"It's hard enough bein' people as it is, without other people coming and messin' you around." ~Adam Young, Book
(The rewritten, more honest and straightforward version)
*About how a philosophical comedy-drama was Bait-And-Switched as if it was a fated tragedy all along*
I suppose we could argue that there were Clues there for a tragedy. With hindsight, we can find a few -- especially squashed in-between the adorable comic clips in the GO3 trailer. But that's where it all goes pear-shaped.
This new Good Omens concept of fated tragedy and final self-sacrifice was silently lurking behind a HUGE 7-year pile of sweet, encouraging, and comedic moments (topped off by a Muppetmobile Ice Cream Bentley!). There was drama and heartache and danger, sure, but an overall sense of playfulness -- and most of all, HOPE.
We were told it was the planned conclusion of the beloved book, where Crowley is an optimist. and they are ALREADY a couple signaling their devotion under the radar. Where summers never end for a reformed Antichrist, and Crowley's vehicle finally plays what he wants to listen to, and a Professional Descendent can choose not to be one, and Warlock will get 39 flavors of ice cream. And even Greasy Johnson, that forgotten 3rd baby from the convent, will get his happy ending.
Because there never was an apple that wasn't worth the trouble you got into for eating it. (Everybody Lives!)
That's where the story began. And ended, once upon time. That's where the continuation seemed to be going. We were justified in expecting it. Were they giving us smoke and mirrors all along? Was the 3 Card Monte meant for us?
No one goes to see Shakespeare's Hamlet or Richard II (or Romeo & Juliet) expecting a joyful Happy Ending. If we sit down to watch Dystopian Sci-Fi, we know the protagonist will be sacrificing something, maybe even their own survival. We bought the ticket. We're braced for whatever comes.
We watch movies and shows and theatre because, well -- LIFE. It's hard enough already. Sometimes we're simply there for the laughter and love and beautiful storytelling and a much-needed escape.
All good stories reflect Life in some way. If it's a really good one, we see ourselves in it. Stories help us laugh when we need Joy, or cry when our own tears are silently locked inside.
We invest in the characters, who to hate and who to love. The ones that deeply relate to us can help us know more about who we are and who we're trying to be.
We choose the story we need in our lives. We chose Our Ineffables.
(more about Apples and that lovely thing called Free Will, under the cut)
In Good Omens, we found our lovably relatable Ineffables. Listed as a Comedy-Drama Fantasy, it felt like a safe place to explore philosophical truths like identity and fate, devotion and brokenness and healing... And so much more. Tucked up with soft characters we love and silliness and laughter and so much quiet depth of meaning.
There was the Ineffable Truth of making your own path, no matter what any powers-that-be said you had to be.
And God? Well, she wasn't really talking to anyone. But she seemed to have gotten past her urge for Old Testament catastrophic destruction. She seemed content to sit back and let her kids make whatever castles or messes they pleased in the sandbox she'd created. When she reshuffled the cards in her Ineffable game, it seemed to be nudging the kids to try building things better, instead of tearing them down.
She just wouldn't answer any questions.
Even though the show had differences from the book, why wouldn't we expect similar narrative goals? Our Ineffables will be a couple. Crowley will learn that it can be safe to be a bit of an optimist, because Apples are worth the trouble. God will keep playing their game, yet things seem to work out for the best anyway, what with Free Will and all -- it was God who put that Apple there in the first place...
That's what we bought the ticket for. That's the escape and fortification many of us came to see. They didn't fairly signal otherwise.
Instead, we got Hamlet. Everybody dies.
And we are left reeling, struggling to make sense of the cognitive dissonance -- our Love and Trust vs. Betrayal of Intent.
Maybe it wasn't so bad, if we really think about it lots and lots... It is a fantasy after all, so maybe, after 13.8 billion years, it's not like they really died? But it's not actually them, right? God said so. Or maybe it is? But Our Ineffables certainly got rewarded for their incredibly loving sacrifice, and now they're happy, yes? But a whole bunch of other characters came back too, so did they all get rewarded? Or did God just mess with things again? Or is this their Love making the new universe better....? AND. WAS. IT. ALL. WORTH IT...?
It's hard enough bein' people as it is, without other people coming and messin' you around.
Few of us were prepared for the ending we got. We hadn't been told to prepare for a tragic love story with a philosophical ending. We were ready to laugh and cry and gasp and cheer and see Our Ineffables rise triumphant in the end.
It's taking most of us more time than it should to recover from the blow, sort through the loss, and even time to interpret what actually happened in the epilogue -- because they preferred to shock us.
Bait-and-switch. 3-Card Find-the-Lady. Smoke and Mirrors.
We choose the stories we need in our lives. Some of us didn't need another tragic loss. Life is hard enough. Sometimes we need to see the ordinary hero overcome trauma and pain and actually win.
Especially if those heroes felt a lot like US.
*****
Be Kind. Be Loving. And please be gentle with yourself.
And when you're ready, I'd be grateful if you'd join me in raising your teacup or mug to Our Ineffable, Messy, Wonderful Fandom...!
