#Crowley claims he’s not nice but we all know he’s nicer than most angels ever will be

[armageddidnt]

Hello I’m here to share some random thoughts on these two gifs specifically and what I think it reveals about Crowley’s character and the good omens universe as a whole

So here are two instances in which Crowley is being called “good” or “nice” and the biggest difference is in how Crowley reacts to it. When Mrs. Sandwich calls him nice, he doesn’t agree with it, but he sort of smiles, corrects her gently and thanks her. When Aziraphale calls him nice, Crowley vehemently denies it and physically pushes back. He is enraged, insulted, and resentful that Aziraphale would even call him such a thing. And I think this really highlights the realization Crowley has had about heaven, hell, God, humanity, and morality since he fell.

Crowley understands that when a human calls him good, that is coming from a place of kindness, admiration, and personal morality beyond whatever rules are expected to be followed. As Aziraphale says: unlike angels and demons, humans have a choice in being good or bad, so when one of them recognizes Crowley as good, he knows the humans understand that concept of morality as a choice and are recognizing the fact that Crowley has also made a conscious decision to be good. When Aziraphale or another angel/demon calls him good, he knows that is coming from a place of adherence to the rules, from a place of invariably following God’s will regardless of the consequences or objective morality of it. Being called “good” is synonymous to being called “someone who follows the will of God,” which is not something Crowley usually thinks is the right or kind thing to do. Crowley almost seems to see it as an insult, that an angel/demon thinks he is incapable of having free will or following his own morality beyond the rules set by heaven and hell. With humans, “good” is a compliment, but with angels and demons, it’s an acknowledgment of conformity.

Within the good omens universe as a whole, this represents the fundamental realization that has shaped Crowley’s character and the realization that he has never been able to get Aziraphale to grasp. Heaven is not inherently good and hell is not inherently bad; the real morality is in choice and making a voluntary decision to make the world better or worse for others. I think this is one of the fundamental messages of good omens and I think this realization will have world-altering consequences for heaven, hell, and humanity. Because having individual morality and choice invites the possibility of going against God’s will, which is pretty much the foundational structure that controls angels and demons’ entire existence.

Anyway, I think the fact that Crowley makes this distinction is very telling about his understanding of morality and the universe as a whole and I think it’s going to become one of the fundamental themes underlying the final season.