sonseulsoleil:

I wanna talk about the difference between Crowley’s reaction to Aziraphale describing his actions as “kind” in 1942, and his reaction to Aziraphale calling him “nice” on their way to see Sister Mary. It’s been bugging me since I first watched the show. Why are his reactions so drastically different? Aziraphale is expressing pretty much the exact same sentiment in both instances, but in one Crowley’s reaction is just to simply shrug it off, and in the other, he gets extremely frustrated and slams Aziraphale into a wall to yell at him. 

Something must’ve happened between 1942 and the present, that changed Crowley’s reaction to Aziraphale calling him nice. I mean, something had to have happened, for Crowley to go from shrugging off “kind” and flipping out over “nice”–there has to be a reason. 

And, assuming the show didn’t hide anything from the audience, there’s really just one major thing that happened that changed their relationship: “You go to fast for me, Crowley.” 

“You go too fast for me,” is simultaneously the moment Aziraphale rejects Crowley, and the moment that Crowley realizes that Aziraphale has romantic feelings for him. It isn’t simply Aziraphale saying he doesn’t feel the same. It’s Aziraphale saying that he does feel the same, that he loves Crowley, but that he’s still afraid, still stuck on the fact that they’re supposed to be enemies, that it’s against the rules. 

Essentially: I love you, but you’re a demon, so we can’t be together, yet. Or possibly ever. 

So, Crowley is now acutely aware how Aziraphale feels, but also that Aziraphale’s love for him doesn’t outweigh his fear, or his ingrained belief in the righteousness of heaven. It doesn’t matter how kind or nice or good Crowley is, Crowley is still a demon, and they’re still “enemies” technically. They can’t be together. 

I think, from Crowley’s perspective, when Aziraphale calls him “nice” it’s a bit of an emotional slap in the face. It’s not just Aziraphale teasing Crowley to get a rise out of him, it’s Aziraphale (probably unknowingly) poking at the very wounds he’s inflicted. He’s reminding Crowley that, yes, he does see good in Crowley and care about Crowley. But it’s not enough. 

Crowley angrily reminds Aziraphale that he’s a demon, and that he’s not nice, and it’s as if he’s saying “you’re not allowed to say I’m nice! isn’t the whole reason you turned me down because I’m a demon? Because I’m evil?” 

At the end of the show, Aziraphale calls Crowley nice again, and this time Crowley responds by calling Aziraphale a bastard, in the most loving way possible. It doesn’t bother Crowley to be called nice this time, because now they’re on their own side, Aziraphale isn’t holding back anymore, isn’t afraid anymore, and Crowley isn’t going too fast anymore.

intelligencehavingfun:

Okay, but, do you know what we’re not talking about enough? The body swap scene.

So, in my opinion, the mark of a good plot twist is that you shouldn’t see it coming the first time around, but the second time through, you should wonder how you possibly missed it. The body swap scene is that 100%.

David Tennant plays Aziraphale-as-Crowley almost identically to how he plays Crowley. The exceptions are marvelous to watch – seeing the Bentley is my favorite, when Aziraphale-as-Crowley smiles more broadly and easily than Crowley ever lets himself until the end dinner at the Ritz be still my heart.

But in Hell? No discernible difference. The swagger is there. The casual seeming disregard for the danger he’s in. Seriously, the energy of his entrance when he’s brought into the courtroom is identical to his “Hi, guys” in the graveyard at the beginning.

I love this. Because it’s how Aziraphale would play it. Hell doesn’t frighten Aziraphale the way Heaven does. Demons are, in his book, straightforward. He just has to out-intimidate them, and Crowley already does that. So be Crowley, and that’ll do the deed. And he knows Crowley well enough to pull it off without a single hesitation. The only time it felt even slightly not-quite-right (in terms of not questioning that it was Crowley) was the utterly amazing little nose wrinkle. And I’ll forgive Aziraphale that – he knows he’s won; he can gloat a little.

But MICHAEL SHEEN, FRIENDS.

Crowley-as-Aziraphale is a completely different story because Crowley is not as good at the facade as Aziraphale is. 

He almost is. When Crowley-as-Aziraphale is getting dragged away by the angels? That reads as Aziraphale 100%. But in the park with Aziraphale-as-Crowley? In the bookshop? And especially in Heaven opposite the angels? That is so obviously Not-Aziraphale that I DO NOT KNOW how I missed it the first time through. And that is a testament to Michael Sheen’s talent.

Aziraphale is a being who shows emotion with his entire self. He is never still, not his hands, not his body, not his face. Everything he is feeling plays out across every inch of him. He is effusive and genuine and has no idea how to push away any emotion even a little bit.

Think of all the other times we see him in Heaven! He’s nervous, he’s anxious, he’s flustered, he’s doing that thing with his voice and his face when confronted with these beings who genuinely terrify him. He can’t hide it. 

But Crowley is all too familiar with pushing down emotion. Crowley is guarded, he is caution personified, he reserve and preservation, and with his angel’s life in his hands, on Heaven’s home turf? He can’t shake that.

Crowley-as-Aziraphale is so still. His face, his body language, his posture, it’s all this perfectly calm facade hiding a smoldering fury that Aziraphale might be incapable of achieving. But when Crowley-as-Aziraphale is confronted with the angels and see how they treat his soulmate best friend, he cannot hide that fury. It’s in his eyes, his face, his voice. But Michael Sheen-as-Crowley-as-Aziraphale plays it so well because it comes across as Crowley-as-Aziraphale saying to the angels, You broke him. You pushed him too far and you broke him and this is what it looks like, and you should be terrified.

And it’s all so perfect, and they’re both so talented, and I don’t think we talk about it enough.

applequills:

friendly reminder that this scene exists

deanwinchesters:

😇🐍

goodomenssource:

GOOD OMENS S1E2 ‘THE BOOK’ 

roncheg:

meet cute=)

thepalatine:

if y’all don’t think that Crowley absolutely LOVED riding onto that airfield, car ablaze with infernal fire and Queen blasting from the stereo, like some kind of white fucking knight to Aziraphale’s rescue, then you’re outta yer mind.

Because he fucking RELISHED it.

Look at the way he saunters outta that beautiful Bentley. Listen to the flip way he greets Aziraphale—acting all casual—as if he didn’t just spend the entire trip white knuckling it, gritting his teeth and screaming with effort and concentration.

Note that jaunty little compliment he throws out as he swaggers up to his angel all confident and steady. Look at how he dips his ear to his angel—like a knight errant seeking the behest of his beloved.

Then look at how he puffs out his chest and declares that he’ll handle it. Look at that chin held high and proud. He’s on a fucking mission for his angel and he is 1000% just eating that role up. He’s a goddamn hero and he gets to be that in front of and for the one being in the universe he cherishes above all others.

He was fucking MADE for that moment and he fucking loved it.