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giantmushyfriend · 1 year ago
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The Ineffable Husbands are ABBA coded (I went overboard on this one) (S2 SPOILERS) (I’m not sorry)
I see your “the ineffable husbands are so Hozier coded,” and your “they’re so Taylor Swift coded,” and I raise you a “the ineffable husbands are incredibly ABBA coded.” 
Listen, I know we all know about Aziraphale’s playlist having Angeleyes on it, which makes perfect sense given where Series 2 left us. I mean, come on; 
“Look into his angel eyes
One look and you’re hypnotized. 
He’ll take your heart and you must pray the price” 
And
“Sometimes when I’m lonely, I sit and think about him 
And it hurts to remember all the good times 
When I thought I could never live without him 
And I wonder, does it have to be the same
Every time? When I see him, will it bring back all the pain? 
How can I forget that name?” 
It’s obvious that this song, from a post-Series 2 standpoint is Aziraphale (and also Crowley) analyzing their relationship. It’s them admitting to themselves that although the other caused them pain, they still miss and love each other, even if they aren’t willing to admit it yet. 
However, this isn’t where the ABBA train ends. We can see Aziraphale and Crowley’s relationship, both the highs and lows, in several different ABBA songs. Do you want to talk about how Crowley is probably feeling after the finale? And how he’ll probably be feeling when we get our AziraCrow reunion in S3? Let’s look at The Winner Takes It All. The entire song relates to how Crowley see’s the split and different aspects of their relationship. 
“I’ve played all my cards
And that’s what you’ve done too
Nothing more to say
No more ace to play
The Winner takes it all
The loser’s standing small” 
Tell me this is not his confession scene. Crowley laid it all out there, and it wasn’t enough. They both have laid out what they think is best, and neither of them was pursued (mostly because of the bad communication). Heaven’s influence on Aziraphale and his inherent want to do good won out, the cards were never in Crowley’s favor in this situation. He’s left with essentially nothing when Aziraphale leaves, his one constant, his one tether to this world, is gone. 
“I was in your arms
Thinking I belonged there
I figured it made sense
Building me a fence
Building me a home
Thinking I’d be strong there
But I was a fool
Playing by the rules”
Talking about how Crowley built a home within his relationship with Aziraphale, and how he feels like a fool for relying on it after its been stripped away. 
“The gods may throw a dice
Their minds as cold as ice
And someone way down here
Loses someone dear” 
In reference to God’s ineffable plan, if Aziraphale leaving him and choosing Heaven is really a part of it. To God, this separation is just a smaller part of a larger scheme, insignificant, but to Crowley, it is life-changing. He’s lost his best friend, seemingly for good, all in the name of “the greater good.” 
“Somewhere deep inside
You must know I miss you
But what can I say?
Rules must be obeyed
The judges will decide
The likes of me abide”
COME ON. Crowley doesn’t believe that Aziraphale could ever love him, he’s a demon, and to the rest of the world, he is inherently below Aziraphale. Those are the “rules” of the world, and this is a dejected Crowley saying that maybe they can’t rewrite them. This is him, in his darkest moment, telling himself and Aziraphale that there is nothing they can do, rules in the end have to be obeyed and the likes of him have to abide by them eventually. 
To an extent, Aziraphale is the “winner” in this split. He’s the one that gets to leave, seemingly unbothered by the pain he is causing Crowley. We as the audience know differently, but Crowley doesn’t. In his perspective, Aziraphale has won the game. 
And their reunion in (hopefully) S3?
“And I understand
You’ve come to shake my hand”. 
Admitting defeat. Good game. 
You want Aziraphale to reflect on his mistake of leaving Crowley, which he inevitably will? Look at One of Us. 
“My picture clear
Everything seemed so easy
And so I dealt you the blow
One of us had to go”
Aziraphale is obviously still working through his toxic relationship with Heaven as an institution. In his eyes, with his belief in the greater good, everything seems easy. He can go to Heaven, make it worthy of beings like Crowley, and make it better. But when Crowley says he doesn’t want to go with him, Aziraphale knows he has to make the choice. And because of his inherent belief that Heaven can and is good, he chooses them, dealing the blow to Crowley with that final “I forgive you.” 
“One of us is crying, one of us is lying 
In a lonely bed
Staring at the ceiling
Wishing she was
somewhere else instead
One of us is lonely, and one of us is only
Waiting for a call
Sorry for herself, feeling 
stupid, feeling small
Wishing she had never left at all”
The entire chorus is Aziraphale wishing he could take back what happened that day. It’s him wishing that he was back on Earth, in his bookshop with Crowley. It’s him wishing that Crowley would come back to him. It’s him completely enveloped in regret. 
“I saw myself 
As a concealed attraction. 
I felt you kept me away 
From the heath and the action. 
Just like a child 
Stubborn and misconceiving
That’s how I started the show 
One of us had to go 
Now I’m changed and I want you to know” 
As we’ve already discussed, Aziraphale believes that Heaven is inherently good and thus must just need a push in the right direction. To him, he could be that push. When Crowley stands firm in his belief that Heaven won’t change, a part of Aziraphale had to have taken offense to that, because he’s partially hearing “Heaven won’t change, let alone for you”. Aziraphale, for his entire existence, has been told his efforts aren’t enough. So when he’s given the chance to make an impact, to finally do what he thinks is right, he jumps for it. He’s stubborn in his core beliefs that there is an inherently good and inherent evil, which we as the audience have come to learn isn’t true. To us, and probably to future Aziraphale, his past self was misconceiving. This is both present and future Aziraphale admitting that he made a mistake choosing Heaven over Crowley. This is Aziraphale pinning for the life he could have had with Crowley, for the life he gave away for what he thought was right. 
You want both of them to look back on the good times of them traveling the world throughout time before all of this Second Coming shit went down? Look at Our Last Summer. 
“I was so happy we had met
It was the age of no regret” 
“We took the chance
Like we were dancing our last dance 
I can still recall our last summer
I still see it all
In the tourist jam
Round the Notre Dame
Our Last summer
Walking hand in hand
Paris restaurants
Our last summer
Morning croissants
Living for the day 
Worries far away
Our last summer
We could laugh and play”
Do you want some angst where they both are looking back at what went wrong? Look no further, SOS has got you covered! 
“I try to reach for you, but
you have closed your mind. 
Whatever happened to our love? I wish I understood”’
That’s literally their final argument before Aziraphale leaves with Metatron. It’s them reaching for each other, both of them saying “Stay with me” but the lack of communication has shut down all hope. 
“When you’re gone, how 
can I even try to go on?”
“You made me feel alive,
but something died, I fear
I really tried to make it up
I wish I understood” 
Crowley in his last stitched attempt to make Aziraphale stay: the kiss. He tried to make it up, but it didn’t work and he doesn’t understand why it really didn’t. 
Oh, are you tired of angst? Do you want some happy ineffable husbands? ABBA beat us to it! You better believe that Crowley jams to Take a Chance on Me at least once a day. 
“Gonna do my very best 
and it ain’t no lie
If you put me to the test, if 
you let me try
Take a chance on me” 
“‘Cause you know I’ve got
So much that I wanna do 
When I dream I’m alone 
with you, it’s magic
You want me to leave it
there
Afraid of a love affair
But I think you know
That I can’t let go” 
“Oh, you can take your time baby
I’m in no hurry
Know I’m gonna get you” 
The entire song is Crowley asking Aziraphale to just give him a chance. To let him prove how much he loves him. 
Do you want them talking about that first Doomsday where they turned against their respective sides for each other? Fernando. 
“There was something in 
the air that night
The stars were bright, 
Fernando
They were shining there 
for you and me
For liberty, Fernando
Though we never thought 
that we could lose
There’s no regret
If I had to do the same
again
I would, my friend, 
Fernando” 
How about them talking about how much they love each other? I’ve Been Waiting For You, Waterloo, Super Trouper, and Lay Your Love On Me sums it up perfectly. 
I’ve Been Waiting For You:
“You’re something I’d been
pleading for
I love you, I adore you
I lay my life before you
I’ll have you want me more
and more
And finally, it seems 
my lonely days are through
I’ve been waiting for you” 
Waterloo:
“Waterloo
Promise to love you
forevermore
Waterloo
Couldn’t escape if I
wanted to
Waterloo
Knowing my fate is to be
with you”
“And how could I ever refuse
I feel like I win when I lose”
Super Trouper:
“So I’ll be there when you
arrive
The sight of you will prove 
to me I’m 
Still alive, and when you
take me in your arms
And hold me tight
I know it’s gonna mean so much tonight” 
Lay  All Your Love On Me
“It was like shooting a 
sitting duck
A little small talk, a smile
and baby I was stuck
I still don’t know what
you’ve done with me
A grown-up woman
should never fall so easily
I feel a kind of fear
When I don’t have you
near
Unsatisfied, I skip my pride
I beg you dear”
“I used to think that was sensible
It makes the truth even
more incomprehensible 
‘Cause everything is new
And everything is you
And all I’ve learned has
overturned
What can I do?” 
In conclusion, the ineffable husbands are probably the most ABBA-coded thing I’ve seen in a while. And no one talks about it! Absolutely no one! I think part of it comes from the fact that Series 2 of Our Flag Means Death has already been lumped with ABBA, but they both can be ABBA coded! Aziraphale and Crowley inspired all of the songs on the Mamma Mia set list, and you can pry that fact from my cold, dead hands. 
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