PATREON EXCLUSIVE: GOOD OMENS SEASON 2
Added 2023-08-11 17:00:08 +0000 UTCHello Patrons! Here's a cute lil vid on good omens and what I thought of season 2 :D I hope this ramble about queer media is entertaining and enjoyable! :D
Comments
I absolutely can see Aziraphale's action at the end being in-character. However i cannot ignore how weirdly depicted the back-and-forth flashback scene with the metatron was. And how quickly aziraphale's demanour changed throughout. From "i made my position quite clear/i dont want to go back to heaven", him worriedly entering the bookshop only to then be suddenly euphoric inside, telling crowley about this FANTASTIC news and it being so important that he would leave crowley for it after he confessed his feelings (kinda). I dunno...Anyway! I feel the same about being more invested with this type of sad queer stories. Where sadness is succumbing to conformity rather than aching to be able to conform. I think that is also why i love crowley and aziraphale both as characters seperately as well as a unit. Crowley was always secure with his outsider status. He clearly distances himself from other sides which makes him lonely but he couldnt be anything else. Aziraphale always had that streak of his own outside-ish thoughts but struggles to accept it. His own morals come through/develop bit by bit through the years but it's a long proccess. He still is bound by heaven in a way. But it also gives him a different perspective than crowley and he clearly has a different sense of responsibility bc of it. (->for crowley the problem is solved by running. Losing connection to heaven, hell and earth isnt as big of a consequence as losing each other. For aziraphale the answer is fixing it so heaven, hell and earth can persist bc he wants to protect. But also bc 'each other' cant exist without those structures)
Hau_K
2023-12-07 23:37:47 +0000 UTCi became a patreon right now 'cause i saw your tweet and was so curious to listen to your input on this show, its truly amazing and different, but of course i want to personally hunt down neil gaiman for this heart wrenching 6th episode
Giselle Santos
2023-10-06 02:41:31 +0000 UTCQueer sadness as a tragic inability to actively defy/reject the cisheteronormative system in order to fully embrace queer love/culture/life, rather than an unfulfillable yearning to avoid mistreatment and violence by quietly assimilating into the oppressive structures that hurt queer people in the first place... As emphatically as I can possibly hurl my total agreement at you: 📢 ✨🌈 YES 🌈✨ This is why, even though Good Omens and Our Flag Means Death absolutely put my heart and soul through a woodchipper, and I'm STILL feeling that simmering pain weeks/months/years later, I'm not actually MAD at those shows like I'm mad at stories centering around "it's VERY sad that we're queer because it can ONLY mean a life of pain and rejection and hatred and we can NEVER be happy like those who thrive inside the system that condemns us as vile & wicked." That's why I'm still willing to watch GO & OFMD despite being allergic to tragedy (it makes me itchy, makes my brain go brrrrrr in a very bad way). The fact that the two main pairings split apart IS gut-wrenching, obviously, but both stories have clearly left an opening for them to find their way back to each other, to make their way to an ending that's happy BECAUSE they get to be their queer selves, not DESPITE being there queer selves. The narrative, as far as I can tell, will use their tragedies as a springboard for the characters to eventually Learn Their Final Boss Lessons, and fully reject compulsory conformity in a "polite/traditional" society that never made them happy (could never possibly make them happy, never even wanted or tried to make them happy), and embrace their "strange" (queer!), "deviant" selves.
Hoagie Jay
2023-09-23 18:33:02 +0000 UTCGO2 just hits so different than in ANY "will-they-won't-they" story I've ever seen or read period, full-stop. It's been 3 weeks and most of my FYP lists are still riddled with GO content, it's insane lmao. Like, I don't see this as an L for queer rep at all. This is a big W, we got confirmation, even if they did break up just right after. It feels like narratively-speaking this is the break-up scene budding romances hit before the big reconciliation for season 3. Speaking of, they really did leave a breadcrumb trail onto the next season, besides the coffee scene. Now that I've rewatched show like 3 times, I just realized... we're also getting some more new info on Crowley. We've long known Crowley was an angel before, but who was he exactly that he was able to open those files? Why did he give that specific book for Muriel to read? Feels oddly specific, not just the crow motif, but I feel like it could be a clue. Will that possibly be a mystery we're going to find out in the season? And the bigger question... how soon will studios agree to give a better wage and protections to writers so we can the GO train running again?? C'mon excecs, post-production takes a long time, let's go lol
Juicebox08
2023-08-18 18:38:57 +0000 UTCI have a lot of optimism for the 'gay people with problems that aren't homophobia' approach. I feel like the scifi book scene has been coming in strong lately with Murderbot Diaries, the Locked Tomb, the Broken Earth and the Imperial Radch where the cast is just struggling to fit the queer stuff they wanna do into the fight against capitalism and empire and racism
Kuro
2023-08-13 18:47:05 +0000 UTCI think Metatron's emphasis on the coffee was him showing Aziraphale that he was giving humanity a chance. Other angels were always disgusted with human food. Even Muriel wasn't willing to drink the tea but Megatron's pitch was that he liked humanity too, that he /gets/ why Aziraphale loves them. 'ive consumed human food in my time' he says. I think Aziraphale was enamored with finding an ally from /his/ side. Even without Crowley, he's not going back to heaven alone.
Willla Cohn
2023-08-13 00:36:14 +0000 UTCMe and my friend have theory: so the Metratron asks Nina if anyone ever asks for death when they go to her coffee shop. And we were thinking that maybe that's what he offered to Aziraphale: take this coffee (come with me in Heaven with or without you boyfriend) or choose death (i'll cross you both from the Book of life and you would never have existed). So thats why he goes anyway. He has to, he just wanted Crowley to be there with him as well. Anyway, thank you for the video, loved it!
Irina Luca
2023-08-12 17:12:23 +0000 UTC14:06 Zero Fail had me rolling
Mack Thompson
2023-08-12 11:30:34 +0000 UTCI absolutely loved your interpretation of the rejection scene and I agree that this was a very refreshing type of representation. I also enjoyed Beelzebub and Gabriel's relationship, even if it didn't really get a lot of attention (another non binary transmasc gets to fall in love in a relationship that involves a Jim!). As a sidenote, I wonder if you have seen the Tumblr discourse surrounding Gaiman's previous comments on Aziraphale/Crowley? Back in 2002 he wrote a blog entry in which he stated "I still find the idea of Good Omens slash fiction fairly mindboggling." And yet, some days ago he implied in a Tumblr ask that Terry and him, when planning the novel's sequel, had thought of turning the relationship between these characters to more than platonic... Anyway, while I find that discussion to be quite entertaining, I am very happy with the season 2 we have and the explicit romance. I will eagerly wait for season 3.
Aidén Lisandro
2023-08-12 03:37:10 +0000 UTCThis is really wonderful to see from the perspective of an older person--Good Omens was one of the first books I bought as soon as I could get to a bookstore unsupervised. That was about 25 years ago, and I've followed Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett since then. In the tv series, I see one of the oldest, most common experiences a queer person can have--falling for a friend who you think can't or won't return your feelings. This hits for me on a couple levels, and I think the most relevant one a lot of folks felt. The saddest line in the whole season for me was Crowley saying "It's too late. It's always too late." But when it was said, it was obvious that it wasn't a forgone conclusion. It wasn't the end of the series, or the season, or even the episode, so something was going to change. On a more personal level as a follower of GO and a young asexual pan-and-demiromantic person, it wasn't even about erasure, because folks often never get far enough to know they're being erased--it was about confirmation that those things weren't imagined, as they seemed to be back when words like asexual and demiromantic didn't exist--and when NG and TP insisted that the novel wasn't about a romantic relationship, because many people saw that in it even then. It felt like closure and validation for a 14(ish) year old who never got it, and I love so much that it's out there now, and many others won't have to wait so long to see someone in a common forum say that no, they weren't imagining feelings or parts of their identity, and yes, it was hard to deal with, and no, it wasn't the unresolvable end--as much for them as for beings as old as time. For me, that was the catharsis. Seeing discussions and comments like this that start from the place so many older people felt stuck is great, especially when I thought GO was something it was much too late to see change or resolution in. And for anyone worried, Neil Gaiman has said that even if the show isn't renewed, he'll write a novel completing the story (source NG's tumblr, https://www.tumblr.com/neil-gaiman/724748056077254656/ive-watched-the-recently-released-season-2-of)
Iris
2023-08-11 22:44:47 +0000 UTCI have Thoughts™ about the coffee theory. And my own Coffee theory. First of all, if Aziraphael is drugged, then we don't have this wonderful "wanting to destroy the institutions that oppress us VS wanting to join the institutions that oppress us" queer infight that you so beautifully described. We have no fight, no tragedy, no need for our celestial entities to grow in any way next season. So I don't think the almond syrup was suspect. But. I absolutely agree with you that it was focused on for a reason. That this tasty coffee was indicative of control and manipulation. And my reasoning, amusingly enough, comes from learning about why a powerful religious institution DENIES its members coffee. Last winter I watched an video wherein a specialist on cults rated aspects of Mormonism for how high they rate on a scale used to identify cults through specific behaviors. He mentioned The Mormon Church bans/heavily taboos caffeinated drinks, purportedly for health reasons. (God wants you to have good blood pressure or something) And what he said about this caffeine drink rule was very interesting. He said that people can be groomed to obey you through asking you to obey them for smaller, more inconsequential things. I have also heard a researcher discuss this phenomenon on the celebrated science podcast, "Hidden Brain". That guy said studies find that if you can get someone to do something small for you, like hand you something, they become significantly more likely to do something big for you, like give you money. That is what the Mormon Church is doing. In getting their members to stay away from caffeinated drinks, they groom them to follow the Church's guidance in other, larger life choices. When Metatron handed Aziraphael the drink, he ordered him to drink it. It was done playfully, but it still enforced a relationship between them - one in which Metatron is in charge, Aziraphael recognizes his authority, and follows his lead. The fact that this dynamic is enforced through the gift of a soothing, comforting latte hides the nature of what is happening, while still allowing the subconscious dynamic to be enforced. While that may seem fast for grooming, remember Aziraphael has been groomed to obey Heaven since before time. Literally. This is just a top up. And that is my Coffee theory. Now that I've finally gotten this out of my head I'm going to copypaste and edit it for posting onto Tumblr.
Justsome_sentientmatter
2023-08-11 21:45:24 +0000 UTCLoved the video!! I hadn’t thought about the ending of the show in that way, but I definitely agree with your thoughts on sadness and angst over the lack of queer fulfillment. Personally, I am not one for the Coffee Theory (no hate to anyone who supports it ofc), I think the emphasis on the Metatron having Aziraphale drink the latte was to show he was manipulating him emotionally, doing this kind thing for Aziraphale that would lower his guard and make him more willing to do what the Metatron wants him to do (accept the position of Supreme Archangel, likely to be further manipulated). The smile at the end didn’t really make sense to me, but now I think it might be showing that Aziraphale, ever the optimist, is trying to convince himself that he made the best choice, focusing on his hopes for doing good in Heaven rather than his grief over Crowley. But those are just my gay thoughts. I also wanted to quickly say thank you, your first Good Omens video is actually what got me into the series, and the show kind of changed my life, not to be too dramatic, so thanks, I’m really grateful for all your work :) (sorry for the long ass comment)
vrosedraws
2023-08-11 20:28:21 +0000 UTCi agree completely i really love the idea of the sadness and angst in queer media revolving around not being able to participate in Queer life as opposed to Cishet life thats such a good way of looking at it. i dont know if its my personal experiences but ever since our flag means death its felt like maybe we are shifting away from queerbaiting as there's been so many shows that have relationships with all the makings of a queerbait but aren't. what we do in the shadows is another example i think. but yeah s2 really felt like a win for the gays despite, but honestly because of, the angst!!
lily
2023-08-11 19:01:41 +0000 UTC<3
Annerieke
2023-08-11 18:30:50 +0000 UTCI loved this video! I have my own takes on why Aziraphale acted the way he did at the end but I won't get into that. I completely agree with everything you said. I want the juicy relationship drama that often happens in straight media without reminding me about.. well, homophobia. Another thing I loved about Good Omens was that the words "queer", or "gay", or "lesbian" were never said once, because the queer characters were just.. There? It's difficult to explain lol. Kind of how I feel about Our Flag Means Death. Really, I'm just excited for more queer media like OFMD and Good Omens to come out.
Aerianna Grajciar
2023-08-11 17:27:40 +0000 UTCAwesome video, i've been very excited to hear your thoughts! Something I love about the ending but also breaks my heart is they are both rejecting the other. They both want to be together but both have moral grounds that are currently integral to who they are as individuals. Of course I hope the S3 arch for Azi involves him learning he can't fix the system but I think it is very in character at present.
Megan
2023-08-11 17:23:52 +0000 UTCyess!!! so excited for this ! :D
apelsindipp
2023-08-11 17:04:51 +0000 UTC
