#i mean i'm still not over good omens s2 (as you can probably tell if you follow me lol)

[swordsonnet]

i was initially a bit disappointed that protocol won't be (publicly) released until january, because i had been expecting it to come out earlier, but with the sheer amount of stuff coming out this year, it's probably for the best lol. my brain needs some time to process everything else first before it can shift into full-time magnus mode again.

[janeaustenbrandysmuggler]

The Hitchhiker (you can run...)

Apologies if someone has already pointed this out. I'm new to tumblr, and I'm still digging through all the amazing Good Omens metas!

Shax-in-disguise appearing and reappearing on the side of the road at the very beginning of The Hitchhiker felt really familiar to me, and I finally figured out why. I think we can add a Twilight Zone episode that's (conveniently) called "The Hitch-Hiker"* to the list of film and tv references we get in the season.

*I felt especially dumb when Google told me this episode literally has the same title as s2 ep4. In my defense, I don't know the names of any of the other Twilight Zone episodes I've seen, either.

Not sure you really need a spoiler alert for a 60+ year old tv episode, but I'll put a break in anyway. Go watch it if you can - it's properly creepy.

A brief summary: Nan Adams is on a road trip from Manhattan to Los Angeles. She's gotten as far as Pennsylvania, when her tire blows out and she runs off the road. The mechanic who comes out to put on her spare tire comments on how lucky she is to still be in one piece. (More on that in a minute.) As she follows the mechanic into town for a replacement tire, she sees a man in a hat hitchhiking on the side of the road and passes him by. She sees the man again at the service station after getting a new tire and mentions him to the mechanic, but the mechanic doesn't see him. Once she resumes her trip, she sees the hitchhiker on the side of the road again. And again. And again. And again. The farther she drives, the more she sees him, and the more frightened and paranoid she gets. At the height of her fear, she's convinced the hitchhiker is trying to kill her, and she attempts to run him over in order to make it all stop. She finally decides to pull over to a phone booth in Arizona and call her mother to try and ground herself back in reality, and we get one final big twist to end the story.

When I realized that hitchhiker!Shax appearing and reappearing in front of the Bentley reminded me of this episode, I decided to watch it again because I hadn't seen it in years. What do we hear almost right out of the gate?

So lucky! You could even say she dodged a bullet there. Oh wait...

(I think he says "Chalk up a win to the side of the Angel" here, but close enough.) Interestingly, "the side of the angels" really just means "the good guys" these days. In both these scenes, setting aside the fact that Aziraphale is actually an angel, it's used in the context of "you survived something that could have killed you."

One other thing I didn't know before is that the Twilight Zone episode is based on a radio play, also called "The Hitch-Hiker," written by Lucille Fletcher and first presented on The Orson Welles Show in... 1941. Probably just a fun coincidence, but really, why does it feel like all roads lead back to 1941?

As for the final creepy twist in Nan's story? Her mother isn't home when she calls. The woman who answers the phone tells Nan that her mother is in the hospital. She had a nervous breakdown when she found out her daughter had been killed in a car accident in Pennsylvania - caused when her tire blew out and she ran off the road. Nan goes numb and walks back to her car. She pulls down the visor to look at herself in the mirror, and she sees the hitchhiker sitting in the back seat. He says, "I believe you're going... my way?"

So there we go - a wink and a nod to a tv episode with the moral that you can't outrun your fate/Death, in a season that sure seems to have a lot of references to death in it. By the time Nan sees the hitchhiker for the first time, she's already dead, she just doesn't know it yet. She tries running, but it all catches up to her anyway. By the time Aziraphale sees the hitchhiker, Shax is just about ready to trigger the events that lead to where we are at the end of the season. The precious, peaceful, fragile existence of the last few years is already dead, and no matter how much Aziraphale tries to outrun that idea by acting like There's Nothing Wrong...

...it all catches up anyway.

I have a more nebulous set of thoughts about the "side of the angels" line being seen in the 1941 flashback, and if I can get them in any type of coherent order, I'll link to another post or put them here. Something about that line referencing a lucky escape that isn't so lucky after all for Nan Adams, and how 1941 so far looks like a series of narrowly averted catastrophes for Aziraphale and Crowley...and how it really feels like we haven't seen all of the 1941 story yet.

[embracing-the-ineffable]

Good Omens season 2 ending and Crowley's (probable) Time Stop

When it comes to the Good Omens season 2 ending, I'm firmly on Team Time Stop, which is to say that I think Crowley has this spectacularly useful skill for moments of extreme duress, when there's intense pressure and huge stakes and no time to think or privacy to talk. He used that power to great effect towards the end of season 1 when he and Aziraphale stepped out of time in the middle of the panic of Armageddon to take some deep breaths and help Adam prepare to confront His Father.

So, in the emotionally fraught bookshop scene at the end of season 2, when Aziraphale is acting strange and trying to communicate something unspoken and urgent, and they're each full of strong emotions and feeling like there's no time to listen to one another or process what's happening, and there's no privacy (hello, Metatron and Muriel at the window), and maybe they're splitting up for who knows how long to take on very dangerous tasks, and they're angry and hurt and frustrated with one another, and they both have SO MUCH they want to say, how could Crowley NOT use his power to stop time so they can breathe, talk, think, and plan?!

When did it happen? Right after Crowley says "no nightingales" seems like the most likely time. I think Michael Sheen responds to "no nightingales" by doing something with his face - his expression and his jaw - that reflects something extra but unknown to us has just happened. It might only be that "no nightingales" has extra meaning to them that we don't know about yet, but I do think a time stop here is very likely.

Still not sure? Here's what convinced me that a time stop was likely: First, there's all the symmetry, or repetition, between seasons 1 and 2. From small things like ducks and "have a gold star", to big things like magic and the 1941 minisode and Aziracrow sheltering one another with their wings and holding hands with someone who is between them. Gifs of some parallels are here, thanks to @mizgnomer. It seems very possible that Crowley stopped time again as another kind of symmetry/repetition.

And if you need more? The movie poster for Stairway to Heaven features in the s2 opening credits and in Maggie's store, and that movie uses a lot of time stopping so characters can talk, out of the moment.

And the promo "poster" for season 2 features the main bookshop clock, prominently watching over Aziraphale and Crowley.

And there's this: the "Life After Death" leitmotif plays in s1 ("we're on our own side", moments before they swap appearances), and again in s2 ("I don't think you understand what I'm offering you" … moments before a body swap? Or maybe a time stop.) That conversation, "I don't think you understand / I understand a whole lot better than you" could have been the catalyst for Crowley to realize they need to TALK and have time to LISTEN. Maybe Crowley finally tells Aziraphale what he learned in heaven, and maybe Aziraphale tells Crowley the truth about his conversation with The Metatron. And then they will both actually understand more than they did before...

And, one final Clue: the TWO clocks in the bookshop, which both display the SAME "continuity error" during the Aziracrow conversation and kiss, where 15 minutes seems to pass unaccounted for. Maybe it's an in-universe character's continuity error, and not an accident of the production team.

Details for the two clocks including screenshots, and info about Stairway to Heaven as it relates to GO, are here in the reblog comments.

(And there are lots of other interesting links to support this and other theories in my collection of Clues and metas.)

So while there's some question about what happened when they stopped time (more on that in a bit), I'm definitely on Team Time Stop as part of the ending of season 2!

[wistful-pigeon]

https://www.tumblr.com/cartoons-asfuk-blog/131237661529 This really got on Cartoon Network. It’s the episode that was delayed and screened at sdcc to. That had to be fun lol. Teen titans go probably does worse but still wow

I mean I assume that whomever you are, this is in my inbox because of my recent Ramblings-

I'll be honest, I don't quite understand the tone implied in this message but I know that I remember the character (Cheshire? Listen it's been a solid 5 years since I had the emotional capacity to watch YJ again but I did in fact watch Season 1 at least 3 dozen times)

I'm going off of context cues alone here and granted, I don't have a whole lot but I feel like this is about Her Legs; and man I can't think of any way to fight in a long skirt (or skirt in general) that doesn't involve Your Opponents Seeing Your Whole Ass and that's why I personally always wear shorts or leggings underneath if I'm wearing a skirt/dress (one has to always be prepared for combat at any moment).

I *did* check just now to make sure, but Cheshire is 19 already in Season 1 so honestly? I don't necessarily see this as being an "inappropriate" or even particularly sexualizing scene- I've seen clips of the latter seasons and whenever Starfire is introduced (no spoilers there please y'all istg I'm going to be watching it soon I just need to emotionally prepare myself and after Good Omens Season 2 I'm still reeling here) I have seen a multitude of GIFs involving... a more sexual nature than what this gives off to me.

So like I think what I'm saying here is that given how female superhero outfits have always been, this scene is nothing particularly raunchy in my eyes; I'd say the whole "Oriental" aesthetic of her character may or may not be in the best of tastes (I would listen to what people of East Asian ethnicity have to say about it rather than say "it isn't problematic at all" cuz I don't know the intricacies of it all) and the overall sexualization of Cheshire's character does sorta play in to the whole "sexualizing East Asian culture" trope that IS indeed a long existing problem; but in the way they tell her story (as far as I recall and up until S2), I think that the overall story of her character is generally handled well without anything that my younger self noticed as being particularly problematic.

Although I do feel there is a difference between how one can show that a certain character may display their attunement with their sexuality (and I don't mean sexuality as in sexual identity per say it's more about one's own image of themselves and how one wishes to be perceived by others, as a Sexual Being) as opposed to the perception of the character through the lens and to the audience and the OVER-sexualization of characters and people that is an ongoing Issue and remains one of the reasons why I have never gotten fully otaku-level obsessed with anime bc it is a very prevalent issue within that form of media.

Don't have a clue why this answer became an essay but here I am, 7am, and I hope that this all comes across in a more cohesive manner than it felt writing it.

And I swear I'll go ask my girlfriend for the HBO password and finally WATCH the show again and the new seasons and maybe then I will understand better? Honestly if you can't tell from all of this I'm AUDHD so if I misconstrued things lmk

[violet-prism-creatively]

good omens s2 episode reactions: 6

i just finished good omens season 2.

you know how people say "screaming crying throwing up" jokingly? i'm literally at least one of those (screamed into a pillow) and kinda close to another (partly unrelated life reasons making me feel like crying but it counts)

it's not supposed to end like that!!!! crowley and aziraphale going their separate ways!! they kissed but not at all in the way most people imagined it would be!!!!

okay i will attempt to give a summary of my thoughts for the whole episode the way i have for the rest of the season. (see other posts: e1, e2, e3, e4, e5.)

shax is surprisingly good at hitting people with their deepest insecurities. it's a little inconsistent with other parts of her character, like not understanding sarcasm, but it works well for her being the main antagonist of this season. good on maggie for standing up to her!! bad on maggie for accidentally letting her into the bookshop.

it's a nice touch that aziraphale has battery-powered candles and lots of fire extinguishers to make sure the bookshop fire never happens again. also quite a reasonable justification for having multiple fire extinguishers for nina and maggie to use as weapons. lesbians fighting demons!

interesting revelations as crowley in heaven reads/experiences gabriel's file. i was confused at the time about why gabriel would say no to armageddon 2, but it makes sense after the beezlebub montage.

the gabriel/beezlebub shippers were right!?!!?! massive win for them. they really speedran aziraphale and crowley's whole arc, with making an agreement out of convenience, spending more time together enjoying human things, falling in love, realizing their own sides weren't as good as they seemed, ultimately running away together. the use of the song "every day" was sweet. it seemed kind of out-of-character for s1 gabriel and beezlebub but i suppose people change.

the "war" aziraphale started was over fairly quickly. bit anticlimactic.

the metatron was a plot twist. he seems very similar to aziraphale in a lot of ways. if aziraphale had had him as a mentor-figure from the beginning, things would have turned out very differently.

nina and maggie are so real for calling out crowley and aziraphale on meddling in their love life. they recognize how similar the two pairs are! probably a good choice that nina and maggie aren't going to immediately date since nina just got broken up with, but it's made clear that they care for each other and will probably date once nina is ready.

oh gosh we have to talk about the conversation between crowley and aziraphale. crowley has finally gotten up the courage to confess his feelings after six millennia!! only aziraphale is intending a completely different conversation about the metatron's offer. oh aziraphale can't you see why being an angel again and being your second in command isn't crowley's dream scenario??! it would mean crowley giving up his whole identity. when aziraphale was talking about how heaven is good and right, i could practically hear crowley thinking "you still believe that?!" it feels like aziraphale is taking a step backward. from his perspective though, it must sound like the perfect offer, and you can see how excited he is to tell crowley, and how devastated when crowley doesn't like it. and they revert back to their millennia-old dynamic of crowley wheedling aziraphale to go off and choose their own side, and aziraphale retreating to the safety of his moral high ground. bravo to david tennant and micheal sheen for their acting, but also they broke my heart.

the kiss. i'm screaming and internally sobbing. i had it spoiled for me that there was a kiss in this season (unfortunately, it's one of the first suggestions when you type good omens into youtube), but i wasn't expecting it like this.

bentley, now is not the time to play "a nightingale sang in berkley square."

to be clear, i'm not exactly mad at neil gaiman and the writers. they're obviously setting up a season 3 (which amazon better give them) and hopefully have a happy ending in mind for aziraphale and crowley. but that will take years and in the meantime i'm shaking with frustration!

i'm off to write a post-s2 fic maybe? or just unblock all the good omens spoiler tags and reblog a flood of posts. or cry.

[foolishlovers]

proof that louis tomlinson is a good omens stan:

exhibit 1) twitter

1.1) follows michael sheen

(probably wishes david tennant had social media)

exhibit 2) lyrics

(faith in the future is an ode to good omens, u can’t convince me otherwise)

why write these lyrics if you’re not constantly thinking about aziraphale and crowley?? he probably got to read the script beforehand or smth

2.1) the greatest

Together, we’re the greatest

We'll never be that cold again

No fallin' all to pieces

We're the grеatest

It's you and me until the еnd

Life for us is never over

The way you know something

Your face reminded me

Of a love you cannot hide

But don't need to tell me why

Back dancin' in the dark

Back to the very start

Findin' pieces that can fit

Making up for what we missed

(how is this not screaming ineffable husbands to you??)

2.2) lucky again

'Cause I'm a hard man to lose

But I figured it out, then made my way back

To a life I would choose

We were lucky once, could be lucky again

I'm a hard man to find

But you figured it out and I love you for that

(THEY JUST NEED TO FIGURE IT OUT…..they could be lucky again……)

2.3) face the music

Good and bad and right and wrong

Are stories made up when we're young to scare us

Love and hate are in-between

Depends on your reality to see them

(oh cmonnn)

So, one more night

I'm gonna choose

I don't wanna face the music, but I still wanna dance with you

Let's buy some time

For what we shouldn't do

I don't wanna face the music, but I still wanna dance with you

(an angel and a demon dancing in a bookshop anyone??)

If you're standin' on the edge of fallin'

Open up and looking down

Everything that matters is forgotten

(ouch)

2.4) all this time

Oh, sometimes, sometimes, you lose your hope

But the friends we make, the love it takes

It's worth, it's worth, it's worth the pain

The friends we make, the love it takes

It's worth, it's worth, it's worth it all this time

(question: was s2 episode 6 worth the pain?)

2.5) out of my system

Slowly, I never wanna go slowly

I only wanna go faster

Towards disaster every time

With me, I know you wanna come with me

Take anything you can carry

And leave everythin' else behind

(pure crowley vibes…. is he still going too fast for him?)

Gotta get it out of my system

Gotta get it off of my chest

I've lived a lot of my life already

But I gotta get through the rest

(the rest… you mean the part where they end up in a sweet old south downs cottage together?)

Demons, I'm takin' all of my demons

Putting them where I won't see them

'Cause I just wanna feel alive

(i mean…..nothing much to say to this)

2.6) headline

You used to read me like a headline

So many reasons now you're not mine

Maybe if you'd taken more time

I'd still be the one you wanna talk to every night, oh

If you got in my head

You wouldn't be scared of what you'd find

You used to rеad me like a headlinе

Oh, that's the reason now you're not mine anymore

(okay now im just making myself sad)

2.7) saturdays

I've been wonderin' about what you're up to

Not for the first time

Not for the last time

And I've been thinking 'bout the things we used to do

Not for the first time

Not for the last time

(can u see crowley howling in his car….)

2.8) silver tongues

You and me until the end

Wakin' up to start again

You and me until the end

Wakin' up to start again

There's nowhere else that I would rather be

(it’s really just them… a group of the two of them…… until the end)

2.9) angels fly

(LIKE NAMING DEMONS WASN’T ENOUGH???)

Nothin' really matters

Nothin' really hurts

We can talk about it

It'll only make it worse

(crunching on what’s left of my heart)

There's a time for sayin' who did what

Where it went wrong

I wanna hear all that, but right now

All I need you to know is

You'll be okay, we can talk tomorrow

I'm on my way with some time to borrow

If every star is an eye in the sky

You'll see angels fly

I'll knock on your door, it'll save me from callin'

I won't say a word, it can wait till the mornin'

(…..there’s …..hope? they'll be okay??)

2.10) holding on to heartache

You said I'm holdin' on to heartache

You said I wear it like a crown

It's gonna drag me down

I'm holdin' on to heartache

You should be starin' at the sky

The birds just passin' by, love

(smth smth heartache, birds, fits just right)

2.11) copy of a copy of a copy

It's an old curse, dreamers divin' head first

Broken beaks and dead birds

Can't get through the glass

There's no use cryin' over spilled blood

Carin' only kills love

A kiss won't bring it back

(A KISS WONT BRING IT BACK I- NGHGHGKK)

thanks for coming to my (very long, oops) ted talk