If you’ve been searching for a new show to binge this summer, look no further than Good Omens, which follows the combined story of a cynical, yet somewhat thoughtful demon named Crowley, and a sensitive, careful angel named Aziraphale. The two unlikely friends, who began adapting to life on Earth at the beginning of time, agree to team up together to stop the Antichrist and prevent Armageddon (AKA the final battle between Heaven and Hell, AKA the end of the world).
While the original book was released by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett in 1990, the television series was released on Amazon Prime Video on May 31 of this year. In the show, the voice of God (Frances McDormand, our queen) narrates the 6,000-year-long story of Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) and Crowley (David Tennant). Saying that this cast was perfectly chosen to portray this ineffable story is totally an understatement.
Against the wishes of their higher authorities, the angel and the demon continue to secretly meet up at various spots on Earth. In one episode, we are taken through a montage of Aziraphale and Crowley witnessing several milestones throughout time –– including the day that animals boarded Noah’s Ark, the day Jesus was nailed to the cross, and when Hamlet was first performed on stage. The pair also meet to talk in St. James’s Park and dine at the Ritz in London as they grow and change with the times.
While they obviously have their differences, they agree that they simply enjoy life on Earth too much to witness the Antichrist bring about the end of the world. Aziraphale and Crowley decide that if they both work to influence Adam Young, the son of Satan, he will hopefully grow up to be a more normal person and will decide not to begin Armageddon.
Fans are praising Good Omens for a number of reasons––it’s undeniably relatable, funny and heartfelt––yet many appreciate it for one rationale in particular: While it is an unapologetic love story, the show has no clear focus on physical attraction whatsoever.
Although the two never dare to admit it out loud (at least, they haven’t yet… the fandom is still waiting), the angel and the demon obviously grow to love each other. In all six current episodes of the series, Aziraphale and Crowley never share a kiss or any discernible loving embrace, yet it is still clear that they are both doing everything in their power to prevent themselves from falling in love.
The pair spend their time on Earth performing random miracles for each other and helping each other through trying situations, even though they are supposed to be enemies. Crowley asks Aziraphale several times throughout the show if he would like to stay at “his place” or “go off together” in the face of adversity, while the angel continues to insist that they are not really friends. Crowley also asserts that himself and Zira are on their “own” side, rather than the sides of Hell and Heaven, as a result of their conspiring. Not to mention, the two have their fair share of loving and longing glances throughout the show.
While all of this may be, Good Omens doesn’t actually include any of the hallmark, tell-tale signs that an average love story might have, yet it is just as moving and powerful as any other modern romance. The show does not include any physical intimacy between Zira and Crowley, and while we’re still unsure of the reason why, the audience is left with that same, intensely satisfying feeling after watching their love story unfold––and in today’s world, that message is unquestionably important.
It’s also pretty refreshing that the two main characters appear to be roughly middle-aged. Many of their trials and tribulations are extremely relatable as well. Aziraphale and Crowley are much less entitled supernatural entities than they are human-like beings. Ironically, the two share a reputable love for life on Earth that many of us mere mortals seem to take for granted.
Their attachment to the world is the result of their passion for life’s simple pleasures––meeting for lunch at a restaurant, reading at a bookstore, feeding ducks in a pond, drinking alcohol, and in Crowley’s case, driving his well-preserved Bentley through the streets of central London at 90 mph––which are all made largely unavailable to them in their respective worlds. In their fight to stop Armageddon, Aziraphale and Crowley are also fighting to preserve the innocence and pleasure they have found new ways to share together from century to century.
I’ll let you go and enjoy the best parts on your own––just do yourself a favor and “saunter vaguely downwards” to this ineffable love story.