My thoughts on the Good Omens finale (cont.)
CW and TW: discussions and mentions of Neil Gaiman.
Ok, it’s been a minute since my first post which basically gives a run down on my emotional state, my emotional reaction, and just a lot of deep seated feelings. I did promise I would talk a little bit more about contextual issues and today’s post is going to be devoted to the writing of the finale.
Again because this is going to be yet another critical take, I understand those of you out there who either enjoyed the finale and don’t want to see anything negative or even if you hated it but don’t want to be exposed to any further negativity may not want to read this. So I will put my thoughts under the cut.
Again, I ask that people do not argue or send hurtful or derogatory messages to each other or anyone involved in the cast and crew*
*I’d give a caveat to the writers but in the end, don’t even send them hate messages. They’re not worth your time or effort.
This is a bit of a long one, so buckle in!
Post 2. The writing
I know I’m probably not going to say anything that hasn’t already been said. There has been so many great takes about the incomprehensible writing and I don’t know if I will do them justice but I will give it my best go.
Firstly, we’re going to get the elephant in room out of the way first. Everything we saw on that screen was Neil Gaiman. Plain and simple. Perhaps I had been incredibly naive in thinking that when he was removed from production the new script writers brought in were going to use the skeleton of his story beats and re-write the finale from scratch. I mean, if thousands of fandom fic writers can do it, why can’t published authors? But when you look at the timeline of events, the decision to bring on new writers and the length of time before filming started (whilst pre production had already commenced), the only thing that could have happened was a gutting and condensing of the script.
This was made abundantly clear in the cryptic crossword scene when Aziraphale says the word pedometer, a moment that punched me in the gut, because NG had given that inclusion fact long ago. You can go to this previous post of mine for further context about that.
NG has always had a nihilistic structure to his stories. His characters’ “happy endings” come at great personal cost or sacrifice, or through incredible hardship or heartache. Read Neverwhere, read American God, read Ocean at the end of the Lane, or Sandman (or actually don’t, but you get my point). Protagonists who go through awful tumultuous times before coming out the other end, sometimes unscathed, sometimes worse for ware, sometimes dead. So the way the finale ended set my sights directly on NG to blame.
What is the most galling is, I’m convinced this was ALWAYS how he intended to end it. He spoke many times prior to the allegations coming out how he had completed episodes 3-4 was finishing drafting episode 5 and the end of episode 6 was written. You can clearly see the outlines of the episodes where the story was cut away for time, and then where the plot completely falls apart when everyone is erased which in my opinion, clearly shows where he stopped writing. Plot threads are woven and then completely dropped, and it’s obvious to me how the writers just couldn’t be bother figuring out how to tie them off properly.
Jesus
What on earth was the point of Jesus, except to be a plot device? A reason to get Aziraphale out of Heaven and to work with Crowley. His actions and story arc went no where and affected nothing. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to have him appear in the bookshop in the end? Solve the problem of the destroyed universe? Face God himself? Bring the find the lady card game full circle? Be the literal counterpoint to Adam and his arc in S1? On the topic of Jesus, he mentions his disciples and his mother (Mary) and Aziraphale just sadly says it’s been a long time. WHERE THE FUCK ARE THEY?! They’re in Heaven, WHERE ARE THE DEAD HUMANS?! I’ve pointed this out before about how Heaven looks suspiciously empty so where do all the humans go? Looks like we’ll never know the answer.
Michael
Michael’s set up as the bad guy was obvious from the start, but why not include a set up to her feelings of being under appreciated? Actually give her motivation for feeling like she has to do everything and get no reward. Maybe a scene of Aziraphale telling her to do a bunch of stuff. Instead what we get is “Oh those silly women and their emotions.” Honestly, not surprising to have such a one dimensional character arc from the man who we now know has no respect for women.
The Metatron and the FF
So, The Metatron’s setup in S2 always seemed like there was something far more nefarious going on. The music queues, the menacing look he gives Crowley, the furtive and anxious looks Aziraphale has. Now, we just have to accept everything in that scene was at face value. He really was offering Aziraphale a job. He legitimately thought Aziraphale was the best. There was no secret threat to Crowley. And Aziraphale did just want to go back to Heaven to make a difference (remember it had nothing to do with the second coming because he finds that out in front of the elevator). There is also the small mention that The Metatron was tampering with the Book of Life. Again, probably something cut for time, but had the potential for something far more meaningful. His story arc instead is meaningless and becomes just part of the plot line to create a mystery. Also, when you think about it, nothing in S2 was necessary to get us to S3. Except maybe to explain why Gabriel wasn’t there, and to have a reason that Crowley is angry and Aziraphale is in heaven. So why on earth bother with S2? *cough NG cash grab cough*.
Crowley having no miracles
What was the point other than the side quest to get the Bentley back. Which frankly was fun and the best part of the finale in my opinion. But when it didn’t matter at all to the plot it could have just been cut and more spent given to Aziraphale and Crowley just reuniting in a better and more fulfilling way. Crowley without miracles doesn’t seem to matter or be resolved in the end, considering the Bentley still got to space and Crowley still got them to the bookshop using the burning book of life page.
Did the writers even watch S2? Or S1 for that matter? Or even read the book?
When I first heard who the writers were I did a bit of a deep dive into their writing credits and history. When fantasy horror was all that came up and no proof at all that they were a fan or even spoke of Pratchett’s work, alarm bells started ringing. But I didn’t want to bring everyone’s moods down as a lot of angst around whether the finale would be any good was being thrown around at the time. So I kept my fears to myself.
But when the writers seemed to miss key elements of what made S1 and parts of S2 great and special (companion of owls and the resurrectionists specifically) it honestly felt like they didn’t bother to do any research at all. For example:
Adam is convinced in the end of S1 that the world is worth fighting for. That he doesn’t need to make it new even though the voices keep telling him. That it’s up to the humans to make it right. So how can you reconcile that with Crowley saying we need to just start again? It makes no sense.
Crowley drunkenly berates Wee Morag for wanting to commit suicide “No dying. No more dying. No trying to kill yourself, it’s wrong!” So why the FUCK does he decide complete annihilation is the answer?!
The entire Job minisode is devoted to explaining why Job and Sitis don’t want new children, they want their own children because they love them. Why on earth would the writers think Human Crowley and Aziraphale would be at all satisfying?
And for that matter, the entire S2 storyline with Jimbriel tells us that Jim is not Gabriel because he doesn’t have his memories and experiences. So how can you expect the fandom to accept Anthony and Asa are just a reincarnated versions of Crowley and Aziraphale when the lore you set up in your own show contradicts otherwise!
Plot lines that were added which makes no sense:
In the great war prologue Aziraphale is seen as this great general and leader. A master strategist. Why not have anything to do with him being a great strategist included in the rest of the plot then? Why do the angels later think him an incompetent idiot when they had so much praise for him (which has been established since S1)? Where did he lose their faith and gain such distain? Are we supposed to infer it is merely from being on earth?
Also was this Great War scene just a way to establish why Crowley doesn’t fear to approach Aziraphale on the Wall of Eden in S1? Because Aziraphale was kind to him and therefore he can trust him? You know we didn’t need that right?
Crowley’s knowledge of the book of life. How does Crowley go from “that was just a story to scare the cherubs” to “tampering with it sends you crazy” and “can’t be destroyed, it’s too well made”. How does KNOW all of this?
Why didn’t Michael just erase Aziraphale from the book of life to begin with? (Pitch Meeting Guy voice: so the movie can happen!)
Missed opportunities:
Aziraphale seemed to be in over his head in Heaven, it seemed like Sandalphon was about to start some kind of coup. So why did Michael not work with him? Why erase him? Did she just want to get the competition out of the way first? Why bring Sandalphon back at all when again he served no purpose to the story, except to be erased.
As much as I love Crowley’s heaven outfit (I will get down on my knees and worship that outfit), there was no reason for him to be dressed like that. He wasn’t in disguise, Saraqael saw him immediately and objected to his presence. Crowley also is still supposed to be without miracles at this point, so it’s implied it’s all Aziraphale. So damn well focus on that! Put some quick banter in there, maybe about how tight Crowley’s trousers are and Aziraphale just raises his eyebrows and turns away to smirk (perhaps it was lost to the cutting room floor, but I needed flirting and closeness between them, and these sacrificed moments were too much to lose).
Give us more of Asa and Anthony if you wanted us to care about them. A montage of dates, kissing in the rain, seeing one of them propose, sitting in a park having a picnic, a brief glimpse of their wedding day, dancing in the living room of their cottage, sweet soft moments of affection. Something! A 30 second montage would have been all that we needed. Instead we’re left with a semi platonic hand hold and some lovely music. I get that that is sweet and wonderful, but as I said in my previous post, the fandom has been fucking reeling for almost 3 years. We needed healing and proper visible on screen queer representation. This would have helped sway the anger and disappointment!
Character Assassinations:
Aziraphale. Just, everything. Leaving Crowley in the ally. Not actually apologising. That whole “you’re the best angel” bit (god damn it accept him for the demon his is you maniac!) I rest my case. I don’t enjoy at all how he was written this season, and it just shows the writers had no clue how to fix that or understand who he was a character.
Circling back to NG
When he was on Tumblr, NG would try to convince us constantly that there was going to be a happy ending.
The post where someone asked why and he said the answer was Love. The post where he was asked what his favourite line from S2 was and he answered the invisible line that connects Crowley and Aziraphale. That the ending was set and was what Terry wanted. The years of speaking about a cottage where Crowley and Aziraphale were retired. Telling us to trust the process. He said this for a year after S2 before he abandoned social media. Rachel Talalay said it in her Blueksy post there was never any kiss scripted for the finale. NG always intended to never resolve the heartbreak of S2. For S3 he sets up Crowley as broken, depressed, sick of life, and then has Crowley suggest at the end to just accept the end of the universe. Start again, make it new, but not with him in it. And we’re meant to accept this as somehow noble? What kind of a fucking message is that?! NG always saw himself in Crowley and I think this incredibly broken man is frankly telling on himself here. And he used our comfort show to do it. I still can’t get over how incredibly angry I am with this man. For everything he did to those women and everything he did to this fandom.
This season was full of plotholes, contradictions, and non-sensical out of character actions, and they cannot all be blamed on the cutting down of 6 hours to 98 minutes, but can be laid at the feet of a broken man who sadistically took pleasure in the pain and suffering in others.
And the most upsetting thing of all is the inability of fandom to now continue writing in canon universe stories for Crowley and Aziraphale. They are dead and gone, unless we can think of a way to bring them back. What point is there to write of Asa and Anthony when there was already thousands of human AU stories out there. And also we know so little of their characters and how they lived in this world that it’s hard to write anything for them (full props to all the fanfic writers out there who have managed it so far. Please don’t let me discourage you).
I think this is why I’ve struggled to continue writing my WIPs, even though I am getting there, but it worries me that people will see this end as a way to just stop participating in the fandom. And I can’t help but feel that maybe NG was playing a long game with us all along, that this was his endgame. He initially hated the shipping of Crowley and Aziraphale and then years later leaned into it when it meant financial gain. And now that he can’t have these characters anymore, neither can anyone else.
I realise that this is quite a dark and heartbreaking conclusion to end on. So I will say to everyone out there, keep creating, keep writing, keep making art, keep making friends in this wonderful fandom. You don’t need to take anything in S2 or S3 seriously if you don’t want to. You don’t need to accept it as canon if you don’t want to.
If you got this far, thank you for reading. My next post will be more positive about the things that I did like and love about the finale. So stay tuned.
