Let's talk about that cold open though
Honestly, this pure h/c cold open may be my favorite part of the finale. At least its potential to launch a thousand fics was so palpable I could feel it on my skin.
Anyway, some observations worth pondering (and what a bummer that we're never going to get official answers to any of those).
As the camera zooms in on the Eternal Flame, there's a gravely injured angel just slightly down below. Is that Crowley? The scene is blurry and poorly lit, but we can tell that the angel has a long dark hair and is wearing a hooded cape which partially obscures their face.
I tried editing the screencaps to increase brightness and contrast and apologize for not the best quality overall.
So, do we think this angel is Crowley? Because when we see him in the next couple of minutes, he is wearing a hood, and his hair is long:
But then, of course, the angel at the bottom of the Eternal Flame had wings - battered, charred even, but still white underneath it all - and Crowley, when we see him, doesn't. Did he just hide them before trying to ambush Aziraphale?
And then there's the acting credits in the closing titles:
So, Crowley was the first character to appear onscreen according to this. But does it apply to the cold open or to the main part only? Because Crowley was the first one to appear in that one too (the back alley scene). Really really intriguing.
Another feature of interest in the cold open is Crowley's eyes. It's hard to see, but he still has his angelic pre-snake eyes:
Angelic eyes and quite possibly still white angelic wings? Then in this scene Crowley is a rebel angel who had just lost the war - but he hasn't yet fallen. Sooo fascinating - and again, it sucks that we will never see any of this elaborated in the canon. But that's what fan works are for.
theartofmadeline
kianamaiart
blakekathryn
germansingergirl
romaincrisis
stormborns
annaxmalina
