embracing-the-ineffable

noneorother

Last part of the GOS2 poster dumpster dive: the last few pearls.

The last poster I want to talk about is this masterpiece. You can find the other 20-odd poster dumpster dive here: Part 1.

First, a few detailed pulls:
1. The symbols around the dome are all details from the show : the roman numeral for 2 (or II), the croix pattée which is found on aziraphale's solomon summoning circle, and the flower is presumably a marguerite or daisy, which shows up all over the place this season.

2. Aziraphale is sleuthing in a corner of the dome, but in front of The Dirty Donkey Pub, not The Resurrectionist pub, as one might expect. Oddly enough, in the opening credits, the Dirty Donkey and The Resurrectionist are one and the same building, leading me to believe that this is not unintentional.

3. Jim is holding the book he tried to crush the fly with that was all dusty, and the matchbox is sitting on top of it. Interesting choice to give it to Jim and not Gabriel, Beelzebub or even Muriel.

4. The demons on the bottom are not random. The two flanking Shax have names and lines in the show. All of them are wearing masks *except* the two weirdos that never enter the bookshop as pointed out here. There's also a third not wearing a mask, who I haven't identified in the show yet, but who I've found in the behind the scenes footage.

5. Furfur is nowhere to be found! As in my last poster dump, you can see that in 21/22 posters Furfur is completely missing. Muriel and Shax both manage to show up three times, and Beelzebub twice, so it's not for lack of having space to throw people in there.

And some analysis time.

6. The boys are hiding something in the bookshop.

For how symmetrical this poster seems to be there's one things that's pretty off: the position of Crowley and Aziraphale's wings. They've each got one shielding the central circle, where you can *just* see a tiny bit of the books from the bookshop peeking out behind their heads. They've also both got one wing spread up and out at an awkward angle, effectively cutting off the heaven section of the poster AND the record shop from everything else. Gabriel as an angel and even Jim get stuck in the bisected portion of the poster, but the other Jim and Muriel as a spy get let into the main part of the poster.

Interestingly, they are *not* trying to cut of hell from earth or the bookshop, even though they were the ones attacking this season. So is this just foreshadowing that they're trying to hide Gabriel in the bookshop the whole time? I don't know, but it really looks like they're hiding it from us, the audience, as well.

good omens good omens 2 gos2 spoilers gos2 gos2 posters

justhereforthemeta

commonmexicanname

Good Omens Thoughts

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

What did Aziraphale lie about? No clue.

justhereforthemeta

Wow, thank you for putting this together! The similarity of his manner between the two scenes is striking. And you would think that after 6000 years of knowing each other, the demon who knows if something's wrong by Aziraphale's tone of voice alone, should be able to hear that here, too...

good omens good omens 2 gos2 spoilers gos2 aziraphale well that sure makes it clear doesn’t it

“Did you hear that?!” -Polly

cat cats black cat black cats

From my Good Omens art journal. Good Omens X 3. Collage, acrylic paint, gel plate printing, texture plate, stickers.

good omens art journal good omens fanart art journal art journaling visual journal visual journaling collage goodomensartjournal goodomensfanart gelplateprinting gelplateprint sticker stickers cleanuppage

From my Good Omens art journal. A second page based on this song… Collage, acrylic paint, gel plate printing, sticker.

“…Crooked mouth, quiet down.
Let your fists come undone.
Miscarried love will be reborn.
When we sleep,
The devil’s arms are tied.

The war that we’re fighting
Has already been won…

I never wanted this,
I never wanted this to go away.
I never wanted this,
I never asked for it,
I never meant to let it go.

I just want to survive with you by my side.
With you by my side, I just want to survive” -Sleeping at Last, “Dreamlife”

good omens art journal good omens fanart art journal art journaling visual journal visual journaling collage goodomensartjournal goodomensfanart sticker stickers quotes lyrics

justhereforthemeta

goodoldfashionednightingale

So we know angels and demons are of the ‘same basic stock’, but what if they are, in fact, indistinguishable? What if transpires that there’s no actual (for lack of a better word) biological change involved in the process of falling? If, as with angelic/demonic powers, the differences between the two is more a function of belief than true form. Maybe an angel falls, and (knowingly or unknowingly) manifests their feelings of rejection as a physical mark? We already know that Crowley’s wing color is more voluntary than it is something that happened because he fell. And demons in general seem to have some level of control of their demonic attributes, given the variation we see within individual characters. Maybe there really is no difference between angels and demons beyond which company they’re working for.

eviebane

I had a similar thought when Neil confirmed Crowley's wings do in fact start to grey when he's talking to Aziraphale in 2x01.

It would be really interesting if it was self-actualisation. But then I remember Lucifer and the whole self-actualisation thing was sort of a mess.

OH WAIT WHAT

actual-changeling

NO BECAUSE LISTEN

I have been thinking about this since season 2 aired but I never wrote a proper meta post about this. Because the thing is that this would actually solve, well, most of their problems, really.

The thing that keeps them chained to heaven and hell after Armageddon #1 is in part the danger of discorporation; if they 'die' they are dependent on their respective head offices to get a new body. Which they probably won't grant to traitors and enemies of the state.

It's what I believe makes Crowley not directly oppose hell. If they retaliate they could kill one or both of them, and then they're apart and stuck. Aziraphale managed to get back to earth once, but I doubt they'd let him out of a cell if they arrested him as a traitor.

In order to be fully, actually free they need to have that control over their earthly bodies and their powers. A feat that is impossible—unless they find a way to sustain themselves that's not bound to heaven or hell.

Self-actualization would mean that they can draw their powers from earth, the cosmos, whatever they want; we know that the hand movements are largely cosmetic and not actually needed. It would give them the option to simply make their earthly bodies fully immortal if they so please, no one looking at their miracles when there's nothing to look at.

In short, self-actualizing celestial beings are powerful and free—THAT is what the Metatron is rightfully terrified of. Crowley and Aziraphale are already insanely powerful believing they draw their power from above and below, imagine how fucking bonkers they can go if there are zero restrictions or outside disturbances.

The Metatron got Aziraphale back to heaven and not just away from Crowley but away from free choice and freedom of his powers. Any miracles cast in heaven are probably recorded directly in some archive, so while that wasn't the case before, he is now under full surveillance and so are his powers.

However, Crowley has pretty much fully denounced both heaven and hell, and I would not be the least bit surprised if he is the one to figure the self-actualization deal out. Maybe in a pinch, maybe on accident, maybe on purpose, who knows.

And THEN he and Aziraphale can fight for true independence and freedom together without fear of losing each other or their powers.

stumblingoverchaos

I’m not familiar with the tv show Lucifer *ignores unwatched dvd of Lucifer S1 sitting in line of sight*, but in the Sandman comics, Lucifer shuts down hell. Closing both heaven and hell in Good Omens S3 wouldn’t be impossible.

good omens good omens 2 gos2 spoilers gos2 gos3 speculation crowley

drconstellation

The Passion Of Jimbriel

Part 1: The Entry into Soho

The story of events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus, and the days following, until his ascension to Heaven, are collectively known as the Passion narratives. It comes from the Latin "to suffer," or "to endure."

More than one op has mentioned there are parallels to this in S2, so I thought I would try and find how well the whole narrative was followed. Oh yes, is the short answer, it certainly does! And how! And in places you might be surprised about. I hope this series of metas might answer some of the odd mysteries of "why is that there...? that are still floating around at the moment for you.

I've tried to match the narratives to scenes and incidents in S2 as closely as I can, but I only have sketchy Anglican Christian background, so if you have had a more thorough Catholic upbringing than me and see something I have missed, slip me a message and I'll do my best to edit things.

A word of warning before we start - it's not a linear match-up. I'm planning to run through the traditional sequence of the Passion in order, but will match with the S2 scenes as needed, and those are scattered back and forth in time. It's Catch-22 again - everything thrown up in the air and landing at seeming random places, where ever they seem to fit best for the narrative.

AZIRAPHALE: Ah, you startled me.
GABRIEL: Is that good?
AZIRAPHALE: I just didn't see you coming.

I actually thought I might start with this little scene, where Jim gives Aziraphale a jump-scare by creeping up next to him silently. Annoyed, Aziraphale tells him to make some noise as he moves about, and Jim trolls him with some creaking noises, before starting to sing.

There were prophecies about the arrival of Jesus, but the ironic thing here is that Aziraphale, someone who has a vast collection of prophecies and is someone you could consider an expert, had no warning of Gabriel's arrival - he just crept up to the door as a nasty surprise!

Starting proper, there were the three temptations while Jesus was fasting in the wilderness.

Making bread out of stones (I've also covered the Eccles Cakes here in the Altar of Eccles Cakes. They have multiple purposes!)

2. Being tempted to jump from a pinnacle of a temple and relying on angels to break his fall.

3. Being tempted to worship Satan in return for ruling all the kingdoms of the world.

This one was actually covered in S1, at Golgotha. I know Crowley mentioned to Aziraphale that he was the one who tempted Jesus, but I wrote a meta about it because I realized most people were missing the joke in the TWO demon names that Aziraphale suggested Crowley had changed his name to, and how that relates to that particular temptation.

The last miracle performed before the Passion was the raising Lazarus from his tomb, four days after he had died.

After Crowley is dragged down to Hell for an interview with Lord Beelzebub and finds out they are being threatened with the Book Of Life for being involved with Gabriel, he rushes back to Aziraphale and says they have to hide them. As they decide they will try a shared minor miracle Jimbriel descends the spiral staircase:

GABRIEL: Hello. Where did you come back from?
CROWLEY: Outside.
GABRIEL: Outside? Hmm. Is it big? Can I see the outside?
CROWLEY: No, no, no, no, no. No, no no. You need to stay here, inside the bookshop. We can look after you in here. Just stay here.

Inside? Inside the tomb? Aziraphale has even 'wrapped' him up for the occasion.

Later, we find out that:

AZIRAPHALE: Jim is in his bedroom upstairs. I told him bookshops are always closed on a Wednesday. As for Inspector Constable, at a guess, they were sent to verify the 25 Lazarii miracle you and I seem to have accidentally performed together the other night.
CROWLEY: That's how you lot measure miracles? How many times it could have brought someone back from the dead?

Uh huh. The miracle of Lazarus.

The Entry into Jerusalem

Jesus made his way into Jerusalem by donkey to show that he came in peace, not as conquering king on a horse. Gabriel does the same.

But he walked in, you say, on foot!

Yes, but he walked by the ~~Dirty~~ Donkey pub on his way to bookshop.

Next, was the Cleansing of the Temple.

What temple? The bookshop, of course! Is it not a temple of books?

Aziraphale sets Jim to cleaning it, with a duster.

I'd say you could also call the bookshop a temple to Crowley - it is decorated in his colours, after all. The presence of Jim initially drives the ~~merchants and money dealers~~ demon away, snatching his sunglasses from his mini-altar as his goes.

The last step on the Passion I'll cover in this meta is the Anointing of Jesus. It tells the story of how Jesus had an expensive perfume, worth a year's wages, poured on his feet from an alabaster jar by woman who was considered sinful. The gathered Disciples were aghast at this waste - they asked why she did not sell the perfume instead and give the money to the poor. Jesus thanked her for preparing him for burial.

This one had me stumped for a while, and I had to think hard about where something had been "poured out" on feet, because I was pretty sure no one had been "anointed" on the head, which is another version of this part of the narrative. Then I remembered seeing a GIF that was Aziraphale focusing on the floor for a number of seconds after Crowley had upended the box Gabriel had carried to the bookshop with his fly in it to read the message on the bottom of the box.

My precious...! You poured them out at your feet, Crowley!

Alabaster is a soft white stone that is easy to carve. The bland cardboard box makes a good analogy for this. And in it we see Aziraphale has filled it with priceless treasures - not one but two lost Shakespeare plays!

If at this point you are going "Wait - Wot? Now you're telling me both Jim/Gabriel and Crowley are playing the part of Jesus here?" I'm saying yes. It's not the first time I've said it. I'm not the only op who has been saying it, either. And as we head into part two of this meta you'll see Crowley take on more of this role from Jim/Gabriel. The two of them have a lot in common, much more than you might have suspected or might even want to acknowledge. This is the past echoing into the present again. I think it also gives us some interesting things about the future to contemplate.

Next: Part 2 - Trials and Denials (coming soon!)

Where we move on to the Last Supper, and the Arrest of Jesus before his before he is judged before a court of priests and then Pontius Pilate, and the gathered crowd.

This post was inspired by @mr-period 's long meta Remembering Something Forgotten-Where is Jimmy Boy?

More reading on the Dirty Donkey in my meta here.

good omens good omens 2 gos2 spoilers gos2 gos2 speculation

indigovigilance

aprilodite

The Yang to His Yin (plus a bit of Tarot)

Preface: Crowley is the Yin to Aziraphale’s Yang, but they are also both out of whack. Yin as the feminine energy encompasses Water and Earth. Yang as the masculine energy encompasses Fire and Air. Please note, these are ancient, mystical concepts about the human psyche and have nothing to do with contemporary discussions of gender. (Also worth noting, I have a background in mythology, with special emphasis on Joseph Campbell and Jungian psychology that I lovingly refer to as “hippie-dippy bullshit”)

When we first meet Aziraphale, he gives away his flaming sword, a symbol of air and fire, his object of power, and as of the end of Season 2 he has not recovered it either literally nor spiritually. By the way, when he gives the sword away it is used to fight off a lion, another fire sign. Aziraphale is meant to temper his strength and passion with intelligence, but has not harnessed these stronger and more passionate aspects, so the intellect takes over making him less impactful than he would like. Air as a symbolic element refers to reason, memory, thoughts, knowledge and comprehension. I could write pages of how Aziraphale is heavy on “air.” The way he figured out the Nutter prophecies; the way he keeps a diary; the way he amasses books; the way he always has some ridiculous, roundabout reasoning like when Elspeth is “lucky” to be poor. In Season 1 he lost his physical body (partly by not being assertive enough with Shadwell). Aziraphale completely discorporated and dissociated from the material and became pure spirit, pure air. Even now he remains loyal to heaven and the spiritual. He tries to use reason alone to win the fight. As Uriel says “you think too much.” He needs his air-sword to ignite (YIKES that sounds more suggestive than I want it to).

In Tarot the wands represent fire and therefore passion, creativity, freedom, power, love, anger, strength, assertiveness, and courage. These are all the things that Aziraphale fans know are dormant qualities: he has these things within him but we haven’t seen them yet. He is stunted, scared, or otherwise held back. He’s a bit too soft. The angel is no longer going to use actual candles in his bookshop anymore, not after that fire! When Jim is unable to answer questions Aziraphale is so yielding, he simply puffs out some air. Jim arranged the books in a stupid way, and Aziraphale almost gets mad, but then it’s “jolly good.” Yet he is also drawn to fire. He loves magic (wands = fire!) but he is terrible at it. He is creative (and talented) with his artistic sketches. He wants to be courageous, to be a protector, and to use his power for good. He forgives Maggie’s rent, he was a knight of The Round Table, he learns to Gavotte even though angels don’t dance, he refuses to fight in “any war.” In fact, as we get closer to the end of Season 2, there are more and more hints of strength, and anger, and assertion. “I promised to protect you, and I will,” “You will speak one at a time!” He is so close! At least outwardly he accepts his promotion which may be his heroic Crossing the Threshold. He is crossing the line into the elevator, the line between Earth and Heaven, with his own Yang-agency.

It isn’t a grand prediction that Aziraphale will find his fire in the third act. Instead of cotillion balls, he will have actual… chutzpah. Clearly some butt will be licked, some nonsense sorted, But igniting a fire comes with risk. It can burn out of control, it can burn things you didn’t mean for it to. It can be scary. This isn’t to say it shouldn't happen, but it won’t be easy.

good omens good omens 2 gos2 spoilers gos2 aziraphale

indigovigilance

aduckwithears

Good Omens: A Matter of Life and Death

Easter eggs and references! We know from the obvious placement of the movie poster in the title sequence and Maggie's shop (and even from Neil's asks) that inspiration was drawn from this movie.

I'm not going to dive deep into a lot of meta connections, but I wanted to share some of the parallels. For a great summary of the movie (A Matter of Life and Death aka Stairway to Heaven by Powell and Pressburger) and some general info relating it to Good Omens pop over to this article. This will contain some spoilers for the movie - now on with the show!

This one is before the movie even starts - The Archers is the production company of Powell and Pressburger - their target logo looks a lot like the one in the magic show portion of the title sequence.

We open in space - looking at stars and supernova, talking about the big, expansive universe. Fascinating how our view of the cosmos has been changed by modern telescopes (Crowley is so proud).

June (our heroine) is an American radio operator and picks up British squadron leader Peter's plane as he is crashing into the channel. They form an instant connection. Her hair was the inspiration for the Starmaker's amazing do.

Peter's fellow airman dies and ends up in Heaven, waiting for him. The angel administrators are very serious, very organized, very well dressed, and Heaven as a whole is colorless.

But Peter doesn't die - in fact he washes up on the beach near June, where they meet and immediately fall in love. Conductor 71 (the heavenly employee who was meant to collect Peter but lost him in the fog) is sent to convince him to come to Heaven, stopping time and freezing June to have a conversation with Peter.

I'll stop here to keep this from getting too long... More to come?

good omens good omens 2 gos2 spoilers gos2 powell and pressburger stairway to heaven

indigovigilance

nightingalecottage

Beware the nice ones.

(aka, Aziraphale is much more nuanced than your regular angel)

A gif. In the center of the picture there’s a mirror from Madame Tracy's house. We can see Aziraphale, who is currently possessing Madame Tracy's body, smiling and waving at us with his left hand.

Some time ago I began to write about Aziraphale, with the light heart and the blissful ignorance of those who think: finally, a post that won’t be too long. It can’t be that hard analyzing our angel. Like a sweet summer child, I knew nothing because… oh, how wrong I was.

Age does not wither, nor custom stale his infinite variety and, since we also have to add the infinite variety of Michael Sheen’s microexpressions, the result is a character that, more than anyone else, turns out to be full of nuances and contradictions.

So, let’s start with the basics.

Before the beginning. Angel Aziraphale with white wings spread, dressed with a white robe with golden details and with his hands clasped, smiles and looks above, slightly on the right.

Angelcore. With his curly little... and his neat white... Aziraphale owns the angelic aesthetic. The infamous dichotomy on which the entire system is based, whereby angels are intrinsically good and demons are intrinsically evil, is blatantly reflected in their appearance. This is a very common ~~bullshit~~ cliché, according to which the supposed good guys usually dress in white, better with gold details, and the supposed bad guys usually dress in black, better with red details. (Interestingly enough, the Metatron is dressed in dark colors.) White robes symbolize innocence and purity in the classic imagery and gold reminds the sun, so they are both connected to an idea of light, goodness and divinity. And Heaven likes its aesthetic. Aziraphale's appearance is a reflection of his angelic status, especially before the beginning, in the Garden of Eden and in the early flashbacks. Between the hair, the robes and the fluffy wings of a white swan, he looks indeed like an angel. But does he act like one?

Keep reading

good omens good omens 2 gos2 spoilers gos2 aziraphale