#alex's unhinged meta corner
Text
Season One meta posts in 2024? Yes, very much so. We need more of that.
Will this be slightly unhinged? Yeah, probably, so welcome back to Alex's unhinged meta corner.
Everyone has probably connected the kiss back to the wall-slam scene in Tadfield Manor by now, but while I was re-watching it for the nth time and combing through it frame by frame like a mentally sane person, I realised just how orchestrated it was from beginning to end.
I assume we can agree that Aziraphale called Crowley nice on purpose to get a hint of intimacy out of him, but I think this time it is very different from the other instances during which he reacts with anger to being called nice.
My first main observation is the way Aziraphale positions himself.
We pick up after Crowley's explanation about the non-lethal shooting happening outside, and they are facing each other at an angle, with Aziraphale having stopped a few steps behind him.
Now, until the slam itself, Crowley doesn't move, he remains where he is, waiting. (We'll come back to that in a bit)
However, instead of remaining at a safe distance or standing literally standing anywhere else, he walks a small curve to then stop right in front of Crowley. Not at his side or a little bit away or at a respectable distance—no, right in his face. You can judge his position by looking at the wooden door (?) in the background.
The following camera position makes it hard to see the amount of distance between their faces, but we know that he must be close enough so that Crowley can immediately grab his coat without problem.
Excuse my art skills, but just to make sure everyone is on the same page, have a little drawing showing their positions and movements.
Now, that manoeuvring takes Aziraphale a few seconds, and what does he do? He stalls. Look at what exactly he tells Crowley:
You know, Crowley, I've always said that, deep down, you are quite a nice—
There are a lot more words than necessary! He could have shortened that sentence but he didn't, and on top of that, if you listen to him say it, he makes two noticeable pauses, one after 'Crowley with a little look outside, one after 'that'. By then he has reached his final position, so no more stalling, he can try to finish his sentence now.
Alex, you might say now, of course Aziraphale did it on purpose, but Crowley only reacted to what he said.
And to that I respond, nope, he was 100% in on it.
I know because when Aziraphale stops in front of him, he waits. He does not move, he doesn't shut him up even though he has heard the same spiel hundreds of times—no, he is waiting and allowing Aziraphale to initiate their little game.
This face is not the face of someone who is already angry or confused about which words will tumble out of Aziraphale's mouth. He even arches his eyebrow in a motion that I personally interpret as 'go on'.
Crowley is listening and waiting for the signal, and the moment Aziraphale says 'nice', he grabs him and pushes him up against the opposite wall. It's an extraordinarily quick reaction, the kind you have when you know you're about to act and what you'll do.
Some further evidence that the entire moment was orchestrated by the two of them.
Aziraphale stretches out his arms behind him to brace himself against the wall, he was expecting to be moved that way and intentionally put himself into a position that would allow Crowley to do so.
Additionally, by grabbing his lapels the way he does, Crowley can make sure that the back of his head doesn't hit the wall. If you watch the clip by yourself and slow it down, you'll discover that Aziraphale gently rests it against the wall on his own while Crowley is talking.
Aziraphale is completely relaxed not only because he knows Crowley would never hurt him, but also because this entire thing is a game that they willingly participate in. It is dangerously under-negotiated, sure; luckily they more or less agree on the ground rules.
Obligatory close-up with the noise squish because I am a blorbo connoisseur and not a heathen. The little eye gaze at the lips, and if you ask me, and this is my post so you ARE asking me, Crowley is very much looking at Aziraphale's lips from behind his glasses.
But I have one more observation to make!
I could never quite put my finger on why exactly the scene felt off, but now I am convinced it's because despite the act, Crowley isn't actually upset. There ARE times when Aziraphale actively crosses a boundary and endangers him with his compliments, but this is not one of them. The growling, him baring his teeth, the fact that he is pressing their entire bodies together, him leaning in thar far, and also what the FUCK is he saying?
The excerpt from the script books:
First part okay, I can buy that, a bit basic but alright. But 'nice is a four letter word'? Where exactly was he going with that and how was that sentence going to end? It's close enough to the topic to pass as real for any outsider who might overhear them, but if you actually listen and try to comprehend it—yeah, no, he was about to go full gibberish.
The goal wasn't to yell at Aziraphale about calling him nice, it was all about prolonging the physical intimacy by holding a monologue.
If you still don't believe me, have a look at their faces when they get interrupted.
Crowley has a "whot?" expression on his face and not a single hint of anger or annoyance. Aziraphale has an expression I will lovingly call "perish you peasant and let my demon husband slam me against a wall in peace".
If someone gave you only this picture—no context, nothing—what would you assume they were doing before someone rudely interrupted them? Based on what the fuck is happening on their faces and the complete lack of distance between their bodies, you'd probably assume they were snogging each other senseless.
Which they were, in a way, just without the lip contact.
I rest my case.
#alex talks good omens#good omens#crowley#aziraphale#good omens meta#good omens season 1#go2#aziracrow#crowley x aziraphale#ineffable husbands#ineffable wives#ineffable spouses#alex's unhinged meta corner
599 notes
·
View notes
Text
Muriel isn't a child, they're not stupid or immature, and they CAN take care of themselves—with that, welcome to Alex's unhinged meta corner, hinged edition.
We need to talk about Muriel, so let's dive right in.
Despite the way many people depict them, they are the exact same age as every other angel, fallen or otherwise, and treating them as lesser because their mannerisms and expressions don't match up with what you think an 'adult' should look like doesn't mean they aren't one.
Not to speak of the ableism that's inherent to that kind of thinking, and actually, you know what? Before I keep talking, I want to ask you a question.
It is very common to talk about Muriel as a 'child of divorce', being 'adopted' by Crowley, someone 'precious' that needs protecting, and a lot of titles and concepts along those lines.
The question is: If, say, Uriel were in their place—sent down to earth after not being there for more than five minutes ever—would you still call him everything you call Muriel now? Would you treat him the same way you're treating them?
Would you see him the same way, and if not, why?
The question is, if any other angel were in Muriel's position, would you also infantilize them the way you currently do with Muriel?
Feel free to actually answer that question on my post or in your own, because I am genuinely curious about the reasoning, especially behind 'no' as an answer.
Heaven completely neglected them just like they did with everyone else, they were completely alone in a big, empty white room with nothing but a glass desk and presumably a chair for six thousand years—and probably even longer than that. Having someone ask them a job-related question every couple centuries doesn't even BEGIN to scratch the surface of their social needs.
When they came down to earth, it was the equivalent of one's first day at a new job, at university, at school, anywhere you had not been before but now plan on being for a while.
You come across others that have been there for twenty years and look like omniscient gods from your point of view; they run the game while you don't even know which game you're supposed to be playing. This is one of the reasons why they read as autistic to many, including myself, because that's exactly what every social situation feels like to me. That's for another post, though.
Of course they're socially awkward and easily overwhelmed! They were dropped off in a capital city after—and let me emphasise this once more—being completely alone for millennia.
The highest of the angels ordered them to do a specific job, like, fuck, I'd be having a nervous breakdown in the lift and curl up in a corner for a few hours because that thought is terrifying. Especially because failure is not something heaven accepts. Especially because they know what happens to those who disobey or disappoint in whatever shape or form.
When we see them, it is in that exact situation—talking to their bosses that they've likely never talked to before, arriving in a new world, being around new people, in a new environment, new everything. It always reminds me of this quote from Modern Family.
Muriel was assigned a rank and job just like everyone else, and they deserve the same respect and acknowledgement for it as the Guardian of the Eastern Gate or the Archangels themselves. Muriel is probably really fucking good at what they do, they've had millennia of practice, but we simply never see them in their everyday situations. Give them some time and support, and they'll be up to speed in no time.
They are not a child—don't treat them like one.
#alex talks good omens#muriel good omens#autistic muriel#good omens fandom#good omens#good omens season 2#go2#ineffable husbands#ineffable wives#ineffable spouses#ineffable divorce#alex's unhinged meta corner#muriel meta#alex's meta minisodes
227 notes
·
View notes
Text
I was once again re-watching good omens, and I once again realized something incredibly painful, so welcome back to
Alex's unhinged meta corner.
I really need to make a masterpost at some point.
You see, the very first episode not only foreshadows their last argument, it also tells us exactly why it will happen and what problem/offer they will have to face.
We don't usually pay much attention to it because it's a) in the very first episode and then doesn't come up again and b) we know that Crowley would never accept it.
My realization is that Beelzebub's offer mirrors the Metatron's. Both Crowley and Aziraphale are given the same kind of opportunity—but one says no and the other says yes.
Let's have a look!
This is not going to be chronological but more of a go with the flow thing because the aspects are the same but they don't appear in the same order.
The most obvious part first: the job offer itself.
Beelzebub offers him a promotion and later on specifies that he can be a Duke of Hell, one of the few people in charge. I believe that if Gabriel and Beez' plan had been to run away together from the very beginning, ze would have offered Crowley zir own job as Prince of Hell. Still, being a Duke would probably put him in a standing similar to Michael or Uriel's.
The Metatron obviously offers him the job of Supreme Archangel, which is the highest possible position for an angel to hold, aka it's the same promotion, just different colours.
Both offers also stem from the exact same problem—Gabriel is gone.
Now, Beelzebub and the Metatron aren't stupid, they know that they need to convince them to take it, they have to embellish it and play with their wants and fears.
Beelzebub presumably makes the correct assumption that Aziraphale is hiding Gabriel or that the two of them are somehow involved (because they always are), and while ze uses it as a threat/warning, the Metatron takes what is now fact and uses it in the opposite way.
Additionally, ze trusts Crowley to not only deliver Gabriel back to zem but to take care of him until he's safe and sound with his partner.
'I trust you with him' -> 'He trusted you with himself'.
I will now do a little jump to the last part of Aziraphale's conversation with the Metatron right in front of the lift. Once again, they appeal to a characteristic Crowley and Aziraphale share.
'You know earth and that is a useful asset.' What has previously been punished and was seen as a weakness—what is he, he has gone native, you've been down here for too long—is now praised.
It's good that you know earth, we see that you are worth something, you are different but that is good now.
Crowley does not care about that at all, he gives exactly zero fucks about what hell thinks of him, but Aziraphale? Who has been trying to impress the Archangels for six thousand years and been humiliated by them during Armageddon? This is what he has been craving all along, respect for his job on earth and to be recognized as a Good Angel.
Well, that was the carrot, time for the stick: threats.
They remind them of their respective status—they're both traitors, personae non gratae, and they could still be punished for that. After the trial, they were largely left alone, but they drew attention to themselves again, they became a problem.
The Metatron is more subtle, as usual. He knows that Aziraphale lied his ass off several times, including directly in front of God. This is not a just compliment, it's a threat—I know who you are and I have the power to make you feel that
'You don't just tell people what they want to hear.' Again, they are sitting at this table and both know that the opposite is true, and the Metatron is both using it to threaten him and to establish the clear expectations he will have for him should he take the job. Also, by saying he thinks Aziraphale is those things, he gives him more praise, more respect.
Both sides know that Aziraphale and Crowley are each other's biggest weakness; they want to be safe and together. I think it is clear what kind of threat/danger Beez is presenting Crowley, but we rarely talk about the fact that the Metatron also threatens him, just not as explicitly.
Aziraphale will be destroyed if they find Gabriel with him, and Crowley cannot let that happen. However, contrary to heaven, hell has more or less known about the two of them for decades, and they never actually cared about the arrangement as long as the job got done. They punished Crowley when he did good deeds aka not his fucking job but the opposite.
'I know you care about him, he's at risk if you don't help me find him.'
The Metatron on the other hand makes it clear that HE specifically knows about him and Crowley, and Aziraphale did not know who exactly was privy to that information and if it reached the Metatron. Not just that, he emphasizes that he has been doing research on them, he can dig up whatever dirt he likes and then kill them both.
No one would be able to stop him.
This next part is going to be interesting because it is a parallel that Aziraphale doesn't and currently wouldn't be able to see, while Crowley does see it very, very clearly.
When the Metatron tells Aziraphale he can take Crowley with him to heaven and make him an angel again, that is good news to him! It is PERFECT! It would solve out of his problems, and who wouldn't want to be an angel, on the side of good?
Everything the Metatron did up to this point, from 'saving' them from punishment at the hand of the Archangels, over getting him coffee, to giving twisted praise, has had one primary objective: Get Aziraphale to trust him.
It worked. Consequently, Aziraphale does not question what he tells him now, and believes that he truly could take Crowley with him and make him an angel again. He has no concept of what falling actually means, and what it meant for Crowley in particular, so he cannot discern the threat within it.
Yet when he presents it to Crowley, who is horrified and rightfully so, we are once again shown that no, Aziraphale does not understand. Crowley does, though. That angel he was no longer exists, he cannot go back to it because they're gone, and he would not want to either. Everything they have built on earth their life, their existence, would mean absolutely nothing and cease to exist.
Do you see the threat yet?
Here is what Beelzebub tells him, and what we are told over and over and over again throughout the season.
Erased from the book of life, gone from existence, everything they were, had, owned, lived—gone.
Erased from the book of life vs. turned back into an angel that doesn't exist anymore, that CAN'T exist again.
Put the threat and the 'offer' next to each other, and Crowley sees the same fate in both: His existence will be destroyed. Aziraphale, like I said above, doesn't. The book of life is a threat, but turning him into an angel is a blessing.
Right now, it doesn't matter whether the book of life really exists or if a demon can be turned back into an angel. What matters is that they both BELIEVE those things are real and possible, because that is what they act on, belief.
Beelzebub sends him away with bad news, the Metatron pushes Aziraphale to tell Crowley good news. Same offer, same possible outcomes (either they get to live together or one of them/both get destroyed), but entirely different responses.
Crowley says no. Aziraphale says yes.
Aziraphale thinks Crowley should have said yes.
Crowley thinks Aziraphale should have said no.
So. We know what happens next and personally, combing through all of this in detail only made it hurt worse!! If it did the same for you—you're welcome, I love my job.
#alex talks good omens#good omens meta#good omens#crowley#aziraphale#good omens season 2#go2#aziracrow#crowley x aziraphale#ineffable husbands#ineffable wives#ineffable spouses#ineffable divorce#the final fifteen#alex's unhinged meta corner
179 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Metatron's outfit obviously has meta reasons/the costume department and Neil decided on it for a reason, but I think that there are also in-canon ones we should talk about more.
Now, the thing most people notice immediately is the colour—angels were whites, beige, light colours that match the job and heaven's sterile whiteness. His, on the other hand, is black, a colour usually associated with hell and demons.
As a small meta reason side note: I do not think that they chose the colour to signal that he is a demon and broke them up because he has Big Evil Plans because that goes against everything Good Omens is about. The Metatron is at the top of heaven's hierarchy and only subservient to God (assuming She is actually still involved), he can have bad intentions and universe-destroying plans as an angel, the whole point is that the angel/demon dichotomy is an ideological fantasy.
Why did the Metatron himself choose that outfit though? One would assume that he would have the most pristine white clothes possible, but every single time we have seen him so far, he has been a floating head without a body.
So before he came to earth, he actively made a decision to dress the way he did. We also know that he did his research on Aziraphale and Crowley, hence his knowing that Aziraphale consumes human food and getting that coffee. The entire situation was the Metatron creating the most beneficial set-up for his plan—to convince Aziraphale to come back to heaven with him.
He knows Aziraphale likes food, but what else does he like?
Crowley.
The person we see wearing exclusively black and dark colours.
Give Aziraphale a coffee, make his subconscious associate the Metatron with Crowley based on his clothes, sweet-talk him and lie to get him attached, and then offer him everything he could have ever wanted—heaven, the ability to change heaven, and Crowley and him being angels together.
Just like his off-hand mention about consuming food, the black suit is also meant to make him seem 'other', someone who—just like Aziraphale—doesn't really fit in with all the other angels. Aziraphale sees all of that, and the conclusion he comes to is the following:
The Metatron, the Guy In Charge is like me! He understands me, and we're both different, but he still wants me to be the Supreme Archangel. It IS possible to break some rules and still be a Good Angel, I was worried for nothing, everything is fine, and he will even revise the mistake of Crowley's fall.
Consequently, Aziraphale accepted the offer and didn't even think further than his own moral qualms finally being resolved, which is exactly what the Metatron wanted.
I think he vastly underestimated their relationship though—Aziraphale almost changes his mind—but overall it was a complete, clean success for him.
For my part, I am incredibly curious if he will keep the black suit in season three, turn back into a head, or change into white/lighter clothes. Now that he has Aziraphale where he wants him, he can dial down the persuasion and manipulation techniques.
#alex talks good omens#good omens#crowley#aziraphale#good omens season 2#go2#aziracrow#crowley x aziraphale#ineffable husbands#ineffable wives#ineffable spouses#ineffable divorce#the final fifteen#good omens meta#alex's unhinged meta corner
123 notes
·
View notes
Text
Welcome back to a meta post that was not supposed to exist, but I fucking love answering questions, so here we are.
i got an ask (the answer contains a tl;dr) about why I think Crowley has unstable relationship patterns, and the following will be a detailed look at why this is the case, how Aziraphale plays into it, and what it ultimately means for the two of them.
This won't be as unhinged as my usual analyses, so consider this a special edition of Alex's unhinged meta corner - now hinged.
As always, please remember that this is my personal interpretation—not a generalization—and that genuine questions are welcome, either here on the post or in my inbox!
Everything I will say is based on research I have done, books & studies, and many, many conversations with my therapist (and at points my psychiatrist too); just so you know I'm not making shit up as I go.
Now, in the context of trauma-related/based disorders, what exactly does it mean to have unstable relationship patterns, and how does it apply to Crowley and Aziraphale's relationship?
Canonically, heaven does not care about what Aziraphale is doing and they are not keeping an eye on him. We know this both from references in the script and their dialogue and what we see throughout the show as a whole. That "fear" of being found out should he openly commit to Crowley is, for the most part, self-fabricated.
Yes, hell would potentially punish him (that potentially is another long post), but that is not something Aziraphale gets to take and use against Crowley, and the fact that does it anyway to 'prove' that he is not behaving incorrectly is a big issue.
What that leaves them with is a very common and well-known relationship pattern that requires a lot of self-awareness, control, and work to break it.
Aziraphale and Crowley get closer, spend more time together, their relationship grows and the intimacy increases, resulting in their behaviour changing to reflect that. They go on more romantic-coded dates (e.g. 1827, whatever the fuck 1941 was), eat together more frequently, drink together and feel comfortable enough to get drunk drunk while in each other's company—which always carries the inherent risk of doing something 'forbidden' while their impulse control is lowered.
I think the second episode of season one is actually a great example for all of this. When they drive to Tadfield, there's a mutually respectful conversation, they tease each other, they bicker like an old married couple, and don't fall into blaming the other for the situation they're in. At the manor, they are openly flirting from the start, laughing about the paintball guns and blowing kisses to miracle away stains, and the wall slam scene honestly speaks for itself.
I wrote a detailed analysis of it right here, which contains the conclusion that the entire interaction was intentional and orchestrated by the two of them.
They are doing great, they're comfortable, intimate—both physically and emotionally—and their sides are already on their asses about the apocalypse, so why not commit to the relationship?
Because Aziraphale gets scared, scared of intimacy, scared of what it would mean for his life, scared of what it would force him to confront (his faith, mostly, which is another gigantic topic), scared of the changes it would bring to their relationship, scared of breaking out of the pattern they have been moving in since the very beginning.
So he pushes, hard. He insults and denies and hurts Crowley to get as far away from all of that as possible. Push & pull, no matter when, no matter why, it's always the same.
At this point you might be thinking Alex, this is all on Aziraphale, how is this also Crowley's unstable relationship pattern? The answer to that question can be roughly summarized in one sentence:
He does not punish or discourage Aziraphale's behaviour.
There are NEVER lasting—if any—negative consequences for Aziraphale when he forces them into the push/pull dynamic, when he insults him, denies their relationship, calls him evil, you name it. No matter what Aziraphale does, Crowley always forgives and forgets and comes back to him, essentially resetting their loop. That way there cannot be any progress because they're not moving a single inch in either direction that isn't carefully organized and controlled by Aziraphale.
Why does Crowley not confront him? Because he is scared too.
Now, THIS is the part where I explain why I said Crowley has unstable relationship patterns. It is important to understand that Aziraphale's kind of instability is only one possible manifestation, and that they are—broadly speaking—on opposite ends of the spectrum, which not only makes them incredibly compatible, but also makes them worse.
Crowley is terrified of losing Aziraphale permanently and being on his own. God rejected him, heaven rejected him, hell rejected him—his life as been one traumatic incident after the other with a strong focus on abandonment and neglect, especially from people he cared about.
He says himself that Aziraphale is his only friend, he doesn't have anyone or anything else. The bookshop is Aziraphale's anchor, but Crowley has nothing except the Bentley and whatever Aziraphale allows him to partake in. Hell can take his job, his flat, punish and torture him as they please, and make his life, well, hell.
With the Bentley only appearing in the early 20th century, for 99% of his life he had nothing except for Aziraphale, his best friend, the person he loves.
So what does he do? He clings, he circles him and tries to push his orbit just a tiny bit closer whenever there's a gap he can use, trying to solidify their relationship. Terrified of being abandoned again, he swallows and ignores everything and anything negative.
The final fifteen are the FIRST TIME that Aziraphale asked him for something and he said no without changing his mind later—and it was literally the worst case scenario, the one boundary he has that he is not willing to cross for him, literally the barest minimum.
Every other time he relented, gave in, apologized for something that wasn't his fault, have Aziraphale everything he wanted from Hamlet over shooting a gun at his face to giving him the Bentley. Crowley's primary objective is to do whatever it takes to avoid being abandoned, so whenever Aziraphale DOES push back and abandons him/says that he will, he panics. He panics even more when there is an outside source threatening Aziraphale's presence in his life.
Look at how frantic he is when he finds Aziraphale after the bandstand, trying to say whatever it takes to get him to come with him. He does the apology dance, gives in when it comes to Gabriel, and never reacts to Aziraphale in a way that would prompt him to re-think the choices he is making, let alone stop doing the push/pull.
His identity revolves around Aziraphale, his only relationship is with Aziraphale, he allows him to shape him to his liking as far as he can take and then some, he needs him to be happy, to enjoy himself, to live a life worth living—and Aziraphale needs him to be and do all of those things so he can keep up his behaviour.
They are dangerously co-dependent and just spiral deeper and deeper until they hit rock bottom and are forced to separate.
Look, I have BPD on top of everything else, I have been in a relationship with this exact pattern in Crowley's role, and it is fucking horrible. Absolutely unbearable. My ex-partner was like Aziraphale, pulling and pushing and pulling and pushing but on a daily basis, every few hours. No amount of talking or begging could get them to not behave in a way that would hurt me, and I was so emotionally tied to them and terrified of being alone that just like Crowley, I relented every. single. time. A year and a half and they never, not ONCE, apologized for anything. Ever. Not for hurting me, not for being an asshole, nothing.
The only way I got out was with a lot of therapy, support, and so much emotional work I was having several panic attacks a day because I was so fucking exhausted. Crowley and Aziraphale separating was the best thing that ever happened to their relationship.
Now, Aziraphale is facing negative consequences for his behaviour and is forced to examine himself and deal with all those fears causing him to behave the way he does. Crowley on the other hand is now forced to learn how to exist without Aziraphale to orbit around—he needs to develop an identity that exists outside of Aziraphale, so he can have boundaries and stick to them.
#alex talks good omens#good omens#crowley#good omens meta#the final fifteen#aziraphale#good omens season 2#go2#aziracrow#crowley x aziraphale#ineffable husbands#ineffable wives#ineffable spouses#ineffable divorce#alex's unhinged meta corner
131 notes
·
View notes
Text
Welcome back to Alex's unhinged meta corner! I am fuelled up with coffee and my adhd medication, so this is about to be a RIDE.
Apologies in advance, since this post will probably get quite long and also scientific at some point, but I will try to keep it as plain and easy to understand as possible. Combine two of my special interests (Good Omens and chemistry) and you get absolutely insane infodumps; it's a blessing and a curse.
As always, this is simply a theory, and maybe I'm wrong, maybe we'll never find out. But it's an option, and I have canonical proof.
There have been endless theories about why the Gabriel-Hiding-Miracle (which I will shorten to GHM) set off alarm bells in heaven and reached a strength of 25 Lazarii. Are their half-miracles really combined that strong? Does it depend on their relationship or love?
Well, today I am here to tell you that, actually, there is no such thing as "half a miracle".
We are going to have a closer look at miracles themselves, but the first important thing to keep in mind is that most of the time, Crowley and Aziraphale are incredibly unreliable narrators and have barely any inside into how heaven and hell work. Remember, they have been on earth since 4004 BC, they are certainly not used to any of the internal routines and functions.
They can tell us all kinds of things, but that does not make them true.
Now, miracles!
Both angels and demons are capable of performing them, though they only seem to be counted as actual miracles when they happen on earth, seeing as they measured in Lazarii.
One Lazarus equals the miracle power it takes to bring one human being back to life—the consequence is that miracles must be bound to the earthly plane, since that is where their unit originated from. When they are performed in heaven or hell, they are still miracles in a broad sense—celestial beings using their powers—but not in a way that ascribes to the measuring system.
Neil once answered an ask about Lazarus as a unit, and he stated that miracles tend to be measured in Centi- or Millilazarii (mostly the latter), meaning that the GHM was about 1000x as strong as your usual, daily miracle. The labeling also tells us that the scale for Lazarii is the same as the metric one.
If we treat Lazarus as a base unit, we need to find a way of defining it that is unique to this specific unit.
Globally, we have a collection of agreed-upon base units, the SI units (coming from the French Système international d'unités, aka International system of Units). Those seven are second, metre, kilogram, ampere, candela, kelvin, and mole, and every single one has a very specific definition—they are too bloody complex. None of them can be expressed with one of the other SI units, which gives you great definitions such as these:
A little excursion for those that are interested: For a very long time, the kilogram was defined by. well. A cube. The "true kilogram", which is still in a vault somewhere in Paris. However, you can probably imagine why basing a unit on a physical objects isn't a great idea long-term, so back in 2018, the kilogram was redefined, along with three other units.
Now, all SI units are defined by natural constants, not physical objects, making them accurate and (more or less) absolute.
Back to miracles!
The reason I am telling you all this is that we need to find such a basic definition for miracles, too, or at least an approximation.
My proposal is that a miracle itself is the force exerted on matter by a a celestial being. That force is then measured in Lazarii, with one Lazarus being equal to the force required to bring one person back to life. This is where it gets a bit tricky because how do you visualize that kind of force?
Matter cannot be destroyed only created, so all the particles currently making up our bodies will continue to exist long, long after our deaths. Meaning when a person dies, the amount of matter that was them is still there, the consequence of which is that their body can be recreated at will. Now, souls seem to be separate from matter, making them metaphysical and thus irrelevant for this conversation. I am going with the assumption that once a body has been recreated, the soul can be put back into without additional cost in miracle power.
There might be another base unit hidden in the metaphysical, but that's a conversation for another time.
All of this amounts to one fundamental hypothesis:
A miracle is either done, meaning matter gets changed, or it isn't, meaning matter remains unchanged.
There is no in-between stage here, a "half-change" is not possible, either you exert a force on particles or you don't. What kind of change that is might not be tangible for us, but a change is a change.
When Crowley and Aziraphale try to hide Gabriel, they change the way he gets perceived, how others perceive him, aka they change the way his presence is processed.
The closest thing to compare it to, in my opinion, is the superior mirage—the Fata Morgana. At its core, it means that light bends as it passes through air layers with different temperatures; your eyes perceive the bent light rays and your brain processes them accordingly. You see images that aren't actually there.
Celestial beings look at Gabriel but see something that isn't actually there, so the "true" image remains hidden.
If we stick to this metaphor, then Crowley creates a mirage for any ethereal beings, and Aziraphale creates one for occult beings. The creation of that mirage is one miracle—not half a miracle, but ONE singular miracle. Both of them change matter, and both of these miracles can exist independently of each other.
Crowley and Aziraphale could have created their mirages on their own, meaning that two miracles were performed, not two halves of one miracle.
If you listen to the sound of the miracles, you can hear that it's different from the other ones they have performed on their own, with the "combined" miracle having two sound peaks instead of one. Tumblr hates it when I upload audio files, so have it like this.
In order, the miracles are Aziraphale lowering the chandelier and moving the shelves, Crowley removing the paintball stain, and the GHM.
IF they had both performed half a miracle, the end result would have been one miracle, meaning it should have sounded like any other—but it didn't! Two connected sounds, two simultaneous miracles.
There is still one thing left to talk about, which is the power of their miracle. Here is where my previous definition of Lazarus as a unit comes into play again.
Heaven measured a miracle power of 25 Lazarii aka a very high amount of force exerted on matter. You might think Alex, if they both performed their own miracle, how come that the alarm bells rang?
If we keep up the mirage metaphor, we can explain that! Crowley's intention was to make it so that ethereal beings cannot perceive him, so his miracle changed matter in a way that aligns with ethereal perception.
However, Aziraphale intended to change matter so that occult beings cannot perceive Gabriel, meaning his miracle changed matter in a way that is adapted to occult perception.
This is where science comes into play again!!
You see, particles aren't just particles, they are waves too. Wave-particle duality describes exactly that, e.g. an electron being both a particle and a wave at the same time. A connected theory to that is the Uncertainty principle, which describes the inability to measure the exact value of two different properties at the same time.
Or, to put it more plainly, if you try to figure out the exact position of a particle, its momentum becomes blurred, unclear. If you then focus on the momentum of the same particle, you can no longer describe its exact position.
You are probably looking at me now, thinking where the fuck are they going with this and why are there suddenly so many principles of quantum mechanics in a Good Omens meta post???
Crowley changes matter in way A.
Aziraphale changes matter in way B.
Those changes can co-exist, like an electron being a particle and a wave at the same time. However—and this is scientific theory adapted to celestial miracles—when an angel looks at Gabriel, then they are focusing on state A. When demons are looking at Gabriel, they are focusing on state B.
Focus on A and B becomes blurry. Focus on B and A becomes blurry.
Maintaining that double-state requires power though, because compared to wave-particle duality, these states aren't natural, they're inflicted—matter was changed. It's like the matter around Gabriel is flickering between those two states, a light switch trying to find a neutral position when there is only on and off.
How do we measure that power? In Lazarii.
The miracle energy that heaven measured is not that high because they each performed half a miracle and combined it into one, it is that high because they each performed one miracle that stands in opposition to the other; as a result, two different states need to be maintained at the same time, meaning the manipulation is ongoing, meaning it needs a fuckton of power.
If you want to keep balancing your light switch, you need to keep trying, you need to keep up the pressure, otherwise you either click it off or on. Same thing with the hiding miracle.
Twenty-five Lazarii.
The power you need to exert on matter to reshape twenty-five people—or to continuously hide one being from two opposing observers with rapidly-switching state changes.
While I think the whole "it's because of love" theory is fun and cute, scientifically it really doesn't make much sense because their powers have rules similar to our base units, so me must approach and treat them as such.
With that, thank you to everyone who made it this far and managed to survive our little excursion into the field of quantum mechanics.
Questions, thoughts, additions, etc. are very welcome!
#alex talks good omens#good omens#crowley#aziraphale#good omens season 2#go2#aziracrow#crowley x aziraphale#ineffable husbands#ineffable wives#ineffable spouses#good omens meta#half a miracle#alex's unhinged meta corner
92 notes
·
View notes
Text
We need to talk about the Archangel Michael.
No, seriously we NEED to talk about Michael because I think she's going to be way more important than we currently think.
(quick side note: I will be jumping between pronouns for everyone involved because I go by vibes and also bc I'm trans and I like doing it. Hopefully it won't be too confusing, but I'll try to make it clear who I am talking about.)
So! Welcome back to Alex's unhinged meta corner. In accordance with the usual essay rules, let's begin with my hypothesis before we go down a long, probably very unhinged spiral.
I completely underestimated how thorough I was going to be, so to not overwhelm everyone with a miles long post, I will be dividing this meta into parts and will post them as I finish them.
A lot of small details have been fluttering around my mind over the last few weeks, and I think I am finally starting to put all the pieces together—and there are a LOT.
Part 1: Season One and Michael's Rank
We know them as one of the three (four—but that's another post) Archangels next to Gabriel and Uriel. While Gabriel's title was that of the Supreme Archangel, Michael's is explicitly stated in episode one of season two as 'duty officer', which, broadly speaking, makes them the Watcher, the one in charge in the case of Gabriel's absence for whatever reason, taking command where he can't; usually that probably meant him simply being busy and not him being unemployed and naked.
Their position is further signified by their ring, which resembles the Ophanim, the many-eyed angel wheels.
They are the one to keep a literal eye on things—they find pictures of Aziraphale and Crowley in S1 in the Observation Files, they watch over the heavenly hosts, they oversee plans, everything.
Michael even takes it a step further and (presumably created) the grapevine with hell, having direct contact to higher ranking demons such as Ligur, most likely also Dagon, and Beelzebub.
This is where we get to my theory: Michael is actively working with demons against both heaven and hell. It doesn't mean that they care about preserving earth, though they might later on, but that whatever plans heaven currently has are to be stopped.
I'm going to take this one step further and say that Michael also knew about Gabriel and Beelzebub, and helped him escape.
Now to the fun part: the evidence!
In season one, they are interested in stopping Crowley and Aziraphale from preventing the apocalypse, but that does not mean that they agree with the plans heaven has for said event—only that they need it to happen so their own agenda can stay on track. She has information she technically shouldn't, like, well, literally all the details about how, when, and what is going to go down
This is due to heaven and hell's general cooperation, which is its own post, but all of that runs through them.
That 'apparently' is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, it's the basic and plausible deniability that's required for them to not be in trouble. She is also in charge of ORGANIZING the troops, fulfilling her role as a navigator.
On top of that, the way she talks to Ligur highly mirrors the way two covert operatives might talk to one another, using phrases like 'our man' and 'working for you'. The mere assumption Michael makes here, that Aziraphale could be a spy, implies that there ARE already spies and angels working for hell.
Consorting with the enemy is allowed as long as it is done within a very specific framework, so Michael and Ligur are free to do so, while Aziraphale and Crowley are working outside of it, which gives heaven & hell the basis to punish them for it.
I think the phrasing of this sentence is also quite interesting.
Not "time to come back to heaven" or anything along the lines that takes Aziraphale's ethereal status into account, no, she simply says he needs to 'choose sides'—and who is to say that he needs to choose heaven or that heaven and hell are the only sides one can choose? Additionally, Michael is the one to bring the holy water to hell while they send one of the Erics, and while the trial as a whole holds a certain tension, there does not seem to be any open animosity between him and the dukes of hell.
In short, Michael is working with hell behind the scenes, likely pursuing their own goals, and standing in opposition to heaven.
Moving on to season two, and here it gets REALLY fun.
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5
(hopefully it will just be five. it was supposed to be two. then three. but here we are)
#alex talks good omens#good omens#good omens season 2#go2#good omens meta#archangel michael#archangel uriel#archangel gabriel#good omens michael#crowley#aziraphale#aziracrow#crowley x aziraphale#ineffable husbands#ineffable wives#ineffable spouses#ineffable divorce#the final fifteen#alex's unhinged meta corner
99 notes
·
View notes
Text
replies from this post
Making a separate post because the character limit in replies drives me insane and this will get wayyyy too long. @honeybeehum
Now!
I would agree that it was Aziraphale trying to smooth things over the fact—it's not like I want him to be hurtful to Crowley—but there are several reasons why I personally think that interpretation doesn't align with what we see on the screen.
First things first, the timing.
The thing is that at this point Crowley is done arguing, he was about to leave, but Aziraphale holds him back; their conversation was over and he had no interest in continuing it. However, he stops and hears him out because he is kind like that, and Aziraphale speed-runs an emotional manipulation checklist to get him to change his mind.
The only one talking is Aziraphale, Crowley is not responding, he is not even looking at him after he says 'together' because it hurts, and the nightingales comment is the last last LAST ditch hopeful effort to maybe make him understand (and it actually does work somewhat).
Crowley kisses him and it's not in the middle of an argument, not even at the end of it, really. That kiss is an "everything I never said to you" and it is a good bye because he knows exactly how Aziraphale will respond to it.
If Crowley had kissed him right after his confession (before 'you can't leave this bookshop') I would agree that the timing is horrendous—but he didn't. Personally, I dislike that trope just as much as you, and I don't think they played into it here.
Secondly, Aziraphale's intention.
There's a whole list of reasons as to why I think 'I forgive you' is an intentionally cruel choice on his part.
a) Aziraphale has a history of saying increasingly hurtful things when Crowley does not respond the way he wants him to (e.g. their argument in S2E1 about Jimbriel, the bandstand, the argument later, etc.).
b) The phrase itself, I forgive you, has a history. He has used it and similar ones before, probably way more times than we get to see, and not ONCE has Crowley responded to it positively. Distressed, upset, desperate, heartbroken—but it never actually achieved anything, there is no bigger meaning within that phrase.
c) Aziraphale saying it is not about forgiveness, it is about power and who holds the power in their dynamic in that moment.
Whenever he realises that maybe he's fucked up, maybe being on heaven's side is not good, maybe Crowley was indeed right and I was wrong, he starts scrambling for a sense of control.
'I forgive you' gives him that, simply look at all the other times we do see him use it. That line is essentially Aziraphale saying "I'm right and I 'forgive you' for being wrong". It ends arguments or lines of conversation and it hurts Crowley, and that is exactly what he uses it for in this situation.
Right after the kiss, he suddenly becomes overly hesitant, almost changes his mind, because the nightingale reference made him realise that he has fucked up. There are now two ways of fixing this:
I) Admit that he made a mistake, apologize to Crowley, and tell the Metatron that he changed his mind and will stay on earth.
II) Double down on what he already said and did, return to heaven, and show Crowley that he will not change his mind and thinks he's right.
Aziraphale goes with the second option.
d) In one of your replies you said this:
I’d feel manipulated and ignored if my gf tried that on me while we were fighting.
The thing is, Crowley's not the one doing it, but Aziraphale is.
Aziraphale has been ignoring and manipulating Crowley for that entire conversation. He starts by essentially telling him to shut the fuck up because whatever he has to say is more important than anything Crowley might want to tell him. Crowley still actively listens, hears him out, allows him to explain.
He takes what Aziraphale says and properly responds to him.
Does Aziraphale listen? No.
He ignores everything Crowley says and simply does exactly what I said above—he doubles down and starts saying hurtful things. Even when Crowley asks him a DIRECT QUESTION (counting 'tell me you said no' as a question here since there's the expectation of an answer) Aziraphale does not say yes or no. He DOES NOT ANSWER and instead once again doubles down and makes it about himself (If I'm in charge I can make a difference).
I wrote a meta post comparing their argument in the bookshop with the one during the final fifteen, and they always follow the same pattern and Aziraphale never listens.
So while I'd LOVE to assume the best here, I really would, it simply does not add up with the character & plot Neil has written and presented us with.
#alex talks good omens#good omens#crowley#aziraphale#good omens season 2#go2#aziracrow#crowley x aziraphale#ineffable husbands#ineffable wives#ineffable spouses#ineffable divorce#the final fifteen#alex's unhinged meta corner#good omens meta#good omens thoughts
68 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hey, about your meta on how Aziraphale emotionally manipulated Crowley in the final 15: You explained how Aziraphale didn't defend his position to Crowley after he said "I think I understand it a lot better than you do" because he knows he's in the wrong.
Sorry if you've already answered this somewhere, but can you elaborate? Theories aside, I've always interpreted Aziraphale in the final 15 as someone who genuinely thinks they're doing the right thing.
If Aziraphale knows he's in the wrong, why would he go to Heaven in the first place? What would his motivation be? And what made you think he's aware?
Thank you!
A good question!
It's a central issue when it comes to Aziraphale because a big struggle of his is that he can belief two technically incompatible things at once.
There is always his initial belief, e.g. heaven is fundamentally good and angels cannot do the wrong thing, but then he is confronted by an experience he cannot ignore that shows him the opposite, e.g. God and heaven being fine with killing Job's children for a bet with Satan.
Now, he could take those two beliefs and realize what Crowley (and most demons) probably realized at some point: heaven lied to them and is not infallible, so when reality proves to be different than what they were taught, they can make up their own mind—there are more options than what they were presented with.
However, doing so would require Aziraphale to do several things.
become self-aware enough to realize that he made wrong choices
accept that he can still make wrong choices and that being an angel gives him no moral superiority
understand that "angel" and "demon" as categories are fundamentally meaning- and useless
move away from seeing heaven as the one true authority and build his own moral compass
find an identity for himself that is completely separate from heaven, angels, and demons
learn how to have healthy relationships without replicating the dynamic he had with heaven
Crowley was forced to learn all of this in quick succession before, during, and after his fall, and he's been in a good place for millennia at this point
Aziraphale, on the other hand, was never actually confronted with a situation that would explicitly force him to change his thoughts and behaviours. He got comfortable on earth, was mostly left alone by heaven, could do what he want, and had Crowley around—who, no matter what he did, always eventually came back to him.
Aziraphale benefited from Crowley's severe abandonment trauma and fears and decided that he does not have to make himself uncomfortable because Crowley will do it for him. All of the points I have listed above would vastly improve his relationship with Crowley and with himself, but they would mean making himself uncomfortable.
It would mean having to work through feelings of shame, self-hatred and guilt, learning how to actually listen to Crowley and treat him like an equal, understanding and accepting that he has hurt not just Crowley but probably also many humans throughout the centuries (e.g. the entire situation with Elspeth and Morag).
In short, it's a never ending journey that will make you feel really bad at times but is ultimately necessary to have healthy relationships and a content life.
Aziraphale KNOWS all of this, otherwise he would be at peace being exactly like the Archangels are. He wouldn't even TRY to convince Crowley that his morals are wrong and his own correct because why try to convince someone of something you are 100% sure of?
We never see any of the other angels and demons having those morality discussions because they are at peace with who and what they are. On top of that, it's not like Aziraphale does not notice when he hurts Crowley or makes him intentionally upset—he does notice, and he does not like it.
BUT, and there is, unfortunately, a 'but', he prioritizes his personal comfort over Crowley's wants, needs, and emotions.
For example, he coerces him into giving him the Bentley and leaves him alone with Gabriel, two things that deeply distress him. When Crowley does not do what he wants, he threatens to withhold his presence/affection and punishes him with rejection, which is him abusing Crowley's trauma for his own comfort. Any moral arguments are not about Aziraphale making a realization, they're him trying to come up with EXCUSES so he can justify continuing to think/do x-thing even though reality is telling him that he's wrong; Edinburgh is a great example for that.
In the final fifteen, we basically see how far Aziraphale is willing to go to protect his own comfort. I made a rough little list of his initial belief, the reality he gets confronted with, and the conclusion he comes to/decides on:
However, Aziraphale has finally reached the one boundary Crowley will never be willing to cross, not for him, not for anyone else. He will not go back to heaven and he sure as fuck has zero desire to be an angel again. Aziraphale could pull out whatever manipulation tactics he wants (and he does) but Crowley will not change his minds and is rightfully upset that Aziraphale is asking that of him.
So where does that leave us?
Belief 1: Returning to heaven and taking that position means he will be in charge and can change heaven so it is 100% good the way it is supposed to be. It's the right thing to do as a Good Angel.
Belief 2/Reality: He knows heaven is cruel. He knows there was a revolution with thousands of angels trying to change heaven and they failed. He knows that demons are not inherently evil and that angels are not inherently good. He knows that Crowley wants to save the world, that he makes choices are are kind, that he saves people, that he cares—and he won't go back to heaven. He knows he does not want to be without Crowley.
If the Metatron had given them the time to properly, actually talk about it, I think Aziraphale would have come to the conclusion that Crowley is right about heaven and has been all along—but the Metatron was purposefully hurrying him along and so they didn't.
When Aziraphale panics like he did then, he (like many other people) stick with the belief(s) that feels safest, the one that is instinctual, the one that requires the least amount of thinking. For Aziraphale, that is do as heaven tells you, so that is what he argues for. He gets stuck in that corner and when Crowley rightfully sets boundaries, he panics even more because that hasn't happened before, Crowley always relented in the end.
So he panics more and more and more, says increasingly hurtful things and becomes more manipulative, which in turn makes Crowley more upset, and they spiral until Crowley reaches his breaking points and accepts that he is choosing heaven over him.
Again.
By the time we reach the "you don't understand what I'm offering you", Aziraphale is out of arguments. I mean, what's he going to say? No, you the demon who fell for trying to change heaven don't know better than me, the angel who never faced any punishment from heaven whatsoever?
He pushed his angelic superiority as far as it will go and resorts to what he always resorts to once he is out of arguments.
Rejection. Silent treatment. I will never talk to you again, we're not friends, it's over, you're at liberty to go, if you won't you won't, then there is nothing more to say.
The Metatron has planned the entire encounter very carefully, he intentionally does not give him time to think, urges him to talk to Crowley immediately, enters the bookshop immediately after Crowley leaves, keeps walking when Aziraphale tries to change his mind, enters the lift first with his hand above the button.
Don't allow him to think so he will do as he is told, and it works unsurprisingly well.
I hope that helped clear that up, he is definitely very. convoluted in his decision making at times.
#alex answers asks#alex talks good omens#good omens#crowley#aziraphale#good omens season 2#go2#aziracrow#crowley x aziraphale#ineffable husbands#ineffable wives#ineffable spouses#ineffable divorce#the final fifteen#alex's unhinged meta corner#good omens meta#good omens thoughts
64 notes
·
View notes
Note
(im slow what was the intentionally cruel part.?)
I will gladly elaborate!
This turned into a bit of a long answer, so welcome to an unplanned episode of Alex's (today hinged) meta corner!
While he was being unintentionally cruel several times throughout their argument, the only time he actively chose to say the most hurtful thing was right at the end:
I forgive you.
To them, that phrase has an uncomfortable history, especially for Crowley, and out of all the responses Aziraphale could have given him, he chose this one. Every other time he has used this, is was never about 'forgiveness' as such—it is Aziraphale trying to recreate the dynamic he has with heaven with Crowley.
It's Aziraphale looking at Crowley and telling him that the way he is is wrong, that he needs heaven's forgiveness, that he needs to change. All of that was made all the more clear by Aziraphale literally asking him to go back to heaven.
Crowley responds with distress to any of his 'forgiveness' phrases, which should technically be enough to make Aziraphale stop saying it, because who likes to intentionally distress someone you care about?
Aziraphale, apparently, but that's a topic for another time.
Now, I have combed through the final fifteen so many times I can probably recognize most of the frames and their time stamp with one look, and Aziraphale has two responses to the kiss:
His initial reaction, the one that is true to his emotions, is the aborted sentence. I interpret what he was going to say as "I love you" simply because the sounds and mouth shapes match very well (I have also written a whole meta post about that at some point).
Then he changes his mind though, and you can see that shift on his face, the angry slant of his mouth.
This is said out of anger, it is spoken with the intention to hurt Crowley by saying it—and he does. Not only did Crowley see it coming, it was also the last nail in the coffin of their relationship.
Enough is enough.
To be thorough (because I do enjoy being thorough), here are some closeups of the progression he goes to. First the gif, which is slowed down for convenience like the one above, and Michael Sheen really is a master of micro-expressions, every single moved muscle has an intention behind it.
At first, he is genuinely upset & sad, but then his expression settles and changes into something angry and almost cold. He knows exactly
a) what he is going to say
b) what the words mean in the context of their relationship and
c) that Crowley will be upset.
For some reason, he did not expect Crowley to leave; I think his intention was to make Crowley angry, to rile him up again.
Why?
Because Aziraphale does not like it when Crowley refuses to do exactly what he wants, and anger means you are still in a conversation, you're still emotionally attached—and emotions can be manipulated.
In reality, Crowley is already past his breaking point. He reached that the second Aziraphale responded to "tell me you said no" with "If I'm in charge".
Everything that comes after is heartbroken desperation and that stupid little voice telling him to keep trying because you rather leave knowing that you tried everything instead of forever wondering if saying or doing x might have changed something.
As always, feel free to ask any questions that might pop up!
#alex answers asks#alex talks good omens#good omens#crowley#aziraphale#good omens season 2#go2#aziracrow#crowley x aziraphale#ineffable husbands#ineffable wives#ineffable spouses#ineffable divorce#the final fifteen#alex's unhinged meta corner#good omens meta#good omens thoughts#aziracrow meta
45 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hey there Alex! So, I've loved your content for a bit of a while now and your explanations/insight really gives a lot of clarity to people who either might not understand certain points about Good Omens, need a reality check, or may have missed something. You've also really helped me stop being so shy about my love and defense for Crowley in response to Azi apologists weaponizing his trauma as excuses for the way he treats him.
Anyways! I don't know if you've talked about it before, I think you mentioned it briefly in passing but could you possibly go more in depth about the scene in s2 between them about the Bentley situation. The first time I watched the scene, I remember thinking it was so adorable how Crowley trusted Aziraphale enough with his car and how Azi changed the color of it. However, there was always.... something! Idk that struck me the wrong way and you realize upon watching it again that it wasn't as straight forward at at. I'd like your opinion, since I feel it really plays into that constant dynamic of Crowley being uncomfortable for Aziraphale's sake once again.
Do you think he was actually okay with it in the end?
Why did Azi choose this rather than by train?
Does the Bentley truly like the Angel?
If Crowley is connected to the Bentley, how come he doesn't seem to realize when Shax was in it with Aziraphale?
Thank you, that's really nice to hear! I'm glad that my posts have been helpful in a number of ways 💚
Now, I have THOUGHTS on the Bentley scene, excellent questions!
It is another one of those moments that seems sweet on the surface but is actually deeply uncomfortable to watch once you look past that. Let's start with the easy ones and then work our way through the scene in chronological order.
Why did Azi choose this rather than by train?
Aziraphale is basically roleplaying at this point. His weird obsession with his "Clue" has turned into a performance similar to his horrible magic acts; his facial expressions and body language change and become more theatrical when he talks to Crowley about it. At this point, he has probably already decided that he will pretend to be a journalist for no other reason than fun. Driving a car instead of going by train is presumably a part of that, it's an elaborate fantasy he's trying to live out—similar to the ball later on.
We have to keep in mind that while Crowley is aware of the gravity of the situation, Aziraphale is actively choosing to ignore it. Going to Edinburgh for fun is a horrible idea considering the danger they're in, but Aziraphale does not care.
Does the Bentley truly like the Angel?
I think the Bentley likes him exactly as much as Crowley likes him, simple answer but tbh that's really it.
Do you think he was actually okay with it in the end?
Now, the one million pound question: Did Crowley willingly give him the Bentley or did Aziraphale coerce him into doing so? Before we answer this one, there are some more things to consider.
Firstly, the circumstances.
With Shax in his flat and Jimbriel in the bookshop, Crowley has exactly one safe place left: the Bentley. It is HIS, it is mobile, it does not belong to anyone else, and he has a connection to it, meaning that he protects the Bentley but the Bentley also protects him.
We saw Crowley's intense reaction to Gabriel's presence, and it's not 'funny' or 'dramatic', it is Crowley being deeply traumatized by heaven, his fall, and the trial, and there's a very high chance Gabriel was involved in his fall, too. What Aziraphale is essentially demanding of him the entire season is that he locks himself in close quarters with his abuser, who can literally kill him on the spot.
Crowley is fucking terrified, he cannot sleep, he is hypervigilant and even more paranoid than usual, his mood swings get worse, he is a mess—and Aziraphale does not take any of his concerns, emotions, or needs seriously.
Secondly, past experiences and boundaries.
Whenever Aziraphale needs a lift, Crowley is happy to provide one, he enjoys driving him around. Emphasis on him being the driver. Aziraphale has not once driven the Bentley, and it is safe to assume that Crowley has never once OFFERED that he could drive it. That alone should be enough for Aziraphale to not ask that question in the first place, but it isn't.
It also means that Crowley does not expect the question and—when probably at some point asking himself the question whether he'd be okay with Aziraphale driving it—decided he does not want anyone but himself in the driver's seat.
So how does Crowley react when Aziraphale demands the keys to the Bentley?
Oh right, yeah, let's actually talk about that first. He does not ask.
Aziraphale does not ask. I cannot overstate how important it is that he does not ask Crowley if he can drive the Bentley. This is how their conversation goes:
There is no question. "I will take the car" is Aziraphale informing Crowley of a decision he has already made without consulting him—wow, I wonder when that will become relevant again?
final fifteen *cough*
Before he asked, Crowley was rather relaxed (or as relaxed as he can possibly be in his situation), but that changes immediately.
First picture is when he asks Aziraphale about what time his train is, the other two are when he says 'what car'.
His back straightens, his shoulders tighten and freeze, he snaps his jaw shut and grinds his teeth, chin up, mouth lips pressed together—I interpret this as initial panic plus a spark of anger over "our car".
Crowley denies Aziraphale ownership of the Bentley, saying that no, there is no "our" car, this is MY car. It is clear, simple boundary, but Aziraphale went into this conversation having already decided that he will take the car, no matter what Crowley thinks about it.
While he might sound all cheery and excited, look at his body and the expression on his face. That smile is fake, it's bordering on angry, and it is sending a very clear message to Crowley: I want this car and you will give it to me. Once again, my way or the highway.
Bringing up the bookshop is him trying to "out-logic" Crowley, but it does not work because
a) Crowley very much does not consider the bookshop to be "theirs"
b) even if he had, the bookshop is no longer a safe place because of Jimbriel
c) Aziraphale KICKED HIM OUT of the bookshop in the first episode, establishing that Crowley is a guest and nothing more.
He then intentionally misinterprets Crowley saying that he "can't drive [his] Bentley" and mentions his license. Again, entirely irrelevant because that is not even remotely the problem.
Throughout their conversation, Crowley becomes more and more uncomfortable and panicked. This is not a squabble or banter, this is Crowley trying to protect the one thing he has left and Aziraphale not giving a fuck.
Now, the REAL banger here is that after pushing Crowley this far, he then suddenly dumps the rest of his "decision" on him: stay with a person that has severely harmed you, alone, without a way of escaping. This is where Crowley grows from panicked and angry to genuinely frightened.
He stops Aziraphale from touching it—rightfully so—and then reaches out himself to calm himself; it is right there, my car is right next to me, it's okay. Aziraphale ignored all of his attempts to set and enforce boundaries, ignored his panic and emotional state, ignored what Crowley was telling him, ignored everything Crowley told him BEFORE, and keeps pushing pushing pushing until the very end.
So to circle back to your question, no, Crowley is absolutely not fine with Aziraphale taking the car by the end; he fights him right up until the moment he begrudgingly gives him the keys.
It is a very good example of their current relationship dynamic, and personally it actually hurts to watch it happen. Anyone who has gone through trauma around privacy, safety, and personal effects knows how terrifying and traumatizing it is to have your boundaries repeatedly violated like that.
Aziraphale is being manipulative and coercing Crowley into doing what he wants; it's fucked up, and this doesn't even begin to deal with happens later.
If Crowley is connected to the Bentley, how come he doesn't seem to realize when Shax was in it with Aziraphale?
Maybe he did but did not really care because Shax has been in the Bentley before (just like Beez), maybe he is too distracted by Jimbriel and potentially being murdered in his sleep to pay much attention to Aziraphale on his way back.
Maybe he DID notice since he does ask Aziraphale if something happened, and then once again makes the mistake of trusting him when he denies it.
Without more information I can only speculate, but, personally, I think Shax being in the Bentley was not too big of a deal for Crowley even if he noticed it.
As always, if anyone has follow-up question, feel free to ask!
#alex answers asks#alex talks good omens#good omens#crowley#aziraphale#good omens season 2#go2#aziracrow#crowley x aziraphale#ineffable husbands#ineffable wives#ineffable spouses#ineffable divorce#the bentley#good omens meta#alex's unhinged meta corner#good omens thoughts
33 notes
·
View notes
Note
TW // SA mention
What’s the difference between emotional manipulation and just being desperate? You said Aziraphale “speed-runs an emotional manipulation checklist” after he called Crowley back, but I didn’t get that sense at all…he just sounded confused and desperate to me? How is his “i need you” different from Crowley’s kiss, for instance? I think those are their respective most desperate moments. Can emotional manipulation be unintentional? I can maybe see it but it feels like the equivalent of calling Crowley’s kiss sexual assault. Like yes it was, but it feels like too extreme of language to use in this specific context with these specific characters, even if it does invoke an uncomfortable personal feeling (at least for me).
Hi anon!
Lots of difficult questions but I'll do my best to answer them—it won't be in chronological order, just going based on vibes and the easiest way to make it coherent. This will probably get very, very long, sorry in advance.
(side note: I will be discussing manipulation techniques in detail, so tread with caution if this is something that squicks you out or triggers you)
Can emotional manipulation be unintentional?
Short answer: Yes, absolutely!
The important thing here is that there is a gigantic difference between emotional manipulation as such and on-going emotional abuse; the latter is not something you can do on accident, it requires a certain amount of intent and power.
Emotional manipulation, on the other hand, can mean everything from the small actions we do pretty much daily to malicious attempts to influence someone else.
Appealing to someone's emotions is an average part of communication, you can see it in advertisements or when you talk your friend into doing something because "it'll be fun, trust me", and it's not necessarily bad! We're a social species, and that low-level emotional communication is a part of that.
This is commonly referred to as emotional influence or persuasion, it's generally harmless.
There is, however, a very big grey zone, and you reach that once the other person finds that they are uncomfortable or crossing their own boundaries without wanting to.
E.g. if you have a friend with a phobia of clowns and you talk them into going to the circus with you event though they do not want to, they will probably end up feeling like they have to go or you will be upset with them/it will impact your friendship.
At that point, it's no longer completely innocent, it's what most people would understand as mild (to severe depending on the situation) active manipulation.
You want someone to do something so you use what you know about them to get them to do it.
Manipulation is about control, it's about achieving your own goal without having to compromise while convincing the other person to cross whatever boundaries they need to placate you.
So, to summarize, the important questions to consider are:
what is the relationship of the people involved?
what situation is it about/what goal does one party want to achieve?
are there any relevant outside influences (e.g. a time limit)?
what is the emotional state of everyone?
are boundaries being crossed?
has this happened before/is there a pattern?
Now, I could use this checklist and comb through the entire conversation, but I will focus on that final part I mentioned.
The "status" of their argument is as follows:
Crowley has ended the conversation and wants to leave
neither of them changed their mind or has expressed any interest that they want to do so
Crowley is very hurt and no longer feels comfortable around Aziraphale (-> he put on his sunglasses)
This should have been the end of it, but Aziraphale follows him and stops him from leaving—this is not manipulation but it shows a lack of respect for Crowley's needs (and not for the first time either). Keeping an argument going when the other person actively wants to get out of it is not just unkind, it also harms the relationship you have with them; it's not like he storms off either, there is a proper ending to it.
Aziraphale's actions here made me uncomfortable too, and I can explain why!
While there are different vulnerabilities someone can exploit to manipulate someone, Aziraphale uses Crowley's biggest (and more or less only) vulnerability: his emotional connection to and dependency on Aziraphale. It is the reason Crowley has caved time and time again in the past, he loves him and does not want to lose him, and that makes him willing to hurt himself if it means keeping Aziraphale by his side and happy.
Let's go through it one by one.
Crowley! Crowley, come back, to Heaven!
He is using Crowley's name, which is the second time he does it after "nothing lasts forever". Using someone's name in a conversation is an attempt to make it more personal, to make it more 'urgent', so to speak. There is a big difference between, e.g. "I love you" and "I love you, Crowley".
Work with me! We can be together!
Here Aziraphale uses Crowley's own language against him. Earlier, Crowley said
I mean, if Gabriel and Beelzebub can do it, go off together, then we can.
It's a phrase he uses a lot, be together, do something together, go off together—and Aziraphale knows that, so either consciously or subconsciously, he uses the same language Crowley used to appeal to him. Copying someone's wording can have a bunch of reasons and effects. In this situation, I think it's simply meant to rile him up again, to make him more emotional.
Aziraphale says 'together' to make it seem like they actually want the same thing and that Crowley is in the wrong for wanting to leave the bookshop & not coming with him to heaven. It definitely hits Crowley quite deeply because he looks like he got punched and then turns away.
Angels… doing good!
Not going to linger on this one long because that alone is worth a big post. It's a moral imperative. We can do good together, don't you want to do good? Be good? Good is the superior moral option to bad, so why would you not want to do good?
It works for Aziraphale because he has his own issues around the good/evil and angel/demon dichotomy, but it does not work on Crowley because his moral compass is far too complex; he knows that 'doing good' means absolutely nothing here.
I… I need you!
Pretty much the clearest example for the emotional manipulation taking place here.
I need you.
You love me, you want me to be safe, you have always protected me in the past, so do it again. I NEED you to do this.
Openly admitting to 'needing' Crowley puts more pressure onto him to act.
How dare you not give the person you love what he needs? Do you not love him enough? Are you that selfish? Would you leave him alone and weak on purpose and deny him the support he is asking for? Aziraphale loves you, he needs you, he wants to do good things with you, why are you being mean and disagreeing? You are the bad guy here, look at how sad you are making him. He needs you—give yourself to him.
This is also known as guilt-tripping.
In the past, threats along these lines have worked. He came back to help him with Gabriel, he did not leave earth, he returned no matter how mean Aziraphale was because Crowley wants to keep him safe.
This time, Aziraphale has pushed him too far and it doesn't work, so he resorts to the next item on the list.
I don't think you understand what I'm offering you.
You don't know what you are doing but I do, so you should listen to me and follow me in what I do.
Everyone always gets caught up on Crowley calling him an idiot (which imo is perfectly justified here) but no one ever talks about the fact that Aziraphale's line here is incredibly demeaning and condescending.
CROWLEY does not know what you are offering him? The angel who fell TRYING TO CHANGE HEAVEN? You are telling him that you know better than him what that is like?
It's insulting, it's a blatant attempt at manipulation, and it is the one thing Crowley responds to.
I understand. I think I understand a whole lot better than you do.
"I understand" is a fact. He does understand. Even after all of this, Crowley does not say "I know better than you". He says I think, giving Aziraphale an opening to disagree with him, to explain his position and why he thinks he knows better than Crowley—but Aziraphale ignores it because he knows he's in the wrong.
Which brings us to the grande finale.
Well… then there's nothing more to say.
Exact mirror to their argument about Gabriel.
You're at liberty to go. If you won't, you won't. Do what I want and if you don't I will kick you out.
We can go back even further than that because Aziraphale has used this threat with a very similar wording before and had success with it.
It is essentially an ultimatum: Agree with me or I won't talk to you again. Same contents with a slightly different package. I think Crowley saw it coming this time plus Aziraphale has emotionally wrung him out already, so it does not have the desired effect.
Aziraphale still tried to use it though.
Saying Aziraphale attempted to emotionally manipulate Crowley is simply calling it what it is. It does not make him a villain or a bad guy, it does not mean that their relationship is somehow abusive.
You are right, Aziraphale is desperate and confused, he's feeling out of control, and that unfortunately makes people more likely to try and manipulate others to regain said control. I think some parts are intentional, others are unintentional and a consequence of his complete lack of self awareness and reflection, but it's manipulation nonetheless—and it's not alright that he does it.
Crowley—who is arguably even more upset and shocked—doesn't fall back on emotional manipulation.
Being upset, traumatized, in distress, mentally ill, whatever you want to list, nothing gives someone else the right to emotionally manipulate someone and abuse their known vulnerabilities. I could go through many of their conversations and write down in detail how exactly Aziraphale is trying to manipulate Crowley because this is really just the tip of the iceberg, but this is already wayyyyyyy too long, so I will save that for if anyone else has more questions.
I hope this helped clarify things, anon!
#alex answers asks#alex talks good omens#good omens#crowley#aziraphale#good omens season 2#go2#aziracrow#crowley x aziraphale#ineffable husbands#ineffable wives#ineffable spouses#ineffable divorce#the final fifteen#alex's unhinged meta corner#good omens meta#good omens thoughts#emotional manipulation
28 notes
·
View notes
Note
I remember reading somewhere that Neil said the kiss wasn't about lust and I disagree, at least in part, because there is plenty of love-emotional lust between these two. What do you think? Is there physical lust as well ? Also, do you think by the end of S3 we could see Aziraphale Fall (could he actually choose to Fall?), and become a demon ?
Even though some people treat it as such, Neil's opinions aren't the gospel truth and not canon either. The show as it is—everything we can see and hear on screen—is our canon to work with, and while Neil definitely has a unique position when it comes to interpretation and analysis, his thoughts aren't automatically the only correct option.
In short, whatever he retrospectively says about the kiss is simply another possible interpretation of that scene.
'Show not tell' is an important principle in writing, and I think in a way it also applies to here; we have what we see, and telling us what supposedly happened is not the same as writing and producing the episodes.
Personally, I do think their attraction has a sexual & physical aspect to it, and the kiss is an expression of everything Crowley feels towards Aziraphale, including lust/desire/whatever you wanna call it.
Regarding Aziraphale's celestial status—I really hope that we do not get a "he chooses to fall" situation since it would cheapen not just Crowley's traumatic fall but that of every single fallen angel. The point is that falling was not a choice, it was a punishment, and going against heaven does not automatically degrades you or changes your (metaphysical) nature.
Making Aziraphale fall now would also serve no actual purpose. Heaven has ways of punishing angels just like hell does, and while the fall was definitely a deeply physically painful experience, the symbolism of it was just as important.
Make one angel fall and the most you get is that one angel now being in hell.
Make millions of angels fall after forcing them to fight in a war against the other half of the family and effectively remove them from their home & God's love, and you get not just collective punishment but a heaven full of angels absolutely terrified of being subjected to the same thing.
The control heaven has is largely based on fear—a fear that was justified, but is no longer validated by actual experience. Consorting with hell is second nature to the Archangels, that has never been the problem, it's breaking the rules & going against the Great Plan that angers them.
Honestly, I am not entirely sure that Neil will be able to fix the fallout of season two in six episodes, and I wouldn't want him to cheapen the story by trying to rush a fairytale ending. If Aziraphale falls, I want it to be a punishment, not a choice. I want him to go through the exact same pain as everyone else because contrary to popular believe, he is not God's Special Boy; he's an average angel with average status and a shitton of luck and time on earth that he didn't use.
Aziraphale had six thousand years to choose to fall, but he never did. He prioritized his personal comfort and heaven's opinion of him over everything else, and Crowley should have drawn a line so much earlier than he did. If Aziraphale wanted to choose Crowley over heaven, he would have by now, but he hasn't, and everything he does now is something he COULD have done earlier—but Crowley was simply not important enough to him to do it while he was still co-dependent on Aziraphale.
This is a situation of "I asked you to stop hurting me but you never did & now suddenly after the break-up you are doing all the things I have been asking you to do for years".
To quote the Good Place once again: [They were] always capable of change, [Crowley] just wasn't worth changing for.
#alex answers asks#alex talks good omens#good omens#crowley#aziraphale#good omens season 2#go2#aziracrow#crowley x aziraphale#ineffable husbands#ineffable wives#ineffable spouses#ineffable divorce#the final fifteen#good omens meta#alex's unhinged meta corner#this got very long but i haven't talked about this show in a hot second so there's a lot of pent-up thoughts
14 notes
·
View notes
Text
welcome back to alex's unhinged meta corner, today's topic: the chest touch at the pub. that scene has me in a chokehold for some reason and i still cannot stop thinking about it.
the first thing i wanna talk about is crowley's reaction, since this is the shorter part. he did not expect aziraphale to reach out to him like this and freezes for a second while aziraphale happily chatters away.
they were both walking and the hand on his chest stops him, so he comes to a stop right next to him while he was slightly behind him before that. his gaze also snaps to aziraphale's face, who is very much not looking at him.
they were having a conversation, but the touch essentially shuts crowley up and zira leaves him to get their drinks.
now, my question is why aziraphale does it. sure, it could just be an absent gesture since they're in a crowded place, just that he has never really done so before. i think it was very much planned, like asking crowley to dance and grabbing his hand later on.
a second before he actually reaches out, he also looks back to check whether crowley is where he thinks he is. that is the only time he does that, he was busy looking for a free table and miracles them one when he cannot find one - the look back is deliberate. especially since crowley is practically glued to his side, he has no need for confirmation, he can feel him brushing against him while walking.
the hand motion he does gets me, too. he is busy fidgeting with his hands like normal and has them clasped in front of him. aziraphale lifts them once he gets to "that is precisely the point", yet also already moves it slightly towards crowley, realizes he miscalculated where exactly he/his chest is, looks to check, then looks away again before actually touching him. am i reading too much into it? maybe.
i think it is his version of a little temptation. not only does it make crowley's brain short-circuit for a second, he also gets them their drinks and is now (or so aziraphale hopes) a bit calmer and will take the news aziraphale is about to give him better. the conversation at the cafe did not go entirely as planned, after all.
additionally, something i am not sure if other people have noticed or not is that aziraphale does not just touch crowley, it is a caress. he moves his hand down his chest.
the movement in order:
bar girl unfortunately moves in front of them, but you can clearly see the way his hand takes. to give you a direct comparison of the starting and end point:
a good point of reference is crowley's bolo tie but also the angle of aziraphale's arm while it is still visible.
the best part, in my opinion, is that aziraphale puts his hand right on top of crowley's heart. i think the symbolic importance of that is pretty clear and does not require any more explanation, although it makes me want to throw myself into a river. but that's by the by.
to summarize, aziraphale caresses crowley's heart chest to get him to calm down and not go insane over the news he is about to give him. he is also simply a bastard and knows exactly what he is doing to crowley.
as always, this is me going nuts with analysis, but i'm also curious to hear other people's thoughts on this.
don't tell my therapist about my unhinged meta posts or she will probably be very concerned for my mental wellbeing
#alex talks good omens#good omens#ineffable husbands#crowley#aziraphale#good omens season 2#go2#aziracrow#crowley x aziraphale#good omens meta#any grammar or spelling errors are my own#my brain is not being coherent lately
5K notes
·
View notes
Text
Welcome back to Alex's unhinged meta corner, and today I have something surprisingly not kiss-related—though it is still about the final fifteen because hey, gotta keep the brand image.
I read this post by @goodoldfashionednightingale and began typing a small response. Then I made the mistake of drinking half a litre of coffee on an empty stomach right after taking my adhd meds and my brain began vibrating at the speed of light.
But oh, have I discovered parallels. This, my friends, is about the nightingale, where it comes from, what it means, and what the fuck happened in part 3 of 1941.
Ready? Let's go.
Now, as OP said in her post, s1e3 is important. In the script book, Neil himself says that these flashbacks are where the producers would tell him to cut scenes to save money. They suggested every single one—except for the one he ended up taking out, which was the bookshop opening scene set in 1800. The others are building blocks, you need them to see how their relationship progressed and what kind of important milestones they had.
(side note: author is very miffed that english does not have a separate subjunctive form like german which makes quoting lines way more confusing than it has to be)
The one I want to mention is neither 1941 nor 1967. No, what I want to talk about is 1601. This might be about to get a bit rambly but I will do my best to keep it tidy.
The focus of that flashback is on the Arrangement, yes, but it gives us a lot more information than that.
they both see Shakespeare's plays regularly, maybe even meet in the crowd
Crowley prefers the comedies
Aziraphale does not seem to have a preference, he enjoys the tragedies and presumably the comedies too
there is an oyster woman selling food -> reference to their meeting in Rome when Aziraphale tempted him to try some oysters
Aziraphale reflexively denies their relationship
Crowley might say he is not worried but circles Aziraphale the entire time, keeping watch
they both ask favours of each other and both agree to do them
What stands out to me in relation to what I am about to expand on is the line that Crowley delivers after Aziraphale's little 'buck up'—which Crowley finds adorable btw but that's a post for another time.
"Age does not wither nor custom stale his infinite variety."
Why would he say that? What exactly is prompting this? WHY say that specific line?
At first I thought it might be to tempt Shakespeare because he does commit art theft by just copying that line down, BUT I think there is more to that. So much more, in fact. I am wiggling now because I am very excited about this and my adhd meds are kicking in anyway.
First things first: the line itself.
It appears in Shakespeare's play Antony and Cleopatra, a romantic tragedy, which was first performed in 1607 aka six years after this meeting. Enobarbus is talking about Cleopatra and describing why Antony won't leave her. Her.
Ccrowley uses his—again, who is he even talking about? Hamlet? Shakespeare? Random poetic quote?
No, I think this line is about Aziraphale and it's a code. Right after, the next line from Aziraphale is "What do you want?", meaning that this is their code phrase for 'I have a favour to ask of you'.
Age does not wither nor custom stale his infinite variety
Age will not affect his appearance nor will he ever become boring to Antony. Crowley, who later chooses the name Anthony for himself, tells Aziraphale, an immortal, that he will never age and that he will never grow bored of him.
It's flattery, pure and simple, and it's code at the same time. This establishes the important fact that they might use more of Shakespeare's work as code/already have a system in place (even though he steals Crowley's line for later).
They play their little morality game of back and forth, Aziraphale agrees, Crowley probably manipulates the coin toss, and THEN we find out that the oyster woman is called Juliet.
Why? What is the meaning of that? Why give her a name and that name in particular? Why bring the sexy oysters back into it?
Romeo and Juliet premiered in 1597, so it is safe to assume they have both seen it by 1601, but this is mostly for the audience, not for us-or is it?
Aziraphale gives Crowley puppy eyes until he agrees to make Hamlet popular, and while I don't think Juliet itself is a code word, although it's very interesting that the OYSTER woman is the one with that name (especially adding what we now know about Job), Romeo and Juliet might be.
Yes, the Nightingale song came out in 1940 but the bird has been around for much, much longer, and, as many probably know by now, also shows up in Romeo and Juliet.
This is where I am starting to vibrate at the speed of light because listen to me. Listen.
Crowley is Juliet. Anthony J. Crowley. Antony Juliet Crowley.
(side note: I'm not saying that Crowley chose it based on that—though I am not not saying that—but that it is a clue for us at the audience.)
Why do I think that? In the play, Romeo spends the night with Juliet and then goes to leave as the night begins to end. Juliet tries to stop him and tells him that the birds they are hearing aren't larks, which sing at dawn, but nightingales, which sing at night.
Who is the one always pushing for more? Crowley. He is the one trying to convince Aziraphale it's safe, they're safe to spend time together.
Romeo disagrees with Juliet and says 'I must be gone and live, or stay and die'.
Leave and stay alive, or stay and hell/heaven will punish us. It gets even better though.
We all know how Romeo and Juliet ends: Romeo thinks Juliet is dead, kills himself, Juliet finds him and then kills herself too.
Hey, do you know how Antony and Cleopatra ends?
Antony thinks Cleopatra is dead, kills himself and dies in her arms, then Cleopatra also kills herself—by snake poison; Romeo also died by poison.
The parallels are THERE. They are jumping down our throats! Two tragedies, two sides, several familiar names and phrases, same fear, same ending.
I think by now you can guess how this ties back to 1941.
We do not see how that night ends, but we know it ends. One of them wants to stretch it out, maybe even quotes Romeo and Juliet because look at the setting!
Candlelight, wonderful night they spend together, the threat of Crowley's early demise, and, to quote the play once more, this time Romeo: I have more care to stay than will to go.
Crowley thought it was his last night on earth and went with Aziraphale to his bookshop, to be with him, because he cares more about that than the fact that he will be dragged to hell come morning. Do you remember?
"Expect a legion to come for you first thing tomorrow" THAT is the threat. They have until dawn, just like Romeo and Juliet, which is why she is so desperate for the birds to be nightingales. Fortunately for them, Aziraphale saves the day, BUT there is NO SECURITY. They do not KNOW if a legion will still show up or not. If dawn is a deadline and they will need to fight.
Sure, they improved their chances, but who knows? Maybe they will come for him anyway, it's not like hell is all fair and square.
The best part: it gets even better.
Juliet eventually panics and tells him to go, and Romeo drops a line that huh, sounds oddly familiar, doesn't it?
'More light and light, more dark and dark our woes!'
Remind me, what does Aziraphale say again? Ah, yes. Perhaps there is something to be said for shades of grey.
There is more. Yes, even more. We know the whole rescue relies on a magic trick, a switch. Guess what Juliet yearns for while telling Romeo to go save himself?
Oh, now I would they had changed voices too. While they did not for Romeo and Juliet—they kiss and part—they did for our two. One fabulous switch and we're good.
(side note: Toads? Associated with hell. Larks? Associated with the dawn, yes, but also heaven since Romeo says 'Nor that is not the lark, whose notes do beat the vaulty heaven so high above our heads.')
So, this was a whole lot of information, let's see if I can summarize my thoughts.
I believe the nightingale is a code word that has existed even before 1941 and gained a lot of importance over the years. In 1941, the song is added to the meaning and whatever happened between the two that we have not seen yet, it fundamentally changed their relationship. Maybe they kissed, maybe one of them tried to convince the other to prolong the night but they parted on not-great terms.
The nightingale and the song become a symbol of hope, a goal to achieve, another uninterrupted night, maybe, or an uninterrupted life.
When they part in the final fifteen, it's morning. Crowley points at the sky and says "no nightingales", which at that point has several different layers to it.
No nightingales because their night is over, just like with Romeo and Juliet, and please, please allow me to add another detail, because I am frothing at the mouth over this. The scene I quoted, known as balcony scene, do you know what it is preceded by?
A ball.
Star-crossed lovers defying their sides, falling in love at a ball, getting a hurried, wonderful night together but torn apart by danger of punishment, the nightingale as a dream, as a wish for unhurried time together. Family rejection, torn apart by parents, willing to die for each other so they can reunite in death.
No nightingales. The ball, the romance, is over, their dancing is over, heaven is tearing them apart, and Aziraphale returns to heaven while they are both stuck in a pit of misunderstanding and miscommunication, all bound together by fear for each other.
The thing is, Crowley hates tragedies, he never liked the "gloomy ones", and he does not want them to end in one—luckily, this isn't the end. Yes, they kiss and part, but the play keeps going. We have an entire act 3 to fix what Romeo and Juliet couldn't, to ensure that this is a COMEDY, not a tragedy.
Both Antony & Cleopatra and Romeo & Juliet died out of fear, hurried into making bad decisions because they knew what would happen if their sides were to catch up with them.
Crowley and Aziraphale can reunite heaven and hell with love, not death. This is THEIR story and they are writing the ending. No more day and night, no more deadlines, no more hiding and sneaking about, no more fear of larks and sunshine.
Good Omens will end the way it began: In a garden with two no-longer-star-crossed lovers embracing the song of a lark as well as that of the nightingale.
I hope this made sense to everyone who was no present while my mind started to vibrate itself into a puddle because the thing is I can see Neil doing all of this completely on purpose.
Thoughts? Questions? Additions? Come and join me in my insanity and until next time I have a mental breakdown over this show (probably in like two hours).
#alex talks good omens#good omens#good omens meta#ineffable husbands#crowley#aziraphale#good omens season 2#go2#aziracrow#crowley x aziraphale#no nightingales#ineffable divorce#the final fifteen#a nightingale sang in berkeley square
825 notes
·
View notes
Text
this one is thanks to a post by @thegroovyfool because she is very much correct - we do not talk about aziraphale's "i need you" enough.
so once again, with a deep breath and a sigh, welcome back to alex's unhinged meta corner, where i tear apart the confession scene frame by frame. i'm gonna say, watching this particular clip over and over and focusing on aziraphale's face almost took me out.
let's get into it.
first, how about a little look at our starting point. (any blurry screencaps are due to a LOT of movement on michael's part rip)
crowley is very pointedly facing away from him, he turned after aziraphale said "we can be together - angels!", presumably because being offered exactly what he wants in the one way he cannot have it fried his brain, cause besties it surely fried mine.
aziraphale on the other hand looks openly desperate, which is why he says "i need you." more on that later. let's have a look at how he says it, because michael "microexpressions" sheen is putting in the work.
to me, he seems close to tears, his eyes are glistening in that specific "i'm about to cry my eyes out" way i know from looking in the mirror while crying
he is trying to get crowley to listen to him and to turn around. he wants crowley to face him, which is something most people tend to want during an argument. talking to someone who is not looking at you tends to make someone frustrated and like they're not hearing you/do not care about what you have to say.
aziraphale looks close to despair, his i need you is a plea to crowley to come with him. he is opening himself up not just emotionally but physically, too.
he slightly leans forward, his arms are raised and seem to both slightly grasp for crowley and point towards his chest/heart for emphasis. the pure pain visible on his face knocks the air out of me every single time i look at it.
aziraphale is admitting to needing him, something he has never done before, hell, he has told him the exact opposite on numerous occasions. i don't need you. and while they both knew it was a) a lie and b) a way for him to deal with his conflicting emotional standpoints and cognitive dissonance, it still hurt crowley every. single time.
crowley was there for him no matter what, he knows aziraphale needs him but he came back and remained at his side even when he was pushed away and more or less openly insulted. he endured it all.
aziraphale saying i need you now is pretty much a slap in the face but also what crowley needs to hear. as with everything that happens during the entire conversation, the timing is fucked up and they're talking past each other.
in my opinion, that is why crowley does not react.
only when aziraphale turns spiteful and starts questioning his understanding (aka calling him stupid without outright saying it) does he re-enter the conversation.
aziraphale, however, is upset. now, i will put on my tinhat for just a second and turn up the insanity because there are two more things i want to talk about.
first, the little stutter at the beginning.
"i ngk - i need you."
my question is - why? why does he stumble over these words in particular when it does not happen with any other sentence? the only other time is right after crowley walks away with his "good luck", he stumbles over crowley's name.
so, in short, it happens when he is either caught off-guard or saying something incredible emotional.
and this, everyone, is where i go unhinged in my interpretation.
what if he initially did not want to say "i need you?" what if he was so caught up in getting crowley to stay/come with him that he did not think and almost confessed another three word sentence?
what if he was about to say "i love you" but stopped himself because no, that's too direct, they don't do that, they can't do that. it goes against EVERYTHING they have silently build over the last six thousand years. so he chokes on it. he chokes on it and instead he says "i need you" because it means the same thing.
i need you. don't leave me. come with me. be an us. go off together.
i forgive you. i love you.
they say it over and over again because that's the only way they can say it.
that is why aziraphale is so angry and upset after saying it. he told crowley he loves him, he needs him, and all he got in return was silence.
the funny part is that this code may have worked before, but it no longer does. crowley is too hurt to listen to what aziraphale is trying to tell him, and aziraphale is equally as hurt and also not listening anymore.
the funny part is that it stopped being about love and started being about sides again. my side, your side, our side. choose a side, choose our side, choose me.
the funny part is that beelzebub and gabriel told them what they need to do, i found something that mattered more to me than choosing sides.
#alex talks good omens#good omens#ineffable husbands#crowley#aziraphale#good omens season 2#go2#aziracrow#crowley x aziraphale#good omens meta#ineffable divorce#this was spontaneous i saw the post and my brain went i need to do this right now#so i did#anyway if u disagree with my conclusions thats fine i disagree with my own theories often enough#otherwise fandom wouldnt be any fun
1K notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
mhyt-arrow5-blog
PAPATYA KOKUSU🌼
yvsdelhi
YVS INDIA COACHING INSTITUTE
enditen
pilots and other shenanigans.
ganglystem
Ganglystem
codestein
CodeStein