#thundergun

[mobnye]

I’m sorry??? I was rewatching season 1 and how did I just notice that Mr Dalrymple from the Resurrectionist shares the surname with the witchfinder colonel who owned the Thundergun?

Any theories on that?

[captainjimothycarter]

Okay but ThorPeggySteve AU where Thor ends up in 1943 and just joins the Howling Commandos and falls for Steve and Peggy.

He struggles to accept its illegal for Thor and Steve to show affection, claims mortals are idiots.

They agree.

He calls Peggy Warrior Carter or Lady Carter. Anything but her name and it makes her blush (no it doesnt, Howard, shut UP)

When the plane starts crashing, Thor promises to protect Steven, Lady Carter. He will not be harmed.

When they start to go under, he wraps himself around Steve and protects him from the crash. Theyre able to find him as he glows

[groovygrub]

[dennisboobs]

charlie bringing up a traumatic event involving older women only for dennis to brush it off as something milder than it was

(x)

[victusinveritas]

Nominative Determinism: Dick Peters writing an essay on penis size.

[sunnykeysmash]

they closed soap2day :( what other streaming websites do u guys recommend?

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Río Jémez in the Valle Grande, Valles Caldera National Preserve, Sandoval Co, NM. Photo: Steve Thunderguns Bringe (Jun 10, 2023)

[Robert Scott Horton]

* * * * *

“the inexhaustible pages of nature … written over and over uncountable times, written in characters of every size and color, sentences composed of sentences, every part of a character a sentence.”

― Bill McKibben, The Age of Missing Information

[istartedblasting]

it's canon that the gang goes shopping together

[nightcrawlerzincorporated]

i have some more bc now i’m curious about your mysterious least favorite and also i’m enjoying your analyses :)

the gang turns black, charlie has cancer (for the mac/carmen plot line), a lot of charlie gets crippled, the gang gives back, sweet dee’s dating a r person (love the rock band storyline tho), thundergun express

it’s hard for me to say i dislike episodes entirely bc there are always parts i like but yeah as a whole i would say these are in my bottom 20

The Gang Turns Black: disagree. I was shocked to learn this one was so hated honestly. I love musical episodes, and I think all their singing is perfectly fine (I don’t know why people say they sound bad??) and the songs are mostly funny and catchy. And I know people think the Quantum Leap thing is stupid but I like it. I like the idea that the gang are so racist it would take a literal magical scenario for them to learn how to be better. I like that the final message of the episode is the reality of systemic racism and police brutality, but I get that’s heavy for a sunny episode and some people find it tactless and I understand completely if anyone feels that way.

Charlie Has Cancer: agree. Honestly I’ve seen this episode so few times specifically because of that plot line. But because I’ve seen it so few times I barely remember it and so don’t have a big rant prepared. But my biggest take away is—it’s one thing to show the characters being transphobic, because they’re horrible people that’s just what the show is, but when the camera is transphobic that’s just the writers thinking the idea of a trans woman having a penis is funny and expecting the audience to find it funny too. Awful. Honestly maybe this one is my least favorite I’ve just seen it so few times and so long ago it’s hard to even remember for me. I don’t even remember the Charlie plot at all or what Dee was doing if anything.

Charlie Gets Crippled: I think agree depending on what you mean by “a lot of”. The stuff about being in a wheelchair getting them free strippers is stupid and based on the false idea that life is somehow easier for disabled people because of pity (wrong and bad). And pretending to be disabled to get attention does make sense for the characters to think of and again it’d be one thing for the characters to be proven wrong but the episode plays it like they’re right and being disabled does get you adoration which uh. If you’ve ever actually been in public with an assistance device you know how wrong that is. But I like the Dennis and Dee stuff and of course our dear friend Mr Tibbs (RIP). I love the opening where Dennis runs Charlie over in his haste to flee from his shitty dad. I love that Frank is introduced as being “manically depressed” for most of his life—it’s a good way to set up the way he acts throughout the rest of the show. But yeah a lot of bad with the good. I don’t watch it often.

The Gang Gives Back: disagree! I love this episode! The gang are so horrible I think there’s a lot of humor in pairing them up with kids (also why I love Frank Reynolds’ Little Beauties). I love Mac and Dee competing to be head coach and I love the horrible dangerous things they tell the kids to do. I love that Frank “trying to bond” with Dennis turns out to be a ruse for Frank’s gambling, something Dennis doesn’t at all seem surprised by, which says so much about Dennis and Dee’s childhood without even directly mentioning it. I even think Charlie using AA to flirt with The Waitress while she’s only interested in Dennis is funny. And it’s hilarious that Frank chastises Dennis for sleeping with The Waitress when he knew Charlie likes her when Frank did literally the exact same thing lol. Just a very funny one for me I think all the character dynamic are really good and the kids are funny.

Sweet Dee’s Dating a: Agree! You found my least favorite episode! Congratulations! I hate it so much even the band parts and Dennis’ slutty little outfit don’t save it for me, which trust me is saying a lot about how bad the rest of the episode is. It’s just. Ugh. Similar issue as the others where it’s one thing for the characters to be ableist, but the narrative itself is ableist too. And it’s not even funny like. Even the band parts aren’t funny beyond their outfits to me. Yeah the scene of Dennis helping Charlie when he’s upset is cute but even that doesn’t save it for me. It’s hard for me to even think about this episode without my blood pressure rising. It’s both boring and offensive! Worst combo. I’ve watched this one as few times as I’ve watch Charlie has Cancer but this one sticks in my mind more in a bad way which is why I say it’s worse for me but who knows maybe if I rewatched both I’d feel differently. But I don’t want to lol.

Thundergun Express: disagree. This one’s another really funny one to me. The whole “we’ll come back for youuuuu” running gag is great to me every time, I love Frank’s awful boat tour where he just rambles about his chaotic life, I love that they’re all so excited for the dong, I love Mac stealing a motorcycle, failing to drive it, and abandoning it in the middle of the street, I love the sewer (yeah, that’s shit in my hair) and I think Frank calling in a bomb threat because he’s so upset he didn’t make it is a fantastic ending. Dennis’ plot is pretty weak but that’s my only criticism, the rest makes me laugh and there’s a lot of great quotable lines from this one.

[neil-gaiman]

‘Ello Neil!

Season 1 Episode 5 when Shadwell is talking about what the Thundergun can fire, Aziraphale dismisses silver bullets as being for werewolves and garlic as being for vampires. Is he just dismissing this as folktale stuff or is there any substance? Do you imagine that other supernatural beings aside from angels and demons such as vampires or faeries exist in the Good Omens universe?

I have pondered this a great deal. I don't think all of the four horsemen of the apocalypse are Angels or Demons. But they aren't werewolves either, or fairies. (There was a story that didn't make it into Season 2 with a djinn in it. But they fit into Islamic theology.)

[charmac]

Mac in Thundergun 4: Maximum Cool

[thefirstknife]

Drifter: 'Ey, Thunderguns! How's it feel to be Taken? Sloane: Let's back up. What did you call me? Drifter: You... don't like it? Sloane: Why don't I put my Taken boot up your orifice, and then you can answer both those questions yourself? Drifter: Don't threaten me with a good time, sister. Ha ha!

How is this a real interaction. I am speechless. 10/10

[macden]

happy “thundergun, hoagies, and four extra seconds dedicated solely to the dong shot? buddy, that’s what i’m thankful for” day to all who celebrate

[coldbloodace]

Ok so you remember that bit in the book where Crowley and Aziraphale hold hands? And are broken up by Shadwell?

Specifically this part-

Aziraphale held out his hand. "Nice knowing you," he said. Crowley took it. "Here's to the next time," he said. "And… Aziraphale?" "Yes." "Just remember I'll have known that, deep down inside, you were just enough of a bastard to be worth liking." There was a scuffing noise, and they were pushed aside by the small but dynamic shape of Shadwell, waving the Thundergun purposefully.

While we got this dialogue, we never got this particular moment of them holding hands and standing against Satan.

But there's no reason that we might not get this moment in season 3. Like, we got that conversation about ineffability in season 2, so parts of the book that weren't used before are being put in the next seasons

If this moment does occur(and I really want it to), it will probably be against Heaven and Hell, and them standing on humanity's side, this time stronger than before.

I just want them to hold hands okay?

Also what's even the point if we don't atleast get one proper hand holding scene

[ariaste]

I just read your theory and I'm SO blown away by it! I was skeptical at first (I know how bad the theorizing for Supernatural and Sherlock got) but honestly your analysis is incredibly sound compared to those. You took all the things that rubbed me wrong about this season and recontextualized them so well!

Here are some things that I also noticed:

The depiction of Job's misery seems ... out of order. Jumbled, even. I re-read the entire Book of Job as preparation for s2 and he isn't stricken with boils/bad health until *after* he finds out about the destruction of his children and property. I figured that someone as well-versed in mythology as Neil (especially when it comes to Judaism/Old Testament stuff) wouldn't necessarily present it that way. It really took me out of the loop - and that might also be why Aziraphale looks pensive after revisiting the memory, and why he seemed to want to ask Crowley about it. So much is just slightly off-kilter there, like it's a botched rewrite or a conflicting memory.

And Dalrymple. We've heard of him before. He's the guy crazy enough to devise a thundergun that fires silver bullets, garlic, and bricks to hunt witches with. And THIS guy is suddenly a very sane, very grounded, "why the hell would I put myself in danger to go bodysnatching" surgeon type? Witchfinder Dalrymple and Surgeon Dalrymple may be two different people, but what's the point in that? Dalrymple is such a stupidly distinct name. It smacks of the Metatron taking a random person and repurposing them for the edited version of a story.

Then again, the historical minisodes weren't entirely written by Neil and so they're the most prone to genuine mistakes and inconsistencies. Idk how much Neil got to meddle with the details there but I choose to believe your theory anyway, it just fits too well :'D

"And Dalrymple. We've heard of him before. He's the guy crazy enough to devise a thundergun that fires silver bullets, garlic, and bricks to hunt witches with." OOOOOOOOOHHHHHH SHIT i forgot about that! FASCINATING! WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN. I will reverently add that pushpin to my murderboard and contemplate yarn choices, thank you for this

[ferallair]

The Minisodes are a Mirror

I've been thinking about the minisodes and how they are a mirror for the three part story we're currently in the middle of and I just wanted to collect my thoughts a bit.

#1 - The Clue/A Companion to Owls

This is a mirror for season 1. Crowley and Aziraphale joining together to defy Heaven and Hell to save humanity. There are a ton of interesting things happening in this episode. Aziraphale trusts Crowley not to destroy the children. Aziraphale eating that entire cow. It's insane, the gluttony of it. It means something about him and his connection to earthly things. They even use the ribs (that he licked clean btw) for their little ruse against the angels. For some reason it brings to mind the body swap in season 1. Aziraphale learns to possess a human(something he's probably not supposed to do, like eating) and use that new skill to fool Heaven and Hell. But the most important in this sitting together at the end.

So sad.

They're sitting on a nice rock that looks like a bench, as far apart from each other as they can get. It's a reflection of where they were in season 1: together but apart. An angel and a demon who go along with their side but only as much as they want. Not and Us yet (which they still aren't).

A few other questions I had:

Turning the goats to crows, why? Crowley has a crow statue on his desk in season one. Connected? A memento of that time?

Aziraphale says he is on "Gods" side. Is that a nice little side step that allows him to defy other angels but still be "the good one?" Or a foreshadowing of what's to come next season?

Crowley says the wine is from a "promising little vineyard" Châteauneuf-du-Pape perhaps?

All the angels and demons assume you can cause humans to fall in love with miracles, but Aziraphale KNOWS you can't. I wonder about that story.

#2 - I Know Where I'm Going/The Resurrectionist

This minisode is a mirror for the current season. It starts with Crowley and Aziraphale puzzling over a half naked Gabriel only to be distracted by a lesbian couple and basically ruin their lives by trying to help.

Look at that thigh.

Sure, Azripahle gives Elspeth a bunch of money, but we never find out what really happens to her. Not yet anyway. The more important part is the argument about doing wicked or immoral things for the greater good. The reuse of the name Dalrymple is interesting because it's a call back to The Thundergun of Witchfinder Colonel Dalrymple aka the gun Aziraphale tries to shoot Adam with. And it foreshadows the end of the season with Aziraphale leaving Crowley and going to heaven (something everyone on the internet is SCREAMING is wrong, including me!!) because he thinks he can do something good by it. But is it wrong? I guess we'll find out.

Some interesting things:

More foreshadowing? Is God gone? There is a conspicuous absence of the voice of God in this season, except for her half heard diatribe to Job. If she's around, is she only talking to humans?

Michael's Prophecy:

"There will come a tempest, and darkness and great storms. And the dead will leave their graves and walk the earth once more. And there will be great lamentations. (Everyday it’s getting closer)"

It's definitely foreshadowing the next episode, which is full of darkness and explosions and clouds and fog. But I think it's also a prophecy of what's to come in season 3. Just like:

#3 - The Hitchhiker/Nazi Zombie Flesheaters

I think this minisode is just one big foreshadow for season 3 and that's why it doesn't make a lot of sense yet. So, let's look at where the furniture isn't and see if we can guess some things? Feel free to play along at home.

But first can we look at the titles of these three episodes:

The Clue - A Companion to Owls. Is the clue the companion to owls? Job? Or is the clue in the meaning of owls: wisdom and sorrow? The Clue in the framing story is the song "Everyday" and a quote "I remember when the Morning Stars sang together, and all the Angels of God shouted for joy." The sorrow of owls is their song, the sound they make represents lamenting, so music might be important next season. (Didn't King David have something to do with music? Or is that just a song I know?) Crows are enemies of Owls and Crowley has a thing for Crows, the statue, the goats, the book he gives Muriel.

I Know Where I'm Going - The Resurrectionist. I know where I'm going can mean "I know what I'm doing" (trust me) or "I know what direction I'm going in" and that direction is to to Resurrectionist! It's literally what happens in this epsiode: everyone goes to the Resurrectionist in the past AND the present. Or maybe it's a metaphor for death, a place everyone (human) goes. Or maybe The Resurrectionist, who represents the Metatron, the moral quandary of doing bad things for good reasons, represents NOT listening to God or yourself (and thinking you know what you're doing), but falling for the lies of people who claim to be doing good when they're actually not. There is also the Ressurectionist as metaphor for rising from the dead and there is a lot of hints about coming back from the dead this season: Lazarus as a unit of measure, the word Ressurectionist, literal zombies, talk of a second coming, probably more stuff I can't remember.

The Hitchhiker - Nazi Zombie Flesheaters. So “The Hitchhiker” is a short radio play by screenwriter Lucille Fletcher. It was first presented in 1941 on the Orson Welles Show and was later made into and episode of the Twilight Zone. It's also the name of a horror anthology TV show from the 80's, which is fitting for this episode, because it feels like an episode of the Twilight Zone or a horror anthology story. Mostly because of the literal Nazi Zombie Flesheaters and a good dose of "be careful what you wish for" moralizing.

So what can this episode tell us about next season? I have a couple of thoughts:

We have the idea of human magic. These zombies aren't just anyone, they are occultist Nazi's that were meeting with Aziraphale in season 1 to buy books of prophecy. They particularly wanted the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, reminding us that some kind of real human magic exists, and that these Nazi's know about it (and they are now undead Zombies roaming the earth). There is also the mention of Free Masons, a secret organization that may or may not be into the occult. I suspect we'll see some kind of human occult/magic in season 3. Which make's sense with the second coming because by some accounts Jesus was an occult magician in his day.

We also have human magic. The regular stage kind. Here it is used as a kind of trust fall for Aziraphale and Crowley.

So sweet.

I suspect the boys will be placed in a situation where they will have to trust each other or die. Maybe there will even be a lose of power like this time. But they will definitely have to trick someone using mundane means. All three minisodes are about tricks (and arguably the whole season), the three ribs turning into the children, the melting the corpse and stealing the laudanum, the whole magic show episode. There will be a tricks, illusions, making things seem like they aren't. If there isn't I might be sad.