okay so i keep thinking about this post i read a month ago where someone said they hope in season 3 that aziraphale's decision will be supported in some aspect because for them, aziraphale's decision to return to heaven is a decision to keep trying and to not give up on a fucked up system, and aziraphale's decisions are often towards softness and kindness and compassion. and then they ended it with "and also i'm tired of crowley being right"
it has stuck with me, obviously
and i am definitely in agreement with wanting media that supports decisions based in softness and kindness and compassion. and i don't think good omens undermines those decisions of aziraphale's. i mean, from the very beginning, his choice to give away his sword to adam and eve is almost certainly what ensures their survival (so i personally don't think it's a fair conclusion that it's lacking in the show). that's just one example because it's not what i'm actually thinking about.
what i am thinking about is crowley's track record of "being right"
is he right more often than aziraphale? i don't think he actually is. i mean, his first response to armageddon really starting is to run away. sure he's right in his understanding that heaven and hell want the world to end, but his decision to run isn't framed as "right" by the show. and he only changes his mind when aziraphale is supposedly dead. he's wrong about which child is the antichrist, and his plan to make a normal boy tm of warlock is part of that whole mess, aka, he's wrong on both accounts there.
crowley's first plan when he sees gabriel in season 2 is to abandon him somewhere on the side of a road and avoid the problem entirely, which is framed as the wrong choice and not just because we'd have barely half an episode to fill in a season if he did that. aziraphale's decision to care for and shelter gabriel is framed as the right choice until they have more information (it still ends up being a bit of a cock up because really hell wasn't looking for gabriel, beelzebub was, but again, we wouldn't have much story if these two were competent).
personally i align more with that meme of "the system is broken and must be fixed" for aziraphale, and "the system is working exactly as intended and must be dismantled" for crowley, but i don't think crowley has any interest in dismantling the system as long as the system doesn't interfere with his daily life beyond a threshold of annoyance or inconvenience. his confession continued to be focused on aziraphale and himself going off together, not on them taking on heaven and hell or god or what have you. heck, he's probably the one who suggested a cottage in the south downs. he was fine with alpha centauri as long as aziraphale was there in season 1, and he's fine with earth as long as aziraphale's there between seasons. but he can't go back to heaven with aziraphale for many reasons, one of which is that it would be putting him smack down in the center of a chart where annoyance is the x axis and inconvenience is the y axis.
ultimately i hope the show does get a third season and does give them the south downs or something equivalent because to me the south downs represents them getting to live in the happy medium of heaven and hell, the human incarnate bit that aziraphale is thankful adam became.
