#magic trick theory

[mxstixdraws]

So I read @ariaste 's fantastic Magic Trick Theory about Good Omens 2 and now I'm fully down the theory rabbit hole. I've been doing a rewatch and I wanted to share a few things I noticed that seem to relate to the theory.

Re: Maggie being a character inserted by the Metatron

In Episode 2, one of the texts Nina gets from Lindsay says: "I AM A REAL PERSON. I MATTER. WHY DON'T YOU CARE?" The "real person" is emphasized with a double underline and it is one of the texts we see next to Maggie. It also strikes me as a very weird thing for Lindsay to say.

Re: The Job Flashback looking fake

In the opening bit where Crowley is about to zap the goats, it seems like the clouds in the scene remain static for the whole scene, like a matte painting backdrop. Here are a couple full screenshots, one from the beginning of the scene were Crowley is alone with the goats and another where Aziraphale and Crowley are both there and Crowley is throwing the fireballs at the goats.

Zooming in:

The camera position and/or field of view has changed a bit, so the second image has a bit more of squashed look and the lighting is different (presumably due to the giant fireball), but the cloud shapes don't appear to have changed.

We don't return to this sky backdrop, so I can't say for sure that it's not just an extremely still scene or that Aziraphale and Crowley's conversation is too short for the clouds to move.

On an unrelated note, you can see some of the goats-turned-crows flying away behind Crowley after they get fireball-blasted. Nice touch.

[popsicle86]

I read the Magic Trick theory document yesterday and it's been living in my head rent free since then.

(it's here if you haven't read it yet. It is excellent:

https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/193IXS11XN46lziHRb6eUpM17yK0BQkRqke1Wh64A_e0/mobilebasic

One of the biggest things that stuck with me is the idea of reality being rewritten/rebooted. Because we actually know it already has been. By Adam. And not everything went back to the way it was before.

Interesting how the 2 nuns that saved him as a baby are now living next door to Aziraphale. And miracles don't work on them. And they stay to protect Aziraphale. And help Crowley work out his feelings.

And every mini-sode (apart from Edinburgh) introduces one of the new characters this season into Crowley and Aziraphale's past. Job introduces Muriel, who is joined by Saraquel in the present. WW2 introduces Shax and Furfur. Edinburgh doesn't introduce a character but it does introduce the statue though, and give the place that ends up being the turning point for Gabriel and Beelzebub (and their lovely, simple enemies, to friends to love story)

And interestingly all of these knew characters have little flaws. Some claim to know Crowley who has no memory of them. They spell like an 11 year old boy (ugrency, angle). And they are all now in key positions going forward. Demonic idiots on the dark council, a record keeper to guard the book shop and a new Arkangel to support the new supreme Arkangel. And 2 humans who have already shown major support for Crowley.

The text talks about the Pledge and one of the biggest pledges left hanging from Season 1 is that Adam still has his powers and is still out there. That has to payoff at some point or it wouldn't have been left.

So yeah, I think Adam is the one doing the "writing" for most of season 2. Until Metatron intervenes and tempts Aziraphale back to Heaven.

(and for the original author of the magic trick theory I did send this into your inbox but then I noticed you saying it's super busy so I have taken your advice and shared it with the fandom instead. I hope this is ok and not disrespectful as I have linked to your initial theory too)

[arabellatheauthor]

I think the thing I find least convincing about the magic trick theory is that it chalks up a lot of behavioral patterns to things that Can’t Be True instead of things that are part of flawed, complex characters. Yeah Aziraphale would rather discorporate than give up his books, but when it comes to rooting for love? To saving Crowley? We’ve already seen that he’ll do anything for Crowley, including *lie to heaven*

[billiebubb]

Two Clues in the Original Text

Clues with a captial 'C'. There are two places in the Good Omens novel which mention changing the already written plan plus, that minds and memories could be altered.

Firstly at the airbase Beezlebub and our antagonist Metatron argue with Adam Young, Crowley and Aziraphale over the thwarting of the already decided upon Great Plan (or is that the Ineffible Plan?)

Adam outright suggests that this plan can be changed and just because it is written doesn't stop this fact. Metatron is absent from this scene in the TV production but in the book he's right there, listening.

The second clue from the novel comes only a few pages later while our Ineffible Husbands are chatting away on a bench in St. James Park. Crowley comes up with something that might be just a touch too close to the truth:

This tall stranger is confirmed to be Death (here). Shame it's not Metatron as that would have been very neat and tidy! What it does demonstrate is that the minds and memories of Angel and Demon can be messed with as both forget what they had been talking about after Death interrupts them.

[rijl]

I wrote a lil response to the Good Omens "Magic Trick Theory." If you're interested in that theory and the answers to some of the questions it poses, or you just enjoy learning more about the religious references in Good Omens like I do, check it out.

[amanda-melly]

Hello hello hello fellow Good omens fans. I'll start posting here some thoughts, ideas and ramblings I have been posting on reddit and on discord lately about Good Omens and how I interpret what has happened so far and what makes sense in my head for the characters going forward.

This is basically a disclaimer (and a rant) saying that I really, deeply dislike the coffee theory, the switched bodies theory, the lie theory and above all the magic trick theory. Nothing against the authors of those theories nor against the people who believe these theories.

I have one major criticism of the magic trick theory and it's now even the plot related stuff (which I think are mostly wrong and seem to convey a lack of appreciation for the character building we've had so far).

My main criticism of the magic trick theory is the pedantic way in which it reminds the reader all. The. Time. That they have gotten into Neil Gaiman' head, that they know Neil can't confirm it because the theory is so wonderfully accurate it'd count as spoilers, and basically how the text keeps on saying "ah, yeah, Neil, my pal, you must be wondering how I cracked the case, the answer is I'm awesome, no need to tell me I'm awesome, I know I am, because otherwise you are just a shitty writer because season 2 is shit unless the metatron wrote it".

So I'm writing all this to say: I honestly don't think I'm "guessing" what will happen. It's not for me to guess and I couldn't even if I tried. I don't intend to "get it right". I just want to create my cozy headcanon to have some comfort for my heartbreak for our ineffable dumbasses that I love to bits. I'm still very touched by the ending of season 2 and I want to dig deeper into the material we have, interpret it, debate it, and spend a little while with these characters and this world while we wait for the final part of the story.

It's not about "cracking the case". "Guessing" season 3.

Sometimes I might say "season 3 should", "character X will" or something like that. It refers to my headcanon and not to the official good omens.

When I talk about what I believe is reasonable likely to happen or things I think are very important to be featured in season 3, I'll say so in a clear way. For example, I think it's likely that Aziraphale and Crowley end up alive and happy and together. And I think it'd be important for season 3 to show us more about the circumstances of Crowley's "fall" (sauntering vaguely downwards...). But I don't assume more than that. I don't know if that will be the case. I just think it's coherent and reasonable and I'd like those things to happen. All the other stuff I say, especially the details, are intended for my head and for the heads of whoever likes it.

Having said that, I'll start sharing my ideas in the next post.

[chronically-a-bacteriophage]

*puts overthinking cap on* This is the magic shop, Neil is behind the counter, therefore posing as the magician...... Is this maybe a confirmation of the magic trick theory? Probably not, (almost definitely not) but there's definitely interesting things to be thought about here......

Dropping this here...

[beebopboom]

yknow just watching the title sequence as you do and i might be a little late on this but…

that is not the magic trick we see

it has similar elements of trust and high stakes as the bullet catch but this wheel of death trick is performed by three people

(how the trick is performed here)

now why would they would they show an act performed by three people in a show about our iconic duo

i mean especially when one person is hidden away from everybody but also has to be in perfect sync with the knife thrower - while that person is performing a slight of hand

i just wanted to point this out (if it hasn’t already been) and the rest of this is just a few of the immediate ideas i had and might come back to expand on so take it with a grain of salt

so one it be a nod to what happens in the back room with Furfur - Aziraphale performing the slight of hand with the photograph, Furfur in the middle of them (on the target), Crowley in the back

or it could be a hint at a future magic trick they will have to perform with Aziraphale in Heaven and Crowley wherever he is - not able to see each other but perfectly in sync

edit: this has sparked a full on meta post here

[procrastiel]

All I’m saying is this:

Neil created s2 to set up everything that needs to happen in s3.

He literally orchestrated an event for us (much like the ball) to see in the next season. So yes, I do believe there are Clues hidden in s2.

[embracing-the-ineffable]

The circular bookshop rug CHANGES?!

(Edit: this is the rug that rests on top of the portal, under the chandelier. I think(?) there's only one of those!)

I saw someone mention this in a comment, but haven't seen any pics or discussion about it yet, so I checked. It's another inexplicable (ineffable?) "continuity" error:

S2e1, prepping to do the half miracles to hide Jim!Gabriel:

S2e5, as Nina enters the ball:

(More pics, including the season ONE rug, which was used for an s2 promo photo, and some discussion, below)

S2e5, prepping to defend the bookshop from the demons after Crowley walks most of the humans out:

S2e6, Crowley tidying the bookshop while Azi has a chinwag:

And sure, Aziraphale could have enchanted it to look more "Jane Austen-esque" for the ball, but then why did it change back in e6? It looks like Nina and Maggie's clothes for the ball stayed throughout e6, so it's not like the ball enchantments expired, Cinderella-style, or something...

Like the two different wigs for Crowley in Job, it seems superfluous to have two different rugs for the bookshop. And yet ...

It seems like it must be a Clue about something! Unreliable Narrator(s)? Another magic trick we didn't see? What do you think?

Edit 2: @rebeccasteventaylor had a good question about the rug in s1. I checked, and you'll perhaps be unsurprised to learn that the rug in s1e4, when Azi talks to Floating Head Metatron, is similar to s2e1 when they do the half miracle, but definitely not the same. The chairs also look similar but not exact:

And here's a wider view of s1e4:

And a wider view of s2e1:

I understand they Actually Burned the bookshop and everything inside during s1, and then had to recreate it for s2 (there's a really wild post about recreating a hand painted antique tiled sink that talks more about that), so I don't know if the similar-but-not-exact chairs, big red rug, and round rug are more casualties of that, or are meant to look different...

Edit 3: EXCEPT. They USED the season 1 rug in season 2 promo photos!

So... they didn't burn it? Or they did burn it and then they recreated it and didn't actually use it for s2??

I can't think or even breathe, this is SO WEIRD.

Interested in diving further into all the Good Omens mysteries? I have lots more of my own posts plus Clues and metas from all over the fandom, here.

[liquidstar]

honestly does anyone else think that the what:if routes are perhaps telling us that some sort of collision between subaru and reinhard is just inevitable in nearly every route

[mxstixdraws]

I was rewatching Episode 4 and I realized that there IS a tiny payoff for the joke ring that looks like Furfur's summoning ring. The zombies outside pantomime to the in-shop zombie to summon Furfur. But when he twists the ring, he twists the wrong ring and gets ink splattered in his face. This happens about 24 minutes in, I included a couple of screenshots below.

So, the ring setup is paid off in the same scene. It feels kind of meh compared to if the payoff was later during the bullet catch trick on stage.

[khadaj-ballad]

Is Dalish actually a Veil Jumper and really is an archer??? I need answers BioWare! I need more info on Bellara and her style of archery; because what if the south Thedas definition of a mage is more broad than the veil jumpers and their archers just use magic. I need Dragon Age The Veilguard to come out already.

[suitsnsours]

husk and cats and hats--some thoughts

i'm kinda sold that husk hates cats so much because while alive as a young magician he opted to try pulling cats out of hats instead of rabbits (contrary to literally every single word of advice from his mentors) but it went terribly

now his greatest shame of pulling cats out of hats in his early years as a magician remains a phantom that will follow him as some inherent truth about his existence until the minute his soul is destroyed, which is interesting because it's by far the least grievous sin he'd have committed in his life but it's probably one of the first: arrogance, pride

with his cowardice, who knows if he ever acknowledged that shame or if he ever admitted those mentors were right rather than either begrudgingly swapping to rabbits in silence or just dropping hat tricks altogether. who knows if this act of dumb courage and learning for himself (and subsequent humiliation) was what set him on the path to never making those mistakes so publicly again, and why he rarely stands for his word when confronted by entities he perceives to be more powerful than himself.

i think there's something really interesting in him eventually reckoning with "i failed to listen and that made me a pussy and maybe that's ok because i can listen now," especially considering his unwilling role as the bartender (read: therapist) where he's really got no option other than to listen to others (with angel dust as a catalyst [hehehe])

alternate possibility: deathly allergic to cats.

[billiebubb]

Shostakovich You Say? That's It Hold It Right Up To The Camera So We Can See It

There's something the creators of this show want us to see here. After being expelled from the Soviet Union for a work deemed corrupt Shostakovich wrote this piece to try and win favour with Stalin and gain entry back into the Soviet Union. It worked. Does this story mimic Aziraphale's arc of expulsion and then acceptance back into Heaven?

Even more compelling is when we look deeper at the lyrics of the song much of the Symphony is based upon and imagine Metatron as the artistic barbarian:

Rebirth English translation © Philip Ross Bullock

With his lethargic brush, an artist-barbarian Scrawls over a painting made by a genius, Tracing his own illicit sketch Over it without reason.

But with the years, these alien colours Fall away like decrepit scales; And the creation of that genius Appears before us in its former beauty.

In the same way, delusions disappear From my anguished soul, And in their place, visions arise within it, Visions of pure and primal days.

Could our Season 2 be Metatron's scrawl and Season 3 be the flaking off of the paint to reveal the truth underneath?

[yellow-yarrow]

weird things in the SATA book that I keep thinking about but I don't know what they are supposed to mean

Ann-Margret being perhaps the most Dolores Dei-like

Maj being an unplanned pregnancy that "deformed" Ann-Margret, how Charlotte says she wouldn't give the peaches of immortality to her yet because she is too young, her sisters not bringing her to take cherry speed or giving her alcohol, the girls buying only three meat piroshkis, seemingly leaving her out of some things, yet she disappeared too, how the only trait about her is that she is dressed as a fairy godmother/angel and sits on Tereesz's shoulders. The older sisters and their mom have some traits that resemble Dolores Dei (blond with green eyes, politician, peaches, freckles/birthmarks, references to ancient times, etc) but Maj only shares the blond hair and white clothes. like it feels like she is the odd one out. And she is the one who says that the time is going wrong.