) Plus we saw him mind-control a whole roomful of people for his Jane Austen-themed ball, just to woo his beloved demon, with no thought of the possible collateral damage. I'm sorry, is this the same "guardian angel" we were all glowing over earlier?

The coat lapel as wings theory adds some weight to this hidden dark side of Aziraphale as well. Aziraphale's lapels always point downwards, towards Hell. Particularly when he has been discorporated and returned to Heaven, where frustrated about being told he has to gear up for war, he instead wonders out loud if he can return to Earth to a possess a body, reasoning that if demons can, he must be able to as well. lmoa! You are so not an angel, my dear! Yet...he isn't a demon either. He's almost...a bit of both. Two sides to a coin. A blend of light and dark. Shades of grey...although he doesn't like to admit it.

Image by lomiel

Back to the shadow-like green panel on the back of the waistcoat.

Actually, on second thoughts, I'm going to put that in Part 3.

[lenaellsi]

On archangels and Crowley's former rank in good omens 2:

Thought I'd do a brief post putting together my updated view on Heaven's archangel hierarchy, based on both this post by Neil and the lore drops in season 2.

"I wasn't the original concept designer, but I worked very closely with upstairs." "You know how God likes sevens." "The kind of miracle only the mightiest of archangels could have performed." "How do you know I didn't do it?" "That arch traitor Crowley--" "I am the only first order archangel in the room--or, you know, the universe--" (extended cut to Crowley) "You'd have to be a Throne, a Dominion, or above." "He always did want to go his own way. Always asking damn fool questions." "Let there be light."

Proposed hierarchy of good omens archangels:

First Order: Gabriel (former); Lucifer, now Satan (former); [REDACTED], now Crowley (former); Aziraphale (current, replacement)

Second Order: Michael; Uriel (higher than the others, but beneath the first order archangels)

Third Order: Saraqael (she defers to Michael and Uriel in her first scene, but is important enough to be present at Gabriel's trial); Sandalphon (Neil has referred to him as a 'lesser archangel')

Points of confusion:

"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."

This quote is almost certainly referring to Lucifer. Obviously this cuts against the theory that Crowley was a first order archangel, though idk what was up with the editing in that scene if that's the case. They cut to him immediately after Gabriel says the line.

Baraqiel. Dominion. Angel of the Sky. Appearance: Hair an eye-burning jinnjer. Eyebrows with the appearance of a grisly slug. Often draped in red. Occashunly damp, most likely singed.

Lots of people have been talking about this page from Furfur's angel spotting guide:

I'm of the opinion that this probably (though it's possible) wouldn't be in the prop book and shown for so long on screen if it wasn't A Clue. The page would've looked fine with just Aziraphale's information. Entirely possible that it's just hinting at a new character for season 3, but the description sounds enough like Crowley that I'm suspicious. (Eye-burning ginger.)

Of course, this cuts against the archangel Crowley theory, but all we know for sure is that he was a Throne or Dominion or above. It's possible that I'm just reading too much into all the other hints that seem to point to him being an archangel. (Though for what it's worth, Baraqiel is known as an archangel outside of Good Omens canon, and is also known as "lightning of God," which is very interesting in a season where Crowley summons both a tempest and a bolt of lightning.)

Would love to hear what people think! I know a million people have been talking about this, I just wanted to organize my own thoughts.

[queerfables]

@alphacentaurinebula said:

I’m actually not sure I have a firm idea of how long they’ve been in love - I’m super curious, what makes you feel so strongly about that particular timeline?

It's a few different things, but a big factor is just what I want to be true. I'm projecting, because a defining feature of my first queer relationship was both of us knowing that we were in love but not being together. I was a teenager and my parents forbid the relationship and like, I trusted them and I loved them and I knew they were fucking wrong and I didn't know how to reconcile any of that. Like Aziraphale, I was looking for this third way that didn't force me to choose between love and family or make a definitive statement about which of those sides of me was "right", especially because deep down I was terrified that the thing I wanted most was wrong. So instead of anything real what we had was this in-between space of plausible deniability, and that's where I think Crowley and Aziraphale live. The way they push up against a really fucking thin line between what is and isn't allowed speaks to that experience for me.

With that in mind, it isn't a particular timeline I'm set on so much as a particular dynamic. I'm not sure when they fell in love and I think it probably happened so slowly that neither of them could tell you either. But I think they've both been conscious of the unspoken feelings between them for a little while, at least. I'm not sure about Crowley's timeline for this but I'm pretty sure that Aziraphale thinks Crowley figured it out first. His "you go too fast for me" line only makes sense if he thinks Crowley is ahead of him. I'm inclined to trust Aziraphale's judgment on this, if for no reason other than that the line loses a lot of its power if he's wrong.

I have a pretty firm headcanon that Aziraphale realised what was between them in 1941 when Crowley came for him in the church, because allegedly that has been Michael Sheen's belief since season 1 and who am I to argue? I think the way season 2 expands on that night backs this up. I mean, you have Crowley and Aziraphale being pursued by Nazis, and a photograph of them together almost gets Crowley condemned to Hell. The implications are not subtle. They've worried about their association putting them in jeopardy before, but this is the first time there's been a real immediate threat based on it, and it feels appropriate to me if it happens right when they're finally on the same page about what they mean to each other. (Notably, I think this is also the first time they're mistaken for a couple, by Furfur. I'm not totally sure about that though.)

So maybe this is when Aziraphale realises he's in love, or maybe he already knew how he felt, and Crowley saving the books was when he realised Crowley loved him back. Whichever it is, the way he looks at Crowley with the music swelling around him just blatantly seems like a realisation to me. Something shifts in the way he sees Crowley in this moment. It makes me think of the Princess Bride:

That day, she was amazed to discover that when he was saying, "As you wish," what he meant was, "I love you."

(God I'm suddenly completely obsessed with the parallels between Crowley/Aziraphale and Westley/Buttercup. Aziraphale getting Crowley to miracle away paint stains 🤝🤝🤝 Buttercup making Westley pass her a pitcher that's right in front of her. Amazing.)

So yeah, I don't know exactly when they fell in love and I don't think they do either. I think it happened at some point between 2500BC and 1941, so, you know, I'm not exactly pinning myself down there lol. I assume that Crowley is ahead of Aziraphale in terms of falling and understanding that he has fallen, and I assume that Aziraphale has all the pieces by 1941, which gives me a few good decades to play in that plausible deniability in-between space that I like so much.

[trebol-negro]

What type of angel was Crowley before he fell?

This is going to be a longer post, but researching this during the past few days has been a fun mental exercise and I wanted to share my conclusions with you.

Before I begin, please remember that English is not my first language and that I just started researching this topic recently. Any corrections are appreciated, as well as other people participating in this post. Don't be afraid to share your ideas!

I'll be using this hierarchy, as it's implied to be the one used in the series

What we know

Aziraphale

Thanks to Furfur's book, we know that Aziraphale is a principality. Both his personality and appearence fit the description of principalities.

Principalities are the ones who protect the different groups of people. Their main trait is their knowledge.

They have a human body with one pair of wings

We also see that when he and Crowley interact during the creation of the stars and Crowley asks him for help, he doesn't question him at any point and won't stop holding the plane (?) with the stars until Crowley tells him to. This plus the fact that he introduces himself while Crowley doesn't makes me think that Crowley is above him in the hierarchy. So we can discard archangel and angel.

Muriel

When Muriel leads Crowley to the folder with Gabriel's information, they mention that only a throne or dominion or above is able to open it. Since Crowley could, we can assume he fits Muriel's conditions.

Archangels vs archangels

Neil commented on his blog that in Good Omens there is a difference between Archangels and archangels. See post here

This would put Archangels above seraphim, but just below the Metatron.

Crowley

We know, thanks to what he tells us during the creation of the stars, that while he wasn't the one who designed them, he "worked very closely with upstairs", meaning that he isn't on the top of the hierarchy. So, we can discard Metatron (obviously) and Archangel.

Possible choirs

Seraph

Seraphim comes from the word saraph, which in Hebrew means "burning". Saraph is also used to describe a "fiery flying serpent".

Appearence:

- Three sets of wings. The first to cover their faces, the second to fly and the third to cover their feet.

Function:

-To sing and hail God's glory.

Neither their appearance nor their function matches Crowley's.

Cherub

Appearence:

- Four faces of different animals. A lion (wild animals), an ox (domestic animals), a human (humanity) and an eagle (birds).

- Straight legs, with the soles of their feet like the hooves of a bull.

-Four wings.

Function:

- To guard God's Throne, His Chariot and the holy places that the Lord indicates. They also were the ones who watched over the Tree of Life.

Neither their function nor their appearance matches Crowley's.

Throne:

Appearence:

- Great wheels with many eyes.

Function:

- They observe the fulfilment of divine justice.

- They announce judgements or resolutions to humanity's problems

- They function as the chariots of God

- Characterized by peace and submission

Neither their function nor their appearance matches Crowley's.

Dominion:

Appearence:

- Human body

- One set of wings

- Often depicted wearing jewelry and white or green tunics.

Function:

- They coordinate and organize the angels belonging to the lower choirs.

- Associated with the step between the spiritual and material world.

- Also associated with healing and medicine

This is where Crowley most likely belongs based on his appearance and his job.

Now that we know where he belongs, let's see how that fits with his character.

Crowley is a dominion

The number of wings he has matches the number of wings a Dominion have

We see Crowley wearing a white tunic when he's an angel

Dominions are associated with healing. The snake is the animal that represents medicine.

Dominions dress with white and green. The opposite is black and red, Crowley's main colors.

While Crowley doesn't wear much jewelry, we can see him putting more care than Aziraphale into following fashion trends, changing outfits frequently instead of using the same one over the years.

Implications

It makes sense that he was asking for Aziraphale, an angel from a lower choir, to help him in the beginning of season 2. His job is to coordinate the lower angels.

He fell because he questioned God. While this was likely seen as a bad thing coming from other angels, given that dominions are the ones who supervise and lead the lower choirs, he could have offended God by implying that God belongs in a category below him.

[ineffable-endearments]

Bear with me while I work through some obvious stuff:

Given how good at manipulation the Metatron is, I don't think he would have disclosed to Aziraphale that Heaven's next project is called the Second Coming unless he suspected that would motivate Aziraphale to come with him. He's using the Second Coming as a last piece of bait to get Aziraphale into the elevator, now that he's ripped apart his relationship with Crowley.

While the Metatron most likely is lying about how they need Aziraphale to "lead" a project, they obviously need to get him up there for something. Even if they just want to essentially jail him.

So this is clearly a trap, we all know it. My two questions are:

What is unique about Aziraphale that the Metatron specifically needs him in Heaven for? (Like, why couldn't they just do the Second Coming plot without alerting him at all? For that matter, why can't they just erase him from the Book of Life or get rid of all his memories immediately?)

How is the Metatron planning to keep Aziraphale's "unique" qualities under control?

As far as the first question, Aziraphale likely has more knowledge than any other angel about Earth, so it may be that they're hoping to use that knowledge. It could be the reason why they want to keep him captive without destroying him.

That led me again to the theme of memory.

As I was saying a while ago, wiping out any of Aziraphale's memories would take away his ability to make informed choices, which would be very anticlimactic for his character arc. However, what if there's a way around that anticlimax? What if the climax we think is going to be the climax is not actually the climax? Hmm.

On the other hand...maybe memory wiping isn't needed to control Aziraphale.

Gabriel didn't have a desk.

What if Aziraphale is given a desk, though? What if that desk is a prison and all the things that cross it are carefully-controlled propaganda that allows Heaven to get information from Aziraphale while he thinks he's in control, while he thinks his decisions are making a difference? What if Aziraphale is chained to his desk by his own sense of duty? In that case, the next big character development moment would, I'm guessing, be the realization that Aziraphale isn't "needed" at his desk - he's stuck there.

Maybe something happens that makes him want to step away. Maybe he notices an inconsistency in a propaganda piece and it makes him want to visit Earth to check something out, and he realizes everyone surrounding him is weirdly opposed to him moving an inch, even though he can REMEMBER Gabriel having some freedom of movement.

On a mysterious third hand, what if Aziraphale earns a bit of liberty by leaning SO FAR into the Supreme Archangel schtick that the Metatron lets his guard down? What if the next part of the story starts with an Aziraphale who looks so grimdark we barely recognize him, and it's all in the service of a ruse? I realize we all think there's no way Aziraphale could be that good at playing politics, but if you think about his other performances - as Crowley in the holy water bath, the sleight-of-hand with Furfur's photograph - when Aziraphale is positive he's doing the right thing, he can act and lie very confidently. What if he leans too far into the Supreme Archangel thing and has to get his softness back?

Darn it. I just came up with more questions.

[paperclipninja]

1941 thoughts

Just finished re-watching ep 4, after getting side-tracked by the opening sequence last night that led me to this post about the significance of the music Bentley plays for Aziraphale, and I tell you, nothing can convince me that we're not going to get a third part to the 1941 story in season 3. NOTHING.

The 1941 sequence in season 1 gave us the beautiful moment with the books being saved, Crowley walking on actual fire (pretty much) for Aziraphale and was part of a series of flashbacks showing that Crowley shows up for Aziraphale time and time again. Lovely, heart feeling many things here (as is a certain angel it seems).

The 1941 minisode in season 2 is an immediate continuation of the scene from season 1, with grateful Aziraphale insisting there must be something he can do to repay Crowley *fans self*, we discover that hell caught on to Aziraphale and Crowley's alliance at this time and Aziraphale steps in to help Crowley out of a pickle with angry Mrs. H. But that's not all.

We hear Aziraphale call Crowley his friend, twice. First, when trying to placate Mrs. H by offering to fill in for the magic show 'on behalf of my...good friend here' and then back at the bookshop, after Crowley thanks Aziraphale for getting him off the hook, 'no need to thank me, that's what...friends are for'. This is a significant insight imo, Aziraphale almost catches himself on both occasions but rather than stopping himself, he allows the follow through without correction.

We also get the unwavering indulgence and support of Crowley for Aziraphale's magic show; from the practice and Crowley pre-game inspo speech in the bookshop, suggesting a bigger act, 'isn't there somewhere we can buy tricks?', to the amazing bullet catch. I know the bullet catch scene has been discussed a lot and I'm not going add any new insight there, so as has been confirmed and observed, this is the ultimate display of trust between the angel and demon (I mean, as we find out, if Aziraphale tells Crowley to 'trust me', he does!), showing us yet another aspect of their deepening relationship.

Cue the dressing room with the coupliest couple who ever didn't couple, a radiant Aziraphale interrupted by Furfur, whose attempt at a gotcha moment is thwarted by banana-fish-gorilla-shoelace-with-a-dash-of-nutmeg (Aziraphale getting Crowley out of a pickle yet again) and we find ourselves watching the two drinking wine over candlelight and toasting to shades of grey. Ok ok ok.

Both the bullet catch and the photo swap-out happened while the miracle blocker was on. Which means that both Crowley and Aziraphale were put in positions to protect the other using only themselves, their own skill and thinking. The throw back to season 1 paintball and knowing Crowley is not a fan of guns, and repeatedly seeing that Aziraphale isn't great at magic, simply emphasises how big a deal both those instances of stepping up for each other actually are. But they also show something else I think.

They demonstrate that Aziraphale and Crowley's ability to perform 'miracles' is attributed to more than them being an angel and demon with special powers. There is a role that will plays for each when required, perhaps the influence of their time with humanity, but also the power of connection. I was going to say love, and perhaps it is love too, but the connection Aziraphale and Crowley have to one another means that they want to ensure the other is safe, will take a risk and bet on themselves in a time of need because they trust each other and don't want to let the other down. Also something to consider when thinking about why their 'tiny half miracle' to hide Gabriel was so powerful (that's a whole different post though). So what's my point here?

The minisode ends with our two faves very relaxed and enjoying one another's company, but also knowing that the trust there is absolute and reciprocated when it matters. There was a bit of a revelation for Aziraphale at the end of the season 1 sequence, they're now very in sync and on the same page it seems at the end of the season 2 scene, but it still feels like there's another piece. There are so many references to 1941 and when you view the season 1 and season 2 1941 parts right after one another, they read as a self contained developing story.

But you know what stories have? A beginning, middle and end. Right now, it feels like we've only seen two of those. And I will remain on this hill until proven otherwise, because as the lyrics of 'Moonlight Serenade' (the tune playing in the Bentley at the opening of ep 4) say:

Let us stray till break of day in love's valley of dreams. Just you and I, a summer sky, a heavenly breeze kissin' the trees.

And there's still a whole night before daybreak, just saying.

[lickthecowhappy]

Playlist Analysis: #4 - A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square

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#4. A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square – Vera Lynn

Both.

Overview: 

An obvious choice for this playlist. This is my 1941 song. I chose the Vera Lynn version because I just love her style (and I think it has to be the one they heard first), but the Tori Amos version is great as well. If you like it better or prefer it because it’s the one used in the show, please feel free to swap it out if you’re listening to the playlist. 

This is their song. First published in 1940, it’s a beautiful song about meeting someone, falling head over heels, spending the night together, and dancing home the next morning. I think that up until Crowley said those immortal words, the audience thought that it was their song on a meta level. The book and season 1 both mention it from a third person point of view with no acknowledgement or reference from the characters. But now we know that it was something the two of them found important together. Did something else happen in 1941? (Chomping at the bit for 1941 part 3!) We know something changed their dynamic between 1941 and 1967. We know Aziraphale did the apology dance in 1941. Maybe this is why Aziraphale specifically suggested they dine at the Ritz someday after giving Crowley the holy water. Why would Crowley have said “No nightingales” if it wasn’t something significant between them? Aziraphale’s wounded reaction to those words confirms its significance. The fact is, Crowley weaponized this song in a riposte to Aziraphale’s reactionary petulance. 

Lastly, why was it playing in the Bentley after Aziraphale left? We know the Bentley has been fundamentally changed. It’s no longer Crowley’s car, it’s “Our Car.” I think I remember seeing a quote from Neil along the lines of, “The Bentley would have followed Aziraphale anywhere.” Who was it channeling to play that song? I’ve seen people speculate that Crowley queued it up for their drive to the Ritz, but I don’t buy that. Maybe it was a way of Aziraphale communicating that his heart still sings despite the regrettable things they both said and did. Or maybe it was Crowley’s heart betraying itself – an admission that there is a guarantee that he’ll still be waiting when Aziraphale is ready. Or maybe it’s just the writer wanting to hurt us even more. 

Lyrics: 

That certain night, the night we met There was magic abroad in the air There were angels dining at the Ritz And a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square

This wasn’t the night they first literally met, but maybe it was the first time they met in a figurative sense: being in the same place emotionally at the same time.

Neil has said that they dine at the Ritz because it was in reference to this song. In the book and season 1, maybe that’s all there was to it. One last clue for anyone who missed all the other indications that their relationship isn’t just platonic. But in season 2, we get the magic show. There was no literal magic in the air because Furfur blocked it, instead all the magic present was of the human variety. Romantic AF. 

I may be right, I may be wrong But I’m perfectly willing to swear That when you turned and smiled at me A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square

This sets me up to assume that nothing was spoken in 1941. Nobody confirmed any feelings out loud, due either to the threat they had just confirmed they were under or the habit they were already in, but they both understood how the other felt. "That's what... friends... do." That feeling where you just know the other person feels the same, but can't bring yourself to say it. The willingness to swear an oath that whatever was unspoken by the parties involved was mutual. Maybe sung about by a third party somewhere (The writer? The audience? God?).

The moon that lingered over London Town Poor puzzled moon, he wore a frown How could he know we two were so in love The whole darn world seemed upside down

[Please note that this verse is not present in the Tori Amos version]

Up to this point in the lyrics, the interactions between the characters in the song are meeting and looking. No contact, not even words as far as we know. These two have been trying to keep their fraternization a secret for millennia, after all. Anyone watching couldn’t hear the song being shared by the two hearts, but the two hearts sing anyway. A silent, beautiful, and disorienting duet. 

The streets of town were paved with stars It was such a romantic affair And as we kissed and said goodnight A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square

The elation of intense romantic feelings has been described poetically since romance was invented (invented by these two, IMO). The description of streets being paved with stars evokes images of fantasy, dreams, vastness, wonder, possibility. It’s romance in a nutshell. Not to mention evoking the Starmaker, himself. I don’t assume that they kissed in 1941, but at the end of the 1941 segment we get in season 2, everything is so gentle and romantic it doesn’t even need a kiss. A figurative act of intimacy, the bullet catch, was observed by someone who could destroy their "de-facto partnership," thus ending their night of magic.

As dawn came stealing up all gold and blue To interrupt our rendezvous I still remember how you smiled and said “Was that a dream or was it true?”

[Please note that this verse is not present in the Tori Amos version]

What fan doesn’t want to live in the 1941 sequence? The assumption that they hadn’t seen each other since 1862, Crowley showing up out of nowhere and at great personal discomfort to save Aziraphale, a little demonic miracle of his own, the way Aziraphale gazes at him the entire sequence, and Crowley’s unconditional support through the entire thing, despite his obvious concerns. What happened that we didn’t see? Just how long did they spend together? What might have happened if Furfur didn’t show up? And what happened afterward? Their rendezvous was interrupted. They had let their guard down and were reminded of the very real danger they face by getting too close.

Our homeward step was just as light As the tapdancing feet of Astaire And like an echo far away A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square

[Please note that this verse is not present in the Tori Amos version]

This verse, in this context, has two meanings for me. The intended meaning of the lyrics, implying that the parties involved are still high on the emotions of the evening and are lightly and merrily dancing home as Fred Astaire might. But also a much more tragic meaning. Another time one might be described as having light footsteps is when sneaking around. After being caught, despite knowing the proof had been pilfered, they may have redoubled their efforts to appear as enemies. They realize they still have to sneak around to have any time together. That beautiful nightingale’s song is sadly now only an echo in the distance. 

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[im-the-j-in-anthony-j-crowley]

About the third season:

This post is a detailed version of my speculations about season three, or speculations that other people have made and I support.

Some of them have a reason to be, others simply exist

The truth is that I only recommend that you look at the posts I put up if you have a LOT of interest in it, because several of them don't give too much info.

It begins with a scene prior to the creation of the earth. My most likely choices are the fall of Crowley (or something closely linked to that) and the war itself (the one Furfur mentions). Or these scenes happen later, but I bet... something, it comes out at the beginning

Gabriel and Beelzebub appear at some point, and take sides with Crowley and Aziraphale. Or somehow the theme that they have no respect for humanity and have not yet separated themselves from the concept of sides is analyzed. (More info here)

In the intro we see Aziraphale walking ahead of Crowley (I really want to see him leading, especially now that he is an archangel).

1941 part 3, this is based on everything I've seen other people comment on it

The name of the last episode refers to eternity (as do the two previous final episodes) but it also refers to them together

Anathema and Newt, if they appear, talk to Aziraphale about their relationship with Crowley. (More info here)

Crowley collaborating with more demons (more comments on this here)

The main issue they are fighting against is the imposition of a concept of "good and evil" based on the opinion of a single person who has all the control. (More info here and here)

Certain demons presenting themselves as something other than evil/rebellion in the underworld because they want to stop living in such bad conditions. (Here)

God narrating, and remaining alone as the narrator God narrating, and remaining alone as the narrator without intervening (Here)

Aziraphale being elected supreme archangel because they needed the eastern gate. (Here)

Aziraphale creating a rebellion in heaven/getting a group of angels to support him and not Metatron

Concluding that angels and demons have more similarities than differences, and that the fall of demons from heaven was a bad thing (Here)

See something on the subject of demons not knowing how to spell. Because yes, it could be that this is just as a joke, but I don't think so. I feel like there's something here, especially concerning how unfair things are to demons.

The relationship between Metatron and Crowley. Especially Metatron being the person to whom Crowley asked all (or most) of his questions and the one directly responsible for his fall. (Here)

Aziraphale causing chaos in heaven (Here)

Some reference to temporal problems (here)/someone editing the book of life (here)

[noneorother]

Last part of the GOS2 poster dumpster dive: the last few pearls.

The last poster I want to talk about is this masterpiece. You can find the other 20-odd poster dumpster dive here: Part 1.

First, a few detailed pulls: 1. The symbols around the dome are all details from the show : the roman numeral for 2 (or II), the croix pattée which is found on aziraphale's solomon summoning circle, and the flower is presumably a marguerite or daisy, which shows up all over the place this season.

2. Aziraphale is sleuthing in a corner of the dome, but in front of The Dirty Donkey Pub, not The Resurrectionist pub, as one might expect. Oddly enough, in the opening credits, the Dirty Donkey and The Resurrectionist are one and the same building, leading me to believe that this is not unintentional. 3. Jim is holding the book he tried to crush the fly with that was all dusty, and the matchbox is sitting on top of it. Interesting choice to give it to Jim and not Gabriel, Beelzebub or even Muriel.

4. The demons on the bottom are not random. The two flanking Shax have names and lines in the show. All of them are wearing masks *except* the two weirdos that never enter the bookshop as pointed out here. There's also a third not wearing a mask, who I haven't identified in the show yet, but who I've found in the behind the scenes footage. 5. Furfur is nowhere to be found! As in my last poster dump, you can see that in 21/22 posters Furfur is completely missing. Muriel and Shax both manage to show up three times, and Beelzebub twice, so it's not for lack of having space to throw people in there.

And some analysis time. 6. The boys are hiding something in the bookshop.

For how symmetrical this poster seems to be there's one things that's pretty off: the position of Crowley and Aziraphale's wings. They've each got one shielding the central circle, where you can *just* see a tiny bit of the books from the bookshop peeking out behind their heads. They've also both got one wing spread up and out at an awkward angle, effectively cutting off the heaven section of the poster AND the record shop from everything else. Gabriel as an angel and even Jim get stuck in the bisected portion of the poster, but the other Jim and Muriel as a spy get let into the main part of the poster. Interestingly, they are *not* trying to cut of hell from earth or the bookshop, even though they were the ones attacking this season. So is this just foreshadowing that they're trying to hide Gabriel in the bookshop the whole time? I don't know, but it really looks like they're hiding it from us, the audience, as well.

[cobragardens]

Red & Yellow Can Hurt a Fellow:

Color Symbolism in 1941 (Part 2)

So in Part 1 I held forth about how the use of red in and yellow in this minisode continues its symbolism from elsewhere in the show for romantic love and fear of head offices, respectively. From the moment of Aziraphale's realization that he is in love with Crowley, all the backgrounds become saturated with the vivid passionate red.

Then, in the dressing room, after the Bullet Catch, the walls are slightly more orange in comparison to the true crimson featured in the rest of the show, foreshadowing the intrusion of fear (symbolized throughout the show by the color yellow) into Aziraphale's romantic feelings for Crowley. This yellow becomes discretely visible the moment Furfur enters the dressing room, and it remains visible around Aziraphale and between Aziraphale and Furfur as Furfur menaces Crowley through the rest of the scene.

In the final scene of the "Nazi Zombie Flesheaters" minisode, after Aziraphale reveals (offscreen) that he has stolen the photographic proof of Crowley's fraternization with him from Furfur, Aziraphale and Crowley celebrate, sharing a bottle of wine by candlelight.

Pretty romantic, right?

Hmm.

Aziraphale and Crowley are each sitting on a red velvet chair, sharing red wine from a bottle with red paper at the top. The passionate romantic love is still there. But it's fragmented, isolated in small islands surrounded by yellow. Yellow backgrounds indicating fear are used in "A Companion to Owls" and "I Know Where I'm Going," so we've already been primed for what a yellow background means by the time we hit "Nazi Zombie Flesheaters." After the scare with Furfur, the background of Aziraphale's existence becomes once again saturated with fear.

Remember, this is Aziraphale's memory, so it's his feelings that are coloring these walls. Here's the same room in S1, looking toward where Crowley sits in 1941:

Now look at S2 again.

The walls are yellow in both (which fits the fear Aziraphale feels and must hide in the S1 scene as well), but the clarity and intensity of the yellow--and the fear--has been turned up and illuminated around Crowley.

@vidavalor proposes in "The Blitz, Part 3 Theory: The clues that suggest what it might be about & how it's affected what's come after it" that the story of the husbands in 1941 is likely to be a triptych, given that a literal Chekov's gun has been established (Aziraphale keeps a derringer in a hollowed-out book in the bookshop) and given that Aziraphale clearly references "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" in the conversation in the Bentley in 1967 but the song has not been established as one either of the husbands are aware of as significant to them by that year.

I agree with @vidavalor that a third part of the story is likely for two other reasons: firstly, the Nazi zombies are still shambling around London, another Chekov's gun; and secondly, because Aziraphale says, "You go too fast for me, Crowley." 1941 is the last record of a meeting between the husbands we have before Aziraphale says that, but...we haven't seen Crowley go fast with Aziraphale. At all. He's been responding to what Aziraphale wants, what Aziraphale decides to do.

So what happened between

and

? (Notice how this is still backlit in the pink and red or romantic and passionate and/or romantic love.)

How does "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" become a song Aziraphale references and Crowley picks up in 1967?

And, most importantly: Why does Aziraphale have to do the apology dance in 1941?

***

A Few More 1941 Observations

Do these curtains in 202? look like this--

(Note the symbolic Metatron head!)

--because Aziraphale wants this to be a romantic night and he's re-creating the most romantic night he's ever experienced?

***

Look who's hanging around next to Crowley even when he doesn't take off his sunglasses.

It's not just a passing shot, either: the dark horse stays in frame and visible the entire scene.

***

There's a post running around on Tumblr somewhere about how contemporary slang would interpret the language of the Bullet Catch (e.g. "never fired a gun at someone before") to mean that Crowley is a virgin (which I absolutely believe to be true) and Aziraphale is not (which I would find pretty surprising). Tumblr's search function being what it is, I have been unable to find it, so if someone would drop a link in the comments if they run across it so I can add it to the information here, I would I appreciate it deeply.

***

And finally, let us take a moment to appreciate Furfur's beautiful hair.

The wigwork in this series makes me sigh with happiness.

I think it's a telling choice that some of the angels have some dreadful visual qualities (Sandalphon's grille, Gabriel's jogging sweats) and some of the demons have beautiful visual qualities (Furfur's hair, Shax' 50s style).

[fellthemarvelous]

Has everyone in the Good Omens fandom seen Shaun of the Dead?

(I tweeted this and then screenshot it because I had more to say. Also if you haven't seen the Thriller music video by Michael Jackson then you're missing out.)

It is very important to know that if you've seen Staged, you know that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost were both on the show together in one episode. They are just as close to each other as David and Michael are to each other.

Here is when Shaun and Ed finally notice something weird might be going on.

They have no idea why this woman was showing up in their backyard and they just assume she is drunk. They were so drunk the previous night (Liz dumped Shaun) they don't realize they witnessed one woman completely bite a man's head off or realize that the person moaning back in reply to the song they were singing was actually a zombie.

Ed literally took the time to find one of those ancient cameras we had to use before the invention of the smartphone. And we know that everyone with a smart phone these days would be doing the exact same thing if this was happening right now.

But Shaun also has this girlfriend, Liz,

who is always third-wheeling on dates with her own boyfriend because Ed is never not with them. And the truth is that Shaun needs to make a choice because he can't have both, and Liz really loves him back just as much as he loves her, but Ed is basically Shaun's shadow.

Shaun and Ed begin a noble quest to save Shaun's mum (his stepdad was bitten by a zombie so it becomes necessary to kill him too but there is a flaw in their plan because Philip is still alive by the time they get to the house and Shaun isn't going to kill a living person so they have to add him to the car), to save Liz (only to realize David and Di are still with her and they don't want to be left behind so they get added to the tiny car), and to go to The Winchester (Shaun and Ed's favorite pub and the bane of Liz's existence) because it's sturdy with heavy doors and a rifle behind the counter.

And then all hell breaks loose because Philip finally turns into a zombie in the car, and it's Philip's car that Ed stole because he really wanted to drive it because it was a classic and the child safety locks are still on in the back.

They end up having to abandon the car after locking Philip in it.

They finally reach the pub by acting like zombies and hoping the other zombies don't notice.

And if you have never seen this scene, it's the funniest part of the entire movie. It's iconic, and it happens to "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen. (Warning: this is still very much a zombie movie)

In the end, Ed gets bitten and later sacrifices himself to the other zombies so Liz and Shaun can escape a little easier.

And then at the very end Shaun is letting zombie Ed live in his and Liz's shed and they still play video games together, and even if Ed tries to bite him from time to time, Shaun yells at him and zombie Ed goes back to playing video games.

It still got the happy ending of a romantic comedy, and we never actually learn what caused the zombie breakout, and the zombie's best friend is taking care of him in the shed of the backyard where he and Liz will live happily ever after (we hope).

The movie ends with the song "You're My Best Friend" by Queen.

Also note: Liz's best friend Di is the only other one in their group to survive the zombie apocalypse but you only find out how if you watch the special features.

I think we need to be looking at Shaun of the Dead a bit closer.

And Hot Fuzz ("surrender the angle" is an easter egg from it), also starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. It's hilarious too.

The apocalypse is happening all around Aziraphale and Crowley, but we didn't notice because we were watching it through the lens of a romantic comedy. Meanwhile, Hell is overcrowded and Furfur set zombies loose on Earth in back in 1941.

[sassasafreeaction]

ALRIGHT. So I've been trying to read this at work for about the past hour, but I'm in my car now and I can think. I'm on board with this third scene. Why come back to 1941 if it isn't to adhere to the rule of threes? They could have done a dumb magic trick together at any other time, but we have it happen right after Aziraphale comes to his realization.

(Brief aside, If it's not a romantic thing, I could see the third bit dealing with Heaven because we have so far had an Earthly threat with the Nazis and a now Hellish threat with Furfur. It would tie a nice bow if a third part dealt with a Heavenly threat, whatever that might look like, especially given where we'd be at in the current time line.)

I feel the moment could easily be spurred by a "you can spend the night" because we've had two instances of one of them offering to have the other stay at their place. Crowley offers his place in Season 1 before they go on the bus because the shop burned down and Aziraphale offers the shop to Crowley in season 2. Why not also have that be a rule of three also?

I don't think it's completely out of character for Crowley to apologize for the first time he pushes Aziraphale too far though. Crowley prides himself on how well he can read Aziraphale. Their relationship hinges so much on it. He knows how to tempt him with the ox, knows how to word things to get Aziraphale to agree with something he clearly wants (raising the Antichrist in order to stop the apocalypse), knows his tone over the phone. So when he's off the mark and pushes Aziraphale too far for the first time, he genuinely feels bad about it and if they're in the shop, he can apologize because it's safe to.

But Aziraphale never actively forgives him. He says it with his words, but rarely his actions. He's constantly rebuffing Crowley when he tries to convince him to run off together. He's not "unforgivable" like he claims he is at the bandstand because he's a demon in that case. He's unforgivable because he feels like Aziraphale won't give them a chance even when it seems like the world is ending. If everything is going to go up anyway, why not go up together? But Aziraphale has to always stand his ground. He has to do everything the Right way, including courting and loving Crowley. He can't run off with him because that isn't the right way to love Crowley. It still means that they're hiding.

i did not break my own heart last night thinking about the missing 1941 scene and have it sat in my brain all of today spinning around like a fucking microwave in order to not make you lot suffer with me. and i somehow feel i may be right about this so buckle up and lets break it down.

so yes, following on from this post, i think that there is going to be a third 1941 scene. twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern. it's been literally set up like that by even bringing back 1941 into s2 in the first place. but we're missing a crucial detail because it does not - at all, really - explain how they went from evading danger from hell and having a cosy candlelit bottle of red to celebrate, to the bastard 1967 scene. we all know this, this is nothing new.

the symbolism of nightingales is probably going to cast a shadow on this. these two excellent analyses look at the meaning of nightingales in the context of R&J, and the relation that the song has to this point in time, respectively. in summary; it's a song that should be around in 1941 courtesy of vera lynn and others, and the nightingale itself carries the meaning of love being hidden and forbidden by way of it singing under the cover of darkness, before being replaced with reality and soberness - represented by the lark. the Dinner of '41 scene is set in the bookshop at night; this would parallel - that they are safe and concealed, and truths can be shared, but the writing is on the wall that stepping outside would be to shatter the illusion, so to speak. it might be that the song itself gets miracled up onto the record player, or a wireless lying about - whatever. note: i don't think they'll dance though, not given crowley in ep5, "you don't dance."

this would also track with aziraphale having his epiphany after the church in s1-1941; specifically, in my eyes, that he doesn't necessarily just realise he loves crowley, but that crowley by way of saving his books loves him too. this is only supported by the whole of the s2-1941 scene of trusting in each other as the only way to pull off the trick, the subterfuge. this is then, again, also important in the context of what i think happens in s3-1941.

i do think aziraphale is going to bring the books up again, and what crowley did, because it needs to be addressed. the Nazis/furfur confrontation has scared him, regardless of whether he saved them both, more than he realised. its put things into startling perspective. i think he's going to bring up the books, and actually question crowley a little more as to why he did it. the repeated use of, and subsequent weird reaction crowley has to, the use of the term "friend" in s2-1941 would indicate that this is going to be a focal point in s3-1941. are they just friends? is crowley disappointed that aziraphale is still referring to him as that, after what he did? 'saving' aziraphale in the church, and then saving his books? or is aziraphale just saying 'friends' so hesitantly in both instances because he's not completely sure where crowley stands?

we as the audience know the answer to this, but they obviously do not. if one of the crucial themes of s3 is going to be resolving miscommunication, it makes sense for this scene to be the first, and last, time they communicate properly... at least, until they sort out the issues that culminated in the Final Fifteen.

so let's say they start getting into a very roundabout way of discussing what they mean to each other. there will need to be the sobering, ice-water-over-the-head realisation however, as s2-1941 demonstrated, that they cannot belong to each other, because they manifestly belong to heaven and hell respectively. crowley is still being spied on, and it firmly places aziraphale in their line of sight too. it's going to bring up the holy water discussion; why crowley asked for it - to protect himself, whether by taking out demons or taking out himself, as long as it means he - and most importantly, aziraphale - does not get hurt.

they actively confess that they want to be together, in a way that is more than they are now. aziraphale wants to, but says that they can't, because it's too dangerous. crowley suggests that no one ever has to know, they can hide it (there, in the bookshop, whilst the nightingale is singing), and even if they are found out, they can run. "hell won't just be angry; they'll destroy you..." // "no one ever has to know".

aziraphale doesn't want to have to hide it, doesn't want a halfway measure- is still thinking in black and white. crowley however thinks that something is better than nothing - thinking in the grey. but ultimately, as long as they are still shackled, they cannot do what they want, and it puts the other in danger. "surely the great thing about being a demon is that you can do whatever you want" // "you sound jealous, angel...". instead, aziraphale promises that the day that they are no longer tied to heaven or hell, they can be together; crowley scoffs, thinking that that will never happen, so they will never happen, "you're so clever! how can someone as clever as you be so stupid?!"

the reason they can't right now is because they could be caught. they would have to skulk around, be ashamed, feel guilty - and aziraphale is tired of feeling like that. because only having crowley in secret would hurt more. not being able hold his hand, or dance with him, or kiss him, unless it was in the bookshop. if hell were to find out, crowley would be killed, true, but if heaven were to find out, aziraphale could be cast out. and if crowley survived hell long enough to see aziraphale fall - he'd never forgive himself, and in a way, i don't think he'd ever forgive aziraphale either.

it's tearing them to pieces, but they have to stop whatever is happening between them in its tracks. it's acknowledged, but it's not named. this gives them plausible deniability; if they called it 'love', it would be undeniable. so, aziraphale asks for crowley to go; asks him to leave before they do something they can't come back from. crowley doesn't listen - crowds him, gets in close, and aziraphale is powerless to stop it. doesn't want to stop it. he's selfish by nature, a selfless kind of selfishness, but he wants this with all his being. and then - "this is too fast, crowley, please don't..." // "im sorry, angel. please... please, forgive me". aziraphale never gets to answer, to grant him that, because boom - the actual first kiss.

so. now that i've had to make you read that, i'm going in for the kill. let's look at everything that follows - and look at how the above might recontextualise it.

1967: the offer of the picnic, the Ritz? ie. the literal lyrics of berkeley square? aziraphale has caved in the interest of giving crowley a weapon to use if all else fails, to protect him, but that's as far as he's willing to progress. everything else is still too painful; he's on the brink of tears, promising that one day they'll be able to do what they want, to be open about how they feel, but not yet. they can't. crowley tries to push, "ill give you a lift, anywhere you want to go..." (him offering again to run away? a second chance to leg it?), and aziraphale reminding him that they can't, he can't... don't make him go too fast again, it's not fair. it also sets up perfectly that aziraphale and crowley don't speak for the next 40 or so years (as far as we're aware) until armageddon is threatened.

bandstand: mostly this is still centred around the apocalypse contextually, but i think with the above hypothetical scene in mind (the offer to hide, to run away, to be together), aziraphale is sent back to remembering their mutual confession that they've nonverbally agreed not to bring up, because it's not safe, and it's too painful. they've skirted around it, and returned instead to a tentative kind of friendship at the beginning of s1, but they're still not safe to address why seeing each other again, being so close to each other and not being able to touch is so painful. anyway - aziraphale refuses their side, but the above scene would re-view this as 'our side can't exist yet, you know this! you know why it can't!', and crowley leaves, again after pushing a bit more than aziraphale can stand.

alpha centauri: basically a facsimile of the above; same steps, same dance. but this time, crowley harks back to aziraphale's foolish (?) hope that they will be together, without having to run away, when the day comes that they don't have to answer to heaven or hell. and aziraphale smacks him right back, echoing crowley asking for aziraphale's forgiveness in kissing him, "i forgive you." crowley knows exactly what aziraphale is getting at, there - he's answering crowley's whispered plea to forgive him for pushing, for trying to force him, for acting in desperation. but he's also not answering that - he's skirting around that very thing, forgiving him like a knife would, slicing back at crowley for not only insulting aziraphale on something that is likely a genuine insecurity of his, but also putting him back in his place, for their safeties, because them being together just cannot happen. not yet.

and "please forgive me" in 1941 might seem out of character, but idk if it is; crowley knows that doing what he's about to do will hurt aziraphale, aziraphale has (hypothetically) told him as much, but he needs to do it - and seeks not benevolence or forgiveness as crowley-the-demon, but actually seems aziraphale's forgiveness, as crowley-the-person. the echo would certainly match the tone given here, in multiple ways:

the ritz: i mean, what is there to say? yes, their song is literally playing on the piano, and heralds the shift in their being out from heaven and hell, the day has finally come where they can - again, going by this entirely hypothetical scene that ive concocted - actually be together as they want to. and the nightingale literally singing outside, but as @shoemakerobstetrician beautifully pointed out, god remarks that it's covered up by traffic. so actually, if we again refer back to R&J interpretation of the nightingale, the love is still hidden, still somewhat under wraps, but can only just about be heard over the noise of the streets outside. the prohibition of them being together, of loving each other, is dwindling. and one day, it'll stop singing altogether. that day is coming, it will come, and then they can do what they please. so whilst the ritz scene may well be a mark of them starting the next chapter, it's slow to take hold, there's still hesitancy - which absolutely makes sense when we see that they are still very tentative with each other come the beginning of s2.

s2 general: aziraphale realises their freedom first; he gets excited by the dance, and being able to show his love to crowley, completely and without barriers, in the form of the ball - what he has read to be the best way to do so. he touches crowley more. he shares his bookshop with him, gifts it to crowley as being his as well as aziraphale's, this safe space that is so wholly theirs that crowley has the power to grant entry. the same with the bentley - aziraphale sees it as theirs, and crowley silently agrees, granting aziraphale the same power. crowley is comfortable in the bookshop to remove his glasses, has a place for them. the bookshop becomes tidier, more minimalist, to make crowley more comfortable in it (it is more cluttered in s1, im certain of it). it might just be the grading between s1 and s2, and lack of clutter, but the yellow is more prominent - his literal favourite colour. everything just screams that aziraphale is ready to make good on his promise from s3-1941.

crowley... for once, is the one not quite catching up. not realising the little dates here and there are literally poses them as a couple (although yes, the coffee shop one is to prep crowley for the goob jumpscare), that aziraphale has granted him the power to grant entry. aziraphale literally asking, practically begging, crowley to help him hide goob. the mf colour of the walls. the colour of the bentley. it's not until nina outright asks him if they are together that he realises how careless they've been - but wait, is it careless if they have nothing to be careful of? well, arguably crowley does, hell are still hanging around him like a bad smell... but this is what he wanted! this is what he was pushing aziraphale for! so, does he risk it? he's not sure, but he's certainly realising that aziraphale is ready, if nothing else. and by the time the ladies stage their little intervention, crowley finally realises that the confession he started in 1941 now can be fully aired, can come out into the open.

the Feral Domestic: *fingers at temples* i know i have been fairly vocal about my interpretation of this scene, and frankly - until we get this hypothetical s3-1941 scene, i stand by it - but let's say this speculation about the scene is true, and re-examine the key points in the Final Fifteen that would completely turn on their heads in terms of meaning:

literally, harking back full circle to what aziraphale promised in 1967 as what they would do when they could fully acknowledge their love, and what they did as soon as - on paper - they were free at the end of s1. this is however before he's spoken to by nina and maggie, so maybe this is what crowley was planning in terms of confessing fully to aziraphale, but after their meddling he realised that yes, they need to actually talk about it again. he doesn't understand why they're telling him what they are - because he's existed so long in gestures and gifts and not talking, literally dismissed it now as a viable option, that it doesn't even occur to him to try talking again.

which is why he does something brave, and tries to tell aziraphale instead (say it out loud, make it undeniable, put a name to it, "i love you", something that i think was crowley's actual intention before aziraphale interrupts him) when he comes back to the shop... he's so nervous, because it's vulnerable, and because the last time he did, they ended up hiding for 50-ish years.

next up:

now, im reluctant to think that aziraphale lied in the Feral Domestic, because i do think the key thing at work is his paramount need to do the Right Thing (ie. make a difference in heaven). whilst metatron obviously manipulates him, im not entirely convinced that aziraphale wholly sees through it. i don't think he knew that metatron was up to something, i think the shaking off of this naivety is going to be part of his s3 character development. but this sentence - again, especially in context of the hypothetical s3-1941 scene - must on some level frighten him. especially if you take this meta into account, aziraphale must realise at least that they were never safe, even when they were denying what they were and how they felt, it didn't make a bit of difference. now, metatron could have just been talking about the arrangement, not referring to any romantic elements of any kind, but the threat of it? no wonder he pushes for crowley to join him in heaven; he could keep crowley safe there. they could be together, and heaven - in his eyes - would be able to say a word against it.

then:

the fear sets in; crowley was too late in telling him, acknowledging that they could be together, realising what aziraphale was saying to him without words, and now heaven has come for him. plonked them right back where they were in s2-1941, but perversely mirrored; instead of hell coming for crowley with violence, heaven came for aziraphale with kindness. crowley doesn't have a magic trick he can just do on the fly, perform it perfectly when the need for it is greatest, and has to cling to the hope that aziraphale still sees them as the barrier to them, the reason they can't be together. and in true miscommunication fashion, i think aziraphale does see it, but what metatron said lingers, and in addition to being inside the institution, changing it from the inside out, in order to make a difference... he knows that whilst it's exactly the opposite of what they wanted, he needs to make them safe. better to be inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in.

but aziraphale doesn't tell crowley what metatron said, because instead he either deliberately tries to deny the implications of it (cognitive dissonance king behaviour), or he doesn't want to panic crowley and is trying to convey to crowley that he can't speak his concerns, not when the metatron could still be watching, and instead just needs crowley to trust him, take his hand, and join him in heaven where they can be safe. doesn't tell crowley that heaven hasn't captured him in shackles again, but he's willingly held out his wrists because it's the safest thing for him, and them, to do.

so it's one thing to look at what crowley's saying, but aziraphale's reaction? before, i just found it to be out of confusion, him not really understanding what crowley was saying, but tbh i never paid much attention to it (david stole this bit of the scene - not to put down my beloved michael here, but he did). and i know others have remarked here that aziraphale is flitting his eyes to the window and looks scared and stressed, but i don't completely think that its because he's scared that metatron is watching (although, now, i will accept with the rug thing and hypothetical s3-1941 in context it is definitely playing a part), but also because he's just starting to recognise that this is a repeat of the s3-1941 scene, "this sounds familiar, we've been here before... oh, we've definitely been here before... oh shit. i still can't do this, not unless he comes with me. we still can't be together, not in the way crowley wants. the way he's trying again, now, to ask for."

but the issue is: crowley wants to run away together. again. and i totally get why, but once again, going back to 1941: it's exactly the solution that will not work. they cannot run from this. heaven, and hell, will find them. they will come for them. it wasn't an option in 1941, it wasn't an option in 2019, and it isn't an option in 2023. aziraphale begins shaking his head - crowley is confessing, but a) aziraphale doesn't run from things, it isnt in his character, and b) it's just putting them back where they started - something that they have to hide. it defeats the purpose.

and this? yeah, im sure on neither side it was meant the way im about to interpret it, more of an unspoken thing, idk... but if the bookshop is indeed their place of safety, and is where they (as far as crowley sees it) can speak and keep their love, it makes sense that crowley is telling aziraphale he needs to stay. the bookshop can be interpreted so many ways - it represents their relationship, or that crowley means him, himself - but what if we looked at it like crowley is trying now to covet it, because it's protecting them? what if he's saying, "well, if you won't run away with me, we can't be free to have our relationship as we wanted it, not unless we stay here... heaven has come for you, has come for us, and whilst they're here we can't move. so what other option is left remain in this bookshop? to never leave it, and what we have inside it, because there's no other option in which we can be together if you won't run with me."

and what if aziraphale is saying, "no, i have an option, and that's to be together in heaven! they won't be able to do anything, not when im in the position the metatron has offered me, that can be our new bookshop... nothing lasts forever - this bookshop won't last forever, it's compromised, and we can't continue to secret away what we feel inside it, it's time to move forward."

welcome to the line that breaks my heart the most in this whole goddamn scene - and tbh i think is fairly self-explanatory in the hypothetical s3-1941 context. that aziraphale is trying, once again, to tell crowley that he is offering himself, letting them be an 'us', as crowley says shortly after - that before he couldnt do it, and these arent the best of circumstances, but they can finally do it and not have to hide in the bookshop. but crowley reminds him, "hey, i was in your shoes, remember. i wanted us to be together then, and you told me you couldn't, didn't want a halfway measure - well, now i don't either. and this will be a halfway measure, because i don't think us being together in heaven is going to go the way you hope it will. i understand a whole lot better than you do." in any case, it would explain why aziraphale choses this moment to look so devastated. this is what he promised crowley, but now crowley - to his mind, in the things left Unsaid - doesn't want it... him.

and then... back to the nightingales. they're not singing at all, not even under the rumble of traffic, like they were at the Ritz. they're completely absent - day has broken, the things unspoken have now been said, and there's no denying them anymore. from crowley's point of view, there was nothing to stop them this time, but if aziraphale won't run with him, then they have to go separate ways, because there is no other way. aziraphale knows there's the possibility that the only place they could actually be safe is heaven itself, that the bookshop was never as safe as they hoped it had been, but that crowley might actually come to see that. but the fact that crowley is resigned to just... returning to 'reality', to a world that's still turning where they aren't together? despite everything they've just said? "we could've been... us." well, that hurts.

and then... the kiss. now. im still of the mind that the kiss was an Issue. i definitely think it was meant out of love and desperation, and out of possibly being a goodbye. this would echo the hypothetical s3-1941 kiss... but it was hurtful. it was abrupt, and harsh, and not at all romantic (imo). it was possessive, and almost cruel. i do think still it was a last ditch attempt, a temptation, to get aziraphale to change his mind, before crowley leaves the shop and returns to the 'real world'. but it hurts aziraphale in many different ways - but with 1941 put in there, too? crowley is just testing his resolve, trying to push him, come around to giving in. crowley asked him to forgive him the last time he kissed aziraphale, and this time - this time, aziraphale is giving him what he asked for.