#so if you're the OP of something I rb and you don't want me sharing it lemme know and I'll delete it for ya

[tonydaddingham]

this is an insane spot, op! - but true, what exactly is aziraphale lying about? (op hope you don't mind me parsing this out on an rb!)

i will just say now that nothing below this cut is news, but more me trying to work out a bit more what i think aziraphale's angle is - so don't read this expecting any revelations!!!

so, episode 2, there's two main things that we know aziraphale is lying about:

having done the miracle by himself (instead of with crowley)

the miracle was done to make nina and maggie fall in love (instead of hiding gabriel from both heaven and hell)

and now, on reflection, im wondering why exactly he bothered with the first lie. heaven knows about aziraphale and crowley's... affiliation, post armageddon, and aziraphale doesn't know that crowley has been questioned by both beelzebub and shax in relation to gabriel's disappearance/the miracle itself (iirc) - as far as he's concerned, hell has made no threat whatsoever. so, why would aziraphale lie that he did the miracle himself? presumably, it's either so he protects crowley from heaven, or so aziraphale makes himself look more powerful to heaven than they previously estimated. both seem to be equally plausible.

so then looking at when he starts talking to crowley in the final fifteen, there are a few possible lies:

that he has good news to share (instead of very much bad news)

the metatron might not be as bad as aziraphale thought (instead of him being someone to fear/dislike)

that crowley would be welcomed back to heaven as an angel and that aziraphale has the power to do so (instead of... well, the opposite)

it might be worth noting that i don't think that the flashbacks to the metatron/aziraphale conversation were necessarily false, but instead the unreliable narratorship might come from what isn't shown to the audience. therefore, im presuming to take the flashbacks at face value in terms of aziraphale initially rejecting the offer etc etc. - ie. i don't think that the bits we saw of their conversation was a lie, but instead there may be something missing... but even then, i do have to wonder if this would a slightly lazy reveal come s3? (i personally always prefer when clues are hidden in plain sight, rather than pertinent information being actually kept from the audience - idk, i just find the former to be more clever)

that being said, i don't think that aziraphale was overtly threatened in the event of him refusing to comply; ultimately, the metatron has set up everything up to appear harmless and compassionate, and didn't need to use anything so blatant as a black-and-white threat to get aziraphale to agree. he needs aziraphale under his thumb, in the guise of an amicable business relationship, and it seems that from metatron's perspective, he was successful in doing just that when aziraphale goes with him.

i do think aziraphale in part wanted to take the opportunity because it meant he could change heaven from the inside - that would align, i think, with his character. the alternative, if he and crowley were to be together but having both rejected heaven, would be to run from heaven like gabriel and beelzebub did, but that's not an option for aziraphale either.

the issue i see however is twofold; first, that what metatron butters aziraphale up with - "you're a leader, you're honest" etc - is absolutely not the case, to either of them; as far as i see it, they both know this is stretching the truth when considering their previous interaction. the second issue is that the metatron cites that the reason he wants aziraphale to return to heaven is to lead on massive projects that 'require these attributes' - therefore, aziraphale's reasoning of wanting to make a difference is absolutely aziraphale's own personal scheme, to thwart whatever heaven has got planned (ie. to use 'projects' as a smokescreen for what he wants to do whilst in the SA position). its not a leap to think that aziraphale might be anticipating himself to be made the fall guy for whatever metatron/heaven has planned, and that he knows he needs to keep ahead of that.

so let's go back to the ep2 lie; that he's protecting crowley from heaven, or that he's trying to big himself up as a powerful angel Not To Be Fucked With (ie. protect himself from heaven) - but probably a combination of both. when it comes to ep6, and to him trying to convince crowley to come back to heaven with him, im not entirely convinced that it's all to protect crowley; what if this is his roundabout way of telling crowley that he, aziraphale, is in danger, and doesn't have a way out? that he knows that whatever happens when he steps into that lift, he is in fact going into the lions den and might, essentially, not come out alive?

that he's not necessarily trying to get crowley to come with him because he needs crowley to outright protect him, but because he needs an ally, someone he can trust, to have his back? that he has to go back to heaven because if he doesn't, they would both be in danger for the rest of their existence... and if he does go back to heaven but alone, they'd both be in danger but separated? not just crowley alone on earth, but aziraphale alone in heaven? (bearing in mind that they've just revealed to both heaven and hell that they think the miracle was so powerful because they did it together - not something that heaven would have any reason to doubt - and therefore are a threat to heaven itself).

but why bother lying to crowley - why not just tell him outright that they're under threat? well, many have speculated about how often aziraphale looks outside towards the metatron during the whole interaction, and interpret this as being him feeling not only pressed for time, nervous and anxious about the whole thing, but that he needs to consider what he and crowley both say veeeerrry carefully (which, given that aziraphale silently starts shaking his head furiously when crowley gets to the heart of his confession, and crowley expresses his option to run away, makes sense).

im also fairly convinced that, on top of this, the sigil in the floor that opened up fairly sharpish during the demon raid, compared to s1, may have granted metatron carte blanche access to the shop since s1, and it may also play into why aziraphale feels that, in some way, the metatron has been - and currently is - observing them very closely.

so, if he were to outright tell crowley that he thinks they're both in imminent danger, and the only way for them both to survive it is to go to heaven and work from within, metatron would hear/know it, and it might spell worse repercussions for them both. metatron is playing the manipulation game, and aziraphale needs to pretend at least that he's able to keep up, play the game by the rules set out, and pretend that he has in fact been successfully manipulated.

if we consider that aziraphale knows that he is personally, directly, under threat, three things then seem rather re-contextualised. that being the desperate, vulnerable, "i need you!" right before the kiss ('okay im going to stop speaking in riddles, i need you to come with me), "i forgive you." ('im angry at you for not realising my desperation, but know that whatever happens, you are forgiven for it'), and the Last Look... suddenly, that last look aziraphale makes to crowley doesn't just feel like, 'please change your mind, please come with me, we're both in danger if you dont', but also maybe a, 'i know you won't come with me. but this might be the last time i see your face... because im not sure if im going to come out of this alive.'

again, none of this is news but it was worthwhile for me personally to consider this angle on the final fifteen a little more... im entirely sure if im convinced on it? a lot of it seems like supposition and stretched to say the least, but interesting to think about what kind of mindset aziraphale is going to heaven in... does he essentially think he's walking to his own death (so to speak)?

Good Omens Thoughts

I think Aziraphale lied to Crowley. Here's my evidence:

What did Aziraphale lie about? No clue.

[justabookworm39]

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