“Yes, the Reign of Terror...was that one of ours or one of yours?”
“Can’t recall. We had crêpes!”
Okay okay okay I know Crowley and Aziraphale are oblivious and caught up in their own business and miss a lot of things that humans are doing, but this particular historical factoid? Do I really believe that they truly forgot the simple but important detail that neither of them was responsible for the Reign of Terror?
Because while they were there, in the thick of it, Crowley was actively denying responsibility for the Reign of Terror while Aziraphale was making half-hearted accusations. And they still remember details about who was responsible for other major world events decades or centuries after they happened; eleven years later, Aziraphale will point out that Crowley had falsified his reports, taking credit for the Spanish Inquisition and starting the Second World War. Both in France during the Reign of Terror and with regards to the Spanish Inquisition and the Second World War, Crowley points out that humans alone are to blame for these events. Pointing out the self-destructive tendencies of humans is kind of his thing.
I don’t think that Crowley and Aziraphale both entirely forgot that neither “side” was responsible for the Reign of Terror. This is a significant moment of doublespeak.
What exactly is being said, I’m less confident about, and want to think on some more. However, I can’t resist posting some initial thoughts:
“Let’s have lunch. I still owe you from…” -> “Alright, I can see how uncomfortable you are. Let’s just do friendship things. You did say we could do that, and now that the world is ending, our time is limited.”
“Paris. 1793.” -> “I’m still not ready to talk about 1967, but I do want to spend time with you. What about one of our most fun moments together, when you rescued me? That incident in Paris in 1793 was nice.”
“Yes. The Reign of Terror. Was that one of ours or one of yours?”
-> “But that was my favor, not your favor. I rescued you from the Bastille, and then you took me to lunch. We were even. I don’t owe you for anything that happened during the Reign of Terror.”
“Can’t recall. We had crêpes!” -> “I’m not actually keeping track of debts and favors anymore. We both know it’s just an act we keep up so we can stay together under Heaven and Hell’s radar. I want to spend time together and I want you to do me the same favor you did back then.”
One could suggest that they genuinely don’t remember anything but each other about a lot of major historical periods, which is incredibly cute and may very well be true, but I’m not sure I see evidence for that elsewhere. I do, however, see evidence for doublespeak all over the place.
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