some analysis of this scene from 2x02, because i am going absolutely insane over it:
first up: it's 2 500 BCE. They've known each other for around 1500 years at this point, but they haven't been meeting up very often; it's implied at this point, that they've only met at the Garden, and the Flood, and now here (as well as in Heaven, but there's varying interpretations about how much they each remember of Heaven).
(worth noting that these meetings are all bible-related meetings)
So, they don't know each other very well at all. This is why Aziraphale approaches Crowley so cautiously (apart from the fact that he thinks Crowley's going around murdering goats and soon kids). He doesn't know what happened to Crowley when he Fell, how he changed when he fell in with Lucifer, how God's rejection has warped Crowley's perspective or changed his morals (their meeting at the Flood seemed quite short, not enough time to get a definite picture.)
Aziraphale is still seeing Crowley as demonic, although there's already that thread of doubt - can you really see him trying to talk Hastur or Ligur out of this the way he does Crowley?
Aziraphale clings to the memory of Angel Crowley - Crowley gets quite defensive.
Here, Crowley reinforces that he's changed - personally I don't believe that he did fight in the War, but his views of God's Plan definitely got more extreme than "thats terrible god should get a suggestion box".
But, I also believe that here, Crowley is reinforcing that he is no longer an angel, and therefore no longer has to play by angel rules. He can do what he wants. He's a demon, it's in his job description.
And of course, that he is a demon, and he is Evil, and of course he would kill goats.
(more under the cut, because I just can't stop talking)
This shot is very yellow. Crowley's hair being the season 1 orange rather than red, the yellow walls, all accentuate the colour of Crowley's eyes, highlighting the physical reminder of Crowley's demonic nature.
I couldn't be bothered to gif it, but here, Crowley leans forward into Aziraphale's face. There are two reasons for this:
Get his yellow Demon Eyes right in Aziraphale face, just to hammer home his point.
It's an aggressive action, moving into someone's personal space like that. Saying, I could hurt you, I'm violent and aggressive and dangerous, I killed those goats, the kids are next.
The way the light hits Crowley's eyes in the above shot and the below shot also make them a very bright yellow. (Edit: I think someone pointed out that Crowley is making his eyes glow, but the overall yellowness of the scene serves to highlight this)
Clever wording on Crowley's part, because as we will find out, he faked the destruction of the goats to keep them safe, while making himself sound very evil.
You'll notice the repetition of "blameless"; this makes him seem even more evil, hurting the innocent, but also gives deeper insight into one of Crowley's biggest issues: hurting the innocent. What have they done to deserve this? Nothing.
This ties in quite nicely with what we have seen before of Crowley and free will; he gives people the option to sin. It's their actions that decide whether they end up in Heaven or Hell; they get what they deserve for their actions. He just makes it easier to choose Hell. (see: phone lines being down making people crankier and encouraging them to be horrible to each other, but it still being their choice, setting the holy water bucket above the door, so it's Ligur's choice to come in after Crowley that gets him killed.)
Note also the use of "long":
Aziraphale says to "tell me you want to do this". "Long" has rather stronger connotations than "want", but also rawer, more fundamental. Crowley is reminding Aziraphale that he is a demon, and that he has the traits of a demon, this is what he is now. He longs for violence, for destruction.
Aziraphale looks quite sad here. If you watch the video I linked, his previous conviction that Crowley doesn't want to do it is very strong. He fully believes in Crowley, that all he needs to do is reframe not killing the kids as within the rules of Hell, the way Crowley so often comes to do for Aziraphale ("Then you can't be certain that thwarting me isn't part of the divine plan too. I mean, you're supposed to thwart the wiles of the Evil One at every turn, aren't you?" "If you put it that way, Heaven couldn't actually mind me thwarting you.").
Aziraphale believed Crowley was still good, that the angel he remembered was still in there. But Crowley rejects it - and it hurts. Crowley has become what a demon should be.
Crowley looks quite sorrowful here, too: he already cares for Aziraphale (he fell in love at the Garden), and it hurts to decieve him, to disappoint him, to hurt him.
I would argue that here, Crowley is scared.
He's in shadow, which dims the yellows; his undemonic nature is about to be revealed.
And that is not safe, because Hell does not send rude notes. And here, Crowley is not doing just any temptation, but trying to help Satan win a bet (supposedly). And out of every demon in Hell, Satan is the one you want to piss off the least.
But here, Crowley is scared because Aziraphale could reveal him - because Aziraphale is on God's side, and because it is revealed that Crowley is not nearly as demonic as he makes himself out to be. He's vulnerable. Aziraphale could scorn him, hurt him. But instead:
Aziraphale is incredibly smug. "I knew I was right", he says. "I knew you were still good".
And here is another issue: Aziraphale conflates God/Heaven/angels with good, and demons/Hell with bad.
And Crowley does not see Heaven as good. He doesn't want Aziraphale to see his angelic core past the demonic exterior. He's on his own side.
This, for Aziraphale, confirms that "the angel you knew is not me", is not correct.
And I think, out of the three minisodes, it's this one that does the most for fleshing out Aziraphale and Crowley's frames of mind this series, and why they choose what they choose in ep6.
Aziraphale has been proven right about Crowley's angelic nature, and that he wants to do good, but can't, for fear of Hell's retribution.
And Crowley does not see Heaven as good. He recognises that being an angel again will not allow him the freedom to do good. (as Aziraphale had to try and talk a demon into helping him save the kids from God.)
How the minisodes/flashbacks serve to inform Aziraphale and Crowley's frames of mind, and their decisions in 2x06: a meta
part 1: victorian minisode [tag]
I'm sure other people have talked about this a lot, and I did touch on this in my meta here, but all the same, I'd like to sit down and actually get all my thoughts on the matter out somewhat coherently.
I think some people have had some difficulty accepting Aziraphale's decision at the end of 2x06, so it's really a good thing that these flashbacks - which appear to be all from aziraphale's point of view - were including, as they provide a lot of context to aziraphale and crowley's relationship, and why they chose what they did.
The minisode begins right after the intro; before the intro, we have Muriel visiting Aziraphale (and Crowley) to spy on them.
(Please excuse Muriel's blink here, kmplayer was being a nightmare)
It's already been pointed out by many people how this is basically the same as police spying on / targeting queer people, which is again reinforced in the 1941 minisode.
But it brings to the forefront of Aziraphale's mind Heaven and Hell's surveillance of them, which is quite explicit in the Victorian minisode.
Beginning with Aziraphale's bookshop and shots of his diary establishes it is his flashback.
Crowley and Aziraphale are meeting up for a date casual meeting. There's no pretence of business, not even the Arrangement. They're beginning to feel safe(r) in their relationship - it's been almost 6 000 years, and they haven't been caught.
(more under the cut)
This minisode is more focused around morals, and it's set up straight away:
Elspeth wants to keep herself and her partner alive. If she doesn't do this, they're dead, and she's not actually hurting anyone.
Crowley likes causing a bit of trouble, and furthermore, he understands her position. He doesn't agree with the Don't Do This Because God Said So, and sees a) a person not hurting anyone, but doing what they can to survive and b) someone willing to do anything to save someone they love
Aziraphale still thinks like an angel; God decides what is Good, and Bad, and God decided graverobbing is Bad. But Aziraphale isn't saying "stop doing this, you're going to hell because you're bad", he's saying "stop doing this, if you continue you're going to hell, because it's against God's will." he still thinks she can be redeemed.
Throughout this minisode, Aziraphale has big Main Character Energy (and Crowley had big Love Interest Energy), challenging Aziraphale's morals that he learnt from Heaven.
As is the case with all the couples in Good Omens, Elspeth/Morag parallel Crowley/Aziraphale. Morag worries about Elspeth being condemned to hell, just as Aziraphale did.
Crowley and Aziraphale have their conversation straight from the books, about people who are poor having more opportunities to be good.
Apparanently, some people are saying this is OOC for Aziraphale, but I disagree. I think it sounds like exactly the kind of thing Heaven has said, over and over again, something Aziraphale believes because Heaven is Good, and because he wants to believe it, that those who are impoverished have a chance. (I had anther thought here, but I've forgotten it. Hopefully it'll come back to me.)
[Brief cut to Aziraphale & the yellow Bentley, Crowley's matchmaking attempt, then back to the minisode.]
Aziraphale miracles the corpse, in an attempt to prevent Elspeth from sin. However, this means she loses money that would help keep her and Morag alive. We can see from Crowley's glare here that he's not impressed - that Aziraphale would take away Elspeth's choice to risk hell to keep herself and Morag alive.
Aziraphale, Crowley and Dalrymple have a conversation in which Dalrymple explains he's doing it to help people, and Aziraphale starts coming around to his point of view, running out of reasons to argue with it.
Look at Aziraphale's face when he finds out the tumour was a seven year old boy's, and that he died. He's horrified, and then he looks like he's about to cry. (Not screencapped here, but he glances in Crowley's direction, and Up)
His hands are shaking when he hugs the jar to his chest.
Dalrymple reinforces again he's just trying to save lives, and then:
Aziraphale looks down, thinking over what he said, thinking about the dead boy.
[Back to present, Aziraphale arrives in Edinburgh.]
Aziraphale is delighted by his revelation, and shares with Elspeth that it's alright now, because it alleviates human suffering.
In voiceover/diary, Aziraphale states, "Having realised the error of my ways, I resolved to assist Elspeth and wee Morag in their noble quest to decrease human suffering."
This reflects Aziraphale's rather black-and-white view of the world; they're no longer sinners, but heroes, rather than just two girls trying to survive.
When the watch is alerted, Aziraphale opens a tomb to help them shelter. He's committed.
Crowley sends the watchmen down a hole. Rather more severe than Aziraphale's reaction.
Morag dies while Aziraphale is busy giving a big speech on how he's going to save her.
I've spent a lot of time thinking about the purpose of this (not Morag's death itself). The only conclusion I've arrived at is it's making a point about how even if you have a Realisation, and you change your mind and your morals, that doesn't undo the hurt you've done in the past. But I don't really like that.
Upon the suggestion of Elspeth taking Morag's body to Dalrymple, Aziraphale is horrified.
Note how Crowley is in the dark, Aziraphale in the light, while Crowley is the devil on Aziraphale's shoulder, whispering in his ear.
This challenges Aziraphale's newfound Realisation, bringing it closer to home.
(Crowley spends a lot of this minisode lurking in the dark behind Aziraphale's shoulder)
Crowley is decidedly less active in this minisode than Aziraphale, but here he goes big (literally), and saves Elspeth from suicide. Not Aziraphale, the angel.
Crowley brings up sinning again, and suggests to Aziraphale that he give his money to Elspeth, as it's what she needs to live a good life. (Aziraphale's stil a bit iffy at first, but he gives it)
I think this reflects, to an extent, Aziraphale's lack of initiative - he doesn't do things (or isn't supposed to) without Heaven telling him to. Such as the way they limit his miracles. He's not able to see a person suffering, and miraculously fix their life. And while Crowley is watched, and restricted, Hell certainly don't complain when he comes up with the brilliant plan on his own that secures them lots of souls (eg. Spanish Inquisition, French Revolution).
And then we have the lovely moment, Aziraphale reaching for Crowley and guiding him, Crowley saying, "Where are you?"
Aziraphale's hands on Crowley's hips - they do physical contact now
Their positioning is reminiscent of the Wall Slam scene.
And we know Crowley didn't have to drink it - he could have miracled it away, poured it on the floor, whatever. And it definitely did affect him, and yes it was funny, but Crowley's dialogue here reinforces why he did this: Hell is watching.
(and now here's the part where I actually get to the point of this meta. in case you've forgotten, it's how the minisodes provide context for the Final Fifteen)
Heaven and Hell are watching Aziraphale and Crowley - we know it's constant, if not always active, from the Earth Observation Files photos of them together in S1.
And Crowley is aware of this - has he been caught before? Anyway, he has an excuse (that can be verified) all ready to go if he's recalled to Hell.
(I also think it's a bit of a defence - in the Wall Slam scene as well - because Crowley disagrees with Heaven's definition of Good)
When Crowley gets dragged to Hell, Aziraphale is left alone in the cold, dark graveyard.
His voiceover, "And that was the last I was to see of Crowley for quite some time," reflects that this diary entry is written some time after Crowley was taken, and they've since met up again. This means Aziraphale has had a long time to (over)think about what was done to him.
What Aziraphale sees is, Crowley is good. He does good things. And when he does good things, he needs to disguise it so he can excuse it to Hell. And when he fails in that, he is punished by Hell.
Why wouldn't Aziraphale want Crowley back in the fixed Heaven? Where he can help people in safety, without fear of punishment?
the importance of the pre-fall flashback in good omens 2
so, pre-s2, I personally preferred the headcanon that Aziraphale and Crowley hadn't met in Heaven, and in all honesty, was quite saddened when news articles started talking about their heaven meeting in series 2.
Them not meeting before the Garden fits the isolated s1 story better. Aziraphale, an angel, showing a demon he doesn't know, the kindness of shelter from his wing. A story of an angel and a demon, learning to trust each other over time, despite being told they're on opposite sides.
But with the addition of series 2, it's really much better that they met in heaven, mainly because of the end of 2x06.
Aziraphale sees Crowley happy in Heaven but miserable as a demon. Aziraphale keeps meeting up with a demon over the years, and keeps seeing bits of the angel he met in Heaven. Crowley hasn't changed that much.
