[cweenaz]

[cweenaz]

David Tennant as this chart pt.2

pt.1

[cweenaz]

David Tennant as this chart pt.1

pt.2

[cweenaz]

I present to you David Tennant rating in Letterboxd.

[joycrispy]

I wanna talk about The Angel Who Would Be Crowley.

Because I had a certain set of expectations, which got thoroughly trashed in the first five minutes of S2, and my genuine response is, "Oh, fuck, yup. You're right. That's WAY better."

Looking around at GO fandom, I'm not alone in this. So let's talk about it.

Basically, a lot of people (myself included) believed that he was a high-ranking angel, and therefore as chilly and remote as every other powerful angel we'd seen at that point. We pictured Crowley-To-Be as long-haired, regal and imposing --and the fanart at the time reflected this. I'd link some if Tumblr didn't hate links.

Something like this:

We were collectively drawing on a few things --mostly, Crawly's appearance and general bearing in the Biblical scenes of S1--

--But also scattered hints of his importance, backed up by conspicuous absences in Heaven and a few profound displays of power. That's all better covered elsewhere, so I won't reiterate the arguments here. All I'm saying is: I think our headcanons were justified.

But it turns out he was this:

!!!

With his curly little--!!

And his neat white--!!

IT TURNS OUT, he was an angel who squeaked and squealed when he was happy; who flailed his arms around and made explosion noises with his mouth to explain nebulas; who preened when told his stars were pretty. Furfur, who knew him before the Fall, says:

"You used to jump on me back, little monkey in a waistcoat..."

(The use of a diminutive there, 'little'...oh, that fascinates me.)

In a pretty huge subversion of expectations, we're given these glimpses of an angel who was sweet, and joyful, and heart-meltingly silly.

In sum...an innocent.

(Perhaps innocent to a troubling degree.

We see how he troubles Aziraphale, during their first conversation. He starts looking around and behind them, checking to make sure that no one can HEAR the blithe and reckless things coming out of this angel's mouth. This angel who talks like he's never been reprimanded in his life; like it's never occurred to him that anyone would want to hurt him.

Before the Beginning, Aziraphale understood Heaven better than he did. The danger is plainly occurring to Aziraphale.)

So now, we the viewers are in on a cruel joke that Aziraphale has known all along, which is that this --THIS-- is the angel who--

*checks notes*

--did a million lightyear freestyle dive into a boiling pool of sulphur. For asking questions.

...Imagine you are Aziraphale, and everything inside you wants to believe Heaven are the Good Guys, and God is Good and Everything She does is capital-R Right...and now try to reconcile that. Keep trying. I don't think he ever totally managed it in 6000 years.

All this gets further complicated when we learn that, despite all of the above, we were still right. That sweet excitable babby up there?

He WAS a powerful and high-ranking angel.

That much is explicitly confirmed, with significant evidence that he could have been among the mightiest of archangels...

...Who apparently accosted his fellow angels for piggyback rides. And was remembered millennia later by those (now fallen) angels as something 'little.'

What does that tell us about who he was? Is?

Hell, Aziraphale has known to be wary of the archangels (and the judgements of Heaven in general) since before the Fall even happened. He chooses to believe they are Good; he can't fool himself into thinking they are Safe.

Yet he's absolutely certain that Crowley won't hurt Job's children. Enough to stand in a burning building and say to them, "I can't save you, but don't be afraid. I won't need to."

And what reason does he give?

("I know you."

"You do not know me."

"I know the angel you were.")

What does that tell us about who he was? Is?

("The angel you knew is not me."

But how is Aziraphale supposed to believe that, when he can see him all the time?)

tl;dr --yes, this is better. I love the tragedy of it.

'Innocence died screaming' and all that.

[moderndayklutz]

This 1000%. I think Crowley fell mainly because the demon we see is pretty much the same being he always was. Too smart, too brash, too inquisitive and too trying to find fairness in an unfair system (which mostly involves trying to not play along as much as possible) and too much a lover of living things and rather pacifist about it (not gonna kill like other demons, not gonna kill like other Angels, too busy in pubs avoiding wars than causing them, comes up with the idea to mother and raise the antichrist into normalcy, treats the son of God to a good time) etc etc.

[cweenaz]

There’s a common theory that Crowley was Raphael before the fall, but I’ve always thought Raphael is actually Aziraphale or at least that Aziraphale was inspired by Raphael.

1. Raphael's name in Arabic/Islamic texts

In Islamic tradition, there is an angel named Israfil. One might assume that “Aziraphale” is derived from this name, but Israfil is, in fact, simply the Arabic form of Raphael.

2. Parallels between Aziraphale and Raphael’s nature

Raphael is described as a healer and protector of humans and animals, qualities that align with Aziraphale’s actions throughout the show.

The flaming sword symbolises Aziraphale’s protective nature, while his healing of the pigeon after the birthday party highlights his affinity with Raphael’s healing role.

3. Trumpet of judgement

It is confirmed that Aziraphale served as a cherub and later as a principality. However, by the end of season 2, the Metatron promotes him to archangel and entrusts him with overseeing the Second Coming (positioning him at the centre of the world’s end).

Now, in Islamic tradition, Israfil is the angel tasked with blowing the trumpet to herald the Day of Judgement (similarly positioned at the heart of the world’s final events).