#new good omens s2 picture!!!

[jupiterslifelessmoons]

Two “bros” chilling on a rock, five feet apart cause they’re not gay

[an-absolute-trainwreck]

Hi I’m really normal about Crowley goodomens and I wanted to mess with color so I traced this picture for reference teehee

Something something snakes have poor eyesight so he couldn’t see the stars…

W/o effects under cut for funsies

[neil-gaiman]

First of all, thank you for all your amazing work! Your books and shows truly make the world a better place!

I wanted to ask of there is any news on the Anansi Boys series. I thought it was being filmed at the same time as Good Omens s2, but there appears to be no news about it lately... Any idea of when it might come out?

The episodes were "picture locked" while I was on strike, and the VFX work is now being done.

[embracing-the-ineffable]

Ineffable discontinuity and the Bentley's roadtrip transformation: new back doors and other changes (after it was yellow), and Crowley... didn't notice?!*

*Also, as a side observation, did he leave the Bentley window open during the ball and everything that happened after? Why?

Have you been longing to be even more perplexed by the ineffable discontinuity of Good Omens season 2? Do you love endless data in the form of screencaps? If so, then please join me on this wild ride! Here are some highlights:

Top photos: Season 1, episode 6, after Adam reboots reality; S2e2, before Aziraphale's e3 road trip. The Bentley is a gray and black 2-tone car with 2 doors (only 1 handle is visible on each side).

And on the bottom is s2e5, while Crowley is driving, it's a solid black car with 4 doors and smaller silver hubcaps.

(edit: For those of you thinking about the different Bentley models used in s1 vs s2 (discussed in detail below), or the difference between the full car and half car set, just those three full car pictures above demonstrate that the new s2 Bentley model is NOT the reason for this mid-season shift. For more details about the half car set plus other ways to tell the Bentleys apart - without talking about color - see my newer post with handy diagrams, here.)

And the s2 interior?

Here's e1, after Crowley talks to Shax, and e3, as Aziraphale arrives in Edinburgh (which is also when the Bentley debuts as a 4-door). And look at this blocking - how both characters are posed so similarly with their backs to us in these shots!! It's so deliberate! :

And look at the seats! In e2, Crowley is talking to Shax again, and in e5, Crowley just parked the Bentley before the ball:

When Crowley, who is so tuned in that he senses the car is yellow and driving too slow even from a distance, sees the "new" Bentley in e4, he doesn't act as though anything has changed, he just happily and purposefully walks up and opens the back door that was never there to put his plants inside.

THE BACK DOOR THAT WAS NEVER THERE

For that matter, Crowley and Aziraphale both seem to be unaware of the changes! This feels like both a metaphor and a functional plot device for season 3. There's more discussion at the end of this post!

Thanks to comments and observations awhile back from @bbbitchvibbbez , I did some careful searching for s2 scenes featuring the Bentley, and this post is the labor of love and irrational obsession result!

If you want to see lots more Bentley screencaps and discussion, including Crowley nonchalantly using the new back door, and possibly also leaving the Bentley window open during the ball and everything that followed, please keep reading:

Some background and context:

Ok, so there was a different Bentley "actor" for s2. The s1 actor was a 2-door, the s2 actor is a 4-door. If you look carefully, you'll see that in s1 the backseat side windows are smaller than the front side windows. In s2, they're the same size. I talk more about the windows - with handy diagrams! - in my newer Bentley post, here.

There's also been some controversy about the interior color of the s2 Bentley, black vs brown, and how that could relate to the s2 body swap theory; here are details about that from @lonicera-caprifolium and @picturesque-about-it. I don't think my findings support (or disprove) that theory, but take a look at what I found and see what you think!

(*Please don't ask Neil about any of this, he's already given us the answers he wants to give, and he's not going to spoil the surprises in s3 now by telling us what's really going on!*)

Here's the episode/scene breakdown:

S2e1 on the street with Shax - gray, two toned, two doors (one visible door handle on a side), brown interior - both the seats and the inside panel of the door. Notice how the door is hinged at the back, and opens opposite the way most modern cars do (this is called a suicide door):

More s2e1 photos, the Bentley is in a lot of scenes this episode and as far as I can tell it stays the same gray 2-door for the whole episode, but it's frequently in dark lighting to make it harder to tell it isn't actually black (I've brightened most of these shots). It also has larger silver hubcaps, and I notice consistent brown seats (these interior pics are from three different scenes):

In s2e2, the Bentley is only in two scenes, and it's the same as s2e1. Now, you can see in the larger photo below that it's obviously not the SAME as s1 - the backseat side windows are too long - but the production team DID try to make the new Bentley "actor" look the same as in season 1. It's a gray 2-tone car with 2 doors (1 handle visible on each side) with larger silver hubcaps. As an aside, what's with the red lights on the car in this shot?? I mean, yes, it's a reflection of another car's brake lights, but why put that onscreen?

Also, in case it's relevant, Crowley is wearing his turtleneck throughout this episode, and still has the silver-sided glasses from e1:

Ok, now we have s2e3, and as Crowley meets Muriel and gives Aziraphale his car keys, we see he's no longer wearing the turtleneck, AND this is when his glasses change to black-sided ones:

Outside, we see the Bentley looks the same as the rest of s2 thus far, as Aziraphale sets off for Edinburgh. Gray 2-tone, brown interior (with window bullet hole decals very visible), with larger silver hubcaps. There's only one handle visible, so it's still meant to look like a 2-door:

Ok, here's where things start to change! Azi is driving and the Bentley is yellow. The seats might (?) be black, there's still only one door handle on the side, the silver hubcaps are still larger. But when he "changes it back", NOW it's black:

And by the time he pulls into Edinburgh, Transformation Complete. (Did Something Else Happen?? Or is this an effect of Aziraphale finally being welcome to take care of this extension of Crowley? More speculation at the end!) It's a black 4-door, two handles clearly visible on the side, with smaller silver hubcaps:

And the interior? The door panel, at least, is black now - and it has a texture that wasn't there when it was brown. Here's e1 next to e3 (and appreciate, again, this very intentional parallel blocking of the two actors!):

In s2e4, we see the Bentley in two scenes; at the beginning when Aziraphale meets Shax-as-hitchhiker, where we see the bullet holes and the black door lining, and at the end when the Bentley is reunited with Crowley:

When Aziraphale parks the Bentley back at the bookshop, we see the bullet hole decals and that it's still a black 4-door:

So he goes to meet Crowley, they come back with the plants. We can see that the camera is to the rear of the car, and the front of the car is to their left. They're standing on the left side of the car. If Crowley opens the door, we won't see the interior door panel, right? Because the Bentley doors are hinged on the back, instead of the front, so the door will open towards us:

WELL. Mx "I can feel when you drive below the speed limit" and "change it back!" Crowley very eagerly walks up to the BLACK car, greets it with some sweet baby talk, and then opens the suddenly-existing BACK door with a hinge on the front (so it opens away from us) as if this is All Perfectly Normal, and we can (barely) see the door lining and it's BLACK and textured:

A few more shots of Crowley, standing at the brand-new back door of the Bentley, still wearing those black-sided glasses:

And in case you're wondering, in s1e2 when Anathema gets a ride in the Bentley, she climbs into the backseat from the front driver door, and she climbs out through the front passenger door. There wasn't a back door on either side. Here she climbs into the Bentley, and you can see Crowley fold down the front seat, and there's clearly only one door on that side, and it's hinged at the back. (When she gets out on the passenger side, it's harder to see, but you can tell that door is also hinged at the back.) :

In s2e5, Crowley drives the Bentley to the bookshop, and then we only catch a few small glimpses of it while Aziraphale is recruiting shopkeepers to the meeting/ball. Here's Crowley driving the black 4-door Bentley with small silver hubcaps, and here he is getting out of the car with black seats. The front door is still hinged at the back, as it always has been. The window is open - his hand is reaching through to open the door - so we can't see the bullet hole decals:

The next time we see more than a hint of the Bentley, it's the end of s2e6 and Crowley is standing next to it, watching Azi leave with the Metatron. It's still black, with 4 doors and black seats and smaller hubcaps. We don't see the bullet hole decals, but perhaps the window is still open from when he parked it in e5? (And WHY would he leave the window open? Was someone supposed to come by after he parked it to deliver something to the Bentley, or take something out?) Emotional photos ahead:

I over exposed that last picture, to make the colors really easy to pick out. The seats are absolutely, definitely black.

So... what does it mean? Why did it happen, and why didn't Crowley notice or react?

I love the metaphor that Aziraphale subconsciously created a back door for - or into - Crowley, especially with all those references to the "back channels" of communication between heaven and hell. I'm thinking it could represent - or actually be - another way for them to communicate, or like another entrance to his heart; it's something that Aziraphale doesn't realize he changed or added and that Crowley hasn't noticed yet either, even if he's making use of those changes on some level. I'm sure other metaphors could also fit!

And I'm reminded of something @theeminentlyimpractical said, "Crowley, despite his whining, fully accepts the idea of "our car," which fundamentally transforms the Bentley". That post was liked by Neil, so there could definitely be something to this "our car" transformation line of thinking.

So, was the transformation a subconscious effect of Aziraphale finally being welcome by Crowley to drive the Bentley, and caring for and taking responsibility for this part of Crowley? Or did Aziraphale consciously do this, or did Crowley? Or maybe the Bentley is sentient, and it chose to be bigger/different now, to accommodate both of them. Or did the change happen in response to Something Else We Didn't See?

Is Crowley's (and Aziraphale's) apparent non-reaction another example of an unreliable narrator or some memory tampering? Is manipulation of the Book of Life involved? Are there multiple timelines? Is someone time traveling? Or is it just that Aziraphale and Crowley already discussed the changes off screen, before Aziraphale left Edinburgh?

If Crowley noticed the changes, I would have expected a comment about them. Either, "change it back!" or a reluctant, "those are changes I can live with", or... Something. But instead, the production team went to some trouble to make sure the hints are there, but hard to spot (you can review the similar, careful s1 hints about the appearance swap here, from @fuckyeahgoodomens); as opposed to, for one example, the way they very clearly pointed out Maggie's mysterious spelling mistake, both on screen and in the dialogue. So I feel reasonably certain the Bentley's transformation is a careful, subtle hint about a Secret Something Important That Will Be Revealed In Season 3. I think it's both a metaphor and a plot device*.

What are some of your favorite metaphors? Your most reasonable theories? What about some of your biggest, wildest, most improbable theories?

*And if you enjoy Good Omens metas, theories, clues, etc, I have a big pinned collection of those from the fandom, here!

[youryurigoddess]

A. Z. Fell & Co. bookshop and its statues

To start off, you have to be warned that the former set was almost completely destroyed in the S1 bookshop fire and whatever wasn’t important enough to be salvaged before the shooting had to be replaced afterwards. Which means that a few memorable and already identified pieces aren’t there anymore, for better or worse.

This is going to be another long analysis, and certainly not a full one — I’ll describe only the big picture and the most important props. A continuation focusing on the decorations in the less prominent parts of the bookshop will follow here.

Right at the entrance we can see twin tables with the Marly Horses by Guillaume Coustou the Elder. The sculptures showing two rearing horses with their groom were originally commissioned by Louis XV of France for the entrance to château de Marly, a royal residence near Versailles.

In S2 Crowley is shown consistently using one of the horses, partially out of convenience, partially in line with a returning throughout the season dark horse theme. Ironically, the symbolic harnessing of a wild animal mirrors the supposed domestication of the demon by his angel, as seen in the transformation of the statue to the right from the entrance into an altar of his submission.

After all, there’s nothing more vulnerable to Crowley than losing the usual protection of his shades, and using a horse sculpture as a stand for his sunglasses speaks volumes about his natural aptitude towards uncertain and liminal states. He thrives in stress situations, dangles his feet while hopping onto a curb, and assumes the form of a non-Euclidean fluid when asked to sit down in a chair. Stability isn’t exactly what he’s most comfortable with. So what for Aziraphale signifies the power over his (theirs?) own domain and ultimate safe space, for Crowley means a challenge.

It makes sense that this particular spot near the exit is where the demon feels most secure in the bookshop, his favorite place in the world. That’s where he stood after crossing its threshold in 1941 too.

The statue in the middle, right on top of the central bookstand, was replaced after the S1 fire. It’s still clearly a Cupid, but in a different pose and without his weapons — instead of shooting an arrow, now he’s holding his left hand over his head, pointing up towards Heaven or God. Quite a change. This is the most similar copy made after Ernest Rancoulet. The butterfly-like wings (similar to the ones Rancoulet used in his La Nuit Tout Repose, At Night Everything Rests) on the copy in the bookshop have visible screws, so they were probably added either by the previous owner or the Good Omens art department.

What’s especially important from the analytic point of view is that similarly to S1, the Cupid in question still appears in the frame facing Crowley, but not targeting him anymore, like it used to, but rather mirroring. The most memorable example appears during the Final Fifteen™ when the demon points up with left hand to highlight his “No nightingales” line.

This one will be fun! Everyone, meet George Maxim’s bronze allegory of Music in her full glory. Angels like music in general, right? And Aziraphale is a known audiophile, which was asserted in the very first episode of the new season. But there’s another link to music in his angelic roots. A rather apocalyptic one — the Archangel Raphael is believed to blow the trumpet from a holy rock in Jerusalem to announce the Second Coming (the Day of Resurrection), and Israfil, its Islamic counterpart, Qiyamah (the Day of Judgment).

Staying in the very same context, let’s read the ballad Israfel by Edgar Allen Poe, which was obviously inspired by the titular Archangel.

Nothing on Earth lasts forever — but that’s exactly the reason why we should use it for inspiration, savor this momentary bliss, and hold it in our hearts. The ballad shares the same sentiment about all creation being temporary and only the passions of angels (i.e., Aziraphale’s and Crowley’s feelings) staying eternally unchanging as Aziraphale’s “Nothing lasts forever”. His line was intended as an affirmation of his feelings, similar to “You go too fast for me, Crowley”.

And just like the Cupid is mirroring Crowley in the “No nightingales” line, Music is targeting Aziraphale with her harp in the following frame.

On the counter there’s a smaller bronze statue, which original unfortunately remains unidentified, but I was able to track some similar designs. A woman coming back from the harvest with crops — either a representation of Autumn or the Greek goddess Demeter bringing a blessing of a plentiful harvest. In the Bible, the harvest is a metaphor for both spiritual fruitfulness and judgment. Our productivity in God’s kingdom is supposedly tied to our faith and obedience. And the most popular verses repeat an even older saying, how one reaps what they sow:

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8)

And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” (Revelation 14:15)

The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. (Jeremiah 8:20)

If you read The summer that was never supposed to end meta, you’ll interpret the figure itself as a rather ominous sign. Now let’s add to it positioning right next to the gigantic Victorian cash register one cannot possibly overlook and the recurring theme of payment. And the fact that it conveniently disappears at some point in The Ball (S02E05) episode, never to be seen again. Is the payment reminder not needed anymore, because its day just came?

For some reason ever since S1 this one was often interpreted as a bust of Alexander the Great by the fandom. The proper name is the Head of a Victorious Athlete, also known as Benevento Head. As this suggests, the originally bronze sculpture represents a victorious athlete wearing an olive crown and was found near Benevento in Italy, in the remnants of the ancient town Herculaneum, wiped off from the face of the earth together with Pompeii in a tragic volcanic eruption (which was conveniently used later on as a more modern example of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah). It’s an obviously Roman copy of a Greek sculpture and dates back to 50 AD, less than a decade after Aziraphale and Crowley met in Rome in 41 AD— who knows, maybe they were still around at the time? This would make an interesting connection to the statue Crowley brought back to his apartment in 1941.

And no, in the HD quality and especially en face it doesn’t appear similar to Crowley. In fact, there seems to be a very good reason why most photographers choose another, more flattering angle for this particular artwork. But aesthetics aside, the white bust seems more like a mirror for Aziraphale and his self-constructed (and self-imposed) idealized image, based on a specific set of virtues. The presented athlete is victorious because he’s the epitome of the Platonic Triad of higher Forms: Truth, Beauty, and Excellence, understood in the wider context of the Greek Aretē.

To highlight this point, in S1 the head was literally used as a designated display place of the medal Aziraphale got as a commendation for his 6000 years on Earth in the 1800 cut scene. As a free agent not affiliated with Heaven in S2 he doesn’t hang it there anymore, but the medal is still in the bookshop, visible on his desk. You can see it in detail and read the description of its provenance in the last bookshop meta.

Daedalus and Icarus are a very popular motif in the history of art, but certainly not in this overtly masculine, military style. Icarus was too ambitious for his own good and ignored explicit instructions, which constitutes both the sin of pride and that of disobedience to one's parents (or one’s Creator?).

Interestingly, there’s also a version of the myth in which Icarus fashioned himself greater than Helios, the Sun himself, and the god himself punished him for it with the fall — which resonates very strongly with my vision of Crowley both in relation to his Fall and potential S3 development.

But back to Aziraphale. If the medal in question was given to him as a commendation he from the Supreme Archangel himself, it also serves as a warning for him to not get too arrogant or comfortable with his accomplishment (i.e., life on Earth) or it might lead to his fall (or, in this case, Fall).

Foreshadowing much?

[most-normal-eccles-cake-ignorer]

Good Omens: Lockdown, Aziraphale’s SAD-ASS desk, and how they get to 'Our bookshop' in S2

Welcome to part 2 of me reading reeaally far into the Good Omens: Lockdown video! (part 1 from Crowley's POV here) This post assumes the item choices in the Lockdown visuals are intentional. What follows is going to be my headcanon regardless, but if you're into the Word of God, Lockdown is canon 'If you want it to be.' and I want it to be, sooo checkmate! >;D

Also this is something of a long boi (~13 minute read without following the links >.>), so if you're into unhinged analysis of details and literary references that indicate Aziraphale is in his longing era and want to learn more about author and fave-of-Gaiman, G.K. Chesterton, either get comfy or mark this to read later when you have time!

C: What? A: *somehow surprised even though HE CALLED* A-ah, hello. It's me! C: I know it's you, Aziraphale. A: *regaining composure* Yes, well, just calling to see how you were doing in lockdown.

The video starts with shots of Aziraphale and Crowley's da Vinci sketches (and some sushi remnants)... Babygirl is flipping through the time-goes-too-fast-for-me version of a facebook album, thinking about his crush. vERY chill of him. (also the paper looks new and he's eating on top of them, suggesting these are prints and he has multiple copies of them... sooo normal)

If we look closer at the still of Crowley's portrait, we can see part of the spine of a book that reads Kei- Chesterto-. This is, of course, author Gilbert Keith Chesterton, to whom Neil and Terry (and Crowley) dedicated Good Omens:

The authors would like to join the demon Crowley in dedicating this book to the memory of G. K. Chesterton A man who knew what was going on.

In this post by @azfellandco about Chesterton, you can see a photo of the dedication page and also read the book excerpt where Crowley describes Chesterton as 'the only poet in the twentieth century to even come close to the Truth'.

C: I'm bored. I'm so very very bored - transcendentally bored. There's nothing to do here!

As Crowley is explaining his nap contingency plan, we get a shot of Aziraphale picking up his mug of hot chocolate, then the image below of the 2/3rds gone bottle of Courvoisier cognac (i mean maybe he is baking with it let's not jump to conclusions), and then the stack of books beside a framed woodcut print of witches dancing with devils...

...that I used reverse image search to trace back to page 17 of a book from 1720 called The history of witches and wizards: giving a true account of all their tryals in England, Scotland, Swedeland, France, and New England; with their confession and condemnation.

Interestingly, the text above and below the picture reads:

At their Meeting they have usually Wine, or good Beer, Cakes, Meat, or the like; they Eat and Drink really: When they meet in their Bodies, Dance also, and have Musick...

Beside the framed print of Aziraphale's idea of a really great night out is a stack of books that includes (going from top to bottom):

Homer's The Iliad, Book 2

Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer's Manual of the Fifteenth Century by Richard Kieckhefer

a book by Hilaire Belloc with no visible title

The Club of Queer Trades by G.K. Chesterton

The Iliad (according to sparknotes) has the following major themes:

....Interesting, ok. Book 2 in particular starts with a god (Zeus) messing with someone (Agamemnon) via a dream that says he will be successful in taking Troy if he launches a full assault, balls to the (city) wall. Agamemnon, who is supposed to be leading the Achaean army to conquer Troy, believes the dream but then in a weird twist decides to test his army and be like 'jk actually I'm giving up and going home' and then is mad when the soldiers are like 'sick, to the boats!' Then Odysseus, who sparknotes tells me is the most eloquent of the Achaeans, gives an impressive speech to inspire the troops and reminds them that they vowed 'that they would not abandon their struggle until the city fell.' ...No way that could worsen Aziraphale's internal conflict about being a bad Angel who thwarted the Great Plan. >.>; Orthodoxy we'll get to in a second.

Then there's Forbidden Rites which is a medieval necromancy guide translated from Latin with added commentary - Aziraphale is perhaps studying occult topics in an attempt to understand Crowley better? And then there's the Hilaire Belloc book on top of the second Chesterton book, a collection of related stories/episodes?, The Club of Queer Trades. The book's Wikipedia page says:

Each story in the collection is centered on a person who is making his living by some novel and extraordinary means. To gain admittance [to the Club of Queer Trades] one must have invented a unique means of earning a living and the subsequent trade being the main source of income.

Aziraphale and Crowley have rather novel/extraordinary jobs and they're both peculiar-queer and gay-queer. Neat. The narrator in the book is named Charlie "Cherub" Swinburne - also neat. >.> He goes on an adventure with his friend, a retired judge and president of the Club of Queer Trades, Basil Grant, (who Oct 2021 GoodReads reviewer Cecily said is "described as mad, mystical, and a poet, with almost no friends, but who “would talk to any one anywhere”) and Basil's younger brother, a private detective named Inspector Constable Rupert Grant. The last line of the book is:

Thus our epic ended where it had begun, like a true cycle. (something something "It starts, as it will end, with a garden.")

Anyway, the Belloc book and The Club of Queer Trades are placed back to back in such a way that they almost look like they could be one book with two different aesthetics, or... two halves of a pantomime beast?! (stay with me I needed a segue)

Belloc and Chesterton have what is essentially a ship name:

It was coined by George Bernard Shaw (if you are like me and didn't know why you've heard of him: he wrote, among other things, Pygmalion, which was adapted into My Fair Lady). Shaw apparently liked to gossip about Belloc and Chesterton with H.G. Wells (again if you're uncultured like me: he wrote, among other science fiction-y things, The War of the Worlds).

In the Feb 15, 1908 issue of The New Age newspaper, Shaw said:

He continued:

"Chesterton and Belloc are so unlike that they get frightfully into one another’s way. ... They are unlike in everything except the specific literary genius and delight in play-acting that is common to them, and that threw them into one another’s arms.”

Shaw says Belloc is 'a bit of a rowdy', and 'cannot bear isolation'. Hmm. Then he says Chesterton is 'friendly, easy-going, unaffected, gentle, magnanimous, and genuinely democratic'. HMM.

“They share one failing—almost the only specific trait they have in common except their literary talent. That failing is, I grieve to say, addiction to the pleasures of the table.”

Ok ok I think we can see where this is going.

(^ from Staged S3E6)

Now, someone did ask Neil Gaiman about this similarity, and he said the Lockdown video was filmed by Rob Wilkins in Terry Pratchett's library, and that he suspects 'Belloc is there because he was on Terry's shelves beside Chesterton.' And it MAY VERY WELL BE that NONE (0) of the book titles are meant in any way other than 'these are books from Sir Pratchett's library that looked nice on camera and ofc we wanted some Chesterton refs and maybe some demon-y stuff for Crowley' but that is WAY less fun so I am choosing to take them as intentional: these are books Aziraphale is actually reading (along with the sushi and many cakes he is actually eating). Let's put ourselves in Aziraphale's shoes and try to imagine how it would be to read this stuff during lockdown while you pine for a demon with slinky hips after you got in big trouble at work for Armageddoff (and work happens to have defined your worldview and general purpose in life).

C: welll... ngk then people might follow my bad example and get ill. Or even die—

As Crowley acknowledges that he ought to be out making peoples' lives worse, we see Orthodoxy by Chesterton open on the desk.

Orthodoxy is described as a ‘spiritual autobiography’ and is considered a classic of Christian apologetics, i.e. the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines (in this case, Catholic) through systematic argumentation and discourse. Wikipedia also says Chesterton's The Everlasting Man contributed to C.S. Lewis' conversion to Christianity, so overall it sounds like he must've been fairly convincing. (and so maybe reading it also poked at that work-related-but-religious-trauma-adjacent stuff Aziraphale has going on?)

You can read Orthodoxy (and probably any of the books I mention bc theyre all old) on project gutenberg but I will include this part of what is shown on the righthand page bc it just reminds me (and so probably Azirapalala as well) of a certain angel squeaking happily at a nebula:

"I felt economical about the stars as if they were sapphires (they are called so in Milton's Eden): I hoarded the hills. For the universe is a single jewel, and while it is a natural cant to talk of a jewel as peerless and priceless, of this jewel it is literally true. This cosmos is indeed without peer and without price: for there cannot be another one."

Ok great, so Aziraphale is diving into the works of one of Crowley's favorite authors bc he misses him, that's cute. What else? Oh he already wrote him a letter right before calling - THE WICK ON THE WAX STICK FOR THE SEAL IS STILL SMOKING. sO CASUAL asdashgfjds

something something 'either call on the phone and talk, or appear mysteriously; don't do both'

When Aziraphale gets to 'I've never had so few customers, not in two hundred years!' We get a close up of this glass of cognac with droplets still on the side — I take back what I said about baking, Aziraphale is drinking it~

He's not drinking a wine, eg Châteauneuf-du-pape, which would be ~14% alcohol by volume (ABV), or a sherry (15-20% ABV); he is drinking Courvoisier cognac, a hard liquor (40% ABV). Crowley's Talisker whisky is 48.5% while we are on the topic. This is stronger than what Aziraphale usually drinks which means... he could be a bit tipsy.

As Aziraphale starts talking about the would-be cash-box burglary, we get this wide shot of the desk:

In the top left hand corner, we see two stacks of books, most (all?) of which appear to be Chesterton when I zoom in. Some of them have Chesterton's name visible on them, others have the publisher name 'Darwen Finlayson' on them, which according to my googling is a house that published several of Chesterton's works. If Chesterton was truly 'a man who knew what was going on', then perhaps this is Aziraphale seeking not just to feel closer to Crowley, but also to make sense of the warring ideas in his mind. Interestingly, Chesterton has also been described as 'The Eccentric Prince of Paradox'.

C: *clearly amused* Did you smite them with your wroth?

The screen then shows two occult-y books and a flickering candle (lower left image). Then Aziraphale explains about his cake~, and as Crowley cuts him off because he's about to nervously ask to come over bc he is so so lonely & down bad for a certain angelic bookworm, we see a map of Oxfordshire on top of Pilgrim's Progress (lower right image).

The two books beside the candle are Satanism and Witchcraft (presumably the 1862 book by Jules Michelet that comes up when I search the title), and another called Magic: An Occult Primer.

Satanism and Witchcraft is described on Wikipedia as 'notable for being one of the first sympathetic histories of witchcraft' and says 'Michelet was one of the first few people to attempt to show the sociological explanation of the Witch Trials.’ Sympathy for people who like to eat/drink/dance with demons, if you will?

Magic: An Occult Primer is a 1972 book by David Conway, a Welsh (CACHU HWCH!) magus and is described as 'a seminal work that brought magical training to the every-magician'. It also includes an appendix called The Occult Who's Who, which is somewhat reminiscent of Hastur's Furfur's book about angels. In Chapter 11: A Word About Demons, it says in regard to summoning them:

"Assuming that the form has turned up in the right place, it will soon begin to act and talk in a very friendly manner; do not forget, however, that its winning ways conceal a sinister intention-- namely, to get the adept out of the circle, and into its clutches.”

...okay?? Aziraphale's desk has a flickering candle on it throughout the video, and we get a close up of the flame when Crowley offers to slither over:

and just like that, Aziraphale has summoned a demon~~

Naturally, he freaks out:

A: *panicking*Oh I— I— I— I— I'm afraid that would be Breaking All The Rules! *nervous breathing* Out of the question! I'll see you… when this is over.

But why? Isn't this what he wanted? Let's go back to the Pilgrim's Progress shot from right before the successful demon summoning and zoom in:

In a similar vein to Orthodoxy, Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan, is an allegorical Puritan conversion narrative. Christian is the main character / stand in for anyone who wants to be in the allegory and Hopeful is well, hopeful, from what I gather. A slightly larger continuous excerpt is here for the curious, but here are some bits I thought were especially interesting in the part of the book shown above:

Christian: Why, what was it that brought your sins to mind again? Hopeful: Many things; as, If I did but meet a good man in the streets; or, If I have heard any read in the Bible; or, If mine head did begin to ache; or, If I were told that some of my neighbors were sick; or, If I heard the bell toll for some that were dead; or, If I thought of dying myself; or, If I heard that sudden death happened to others; But especially when I thought of myself that I must quickly come to judgment.

Perhaps the pandemic is bringing Aziraphale's "sins" to mind again, on top of the whole choosing faces thing to avoid 'quickly coming to judgment'. And then:

Hopeful: I thought I must endeavor to mend my life; for else, thought I, I am sure to be lost forever. Christian: And did you endeavor to mend? Hopeful: Yes, and fled from not only my sins, but sinful company too, and betook me to religious duties, as praying, reading, weeping for sin, speaking truth to my neighbors, etc.

UM??? While I can't say about the praying or weeping for sin, he has definitely been reading and the whole 'giving a good talking to' the burglars could be 'speaking truth to [the] neighbors'...?

Anyway to recap:

Aziraphale has been poring over books about dark magic and demons as well as a ton of books by an author that Crowley loves and who formed a partnership w a very different person in a sort of yin-yang, pantomime beast situation

He has been looking at pictures that remind him of their fun times w Leo in Florence and eating sushi and cake cake cake (and forgiving sinners) and drinking hot chocolate and cognac trying to fill a void but now he's tipsy so he wrote Crowley a letter, stamped it with a wax seal and then thought 'I should call her' BUT

His recent brush with attempted death penalties, the death toll of the pandemic, and some of the religious books he was reading have also filled him with guilt/fear over disobeying Heaven, who he knows could still be watching him and Crowley, so he feels much more conflicted than usual AND

He probably has some inkling that he wants to go ape shit on that ox rib if it comes over to hang out (lol editing to add bc i remembered ox rib discourse: ape shit in an emotional way! whether you hc them as ace or not I just think he really likes him and I’m using ox ribs as a stand in for general forbidden joy/love, not specifically sexy stuff)

So he has to say no.

Anything else might cause him to spontaneously discorporate into a plume of pining and cognitively dissonant gay smoke, which may be all well and good if you only think there's a God, but if you KNOW it and the angels are absolutely recording you and Heaven just tried to kill you and your wife colleague, it's... kind of a big deal.

C: Right. gnnehh. I'm setting the alarm clock for July. Good night, angel. *dial tone*

We don't get to hear Aziraphale's response, but besties you and I both know he is not feeling tickety-boo. He spent like a month putting off calling Crowley (UK lockdowns started end of March, the call is at the beginning of May), finally got drunk and said what the Hell, it'll just be a fun flirty chat in between his temptations, and then it turned out Crowley was depressed and not going anywhere and Aziraphale made him even sadder. And then it got worse because it wasn't all over in July, or in October, even.

I think Aziraphale ends up with a lot of time and brain space in which to think about how Orthodoxy and Pilgrim's Progress were only written to guide *mortals* and how it really wouldn't be so bad if he spent more time with Crowley, would it? Heaven hasn't reached out in actual years again, things feel safer. Crowley is essentially Good and spending time with him would be sort of ministering to the downtrodden and afflicted, and Aziraphale does miss reporting his good deeds (lol you know, whatever rationalizations you need to get you there).

More than anything, he thinks about how hollow everything feels without Crowley; how no mouthful of food or drink tastes as satisfying in his absence because it wasn't ever just about the 'gross matter'...

So when lockdowns end, Aziraphale begins to summon his demon again, but this time with much less inner struggling. It all comes so naturally, when you let it. By the beginning of Season 2 in 2023, they seem delightfully comfortable with their shared routines and places (see also this lovely post by @nightgoodomens). Our car. Our bookshop.

Aziraphale might take longer to catch up, but he does get there.

(SHHH DON'T THINK ABOUT EPISODE 6! STOP! I'M HANGING UP!)

“The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost.” ― G.K. Chesterton

[aziraphales-library]

helllooooo! so my fav thing to read is aziraphale getting hurt (metally or physically) (im deranged i know) and crowley comforting him, i was wondering if yall had any favs? i have read a lot and are looking for new fics with this basis:))))

We have several tags with loads of fics you can check out: #hurt aziraphale, #aziraphale whump, #aziraphale's trauma, and #protective crowley. Here are more to add...

Penance That Comes With the Lack of Proper Closure by midnightdragons (T)

“I – Crowley, I –,” Aziraphale floundered with his words, grief and guilt and sick shame burning at his chest. He wrung his hands together tightly, biting his lip and squeezing his eyes shut as he spoke, almost feeling as if he was making a confession to a priest. That same sick feeling rose in his throat, and he swallowed it back, his hands clammy where they were clasped together in front of him. “Crowley, I do not know if I deserve to be called that anymore.” He risked opening his eyes again when there was nothing but silence and heavy breathing, and he saw that Crowley’s mouth had dropped open, and his eyes were flashing something dangerous. “You – what? Called angel? You – you don’t – you think you don’t deserve –?”

After the averted Apocalypse, Aziraphale forgets himself and sends a report to Heaven. This does not go over well, and Crowley is there to help Aziraphale process through the grief of being unwanted by his God.

To Be Safe And Loved by LokisQueen01 (T)

Aziraphale hasn't been in Heaven long when he is told the details of the Second Coming. He decides he is not the right Angel for the job and tries to leave. The Metatron is not happy and Sandalphon steps into the picture. All Aziraphale wants is to go home. My summaries suck and I am still learning tagging. Mentions of Blood and Torture. This is my first Good Omens fic and my first fic in awhile. Please be gentle and kind!

To wash it white as snow by HolRose (T)

After all the noise and chaos had died down in the aftermath of the failed Second Coming, Crowley takes care of his wounded angel, and together they help each other on the road to healing. A gentle, loving Post Season 3 comfort fic

I've Been Loving You by acup_oftea (NR)

The laws of physics suggested that the Bentley shouldn’t have been able to drive more than seventy-or-so miles per hour in London. The laws of physics, however, did not account for the Bentley’s strong preference for protecting certain ethereal beings who had a tendency to overthink absolutely everything save for their own personal safety. Crowley made it to the bookshop in under five minutes, his mind racing and his heart hammering as he took in the fact that he was actually coming back. He couldn’t face this, couldn’t be in this place without sinking into its familiarity, without closing his eyes and inhaling the scent of the shop, without covertly staring and staring at its owner. But he was up and slamming the car door shut without stopping, trying to calm the dull panic in his head. OR It's been seven months, & Crowley has taken to drinking himself into oblivion & solitude. But when he gets a panicked call from Muriel telling him to get to the bookshop right away, he is forced to confront certain misunderstandings he may have had as the threat of danger lurks- & he'll do anything to keep his angel safe OR The author is TIRED of reading s2 fix-its where Aziraphale is the bad guy

A Price Paid For Love by tincturedwords (M)

Angered over the events of the ruined Armageddon, the Archangels Gabriel, Michael, Uriel, and Sandalphon argue over why Aziraphale hasn't Fallen yet. He is a traitor to all of Heaven and God Herself in their eyes. He has stopped the Great Plan from taking place and has been toeing the line of their rules for centuries, hedonistic and befriending a demon were only a few on the list they held against him. Yet the Almighty is silent on all that's happened… Thus they decide to take matters into their own hands. However, they may not have the power to make an angel Fall as God does, they do possess powerful miracles, especially when their strength is combined. So in order to teach the wayward Principality a lesson, they simulate what it's like to Fall for Aziraphale so that he may understand what his fate should have been. Except they fail to inform him of this punishment, thus Aziraphale doesn't know it's not real.

Subterfuge by The_Bentley (E)

War has come to Europe and many are suffering under the Nazi Regime of Germany. Aziraphale, unable to sit by and watch this happen, has plans to save as many as he can but he needs help. Crowley, miserable in his new mission which has him infiltrating the Nazi government to further Hell's causes, just might be the partner he requires to implement his plans. But when Aziraphale ends up imprisoned for his actions, Crowley's rage will have him raining Hell down on those who hold his angel captive. Both will also have to learn to deal with the trauma that comes with being embedded behind enemy lines as the toll the war takes on them has Crowley and Aziraphale depending on each other for support.

- Mod D

[snek-eyes]

Good Omens fic recs

Hello all! Wanted to share a few of my longtime faves. These are all pre-s2, might do another with my post-s2 recs? Narrowed it down to 10, since that's the max links tumbl lets you have in a post.

Any Way You Want It

Author: Justkeeptrekkin Words: 27,500 Chapters: 5/5 Rating: Mature Mood: Vacation, soft but introspective After finally getting heaven and hell off their backs (at a cost) Crowley and Aziraphale go on holiday to a cottage in Scotland. Fluffy with fun snappy dialogue, the two really feel like best friends here! Aziraphale struggles with his tendency to go slower than even he wants.

Instructions Not Included

Author: Atalan Words: 68,000 Chapters: 13/13 Rating: Teen Mood: Detective / Gen (There are feelings but it earns that slowburn tag) My "if season 2 isn't good, this is my season 2" fic. Now, I liked season 2, but this is still SO good. After the notpocalypse, Aziraphale and Crowley start a detective agency investigating supernatural happenings together. New characters include Raphael (who totally missed the apocalypse haha whoops), and a big spooky dog (whomst I adore). Note that while this fic stands just fine on its own, there is an unfinished sequel that imo doesn't leave off anywhere stressful.

When in Rome

Author: Kedreeva Words: 4,000 Rating: General Mood: The liminal space of nighttime conversations What happens after Aziraphale invites Crowley to oysters: Wings and reading. Tentative and innocent in those early days.

the deft, sweet gesture of your hand

Author: deadgreeks Words: 12,000 Rating: Explicit Mood: Hurt/Comfort, introspection A few years after the failed apocalypse Crowley shows up badly injured at the bookshop. Aziraphale has to help heal Crowley and save them both, and still finds the time to knit his feelings.

Chemistry

Author: Twilightcitysky Words: 122,000 Chapters: 19/19 Rating: Explicit Mood: Y'ever want a side of learning something with your romcom? After realizing they might need their own corporations to heal themselves now that they're not working for heaven and hell, Aziraphale and Crowley turn on all their bodily functions. All of them. What could be a silly premise is played out very satisfyingly, the actual biology of hormones at play here is fascinating. (this is not really at all related but: has anyone else read Peeps by Scott Westerfeld? Because the format reminded me of this in that it did a similar thing of playing straight the concept of "what could cause vampires to be real" that drew on inspiration from real life parasites interspersed between the chapters. I dig it. Anyway!)

Reservations

Author: AnnetheCatDetective Words: 10,000 Chapters: 3/? (Technically unfinished, but leaves off in a satisfying spot) Rating: Not Rated Mood: Meta (Character study as story) “There's some competition for Aziraphale and Crowley's usual table at the Ritz…” A couple of miracles bend reality and, well… you ever been like, “The boys need therapy, but who could possibly give it to them?” I love crossovers where the TV boys meet other versions of themselves, this one is my favorite.

i can't say the words, so i wrote you into my verse

Author: mygalfriday (BrinneyFriday) Words: 5,000 Rating: Teen Mood: Snapshots through history "Crowley has tattoos and every few centuries, Aziraphale discovers a new one." Simple and paints a lovely picture.

By Definition

Author: idiopathicsmile Words: 3,000 Rating: Explicit Mood: Smutty but fond A night together after the Ritz fic where Aziraphale is asexual and Crowley isn’t and how that works for them. The dialogue here is positively delightful.

Bark Dust

Author: rfsmiley Words: 8,000 Rating: Mature (mostly for injuries) Mood: Whump, Hurt/Comfort, Historical Crowley is very badly injured in a battle, and Aziraphale has to figure out how to save his life.

Tell Me A Story

Author: brilliant_or_insane Words: 5,000 Rating: Teen Mood: Soft and warm Aziraphale likes telling stories and Crowley likes to listen. But when the demon is dissatisfied by sad endings and can't relate to the happy ones, Aziraphale decides to move them forward by telling a new story. (Of course, Crowley isn't entirely satisfied with the angel's perspective on that one either.)

[mumblers-lobby]

Hey mumb 😊

Dropping in to say thanks for playing the GO Ask Game! How about question... 10, 14, 22 and 34?

Have a great day

OMG HIII THANK YOU FOR THESE! They're really fun >:3

10. What traits do you share with Crowley?

looks like a badass but is a soft cotton ball with people they trust lol (physically I share the legendary one-eyebrow-rise default face with him lmao- and I so have trends of dyed red hair and the manbun 2009 hairstyle lol and I ware sun glasses outdoors! and I can hipnotice people with my eyes/hj)

14. Who is your favorite background character from S2?

If you mean background character as in secondary character then It's Shax!!! She's a baddieee I love her so much!! I love all of her styles and she does work as a good Crowley replacement! She is mean and manipulative but she's also really silly at times and I LOVEE that

22. Bildad The Shuhite: hot or not?

Y E S

34. Have you made connections with other people in the Good Omens fandom, here or elsewhere?

YES THE GOOD OMENS FANDOM BECAME MY NEW FAMILY FJKSDNGKS I love every person that became friends with me, I still have some of the friendships I did when I got into it!!

I think the first real friends I made because of it was in a discord server when EVERY got leaked (picture 2 was for my friend Trenton, he did that crochet sweater and I wanted to draw Azi on it <3!! and picture 3 was when one of those friends called Dory make the big effort to send me GO official merch and I cried about it nkjfgn)

Then my biggest group happen when S2 came out, I hosted a stream for over 200 on our discord server at the time. (picture 1 is the group of friends we had at that moment, I still have most of them in my life!) I found my people there and they helped me out a lot 🥺🥺💖

I also found lovely people here and on twitter!! Big artists that started following me and people I admired became my friends /sobs (pix i'm talking about you KJFSDNF) but over all it was, and keeps being, the best community I've been part of and I don't plan on leaving any time soon >:3 we stay strong in the face of difficulties and hug each other!

[ofmdrecaps]

08/18-19/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; David Jenkins; Taika Waititi; GalaxyCon SanJose: Vico, Con, Kristian, Nathan; Leslie Jones; Madeleine Sami; Connor Barrett; Tell Tale TV Poll; Fan Spotlight: BairNecessities Affirmation Cards; Our Flag Means Fanfiction; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Tonight's Taika.

== David Jenkins ==

Davi's sharing more love for our crewmates and their dedication to OFMD. @smolbus, you're right hon, there is always hope! Ty for sharing your ink!

Source: David Jenkins Twitter

== Taika Waititi ==

More birthday shenanigans for Taika and Rita!

Source: Rita Ora's Instagram

Annnnd More Time Bandits Articles! This week Taika's gonna be in quite a bit of the final episodes it looks like!

Image Sources: The Taika Archives Twitter

= GalaxyCon San Jose: Vico, Con, Kristian, Nathan =

These four had such a lovely time in San Jose, and so did so many of our crewmates!! The cast was kind enough to post lots of pictures of the convention! Hope yall had fun! Please feel free to share your pics/stories!

Source: Kristian Nairn's Instagram

Source: Vico's Instagram

Nathan was out with Harvey Guillen and lots of other friends at the Winchester Mystery House while out in San Jose!

Source: Nathan Foad's Instagram Stories

== Leslie Jones ==

Leslie's going to be doing another stand up tour-- coming up Sept 29 you can see her at the Because They're Funny Comedy Festival at The Wharf in Washington D.C.! Learn more on their website!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by BECAUSE THEY’RE FUNNY- BTF (Property of NICE CROWD) (@becausetheyrefunny)

Source: BecauseTheyreFunny Instagram

== Madeleine Sami ==

Nice to see Madeleine was out with the ladies of Deadloch at the 2024 TV Week Logie Awards!

Source: Prime Video AUNZ's Instagram

== Connor Barrett ==

Our beloved Hornberry out and about watching Angel City FC!

Source: Connor's Instagram

== Tell Tale TV Votes ==

Our dear friends over at @adoptourcrew are keeping us appraised of Tell Tale TV's new polls! You can vote for Ed and Stede for Category 3: Ship of the Year (Comedy or Animated Series)! While you're there if you want to help support some other queer shows, What We Do In The Shadows - Nandor and Guillermo are up in Ship You'd Most Like to See Sail (Round 1)!

Source: Adopt Our Crew Twitter

== Fan Spotlight ==

= BairNecessities =

Back again tonight is the kindest soul, Mik, aka bairnecessities! Her OFMD Affirmation cards continue to make me smile every time I look at them! Did any of you get to stop by her table this past weekend at GalaxyCon San Jose? If you didn't get to you can check out her shop/follow her on the various socials here: Instagram / Twitter / Linktr.ee / Etsy

First up is probably my favorite card from her S2 Deck:

The next two are from her secondary character expansion! I adore that we get Alma and Louis in there, and even Doug NoLastName and Jeffrey Fettering get a spotlight with wonderful messages for all of us!

Mik does other series too aside from OFMD (like Good Omens, and Helluva Boss!) You can check them out on her instagram below!

Source: Bearnecessities Instagram

= Our Flag Means Fanfiction =

New Epitizer this week from our good friends over at Our Flag Means Fanfiction. Seriously, the amount of content they put out, keeping us all engaged is amazing. If you haven't given them a listen or a follow please do! You can check out the new "when life gives you lemons" on their linktree!

Source: Our Flag Means Fanfiction Instagram

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies, I hope your Monday started your week off well <3 As I'm sitting here typing this I have my son asleep under one arm, so I apologize if this is a bit scattered. I saw this infographic today and it made me think of you all. I don't know about you, but I spent a lot of my life thinking I had to do everything, excel at everything, have all the money, and the car, and the house, and the kids, etc. But you know what? Life isn't about having everything. It's about finding the things you love and matter most to you and focusing on them. The things that matter most to me will absolutely be different from everyone else (we may share some of the same) but no two people are exactly the same when it comes to interests, and thats beautiful. Dig deep into the things you love crew, and remember you don't have to feel any shame for the things that mean the most to you. Do you like video games? Or Ornithology? How about fanfiction? Or maybe Indy 500 races? Do you find joy when you're alone in the woods? Or sitting out with friends at a bar? Do you enjoy being alone? Or maybe you love to sing your heart out at karaoke? Whatever it is you love-- embrace it, whether it's "Weird" by someone else's standards or not. If it makes you smile, if it makes you enjoy your time on this little blue dot-- dive in lovelies, with no regrets. I so very hope that even if it's only little bits at a time this week you get to spend doing the things you love, whatever that may be. Rest well and drink some water tonight <3 Love you crew

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The New Happy® (@newhappyco)

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

Happy Murray Monday, and Taika Tuesday everyone! Tonight's gifs are courtesy of @fandomsmeantheworldtome and @meluli, thank you so much for keeping us well fed with fantastic gifs of our favorite folks <3 You are doing Calypso's work my friends.

[fellshish]

Now that we have the season 3 confirmation and filming will begin soon, soon!!!, I’m a bit concerned in terms of upcoming s3 spoilers. Between s1 and s2 I wasn’t involved in the fandom at all, so I don’t know what to expect.

So there are a few questions I ask myself: Will there be spoilers from filming news, from leaks…? I know we can’t predict the future, but how was the situation between s1 and s2 in terms of leaks, leaked pictures from the set or leaked script details and what was the reaction of the fandom?

Is it enough to block the s3 good omens spoiler tags here on tumblr or do I have to unfollow all my lovely GO blogs?

I don’t know, i too joined the active fandom later. I expect you’ll have to wait and see how it goes. Ask ppl to tag their spoilers and leaks and if they don’t, unfollow, if that’s a red line for you

If it helps the kiss got leaked before it aired and about 60% of the tumblr good omens fandom managed to not get spoiled for it

[tothechaos]

its always "hey tothechaos did you eat the post" and "tothechaos the post is past 200k you need to eat it" and never "tothechaos how has your day been" or "wow tothechaos its cool how neil gaiman was on that post and got new good omens s2 bts pictures for everyone"

[mr-period]

Remembering something forgotten ————Where is Jimmy boy?

I feel I may find some thing that be hidden in S2.New to tumblr,and English is not my first language,hope what I want to express can be understand correctly,and plz forgive me if there's errors of some religion words.

The famous magic theory has mentioned many things wrong in S2, and some plots are deliberately set to be unobtrusive, suspicious slides off them like water slides off ducks. But the drawback of magic theory is that it sets the whole script to nothingness. The key to solving puzzles is to have practical meaning. It is a fallacious to make the whole story illusory just for put all the contents into the theory.

For abstract :S2 contains a hidden story line of the resurrection of Jesus under the love story.Like mentioned in the bonus video,S2 contains not only large amounts of Easter eggs for the second coming in S3,but really a character might be Jesus under the noses of the audience.So for me the S2 is like Neil Gaiman rushing into Amazon Prime’s senior office,throwing the script on the desk and roaring:“GIVE ME SEASON 3 OR GIVE ME DEATH!!!”

Before we begin,I need to clarify some roles or directions.

First of all,according to some puzzle we have in S1&S2,like the body change at the end of S1,or the hidden goats in 202,the clues of mystery in the show always have an obvious answer, even it feels make no sense before realize the link between.All the information from the focusing places in the picture can be used.But like the shortage of the magic theory,it is unacceptable to distort the story itself just to fix a theory.Actually I still not figure out all the puzzles in S2,so in the second part of this post about my personal theory of who is telling the story and who is watching, I will point out that it's an assumption but not an inference.

Secondly,there are multiple story lines in S2,three love stories above,the hidden line about Jim/Resurrection of Jesus,the main line frame to explain the logic of the whole script,and the story of Metatron.What's more,the crew also prepared a large amount of Easter eggs.Some of them,such as the tardis bgm in the musical instrument store,can be seen as a simply fan joy.

But there are also some Easter eggs not only Easter eggs,but also related to the plot or hidden story.For example,I have write a article about the Blitz minisode is the thing actually in the box(didn't trans it in tumblr yet),because the prop books in he box displayed in 206 is two of the "Lost Quartos" of Shakespeare plays mentioned in the Good Omens Book.It could be an Easter egg,but when you notice that the plot of the prototype of these two plays are mentioned about the bullet(arrow) catch and the show girl,which can link to the Blitz minisode specifically,that makes this Easter egg a Clue.

So after accepting these premises,let's start the detective game.

First of all,we need to question ourselves:There is a character who has his own personal poster and promotional video, who is in the story from the beginning to the end,but no one say goodbye to him?Even Nina and Maggie have a "say goodbye forever",even Beelzebub said thank you to Aziraphale,but this absolute S2 main character had never be mention again in the end.

Where is Jim?

After Gabriel recovered his memory,the friendship established between he and Crowley and Aziraphale vanished immediately.This unbalanced weird feeling was washed away by the coming broken-up and makes the audience have no time to think about that. Actually,it's quite unnatural because the relationship between Jim and Aziracrow have a complete grown arc.We can see Crowley finally give Jim hot chocolate,Aziraphale say to Jim that he said he will protect,and he well,and at the beginning Jim said happily he have two friends.But when Gabriel recovered his memory,Aziraphale look like want to drown Gabriel into holey water and distory him as soon as possible.The relationship they built during six episodes simply disappeared like the undropped second shoe upstairs.The story about Jim is far from over.

That's my explanation about why Jim and Gabriel are two different characters,and also,the rationality of the existence of the hidden story.Then let's come to the key question:

Who is Jim?

In S1,the special effect design used a red fabric to show the blood of Jesus in the crucifixion

and in S2,they obviously find a cheaper way(considering the price of tomato maybe more expensive) to express blood.

Look at these tomatoes here.The released bonus video makes this clue more obvious.Because they deleted the plot about the reason why these tomatoes scattered,but keep this pic in the tight minutes limit.The reason is so obvious :It's a CLUE!

Jesus was stabbed in the ribs and bled,his hands were painful by nailed,and he was forced to drink myrrh.Our Jim is much luckier,his arms are no longer hurts and have sweet hot chocolate.

It is amazing to find so much connected information after realize the story line of Jim,which in turn proves Jim's story is not my delusion.

First thing is the costumes. Apart from the daily look in the bookshop, let's have a look at some other looks of Jim:

Pay attention to the posture of Jim preaching in Pic 3 and the cross formed by the whole shape. Let's take a look at the image of Christ in a religious painting:

Pay attention to clothing and posture. And the familiar posture of holding the cross in the lower right corner. Although most of the scriptures believe that another person helped Jesus carry the cross on the way of crucifixion, but some other view,for example, in&lt;Gospel of John>,believed that Christ himself carried the cross. This familiar gesture corresponds to another neglected clue in 203, which is the purpose of the seemingly unsuccessful trip to Edinburgh: the mysterious statue of Gabriel.

In another word, we can say that it is not Gabriel's statue at all, but Jim's statue.

Far-fetched? In fact, S2 had already showed an image of Christ:

Look at this similar outfit, I think the correspondence to Jim's identity is clearly. By the way, cleansing of the temple occurs in the Holy Week, remember that cute feather duster?I like this joke. And Crowley do be kicked out of the house.

Actually, we have even more obvious hints,that is in the Jane Austen's ball. During the ball, everyone is dancing, but what was Jim doing?

He's giving away vol-au-vent. The hint to the Last Supper is so obvious here that it's my strongest evidence for Jim's story.

There are some other supporting details about Jim is Jesus:

The code of seven: the rhythm that Jim showed when he was playing with the lamp and his mouth: — — - - -

Two long and three short, which is the number 7 in Morse code. Remember how God loves 7? Jesus is the Son of God in religion,and in the &lt;Gospel of John> Jesus was considered as an incarnation of the divine Word (Logos),who not only speaks God's word,but is God's word. I found this clue because I felt that the plot of Jim playing with his body at the ball was too long as a pornographic joke, and finally found that he played his body in a rhythm, which is as same as how he play the lamp.（And now Neil had answered that IS scripted!) Every scene in S2 makes sense.

Another allusion shows Jim's connection to God is the book he dropped:

<My best games of chess>is a Easter egg of <A Matter of Life and Death>.But also,as I will mention below about God play chess game in the ineffable bureaucracy,and the chess in Aziraphale's book shop which never be used.All these implies that the development of the world is under ineffable manipulation of God. And here, Jim drops the book, complaining that things didn't stay at where he put them. This is an God's perspective complaint. At the same time, it once again emphasizes the main purpose of Good Omens book.

Also as one comment in my original article, someone mention that Jim rearrange book in his own way is just what God do.

And Crowley told Jim jump out the window, which is one of the temptations Jesus hered from demon.

What's more, let's consider about Jim's prophecy:

First:"I remember when the morning star sang together,and all the Angels of God shouted of joy." which we know God said this in Job's minisode.

The third one:"If it happens again I can make it seem like it's an institutional problem" said by Metatron,who is the voice of God.

And the second one:"There will come a tempest,and darkness,and great storms.And the dead will leave their graves and walk the earth once more.And there will be great lamentations."The first hale comes from <Hebrews 12:18>,describing the ominous sign sent by God.The last half is from <Matthew 27:53> describes what happened after Jesus died.And this is the only one that Gabriel himself didn't hear—is evidence that Jim is not Gabriel but Christ.

It can be seen that most of these prophecies are related to God and Jesus. Although these prophecies correspond to the plots in the main storyline, they are all hints of the resurrection of Christ when they are connected together.

There's another clue here, and it's highlighted in the latest trivia message.S2 gives a unit of miraculou power to bring a person back from the dead: Lazarii.The prototype of the word said in trivia isLazarus,: Lazarus of Bethany, who was resurrected by Jesus four days after his death.This miracle is the last one before Jesus's crucifixion, and it is also the most important miracle, because it means that Jesus finally defeated his final enemy: death.

And in S2, the day Jim arrived is Sunday, because Nina mentioned that it all started with the blackout last week.And the ball is on Thursday night. So Gabriel died on Sunday and was resurrected four days later, corresponding to the resurrection of Lazarus.And the "tiny" miracle for hiding Jim's required the power to resurrect Lazarus 25 times, and it's hard to explain why this was so costly, except for Jesus himself.(I still not figure out what the number of 25 means.Once finished, I may add it here.) And the last day in S2 when Jim disappeared was Good Friday.

Some clues about coming:Jim keep saying that he came to find Aziraphale, but it was Beelzebub that Gabriel was looking for. And some other lines about coming:

The first shot of present time,there is a same screen in S1,that one is for God, but this one:

"Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of ..."<Matthew 24:30>

The Son of Man descended from the sky/clouds, and there are also some views believe that God will be accompanied by angels and trumpets. We heard the sound of trumpets when Michael and the others came in the 202. Let's take a look at some posters and screenshots.

The feather representing Jim falls from the sky, and Jim's cup not only has a heart for Gabriel's story, but also a smoke from the top.

And this pic of Jim walking down from the upstairs.And Jim's voluntary devotion when he wearing the feather coat, which is what Jesus did.

Clues about music:There's some hints in the story of the ineffable bureaucracy.Look at these two elder men playing card game and chess in the background.

These pics shows that the story of ineffable bureaucracy was under the ineffable control of God.And in the second pic when they fall in love, we can hear the BGM of Every Day, which we can say it is God playing this song about the doomsday.And Beelzebub said:

It seems means the Every Day segment in the ending theme may contain clues.But I lack of knowledge of music so this puzzle is not for me.While when Aziraphale asked him where is this mysterious song came from,Jim answered:

And one of the funniest hints: When Gabriel was lost, Metatron said there's no need for alarm so just find him, but the person who hidden Gabriel would be erased, and the miracle of hiding Gabriel would immediately raise the alarm. It can be seen that it is Jim but not Gabriel who is important.

This is the fun of decryption. You will find out more and more clues when you find the answer. There are so many informations in S2 just like cookie crumbs heading to the candy house.

At this point, Jim's story line has almost been clarified. The miracle done by Aziraphale and Crowley together works so well that even the audience doesn't notice Jim anymore. At the end of the story, they achieved their original purpose, and Jim disappeared in silence. No one in both heaven, hell, earth and the audience in front of the TV noticed this.

Some other questions:who wants to hide Jim? Why? And who set up these clues, hoping someone to find out?

Before answer these questions, the following discussion of will contain lots of delusion, because of the lack of conclusive evidence. Just put it here as my personal theory of what is the frame of S2.

First of all, according to the discussion above, we know that under the sweet love story in S2, like S1,our story is actually shrouded in the shadow of a coming doomsday. So, who is telling the story in S2, and who is listening to the story?

There is a humanoid creature who has a habit of talking nonsense when he wants to hide his ture thoughts. For example, when he was bullied by other angel colleagues, he uttered a lot of nonsense about choosing sides, or when he wants to misleading his husband to doing what he unwilling to do,he portrayed the threat from Metatron as a wonderful chance with a lot of subjective narrative and gags.

That's my piont, if there is a cheature who wants to hide the existence of Jim, and in the narration of the story of S2, cleverly misleading the audience to focus on the love story, there is no one other but the greatest magician Mr. Fell who fooled Nefertiti. Just like the coin magic he showed in the Blitz minisode, the farthing has vanished! Aziraphale's conjuring is so skillful that it had been highlighted again later in the replacing of the photo (evidence).

The book of Job is displayed by Aziraphale, and the minisode in Edinburgh is directly the diary of angel, and after the ball, Nina asked Aziraphale when it all started, he answered:

He aready figured it out! It's a pity that stuff happened one after another, he and Crowley never had a chance to communicate later, and they started the next journey in different directions in the end.

The entire S2 is like Aziraphale's adorable detective clippings, narrative by time-line with pasting a few clues he thinks are relevant.

And the blitz minisode is the clue he left to the audience after completing his wonderful magic show. This clue was placed in the box carried by Jim, and after showing the items in the box, the lens shows Aziraphale had a quick look at them. These items are the key to avoiding something treble. I won't go into details about the specific plot, but just want to mention that when Neil wrote the key plot of season 3, he must be so proud about it that he wrote this line in the magic shop: “I've find my showstopper.” And Considering that this magic was chosen by Aziraphale, it is also possible that the corresponding plot in the third season may came from Terry, and Neil wrote this sentence with infinite nostalgia and admiration to his old friend. The Blitz minisode embodies the importance of trust and cooperation, and repeatedly emphasizes Aziraphale's magic skill. What's more,the Professor's Nightmare which setting in the middle of this three acts play,Neil retweeted the actor playing this magic,it is definitely important!

The picture here almost deliberately captures Aziraphale in the mirror. This camera language means that the actual narrator here is Aziraphale himself in the mirror. He is proudly showing how he used Several story lines cleverly hide all the clues in S2, and imply the progress of the whole three seasons is showed in the Blitz minisode.

By the way, this does not mean that the entire Blitz minisode is fake,my opinion is that all the minisodes in S2 are real, but be added some clues base on the original story. Therefore, the interpretation for minisode should be to dig out the unnatural places as clues,but keep the whole story as real.

So, who is the expected audience of this complex structure story of S2, and who is the minisode hidden in the box written for?

Who else can Aziraphale write this for, who can Aziraphale hand over all the secrets, who can Aziraphale entrust his back and life, and who does Aziraphale need to trick God for sending this information to save the world from doomsday?

I don't know if anyone has noticed, but there is a very weird scene in the title sequence, which is the last theater. Although the magic theory directed everyone's attention to the book of life that the curtain might represent (this does make sense partly, which I'll mention later), but it's easy to be ignored that the theater of the blitz minisode has been shown before.

Where we can see the curtains is another theater, or we can say: a screening room.

And there is no screening room in the entire S2. A couple of scenes that don't contain in the show in the title sequence, one at the end is the holy mountain, which is an allusion to Jim's story line. The tunnel at the beginning is also closely related to what I will talk about later. And the rest is this screening room which never appeared.

Wait a minute, there's a screening room, isn't?

This is the only screening room in the Good Omens TV universe.This old Victoria Station cartoon theater was long since demolished in our word, but Neil has a romantic explanation for it: because Crowley mentioned he liked it, Aziraphale kept it around.And you can also see the popcorn Crowley ate in S1 in the title sequence:

The X-ray video also mentioned there's some Communion wafer in the popcorn box.

The bonus video also gives another supporting clue to this idea, that is, many of the characters on the side of this theater are from S1. This is an Easter egg, but may also imply that this scene should go back to the first season to find clues.

And we all know that Crowley came here to sit down and collect his thoughts as Neil mentioned in his Q&A,which was exactly happened after they broke up at the bandstand. That maybe the reason that everyone was killed by the ending of S2, but Neil just compared it as what happened in bandstand.

So here's my story time:

S2 was happened when Crowley hiding in the cartoon theater after leaving, looking back carefully about what's happening before all this chaos. I believe that like the audience can't believe Aziraphale will leave Crowley because of Heaven, just like Mr. Yang would never give up maintaining him car.Crowley will definitely feel that there is something wrong after the end of S2, then try to chewing the memory carefully, reading the funny detective hand book that his angel left him, and finally project this intertwined story of S2 with memory of two of them.

And the blitz minisode is the magic instruction booklet left by Aziraphale. It may seem obscure,but everything the assistant gentlemen needs to know had already written in it.Just like he left the clues to Crowley in the bar even after discorporating.Will Crowley come back? For audience it's sadlly that we can only know that until season three release.

Personally, I think the future story has already be told in the candlelight dinner in 1941.

In addition, there is another important clue in this theater, which is the Book of Life highlight in the magic theory.

I don't have a perfect explanation for this either, but I can at least piece together a vague picture from the clues available.

First of all, when the curtain was burned, there was an obvious sound of flipping book. The book of life and erasure seemed to correspond to these. But here's a clue, the image was burned. In fact, among the various ominous signs about the resurrection of Jesus/Jesus, black sky, storms, trumpets, etc. all appear, but there is one sign that is mentioned in S2, but never happened.

This prophecy also from the book of Job, and it describes Leviathan,the controlling meaning of it I had mentioned in the analysis of the story of ineffable bureaucracy. However, this prophecy is literally a description of flame. And this material object is a matchbox. It must be noted that there used to be matches in it.

Forget about the fireballs in 202, this is the only thing about fire in S2.

So where else have matches?

Exactly,there was only one audience in the theatre where the curtain was set on fire, so it is no surprise that Crowley burned them.

If we assume that Crowley is the one who burned the smoke ring on the Book of Life, where did he get the Book of Life?

The first mention of the Book of Life is in Michael's phone call. She said to the person opposite: "Book of Life?"

The reply is: " I'm on it." That may be the answer to stat hunting Gabriel, or it may be because the book of life is in the hands of the person beside the phone. Because the debate between heaven and hell in 206 had mentioned that the right of heaven to propose punishment, and then hell will execute it.

So who is the person on the other end of the phone? Shax threatens Aziraphale that Crowley risks destruction, but not erasure. And Beelzebub was the one who told Crowley that the extreme sanctions would be the Book of Life.

Another clue that has been forgotten is what appeared on the curtain of 205, and it is also a clue that I have not solved before. Only after I solved it, I have finish my own story.

On the curtain of 205 are the bull-headed demon and the white-haired demon. They even have character names in the cast list, but unfortunately the main storyline did not mention it at all. I haven't figured out what's the means of the bull-headed demon yet, but the plot of the white-haired demon is to hand Shax some letters to Crowley.

That's it, Shax handed Crowley letters twice in S2, and the second time was particularly abrupt on the night of ball. When she first sent him the letters, Shax mentioned that she took them to hell, but the finance department said they can't accept Shax's signature as replacement."Bills mostly." We can see Crowley throwing the bills into a trash bin.

It can be seen that being burned from the curtain is indeed an effective way of making people forget about it. I also completely ignored these letters until I noticed the white-haired demon. After throwing away the bill, what was left by Crowley?

After laying out the clues, here comes story time:

In my version of story, the book of life should be kept by hell, and heaven is responsible for authorizing rewriting. In order to keep their lover, Beelzebub sent the Book of Life to Crowley by letter. Crowley, on the other hand, carefully burns away what he thinks needs to be hidden in the theater.

He hided what's really inside the box in 201 . Looking closely at the pic of when the box outside the bookshop, it can be seen that the fly actually fly into the box. And in 206 Crowley emptied the storage of the box made it seem unimportant.

The Job's story in 202 and the statue in 203 are all related to Jim. After burning these, the clues about the prophecy are left behind. We can see Crowley firstly talking to Job, and it is Crowley who find the status. (Looking at a statue of the annoying boss in the extremely cold midnight,Crowley you are really a good at planning a date)

In 204, there are too many people on the curtain and the effect is not so well. Many people aware of the three zombies who inexplicably disappeared in the long river of time. These three zombies also died because of Crowley.

The white-haired demon in 205 has been mentioned above, but I haven't solved the bull-headed demon yet. They have only one thing in common, they all wear masks on earth. And masks are used to cover the facial features of inhuman demons, which they obviously don't need.And they only spoke to Crowley.

The clue for 206 is the halo, I think after watching the last 15 minutes, no one will keep entangled that the halo is actually a signal for starting the war. After the arrival of the heaven and hell, Crowley directly asserted that there would not have a war and fooled the matter.

Then what is his purpose of burning these pics?

01 02 03 even 04 are clues to the second coming. 05 is about the receiving the book of life. 06 is to suspend the war.

Now you can see why I think I'm telling a story with such an explosion of clues, because these clues are obviously not connected perfectly.Some kind of framework can be seen by them, but it seems like can be put together more neatly. I will edit it here if I solve more clues in the future.

So as telling a story, what Crowley did was hidding the information he had that might reveal the event of the coming of Jim, and also hide the fact that he had the Book of Life, and temporarily stabilized the situation.

According to my person theory, book of life is handled by hell, and the authority to modify it is in heaven.

And now,the book of life is in the hands of Crowley, and the right to modify it is in Aziraphale.

Does this means that the whole S2 we see, including the modified plot of Book of Life, is the result of the communication between Azirapahle and Crowley?What will happen in S3 if then can do this?

After all it's just a theory I built from limited evidence and added lots of my personal conjecture,so it's highly possible to be uncorrected.

Here is the end of this long article. Thank you for your time for reading.And can't wait for Season 3 :)

[youryurigoddess]

Welcome to the Magic Shop

Or why Will Goldstone’s Magic Shop might be more important than it seems to be and why the Bullet Catch isn’t the only trick in its stock that should interest us in the context of the Good Omens plot.

Let’s start with very first thing Aziraphale saw and literally ran towards after crossing the shop’s threshold. It’s nothing else but the legendary sword Excalibur (foretelling the divinely appointed ruler) and a prop for a spectacular illusion called the Excalibur chest.

But wait, there’s more to it! During the handshake besides the Excalibur itself, placed right between Crowley and Aziraphale, there are three more swords struck into the angel’s back. It’s Tarot symbolism: reversed Ace of Swords (miscommunication, clouded judgement) and reversed Three of Swords (recovery from a difficult patch in a relationship or heartbreak). I’d say it checks out for the angel in this minisode! Reversed because they suddenly switched sides for this particular scene.

Insane how the Good Omens crew found a cobra from the snake-charming act and put it on the counter in front of Aziraphale — as if it wasn’t clear enough that this angel is a professional snake charmer, right?

I wanted to make a joke about Aziraphale buying the cobra afterwards, just like Crowley bought the eagle lectern as a souvenir of that night, but then I remembered… this stupid, sentimental snake HAD IT IN HIS BEDROOM IN S1.

Just imagine how many Aziraphale-related memorabilia he had accumulated over those six thousands years, when only one night out with the angel led to two new items in his collection.

The only way for Crowley to be more obvious would be covering the walls of his apartment with Aziraphale’s pictures like in a classic Stalker Shrine trope.

And since our thoughts are already in the present, there’s also something super interesting in the background between Crowley and Aziraphale during their visit in the shop in S2. Look to the right!

As you can probably suspect at this point, nothing in this shop is what it seems to be. This isn’t just any piece of rope, but a prop for the Indian rope trick, sometimes described as the world’s greatest illusion.

The story behind it revolves around someone going to Heaven and the magician bringing them back in the most spectacular fashion! And one of the Good Omens producers, Catriona McKenzie, shared this BTS photo with it some time ago.

The classic trick looks like this: the magician’s assistant climbs the rope until he’s lost to view, as if ascending to Heaven. The magician calls him and feigns anger upon receiving no response. He arms himself with a knife or sword, climbs the rope, and vanishes as well. An argument is heard and then human limbs fall, as if cut from the assistant’s body by the magician. When all the parts of his body land on the ground, the magician climbs down the rope, collects the severed limbs, and puts them all in a big basket. The assistant resurrects/reappears from it uninjured.

Not that it means something in particular, but this scenario would be extremely fun to play in the context of getting the Supreme Archangel Aziraphale back to Earth.

[babypinktardis]

Good Omens headcanons after S2

(contains spoilers)

Crowley tried to miracly erase their last conversation from his memory, but he just ended up with a pretty bad headache

Aziraphale has three almost infinite personal diaries on his desk. On the first one he keeps his memories lived with Crowley with millions of annotations about how he felt at every moment.

On the second one he writes about his day to day new routine in Heaven and how much he misses Crowley.

On the last one he keeps track of Crowley’s movements on Earth in fear he might lose his track

When Aziraphale got his office, he locked himself in and cursed just once very loudly before crying

Crowley tried to sleep but he couldn’t stop dreaming about Aziraphale so he swore he would never sleep again

Crowley regularly gets drunk in Pubs, Muriel goes to pick him up and he ends up telling them about his time with Aziraphale, Muriel listens to all of the stories

Aziraphale keeps the picture of him and Crowley from the 1940s, he keeps it on his diary with an annotation saying “Make Heaven better for him” as a reminder his goal is to make of Heaven a place worth of Crowley’s return

Crowley asked Aziraphale to read him all of Jane Austen’s works before the ball, he ended up loving them but he now despises them

Aziraphale hasn’t smiled genuinely anymore, his smiles are polite and distant as he is rather cold to everyone he works with

Aziraphale finds himself singing Queen every now and then and bursts into tears as soon as he realises it

[karuuhnia]

Okay, I doubt anyone’s ever gonna read this, but I just need to write down my thoughts on Good Omens Season 2. (Beware of spoilers) 

The Characters

First of all, I love, love, LOVE the writing and especially the acting of everyone involved! Both Michael Sheen and David Tennant (and everyone else) gave absolutely stunning performances! I also like that the main cast was a lot smaller than in season 1, so everyone had more time to shine. Great choice! (I did however kinda miss God’s narration and meta commentary).

My favourite new character is Muriel by far. She is like Aziraphale's cute, naive, dorky little sister or niece and I had the biggest smile on my face whenever she was on screen! I hope to see more of her in season 3 (which we probably will since she now runs the bookshop).

What I also liked was that Nina and Maggie don’t just magically fall in love in the end. I mean, they barely know each other and Nina is still in a relationship for most of the season. I liked that they even call out Crowley and Aziraphale for trying to force a romance between them instead of treating them like real humans with free will. (Was that a slight call-out to shippers in fandoms? Who knows lol) I hope they'll find love along the way, but I'm glad they were portrayed as realistic human beings.

Gabriel goes from smug, condescending asshole everyone loved to hate to adorkable himbo and I'm all for it! lol I wasn't in the fandom back in the day, but apparently Gabriel x Beelzebub was a popular ship and I can only imagine how happy the fans must be now that it became canon! I didn't see it coming at all, but it played out really well and didn't come across as forced. I just found it a bit funny and sad that these two fell in love and decided to break away from Heaven and Hell to be together in only a couple of years whereas Crowley and Aziraphale haven't managed to do that in more than 6000 years.

Which brings me to...

The Last Episode

We all know the last 20 minutes of episode 6 were absolutely heart-wrenching, but I wouldn't have it any other way! It was the perfect ending/cliffhanger in all regards and both their decisions make perfect sense. I wouldn't have wanted Crowley and Aziraphale to get their happy end at this point in the story because they're simply not there yet, character-wise. 

Also, then a huge plot point and conflict would miss from the final 3rd season. I live for the angst and the drama and I can't wait for satisfying character development and the ultimate, heartfelt conclusion. (Please, Neil! ;__;)

Character Analysis

Crowley: 

The most interesting things for me were the several hints that Crowley used to be a very high-ranking and powerful angel before he fell (maybe Gabriel’s predecessor?). 

In S2-1 Aziraphale already knows who Angel Crowley is and looks at him with awe and admiration. (In German we have the great expression "jemanden anhimmeln" - roughly meaning sth like "to admire someone as if they came from heaven")

Crowley was part of the designer team of the universe and worked together closely with the higher-ups. He was also entrusted with starting the engine of a quadrant.

He is a creator and visionary who loves the stars, the planets, the whole universe and sees the big picture. He also uses critical thinking and encourages others to do the same.

The miracle he performs with Aziraphale to hide Gabriel’s identity is so strong that Heaven thinks the most powerful of Archangels must have done it. Since Aziraphale hides Gabriel from Hell and Crowley hides him from Heaven, but the alarm only goes off in Heaven, we can assume that Crowley had a bigger part in the miracle.

He can somehow deceive other angels from recognizing him as a demon: Gabriel, Michael & Co. in the Ijob episode and later Muriel when she first comes to observe Aziraphale. 

He can change the weather and cause fire or lightning at will.

He still has access to classified files for dominions or above.

He literally brings the guy who was killed by the demon horde back to life like it's nothing.  Short update: Neil recently said that Mr. Brown wasn't actually dead but only held captive during the battle. Well, Crowley at least healed Mr. Brown's injuries and removed his traumatic memories.

He is the only one in a room full of high-ranking angels who recognizes Metatron as what he is.

But it’s also implied that Crowley may have memory loss after he was kicked out of heaven because the angels did to him something similar to what they want to do to Gabriel now.

He doesn't remember working on the universe with Saraqael.

He remembers being in the Great War, but not battling right beside Furfur.

He vaguely remembers discussing gravity with the other angels, but he doesn’t remember why it was a good idea.

He seems to know exactly what the amnestic Gabriel is going through (the empty house metaphor, the physical pain of trying to remember etc.)

Crowley is hiding a huge trauma and it becomes really obvious how hurt and lonely he really is. 

In S1-5 we learn Crowley was tortured by being thrown into a pool of boiling sulfur, just because he dared to ask a few questions and make suggestions. Heaven is cruel beyond all measure! (But because of their chronic lack of communication I doubt Aziraphale knows exactly how much Crowley suffered both physically and mentally.)

At the end of the Ijob episode in season 2 he laughs at the distraught Aziraphale because he knows what it’s really like to have fallen. The thought of someone like Aziraphale going to Hell is ridiculous to him. And he wouldn’t wish something so terrible on anybody anyway, especially not Aziraphale. He knows first hand what Heaven does to “traitors”.

He’s been tortured and kicked out of Heaven, but he doesn’t resent creation itself like the other demons do, quite the contrary. He often goes out of his way to help humans, even if it means punishment from Hell. 

Because both Heaven and Hell are cruel and toxic, he decides he doesn’t want to be on any side in this eternal and pointless conflict. This, of course, leads him on a very, very lonely road.

Maybe this is why he (consciously or unconsciously) latches onto Aziraphale so much: He notices Aziraphale’s own doubts about the heavenly plan really early on. So he constantly encourages him to question his beliefs and own morals. 

I don’t think he does it for overly selfish reasons, he just wants to show someone else that not everything is black and white and that Heaven’s plans are not always as good as they want to come across. But of course he also doesn’t want to be all alone anymore.

Aziraphale:

Aziraphale is, first and foremost, a guardian, a protector. But we can’t forget he is also a warrior and a leader. 

In the beginning he was wielding a flaming sword, in S1-5 he is supposed to lead the heavenly troops into battle, in 1941 we learn he owns and knows how to use a gun. In S1-6 he is willing to shoot the Antichrist (who is in the body of a child I might add!!), but Madame Tracey stops him.

He likes spending his time helping others and indulging in his quirky little hobbies, but if he needs to, he steps up and becomes a leader (e.g. the stand-off in S2-6 when the demons and angels shout at each other and he takes control of the situation).

Aziraphale embodies many positive core values: Love, loyalty, politeness, kindness, forgiveness - which sometimes lets him come across as naive. He is also a big people pleaser. 

In Season 2 we once again see how much Aziraphale values and loves humanity (more than we deserve tbh). His heart is so big and full of love for them. He is his best self when he can do good for humans and he thrives off it. The thought of innocent people, especially children dying is really the only thing that ever convinces him to go against Heaven’s rules/orders (seen in the entirety of season 1 and in season 2 in the Ijob and graverobber episodes). 

But because of these core values he sometimes acts pretty holier-than-thou and hypocritical: He tends to try to make others do the dirty work so that he can wash his hands of responsibility.

We also learn that he sometimes abuses his heavenly powers to get what he wants. I mean, organizing a ball itself is a very wholesome idea, but he literally manipulates everyone’s clothes, feelings and behaviours, making them do or feel things they wouldn’t normally do in this situation. Nina is the one affected by this the most: She just got dumped and is sad and angry, but Aziraphale’s magic doesn’t allow her to feel those very valid emotions. He only means to do good, but ultimately he forces his will on the participants of the ball. And he doesn’t even realize it! This is not okay. 

There is this one very meaningful line in Season 1 where Aziraphale says: "You go too fast for me, Crowley". And it really shows in every aspect of his personality and character design. 

Aziraphale always wears similar, familiar clothes and barely changes his hairstyle over the centuries. Crowley on the other hand looks completely different in each time period we see him. Crowley lives in the present, goes with the time, Aziraphale lives in the past, can’t catch up. 

No matter how often Heaven disappoints and mistreats him, he still desperately clings to the idea that their plans and institution are good at their core. Even after more than 6000 years Aziraphale is still so obsessed with the idea of good vs. evil, Heaven vs. Hell and to an extent even Aziraphale vs. Crowley. Yes, the two have become visibly closer and more familiar with each other since season 1, but Aziraphale still thinks in the good side vs. the bad side ("my people" vs. "your people", “Of course you said no to Hell, you [not “THEY”!!] are the bad guys!”) absolute, whereas Crowley has distanced himself from both sides long ago and only wants to be with Aziraphale.

Besides their lack of communication this is their biggest problem: Aziraphale can’t accept Crowley for what he is - or is not anymore. 

First there is some sort of resentment and caution towards this fallen angel, of course. But Aziraphale wouldn’t be Aziraphale if his big loving heart held onto those feelings for long. He quickly sees that Crowley isn’t purely evil as demons are supposed to be. He likes and WANTS to see the good in everything and everyone.

Aziraphale begins to enjoy Crowley’s company over the centuries and eventually trusts him completely. But due to his indoctrination by Heaven he still unconsciously believes that Crowley, as an evil demon, is beneath him, Aziraphale, who is a righteous and morally superior angel. And while he has compassion and sympathy for Crowley and his terrible fate - he also somewhat pities him. (And being pitied is certainly nothing Crowley wants.)

This is the reason he is so incredibly happy about the thought that he could give Crowley his angel status back. As sad as it is to see how little Aziraphale understands Crowley after all those millenia, it feels completely in-character why he wants Crowley to be an angel again. He sees that there is still so much good left of the former angel he admired so much. He witnessed how brilliant Crowley used to be, an angel who loved creating and gazed at the universe with such exaltation. How happy he was, how bright, how enthusiastic in what he was doing! 

This plays right into Metatron’s hands in the last episode. 

Early in the season Crowley is offered a huge promotion in Hell if he finds Gabriel. And Crowley doesn’t even consider it for a single second - even though he hates Gabriel (He still clearly remembers the "Shut your stupid mouth and die" and all the other horrible things). When Aziraphale is offered the new position as Supreme Archangel he hesitates at first, but as soon as Metatron suggests reinstating Crowley to angelic status, he agrees in delight. Aziraphale thinks now they wouldn't have to be separated, they could even be together officially and it wouldn’t be reprehensible anymore because they’d now both be angels, both on the “good” side. They’d finally be equals and could even do good together, change the system.

So of course, from Aziraphale’s perspective, making Crowley an angel again would solve all of their problems (or what he perceives as problems). He, Aziraphale, wouldn't have to have a bad conscience anymore for spending time with someone who should be a mortal enemy. He could finally “fix” Crowley, make him truly good again. But of course it backfires horribly.

Their relationship:

As much as I loved the funny banter, the wholesome and adorable slice-of-life moments, this season made one thing really obvious to me: There is a big power-imbalance (for the lack of a better word) between them in their relationship. 

As far as we've seen, Crowley is almost always the one who gives, Aziraphale is almost always the one who takes. When Aziraphale wants something (e.g. protect Gabriel, take the Bentley to Edinburgh, have Crowley take care of the bookshop in his absence, organize a dance etc.), Crowley initially refuses - but in the end always gives in to what Aziraphale wants. 

Aziraphale is very outgoing, has a whole little community with the vendors in his street, actively mingles with humans and has hobbies (reading, collecting books, eating at fine restaurants, listening to music, practicing magic, going on little detective adventures etc.). What I’m saying is: Aziraphale has a life for himself, even after becoming a persona-non-grata in Heaven.

Crowley on the other hand... He either goes along with what Aziraphale does/wants or sleeps in his car (and takes care of his plants I guess). That's pretty much it. He doesn’t get any new tasks from Hell and only communicates with Shax on occasion when she brings him his mail or random news. He is so isolated from Hell, Heaven and Earth that literally his only reason for existing at this point seems to be Aziraphale. He practically has no ambitions or life of his own. Aziraphale always lets Crowley be his rescuer because it makes Crowley happy. But isn’t it sad that Crowley is only ever happy when he can protect and be around Aziraphale? Crowley’s whole life revolves around him and nothing else. This is not healthy!

Think back to season 1 when the bookshop burns down and Crowley thinks he’s lost Aziraphale forever. He is a mess, he screams and cries and breaks down. It was only for a couple of hours, but he’s experienced what a life without his one true friend is like and the loss hits him so hard, it hurts even us as an audience! 

And the worst thing: I don't think either of them really notice all that - because they don't TALK! Nina and Maggie were so right: The two idiots never really talk to each other about their true thoughts and feelings. 

There is so much miscommunication and misunderstanding of each other's needs because of that:

Aziraphale is internally conflicted about what he wants (be a good angel of Heaven vs. be with the enemy, an "evil" demon).

Crowley knows exactly what he wants (to be with and ONLY with Aziraphale), but he can’t muster up the courage to say it. After all, the last time he spoke freely about his thoughts, he was branded a traitor, tortured and cast out by Heaven.

So they constantly fail to find a solution that both of them are happy with:

Both in Season 1 and 2 Crowley asks Aziraphale to leave everything behind and run away with him, not acknowledging Aziraphale's undying love for and loyalty to humankind. And he gets rejected for it both times.

In S2-6 Aziraphale asks Crowley to come to Heaven with him, not acknowledging how Heaven has hurt Crowley, not accepting him for who he is. Instead he wants to fix him. Over the years he has also become so used to Crowley always being there for him, he takes his help for granted. So when Crowley actually stands his ground for once and refuses to do what Aziraphale wants, it shocks Aziraphale to his core. He’s never been rejected like that.

They aren’t humans, they are both ageless, sex- and genderless, asexual, otherworldly beings, so human relationship standards don’t apply to them. We can also see that in Gabriel’s and Beelzebubs relationship. Their love is something emotional, not physical. They don’t kiss or even hug, they just look at each other and sing "Everyday" - their personal love song - before they go off together. 

Crowley and Aziraphale have spent so much time away from Heaven and Hell and lead almost human-like lives on Earth. So in a desperate, last ditch effort Crowley chooses to show his emotions in a very physical, human way, a way that beings like them wouldn’t normally do. But it’s his very last chance to make Aziraphale understand. So he kisses him. It’s an angry, sad, messy, utterly unpleasant kiss, it’s painful to look at. 

Aziraphale doesn’t kiss back, his hands are erratic. He is so torn. His heart and his brain tell him two different things. He needs Crowley, but Crowley refuses to come to Heaven with him. 

And what is the first thing that comes to Aziraphale’s mind after the kiss? “I forgive you!” Because that’s what he’s good at, right? Forgiveness. He told Maggie that in the first episode of the season. I don’t know what exactly he wants to forgive and I’m not sure he knows himself. 

When they part they’re both in emotional agony, they both feel betrayed. Crowley storms out, but still waits outside his car. He still has this tiny bit of hope left that Aziraphale will come with him after all. He only gets in and drives off once he sees the doors to Heaven close behind Aziraphale and Metatron.

Metatron’s plan

I read some theories that Metatron poisoned Aziraphale’s coffee, but I really, REALLY hope that this isn’t true. It would take away all the gravity of Aziraphale’s decision if he is just drugged to go along with Metatron and comes to his senses once the drug wears off. That would be boring and lame!

I also don’t think that Crowley and Aziraphale switch appearances again as they did in Season 1: Clearly Metatron would be able to see through the disguise, he is much more powerful than the angels after all.

No, I think Metatron cleverly manipulates Aziraphale by giving him the opportunity (or rather the illusion thereof) to make changes in Heaven with Crowley at his side. Aziraphale is so convinced that Crowley would be full of joy and gratitude at the prospect of becoming an angel again. He once again fails to understand that this is the exact opposite of what Crowley wants.

Metatron on the other hand appears to know Crowley much better in that regard. He remembers how powerful Crowley is and how far he fell for asking the wrong questions. He loathes Crowley and would never want him in a position of power in Heaven ever again. So from the outset Metatron knows that Crowley would not agree to become an angel again, that’s why he makes that specific offer to Aziraphale in the first place. It’s his clever way to make the two fall out with each other, to separate them and still win Aziraphale over for his plan.

I just wonder what his real goal is here. Michael or Uriel seem like a much more logical choice for Supreme Archangel if he really only wants to go through with the next Armageddon. That can’t be everything, right? He knows that Aziraphale actively worked on preventing the first Armageddon. Why would he think Aziraphale would now be on board for the second one? Metatron can’t underestimate Aziraphale that much, right? He’s way too cunning to believe that Aziraphale is weak-minded and gullible.

I mean, I’m not too versed in religious mythology, but doesn’t the Second Coming of Christ mean Judgement Day and that God’s kingdom takes over the world after smiting all enemies? That doesn’t sound like something Aziraphale wants (especially the smiting of all enemies which would include Crowley). So why does he still agree to go with Metatron after learning about this??? 

Does Aziraphale think he can outsmart Metatron and all the other high-ranking angels and avert the end of the world when he’s in a position of power? I mean, he is intelligent, he must have a plan after hearing about the Second Coming, right? That would at least somewhat explain his very weird and uncanny smile during the credit roll. I just don’t know what to think about all this.

My best guess is that Aziraphale will first try to undermine Metatron and speak to the Almighty Themselves (something he already wanted to do in season 1 but was denied), and also to make positive reforms in Heaven. But Metatron sees this coming of course. To make Aziraphale his obedient puppet he will simply threaten to erase Crowley from the Book of Life should Aziraphale ever dare to step out of line.

Crowley never told Aziraphale about what he and Muriel found out in Heaven - that Michael & Co. were actively planning Armageddon 2.0 before Gabriel went renegade. But now Crowley can’t do anything to help prevent it because he knows that Aziraphale is completely at Metatron’s mercy.

I’m dying to see how this will all play out, but at this moment I’m just confused and unsure about all of this. 

So what do I want/expect from season 3?

I want Crowley to overcome his trauma, his pain, his trust issues, all the rejection and loss he faced. I want him to be able to be himself: Free, loved, respected, cared for, accepted. I want him to live a happy life with, but not live FOR Aziraphale. I want him to make other meaningful connections. Maybe with Muriel? She is the only other kind and good-hearted angel we see in the show and a friendship would benefit both of them greatly in my opinion. 

I want Aziraphale to fight for Crowley, to protect him for once. When they meet again I want him to do the stupid apology dance for three hours. I want him to finally accept Crowley as his best friend, his soulmate, his true love, his equal. I want him to take Crowley’s glasses off, look him in the eyes and then be the one to lean in for a kiss. A kiss that isn’t forceful and desperate, but heartfelt and genuine.

As for the plot of season 3… I’d really like to see a flashback of the often mentioned Great War between the angels and soon-to-be-demons. I’d also like characters from season 1 to make a cameo appearance if possible. Apart from that I don’t have any predictions or big ideas (as I said before, still very confused about Metatron’s plan). 

I will put my faith in Neil Gaiman and Wait and See (TM) what he ultimately comes up with. :’)