Hello again!
The shock waves from Good Omens Season 3, or The Finale, or whatever that was continue to resonate, and several conversations have referenced the way things actually began to get weird during season 2 -- culminating, of course, in That Kiss, which I view (ymmv) as part gratuitous infliction of distress on the fandom, because a Certain Person enjoys (per some very credible public testimony) reeling people in and then hurting them, and part simple cynical orchestration of clamor for a conclusion (ring another one up on the register, boys).
The book was complete in itself. Season 1, impressively faithful to the book (credit where credit is due), was complete in itself. Yes, Crowley predicted a future Big One that would be "all of us (humanity and those on humanity's side) against All Of Them (the power structure of corporate Heaven and Hell)." But Armageddon was spiked, Satan was undercut by his own intended heir, and Aziraphale and Crowley -- who at best helped, but endeared themselves to us in the process -- were last seen sitting at the Ritz, enjoying Earth's luxuries and looking forward to retirement free of Celestial interference, whether it involved simply hanging out together, or a cottage by the sea, choose your own adventure. And quite a lot of us have decided that canon ended there.
I've certainly lost any faith that there was ever a serious outline for a sequel. Season 2 was supposedly a "bridge" to a "fully plotted out conclusion;" season 3, when we got there, was a thematically antithetical incident salad that made zero sense even if you allow for the compression into one-third the intended runtime. And that second season itself was six episodes of thin plot and a mostly forgettable supporting cast; the humor (again, ymmv) was strained, the fan service embarrassingly heavy-handed, and the proliferation of Mysterious Inconsistencies was just... exhausting. But the fandom responded with a lot of fics that tried to be less flimsy and more thoughtful; most of all, to resolve the "end of act II breakup" in a credible way (something that season 3 Never. Did). For this week's Throwback, I toss out three of my 2023 offerings, all rated T.
I'll Wait -- Aziraphale's back in Heaven. Crowley's trying to pick up the pieces on Earth. Both find that there's time to consider all the unsaid things.
And Muriel keeps finding things in the bookshop.
Dark Roast Espresso At The Purgatory Cafe -- The Supreme Archangel's swamped with paperwork and droning meetings.
And then, suddenly, he's in a grimy caff, across the table from the demon who walked away.
It's neither Heaven, nor Hell, nor Earth as they know it. But it's a place they can talk. And they need to.
Don't Look Back -- Hell has something the Supreme Archangel wants, if he has what it takes to retrieve it.
“You promised,” said Aziraphale.
Shax didn’t command the iron throne the way Beelzebub had. She was too conscious of occupying it, like a just-engaged girl gesturing with her newly beringed hand. Not asking you to look, but looky, looky, look.
It was an odd thing to be thinking about with Crowley chained on his knees between them.
Have you got a favorite post-s2 fic, your own or another's? Drop a link!
Bonus: @curiouspupsicle, that curator of delicious fic lists at @curiouspupsiclelibrary, has started their own Throwback, tossing out a challenge to fic writers to reflect on and share their early fic. Go check it out!
Tagging in the replies as is my wont; let me know if you want your name added or removed!
I write mainly Good Omens, along with occasional ventures into Sherlock Holmes (BBC and ACD), Doctor Who, and my first love, Star Trek. Find my fic here on AO3.