Now that Iāve finished crying I wanna talk about the ending and some gut punch reactions Iāve already seen from other people. A repeated sentiment Iāve seen from Aziraphale and Crowleyās separation after the kiss is that āwe donāt need more tragic queer endingsā and that Our Flag Means Death and Good Omens suffer from straight writers writing queer love that fails in the end. And there are a few problems I have with those sentiments
The first being, BOTH GOOD OMENS AND OFMD ARENāT FINISHED? Like Neil Gaiman has stated in the past that he and Terry Pratchett envisioned 3 seasons in the TV adaptation of Good Omens, and we have definitely left off on a very interesting note for the third act to pick up from. This is the furthest thing from an ending as we can get.
Second, Season 2 of Good Omens very much shifted away from the idiot plot of Season 1 to truly make it a love story and emphasize that above all else. Hell, both Crowley and Aziraphale both point out romcom tropes that they find attractive and attempt to use them to make Maggie and Nina fall in love! Good Omens may be a self aware romcom, but it would be wrong to say itās not still a romcom that subscribes to those tropes and utilizes them fully! We are ending the second act on a three act romantic story, and what typically happens then? The romantic leads, despite their mutual attraction and desire, split on ideological grounds and leave each other with regrets heavy on their lips (no matter how powerful a kiss is). Queer love stories do this too! Look at the movie āBrosā, they have this same 3 act structure, as does āBut Iām a Cheerleader!ā where we are screaming at Graham to please just run away with Megan but she is prioritizing her financial safety and family above her own desires.
Hell's sakes, look at the pinnacle of Romance, the brains behind the 1810 Clerkenwell diamond robbery, Jane Austen! Pride and Prejudice also follows this format where Elizabeth and Darcy are ideologically and emotionally split apart, and it is not until Darcy and Elizabeth grow and change for the better that they come back together in the most romantic scene to ever grace the world! "One word from you will silence me forever. [...] You have bewitched me body and soul". What I am trying to say is, Aziraphale going back to Heaven with Metatron is an extension of that common romance trope, splitting our star crossed demon and the too-trusting angel apart to prepare for the third and final act.
And ya know the funny thing that would have certainly happened even if they ended up together at the end of the second act? They would have been split apart very early into the third act. Stories are born of conflict, no story worth telling is one that culminates in "Nothing bad ever happened and we just watched our two lovebirds go on dates and explore each other's bodies for six hours!" Love stories thrive on setting up conflict, so that the romantic leads can fight and claw and work their way back to each other in a much more satisfying emotional climax than if the sloppy, rushed confession that Crowley gave Aziraphale had worked. Stories where the leads end up together in the middle of the story itself don't tend to end well for them (See Romeo and Juliet, "La La Land," "Titanic," et cetera). That is how you end up creating a romantic tragedy.
Third, while āWe want queer stories that donāt end tragicallyā did have a place in film criticism at one time, and a time fairly recently, I feel that sticking to that now when there are a lot more stories that express queer joy and love (especially if you look beyond just major studios, support indie filmmakers, and support the SAG AFTRA and WGA strikes!!!) limits the kinds of stories we can tell. A genuine benefit of today is that there are a lot of queer stories that we can tell, and Iāve been lucky to read a lot of them. The freedom with which we can create stories about us is breathtaking. I've had the privilege to read many well written queer stories, but I've also had the strange privilege to read poorly written queer stories that I can't fathom how they made it past editing. Thereās a fierce joy I carry knowing that there are a plethora of queer stories that I can read now, and that more are being created, good and bad.
My point is, there are so many queer stories to be told, and that are being told, so limiting queer media to āmust end happilyā is exactly that! Limiting! If we go in to every story with the foreknowledge of a happy ending, well frankly thatād be so boring! I want tragedies! I want fucked up characters not fully resolving their problems and being left in situations arguably worse than where they began!
And while I doubt that's the direction Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett wanted to take their supernatural love story, if Aziraphale and Crowley, despite all their struggles, are tragically separated because of metaphysical forces beyond our wildest imaginings, then that would be something new! It'd be interesting if done right! As painful it would be to not see Aziraphale and Crowley together gallivanting off to Alpha Centauri, I'd much rather see a story that has these sorts of stakes for both the characters and the audience!
Anyway, the reason for this rant is just to say that I'm excited for where Crowley and the new Supreme Archangel Aziraphale go in their final act, and by god will I impatiently wait and see.
PS: to those that I saw dismissing Good Omens' and OFMD's cliffhangers for coming from straight writers, Taika Waititi literally came out as queer, and Neil Gaiman had boycotts on Sandman in the 90's because of his queer characters, and his loving portrayal of Wanda, a trans woman that I will protect will all of my heart.
love how when i get a new interest, iām like āoh god itās happening againā and iām stuck like that for about a week until everything explodes and any interest iāve had prior is completely dwarfed for an unknown amount of time
shoutout to everyone whoās sharing the interest that has caused their category 7 autism event. we are all whirling around in our autism events together
Ok so I'm rereading the 2013 run of young avengers and I noticed something. Kid Loki said that Billy and Teddy went to the same school so does that mean they knew each other before the team was formed? Did they start dating before the team? I want a fic or drawing of them dating before the team trying to hide their powers from each other I think that would be cute
STOP IGNORING THAT BILLY IS JEWISH WHEN YOU FANCAST HIM!!
Being okay with erasing his Jewish heritage, as long as he's played by a queer person is not the take you think it is! Honestly, if you think that you just don't like Billy as much as you think you do. His Jewish upbringing is a big part of his character.
STOP IGNORING THAT BILLY IS JEWISH WHEN YOU FANCAST HIM!!
Being okay with erasing his Jewish heritage, as long as he's played by a queer person is not the take you think it is! Honestly, if you think that you just don't like Billy as much as you think you do. His Jewish upbringing is a big part of his character.