#good omens apples

[melbatron5000]

The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil

When Gabriel first arrives to Whickber street, a truckful of tomatoes dumps its load at his feet, he even squishes one and almost trips.

@scottishmushroom asked what this means in this post here, and I have some thoughts.

Every scene in this show is doing double duty, every image has symbolism attached to it. The symbolism needs to either be funny, or serve the narrative somehow (often both). And this season is lousy with Clues.

What twigged me to my thought was the further note that there seem to be baskets of tomatoes in the Job minisode. They seem to be a throwaway prop, except that they are placed exactly between Aziraphale and Crowley in the shot they appear in. The placement of objects matters, as it tells the audience what's important, whose POV we're seeing through, etc.

(Oh, hey! I just noticed that the plants in the shot with the pomegranates appear to be dracaena trifasciata -- common names include mother-in-law's tongue, SNAKE plant, and DEVIL'S TONGUE. Native to Nigeria, so not out of place here. I have a six-foot one of those in my sunroom! Hm!)

Back to the tomatoes.

Tomatoes in the Middle East during Bibical times? @docdust pointed out that those aren't tomatoes, they're pomegranates.

Aha.

Tomatoes used to be called "love apples" back in the day, and the Greeks referred to pomegranates as "grainy apples."

Apples, Bible, something something Eve ate something . . .

Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, then offered the fruit to Adam who also ate it. Then both were cast out of Eden, because God was worried they would also eat of the tree of eternal life and elevate themselves to Her own status. (That part of the story gets left out a lot, I wonder why . . . )

There's actually no Biblical reference that we know of to any particular fruit. Some translator at some point labelled it an apple, and it's been thought of that way ever since. But apples weren't found in the Middle East during Biblical times, either, so it's unlikely it was actually an apple Eve ate. Pick a fruit to stand in, any fruit.

(In the TV series Lucifer, Eve jokes that it was always a metaphor, there never was a "fruit" of any kind. Unless maybe a banana? (She grins at Lucifer.) But I digress.)

So pick a fruit to stand in for apples. Maybe a tomato (love apple)? Or a pomegranate (grainy apple)?

In both scenes where these fruits appear, important characters are having a big crisis of faith. In both cases, their first crisis of faith. They are learning that Heaven isn't what it's cracked up to be. Gabriel has eaten of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, and has been cast out of Eden (Heaven). (Though we don't know that yet when he first shows up -- the tomatoes are A Clue!)

Aziraphale has eaten of the tree of knowledge and been cast out of Eden -- though in his case, Eden is simply naivete, his ability to go along with Heaven unquestioningly. ("What am I?")

Aziraphale's crisis of faith seems more clear -- even my bestie, while watching the show with me, got kind of upset at the Job minisode because of her own religious trauma. Job is touchy story for a lot of people. It's an appropriate place for Aziraphale to lose his confidence that Heaven is light and truth and good. It's a story that a lot of people lose faith over.

And Crowley, in this instance, is Eve. The one who's already tasted the fruit, and is offering it their partner. "Let me show you what you don't even know."

And so we have "apples" present at the moment of both characters gaining knowledge of good and evil. Or at least, gaining knowledge that Heaven isn't Good, and going against Heaven isn't Evil.

That's my take on it, anyway, and how I would interpret the symbolism of those two fruits present at that those two points in the narrative. Your mileage may vary.

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

👀.

[huang-er-jiejie]

i. i just realised something about the kiss.

the way when aziraphale puts both of his hands on crowley's back, you can see them kinda shift so aziraphale isn't leaning. he held onto crowley for stability, and leaned in. pushed closer to him. he leaned forward. anyone ever says he didn't want the kiss im going to hunt you down because HE HELD CLOSE!!! HE KISSED BACK!!!!

EDIT: also im like WELL aware he kissed back i was even when i first watched it like its not a big revelation, its just that SOME people☠️ on TIKTOK☠️ KEEP SAYING HE WAS DISGUSTED BY THE KISS???? like i swear some people are watching a different show entirely

[gleafer]

I made them ladies!😍❤️

Who speak their minds! Yes, a right prick, indeed!

[aro-ace-axolotl]

[colleendoran]

Original pen and ink line art from GOOD OMENS, which I will have for you to see at WONDERCON. I am unable to make any original art from Good Omens for sale at this time.

I will have other books and art available to see and buy in Artist Alley B-2. I will be on multiple panels, have two signings, and do please check out my exhibit at the San Diego Comic Con Museum curated by Kim Munson

Please be aware I am a cancer patient and must prioritize my health. I will be masked and taking every precaution. If I need a break, I will take a break. Thank you for understanding.

[jealizmuch]

hello good omens fandom long time no see

[dragonmouth]

Crowley’s first failed attempt at tempting Aziraphale in the Garden of Eden….

A very lovely follower on Twitter gave me the idea and reminded me that sugar apples exist. I wish I could try a sugar apple. They look so tasty.

[melbatron5000]

Apples, apples.

When Eve ate the first apple from the Tree of Knowledge, then gave it to Adam, they gained the knowledge of the difference between good and evil.

When Gabriel descends from Heaven and arrives at Whickber street, it's the start of him knowing that Heaven isn't all it's cracked up to be, and not wanting to stay. He has gained the knowledge of good and evil, he's no longer the ra-ra corporate man he was.

When Aziraphale learns of the plan to kill Job's children, questions and doubts are put into his heart. He first tastes of the knowledge of good and evil, and chooses to lie to thwart the will of God. Apples would be historically unlikely in the Land of Uz, so pomegranates, once known by the Greeks as grainy apples and native to the Middle East, are placed instead. And given that there is historically a lot of doubt as to what, exactly, the "fruit" in Eden actually was, pomegranates make a perfectly reasonable stand-in.

Now, does fruit show up anywhere else? If so, where, and in what context? Who else has learned to question, and in what circumstances? Or are these two our main and most important examples? If so, I start to wonder and link it back to the promo posters, where Aziraphale, Crowley, and Gabriel are all Jesus-coded. They are our questioners. The angels who wanted to know why. I'm not sure how that makes them Jesus-y, but it puts questions in my own heart.

Starting this off with please do not tag or ask Neil***

I need to know if anyone out there has a theory/idea/speculation about the tomatoes in season 2.

This show does nothing without a reason behind it. And ever since my first watch through, I thought the tomatoes randomly falling in 02.01 when Gabriel walks by was so strange. Why do they fall? Why do we have to see them fall and land on the ground? Why does Gabriel notice and seemingly step on one? Is it just filler? What does it mean???

I pretty much let it go and assumed it was just a nice little cinematic detail but then.

One day I’m watching 02.02 during the Job throwback and what do I see?

Tomatoes.

Right as Aziraphale is working out that something is wrong with the kids goats, you can see a bowl of tomatoes sitting on the ground.

Coincidence? Perhaps.

But then I notice when Crawley and Aziraphale are having their dramatic standoff, the bowl of tomatoes is directly in the center of the shot and positioned perfectly between them.

I wish I had a theory to offer you all, but I don’t. All I have is an observation that I just cannot explain. Could it be absolutely nothing? Possibly. But the attention to detail in this show is on another level, and I’d love to hear if anyone else noticed this or has their own theory as to whether the tomatoes mean anything.

Of course I’ve tried diving into the significance of tomatoes (also known as love apples) and I’m not seeing anything that’s standing out to me in regards to our ineffable idiots. Even in the book, there is only a small mention of tomatoes and a footnote that mentions tomatoes/love apples, but neither scene is about our beloved angel and demon duo.

Please share your ideas!

[tonydaddingham]

no im SORRY but these are the expressions of a man who has been told by the barista that he and his in-fact-not boyfriend make a cute couple and promptly experiences ✨complete gay panic✨

bonus in-fact-not boyfriend in question:

[itsmissdoll]

"Apple, Angel? Fresh off my tree."

It's Aziraphale's turn to blush.

[alwaystuesday]

🦇 🎃 It's Spooky Bang time! 🎃🦇

I've created illustrations for @hopelesslysleepy 's truly wonderful and chilling nothing gold can stay (but you) written for @spooky-bang-good-omens!

Summary: At the abandoned Dowling Estate, Crowley and Aziraphale investigate reports of strange occurrences centered around the apple orchard’s mysterious Watcher.

Chapter 1: through a mirror, darkly on AO3! (5,164 words | Teen and up audiences)

Go read it and get your spooky on!

[illuteridae]

and eve said yeah why the hell not i’ve been starving for as long as i can remember

[fcheez]

the first act of disobedience

[extraaa-30]

when do you think Crowley first learned humans were giving teachers apples to thank them for the gift of knowledge and why was it definitely at some point when he was working as a teacher

[fearandhatred]

wow so remember the project i started all the way back in JANUARY 😐 the anniversary finally gave me the motivation to pick this back up again lmao this is uhhh panel 6 of panel 2. i think

panels 1, 2, 5, 8, and 9 of panel 2