So, in my Real Life, I work as a therapist. And I think that's part of the reason I find Aziraphale and Crowley so fascinating.
We are all so accustomed to seeing toxic relationships play out all over literature and movies - relationships in which manipulation, control, codependency, obsession and abuse are passed off as normal, desirable or romantic.
Think about Tom Cruise telling Renee Zellweger, "You complete me." As if I can't be a whole person without you.
Think about The Notebook, where Ryan Gosling threatens to commit suicide if the object of his obsession doesn't go out with him.
Think about Edward sneaking in through a window to watch Bella sleep.
Creepy. I could name many more.
There's a lot of abuse, control and manipulation in GO, but not between Crowley and Aziraphale. Between them is tenderness, protection, irritation, frustration, teasing, friendship, inability to fully communicate, empathy, forgiveness, shared trauma, humor, growth and change, loyalty, loneliness and shared interests.
It's not perfect, at all, nor does it ever try to portray itself as such.
But there's no part of it that gave me what I call the "creep vibe." There are no red flags that, if I were counseling either one of them, would make me go, "That's toxic."
And I love that so much.
