After a four-year wait and many questions as to what exactly a new season would consist of, Good Omens is back for a sophomore season. The first one was a self-contained adaptation of the original novel, co-written by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett back in the late 1980s. The six episodes of the first TV season covered the whole novel, but Gaiman and Pratchett plotted a sequel that they never got to write. According to Gaiman, this second season, also produced by Amazon and BBC Studios, is the bridge to the hypothetical continuation of the novel.
So, let’s dive in and see what happened after the Apocalypse-that-wasn’t.
Note: Each episode recap will include spoilers for that episode and the previous ones only. I have seen the entire season (and believe me, I have thoughts), but I will try to keep these reviews contained to the episodes as they proceed. Except for episode six, in which I will…well, we’ll get there when we get there. If you want to watch Good Omens season two, I highly recommend avoiding spoilers if you can. Make your own judgments, people!
1. Before the Beginning
Season one of Good Omens starts in the Garden of Eden, with the fall of man. But before the business with the apple and the temptation of Eve, the stage had to be set. We know that Crowley, the demon with a heart of … well, maybe not gold, but something good anyway, was involved in creating the stars before the war that split Heaven and Hell asunder. In the opening scene of Good Omens season two, we see him as an angel creating the Horsehead Nebula, with a little help from an angel passing by, who happens to be Aziraphale.
The creation of angel Crowley’s is beautiful, and he marvels at the sight, seeming giddy and carefree, which stands in stark contrast to the grumpy, cynical demon Crowley we know and love. But when Aziraphale informs him that the galaxies were created as wallpaper, only to be around for 6,000 years (in following the Biblical timeline of creation, earth, and the coming of the Antichrist), Crowley’s enthusiasm wanes. He can’t see why God would create such beauty, only to snuff it out. It’s the beginning of Crowley’s trouble, though, because we know from season one that he became a fallen angel for asking too many questions.
As a meteor shower rains down on them, baby angel Crowley covers Aziraphale with his wing. This shot mirrors one of the best moments of season one, in which Aziraphale offers his wing to Crowley to shelter under as they both watch the first rain falling on earth as Adam and Eve leave the Garden of Eden. Though we don’t know if they remember this encounter later, it’s a sweet moment that rewards fans who have been speculating for years about Crowley’s past as an angel. We don’t get to know his name, but we see him, smiling and curly-haired, full of joy and wonder at the beauty of creation. And we see Aziraphale, already full of worry and eager to judge.
2. Mad (Naked) Men
Flashing forward to the present day, we’re back in London, specifically Soho, where a disappointed shop owner is convinced she’ll have to close her business. Maggie sells vinyl records in a cute shop across from A.Z. Fell & Co., the bookstore where the (retired) angel Aziraphale tries as hard as he can not to sell books. But Aziraphale, who owns the building, forgives her overdue rent, since “forgiveness is one of [his] favorite things.” Maggie celebrates by going over the road to the coffee shop, where Nina, her crush works.
Maggie’s attempts at flirting with Nina go over her head, and they’re interrupted by a spectacle in the streets of Soho: a naked man wandering the streets of London. The former archangel Gabriel, played by an eagerly earnest and silly Jon Hamm, is wandering the streets with no memory. He comes to the bookshop because he believes nothing terrible will happen to him if he does. This presents a conundrum for Aziraphale, since last season Gabriel tried to kill him.
3. Count to Ten(th Doctor)
It doesn’t take long for Hell’s new agent on earth to find out via the grapevine that “something is up” in Heaven. Crowley’s replacement on earth, a demon named Shax played by Miranda Richardson (who was Madame Tracy in the first season), tells Crowley about the new development and hints that she knows he still talks to Aziraphale.
Continued belowBut when he encounters Gabriel (now going by “Jim, short for James, short for Gabriel”) in the bookshop, Crowley is considerably less tolerant than Aziraphale. He wants nothing to do with Gabriel and urges Aziraphale to take him somewhere and dump him. When Aziraphale refuses, this causes the demon/angel pair to squabble like the old married non-couple they are. Crowley leaves in a huff, trying to stave off his anxiety by counting to ten and then blasting the street with lightning.
(Crowley shouting “ten!” is (presumably) one of many, many, many Doctor Who references in this season of Good Omens. There were a handful of references in the first season but even more in this one. Don’t try to play a drinking game with them unless you’re prepared to drink!)
4. Alarm Bells in Heaven
Crowley’s fit of anger sent a bolt of lightning to earth and disrupted the power in the coffee shop, locking Nina and Maggie inside. Maggie hopes to kindle something with the coffee shop owner, but Nina is worried about her overbearing partner. At the same time, up in Heaven, a minor angel named Muriel finds a matchbox near the elevator that leads to Hell. Since “material objects” aren’t allowed in Heaven, this causes a great deal of consternation and tells the archangels that Gabriel has gone to earth.
Lord Beelzebub (now played by Shelley Conn), tells Crowley that anyone who is caught hiding the missing Gabriel will be erased from existence. Unable to bear the thought that Aziraphale might be removed from the Book of Life, Crowley returns to the bookshop and apologizes via an “apology dance” that looks like the mating ritual of a long-legged goth bird. Aziraphale accepts and, together, they perform a teeny tiny miracle to hide Gabriel from both Heaven and Hell. They think they’re being sneaky and hiding their involvement from both sides …. But they’re not. The archangels Michael and Uriel stop their squabbling over who is in charge long enough to agree that Aziraphale is involved with Gabriel’s disappearance.
5. Bits and Bobs
This is the part where I repeat that I’m a huge Good Omens fan, so a lot of what I say is colored by the fact that this story hasn’t left my brain for long in four years. Seeing the bookshop again, seeing David Tennant and Michael Sheen do their “we’re not supposed to get along but secretly we do” thing again, hearing the opening theme again…it all gives me (and other fans out there) a powerful feeling of nostalgia and comfort. A lot of the things I noticed and loved are things the average person may not have picked up on or remembered. These little nods to the book or to Terry Pratchett’s writing are catnip to fans but go over other people’s heads. It’s the same challenge faced by long-running series like Star Trek, Doctor Who and even the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Crowley yelling about ducks is fun to me because I know the callback; Crowley ranting about ducks to someone who doesn’t get the reference is a weird interruption in the dialogue. Good Omens 2 relies an awful lot on these callbacks and the sheer chemistry between Tennant and Sheen, which is an utter joy to watch.
In terms of the look and feel of Good Omens 2, I think it’s an upgrade overall, at least in this episode. The coloring seems more natural and there’s more footage of the world around the bookshop since it was filmed on a set and not the actual streets of London. Although Crowley’s hair is a strangely purple shade of red, the rest of his look is perfectly matched to season one, as is Aziraphale’s. And because this season isn’t as beholden to the original source material, there’s less jumping around between characters and timelines, which makes for a smoother viewing overall. The gang is back, and in episode one at least, delivers a happy return to the things that fans like me loved about the first season.
Next week, we’ll see the first “minisode,” where Aziraphale and Crowley witness the bet between God and Satan concerning the soul of poor Job. And in the present, Aziraphale will find a Clue with a capital C.
