leftduck9986

[leftduck9986]

I bought Aziraphale's Bible so you don't have to.

Am I insane? Yes. Was it worth it? Maybe. In most* of both season 1 and season 2 of GO, there's a very specific Bible on a bookstand next to Aziraphale's desk. It's a vintage illustrated plate book by Harold Copping, known as the Harold Copping Bible, published by the religious tract society in London in 1910. It features some of the most well known Old Testament stories, summarized and annotated by the Bishop of Durham at the time, and illustrated by Copping, who was freshly returned from a sojourn in the middle east. Ironically, It was meant as a lay-person's version of a comic book, short, exciting by use of exotic illustrations, and easy to read.

But my (expensive) gain is now your gain! As I've collected here every visible page in both seasons for your reading and viewing pleasure.

Season 1: All episodes Adam & Eve Genesis iii (1:3) / HCB page 10

Season 2: Episode 1 Joseph known to his brethren Genesis xlv (1:45) / HCB Page 28

S2E1 14:21, S2E1 17:41, S2E1 39:45

Season 2: Episode 2 Jacob's vow Genesis xxviii (1:28) / HCB Page 22

S2E2 5:49

Season 2: Episode 2 Joseph known to his brethren Genesis xlv (1:45) / HCB Page 28

S2E2 13:38 (see S2E1 above)

Season 2: Episode 2 The Brazen Serpent Numbers xxi (4:21) / HCB page 36

S2E2 16:12, 43:40

Season 2: Episode 2* Bible on the desk, Magazine on the stand Annuel L'art Pour Tous, Cover (1861-1880 most likely)

S2E2 22:10

The French L'art pour tous industrial design periodical will have to be a story for another post. For now, just enjoy this 1880 edition copperplate of cherubs discovering a microscope...

Season 2: Episode 2 Imaginary page from HCB, Job KJV Job (18:1) / HCB N/A

S2E2 22:29, S2E2 40:05 Obviously, the plate illustrations and text look different here than in the real bible, because they were created for the show. But there are a few more particularities here. For one, this layout with the thin grid around the text, as well as the paragraph symbol next to the first title, indicate that this would have been a printer's proof copy, not a finished book. It shows you the layout grid and can be annotated for changes. Second, there seems to be a war going on between fonts. Where the "chapter" of Job begins, we get a font and a style similar to the original bible, which gets rudely interrupted by a dropped capital (from the real book) and a Gothic-style font/verse numbers like in the original King James version of the printed Bible.

Season 2: Episode 3 The Brazen Serpent NUMBERS xxi (4:21) / HCB page 36

S2E3 1:18 (see episode 2)

Season 2: Episode 5 By the Rivers of Babylon Pslam cxxxvii (19:137) / HCB page 52

S2E5 21:20

Season 2: Episode 6 Bible missing, L'art pour Tous on the stand Annuel L'art Pour Tous, Cover (1861-1880 most likely)

S2E6 10:21, 17:21, 18:15, 34:28 (see episode 2)

Season 2: Episode 6 Closed HCB, L'art pour Tous on the stand behind HCB page 0

S2E6 37:58, 44:20, 48:08

#good omens 2 #art director talks good omens #good omens meta #go season 2 #go meta #good omens season 2 #good omens season two #good omens #go2 #good omens prime #aziraphale #crowley and aziraphale

[leftduck9986]

Hi, I’ve only read one meta by you yet, but you seem to be just the right person to ask this: did you notice how many people in the scenes outside the bookshop are wearing orange, in series 2?

Any idea what that’s all about? Is it just esthetics, an echo of the bookshop‘s columns, or does it have a filmographical significance? Everytime I watch the show there seem to be more orange clothes, once you start seeing that, it’s crazy how many there are!

Hey thanks for the ask! I mean, you have until 2026 to read more of my drivel so; pace yourself! Orange clothing is definitely an *interesting* choice for extras in film. You almost never see it in background actors clothing because... it draws the eye! The fact that they included so much orange, yellow, and loud patterning in the extras in season 2 is a real decision to throw film tradition and S1 cannon out the window.

I would like to submit my own theory that the choice was made as a deliberate nod to time travel. But first, a little background.

Compare two crowd scenes on Whickeber street from each season: It's kind of nuts that even at microscopic resolution we get such a HUGE difference.

That's not to say orange is missing. Here are the only two extras wearing orange in S1, and they happen to be in the same scene in episode 2, when Newt and Shadwell meet for the first time, discussing occult beings "hiding in plain sight". (witches in this case)

We also get some pretty obvious bright orange in main characters in S1: Madame Tracy and Beelzebub. We meet Tracy in orange as she immediately reveals to Newt multiple hidden identities, see her again wearing orange hair when she communes with spirits, and finally all decked out in orange when she is being possessed by an angel (a person hiding inside a person). Beelzebub wears an orange sash and medal as a high ranking Duke of Hell, so orange is maybe their house colour, or a prestigious colour for hell in general, but after season 2 we know Beelzebub doesn't always have the same face, and is hiding intentions of their own.

Orange doesn't have much biblical significance, mostly because the colour orange was mostly seen as "fire" or "bright" coloured until way after the bible was transcribed, and orange dye wasn't really a thing in the European world until significant trade with east Asia developed. Here's the only other bright orange thing to appear all season, (in a deleted scene): Crowley hiding in plain sight, posing as a maintenance worker.

I think we might be able to draw the conclusion from season 1 that orange is a colour associated with the "Hidden Occult/Power". Not necessarily only hell, but more as something otherworldly, that's hidden in plain sight. (Interestingly, we never ever see Anathema or Agnes Nutter in orange. So I wouldn't say it's related to witches at all.)

In season 2 however, orange is everywhere. More specifically on extras' clothing and the outside of Maggie's record shop.

Maggie seems to be the only main character to wear bright orange herself (E2).

But this is by far my favourite one: in the back of the crowd of demons getting a Shax pep talk in S2E5, there's a regular human extra wearing bright orange sitting amongst the army, completely unnoticed by both demons and audience, observing the plan.

This really set off alarm bells for me, because there's a very Terry Pratchett precedent for powerful and unnoticed orange-wearing characters in the discworld series : the time monks.

Terry's character Sweeper seen here on the original cover of Night Watch. The time monks' clothing and general philosophy is based on Thai buddhist monks, who (like in many buddhists sects) wear donated, saffron-dyed robes in orange and yellow/red to symbolize flames of purity, and to separate them from the world of gross matter, like a fallen leaf from a tree.

In the discworld novel Night Watch, the time monks are responsible for monitoring and cleaning up the timeline, pruning it like a bonzai tree. They are everywhere and yet unnoticed, inside the flow of time yet not of it. And they are the ones who guide the main character through the process of being stuck after falling back through his own timeline, into his own past.

(Excerpt from the book where Sweeper is explaning time travel to Vimes).

Extras circling in the background are called "background actors" because they exist to not be noticed. Put in extras wearing orange/yellow and bright red, and suddenly you can track them, and notice how they are part of the crowd, but stand apart from it. You can notice when they go missing from one cut to the next, or appear to circle or jump between frames. Many extras, including the demon army watcher, also seem to be circling, and monitoring the goings-on in the world of Good Omens. Based on the meaning of orange from S1, it would seem these mere background actors are more than they appear to be. Could they even be checking up on unwarranted time distortions or timeline ruptures happening around a certain Bookshop...?

#good omens meta #go meta #go season 2 #good omens 2 #good omens extras

[leftduck9986]

Good Omens' alien parking ticket - translated!

Curious about the “Alien Parking Ticket”? (Or only hearing about it for the first time?) You’ve come to the right place!

A little background first: there were 690 tickets originally released with the Ineffable and Celestial Editions of the Illustrated Good Omens as part of the “Folio of Ephemera” in 2019. 

One more was a prize in a 2021 giveaway, where it was identified as an “alien parking ticket” - https://discworld.com/seven-day-instagram-giveaway/.

More were available with the campaign for the graphic novel, though they are now sold out, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dunmanifestin/good-omens/posts/4080374. 

What does it actually look like? This is the front and back of a ticket from an Ineffable Edition, image credit to Reddit user lywinis.

The front looks a bit fuzzy because it’s done with lenticular printing (the image appears to move as you tilt it, like this:)

Interestingly, the photo on Kickstarter showed a very slightly different version of the front of the ticket, image credit to Discord user jennythepenny13. It’s still being called an alien parking ticket, and now we know it was issued to Newt by the aliens in the flying saucer.

So what does it say? Spoilers ahead!

Each symbol can be matched one-to-one to the Latin alphabet, or to a digit. After converting, it reads (with a few misspellings):

Most of the digits don’t have enough information to match them up – only 2 and 4 can be inferred from the source material.

The Kickstarter version changes “rotations of your planet” to “temporal units” for unknown reasons.

So it’s not really a parking ticket – it doesn’t even mention parking. But it is a violation ticket issued to humankind for excessive carbon dioxide emissions, high levels of atmospheric hydrocarbons, harnessing artificial wormholes without the proper permits, and insufficient planetary albedo for long-term climate stability. I guess we’ve got work to do!

#parking ticket #ineffable fandom #ineffable mystery #good omens clues #good omens analysis #good omens #good omens fandom #good omens meta #violation ticket #aliens #ineffable detective agency #good omens season 1 #good omens bts

[leftduck9986]

Independent Embassy

What machinations did Aziraphale do to make it an Independent Embassy. What does he mean. Demons can't come in but nor do angels in S2. They ask if they can come in. Az knows, insists it's a safe space. Why? He wants to believe he can protect Crowley and Jim and everyone.

He's trying SO HARD to make it a perfect evening, for everyone to have a great time.

He walks away from Crowley and Nina in a hurry, looking worried, but with a plan. The plan is apparently to get EVERYONE into his bookshop. By any means. Bribery. Temptations.

He knows Shax is on his tail, he kinda messed up in the car. But what is his plan? To keep everyone safe for the evening? In case Shax shows up? And what then?

#Independent Embassy #Good Omens 2 #Good Omens #machinations #fairy tale logic

[leftduck9986]

Are there Two Gabriels?

PSA: Do NOT send anything to NG about any of this or any theory please! I don't want these things to be DOA.

Not literal two versions of the same guy, but is there another meaning of the word Gabriel that we're conflating with, er, Gabriel?

For example, what if Gabriel is a title (like supreme archangel?), or a type of angel, or a legend, or a record, or a type of miracle? When things involve Gabriel or Gabriel is missing or we're all looking for Gabriel, is it really, truly, Jim? Or are they looking for something else?

Thoughts I've been chewing on:

When Aziraphale says Jim isn't Gabriel, Jim responds, "Then what am I?" Not who am I

Later when Crowley is grilling him, at one point he says, "if you're not [Gabriel] then what are you?" not who are you

If it is a title, are some of the Crowley (and Shax) scenes later? (i.e. is "his royal smugness" Aziraphale with the title of Gabriel??) (tbf I do think Crowley is in cahoots with Aziraphale at the end and won't actually be going through sad breakup times but that's neither here nor there)

There's also a focus on names that have various/ambiguous meanings: Inspector Constable, Bildad the Shuhite, Mrs. Sandwich, Mr vs Dr Dalrymple, Jane Austen, and of course, Jim.

#good omens spoilers #gos2 #good omens #aziraphale #crowley #Jimbriel #gabriel good omens #good omens meta #good omens theory #<- OP tags #“Sometimes people call Me Gabriel”

[leftduck9986]

"PROF. HOFF.man"

Crowley: "How?! There was a miracle blocker in the room. I saw you put it back in the envelope."

Aziraphale: "Who needs a miracle when you've had private lessons from the great (heavily emphasizes next two syllables for extra wordplay significance) *PROF.* *HOFF.*man himself?"

Prof: Abbreviation of professor; from profess, meaning to admit aloud, to declare.

Hoff: Welsh term of endearment meaning my dear, my beloved, my favorite.

#ineffable husbands #aziracrow #good omens #good omens 2 #good omens meta #crowley #aziraphale #ineffable husbands speak #etymology

[leftduck9986]

I'm going CRACKPOT again

The invoice sheet Maggie writes her note to Aziraphale on is the number 229401

Strongs Concordances:

2294: courage

01: father

229: to grind

401: a pouring out, overflow

Anyway, just thought that was interesting...

#absolute crackpot theory #good omens theories #good omens 2 #good omens meta

[leftduck9986]

Why are there Infinity Loops or Möbius Strips in Good Omens?

The infinity loop, it's the idea of something that is unlimited and endless, you know...

In this post, I'm going to explore some of the symbols in the show that I think relate to this concept of eternity. For example, have you noticed that the infinity loop shows up amongst the symbols at the start of Season 1? While God's narrates about her "ineffable game" of her own devising, here it is on screen:

Why do we see so many infinity symbols here? Where else can we see this same symbol?

Read on for the places I've spotted it in both S1, S2 and the book. I’m hoping you’ll let me know if I missed any, and what you think it all means!

Eternity in Good Omens

In the book, when Crowley is explaining the concept of eternity to Aziraphale, he uses the idea of a bird which flies every thousand years to the same mountain to sharpen it's beak. Here's the conversation, with Aziraphale's interruptions edited out (pg. 55 - 56 in my hardcopy):

“Just you think about it," said Crowley relentlessly. "You know what eternity is? You know what eternity is? I mean, d'you know what eternity is? There's this big mountain, see, a mile high, at the end of the universe, and once every thousand years there's this little bird—” “Okay. And every thousand years this bird flies—" "flies all the way to this mountain and sharpens its beak—” “Sharpen its beak on the mountain," said Crowley. "And then it flies back—” “And after a thousand years it goes and does it all again," said Crowley quickly.”

This story originally came from a folk tale called the Shepherd Boy. It's very short and you can read the Brother's Grimm version here.

If we take Crowley at his word, then eternity in Good Omens is represented by repeating the same thing over again, whether that's flying forever to the same mountain, or having to watch the Sound of Music "over and over and over and over and over and over and over" into infinity.

The Infinity Loop

The common symbol for infinity, ∞, was invented by the English mathematician John Wallis in 1655. Being an extremely popular symbol, it shows up in a lot of places, including the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. Several other uses are detailed on the wikipedia page.

So, where does it appear in Good Omens? In addition to God's monologue, we also see it during the S1 baby swap sequence as part of the Satanic nun's costumes. Here it is on the upside-down watches they wear:

Here it is again on Newt's belt buckle in S1:

Here's another possible infinity symbol on Newt's computer screen, when he's working at United Holdings:

Outside of the show, it also appears on the merch released post-S2 (though a little bit disguised in the form of the snake wrapped around them). Included is the tagline of "The end was just the start".

There are also two references to infinity in the book. Here's the first very near the start (pg. 14 of my 2015 hardback edition):

“He [God] plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players, [ie., everybody.] to being involved in an obscure and complex version of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won't tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time.”

And here's the other, closer to the end, at the airfield (pg. 363 of my edition):

“Adam glanced up. In one sense there was just clear air overhead. In another, stretching off to infinity, were the hosts of Heaven and Hell, wingtip to wingtip. If you looked really closely, and had been specially trained, you could tell the difference.”

So, Good Omens makes a few references to infinity, which I find interesting in itself. But wait, there's more!

The Ouroboros

There is another symbol which also appears in Good Omens and also suggests a form of repetition - the ouroboros. The ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail and depicts an eternal cycle of renewal - an end which comes back to the start again. I recommend taking a look at the whole wikipedia page, which is quite fascinating:

Now, this would be a rather abstract representation, but I think this appears on the wall of Nina's cafe. Unfortunately, in my image Terry's name has been cut off, but it does say Terry and Neil within those segments of the loop:

So we have the infinity symbol, the ouroboros... anything else? Well, yes, there is a third symbol for us to ponder over.

The Mobius Strip

Closely related to the idea of the infinity symbol is that of the mobius strip. To oversimplify things, the mobius strip is a object which is a continuous surface in a loop. At first glance, it appears to have two sides, but these are indeed all part of the same side (maybe we should call this "our side"?). As shown in the below gif, an object traversing the surface of the strip can repeat in a continuous loop.

Where does the mobius strip appear in Good Omens? Well, it appears in the book. Here it is being used to refer to Anathema's broken bike wheel (pg. 92 in my 2015 hardback edition):

“Behind the Bentley a bicycle lay in the road, its front wheel bent into a creditable Mobius shape, its back wheel clicking ominously to a standstill.”

And again, describing the discussions of the Them, while Adam is coming into his powers (pg. 229 in my hardback):

“Serve everyone right if all the nucular bombs went off and it all started again, only prop'ly organized," said Adam. "Sometimes I think that's what I'd like to happen. An' then we could sort everythin' out." The thunder growled again. Pepper shivered. This wasn't the normal Them mobius bickering, which passed many a slow hour. There was a look in Adam's eye that his friend couldn't quite fathom—not devilment, because that was more or less there all the time, but a sort of blank grayness that was far worse.”

Not only does the word "mobius" appear twice in the book, but Neil has continued to be interested in such ideas, releasing the song Mobius Strip in April 2023 (as brought to my attention by @embracing-the-ineffable). The song is a meditation on the nature of time, magic and how things tend to repeat. In the song, the grandfather shows the boy a trick to creating a mobius strip using paper, tape and some scissors. Here's how the song concludes:

"I'm... Somewhere on the strip We all are, walking the sign of infinity into the darkness And I'm looking for signs of a life, in a memory Reflected in the mirror I'm a mobius strip We all are We only ever see one face It's the twist that brings you back where you started"

If you're unfamiliar with the idea of creating a paper-based mobius strip, here's a video on how it works:

Is the loop Aziraphale and Crowley?

To form a mobius strip, you need to cut the paper first, flip it, and then join the ends back together.

To me, this reminds me a lot of the S2 opening sequence, when we see the bridge disconnect, separating Aziraphale and Crowley on either side, only to then reconnect at another place.

Does this mean the bridge, and perhaps the loop, represents our ineffable duo? This merch sure seems to suggest so...

That could be one interpretation of this sequence, though I'm sure there are others. What do you think? Does the loop say anything about Crowley and Aziraphale's relationship to one another?

Put it all together and...

In summary, we have at least three different symbols signifying some sort of repetition in Good Omens - the infinity loop, ouroboros and mobius strip. So, what might they mean? Why do you think it's been included, and so often? Even more importantly, have I missed any? There's endless details to be mined from this show, so I wouldn't be surprised if there are more.

I have a few theories, but nothing concrete yet, so I'm really interested in hearing everyone's ideas!

#good omens meta #crowley #ouroboros #mobius strip #witchfinder army #witchfinder colonel green #good omens clues #good omens costumes #good omens costuming #good omens newt #newton pulsifer #infinity #eternitaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

[leftduck9986]

When it comes to reading walls of text, particularly where a new word of technical jargon appears in every other sentence (wikipedia), it's just too daunting for me personally, to take in.

Terms such as Meta, MacGuffin and Chekov's Gun were completely new upon entering the fandom late last year, on top of which, I often take a long while to process wordy-words, but have recently discovered that talking (whispering) aloud is what will make some things finally click (not ideal when in the middle of taking a shower or sitting on the loo, especially in a full household and the next-door-neighbours just metres away!)

So my coping mechanism is humour and this was an opportunity to make fun of myself, typing out my aloud-whisperings, having a go at a keyboard smash (a Tumblr rite of passage?) whilst also marveling at how narrative devices that would have been easier to identify in most other texts have been seriously leveled-up here. So when you ask, @havemyheartaziraphale, if the word I could be looking for is backshadowing or sideshadowing - sideshadowing was briefly mentioned in the wikipedia entry for foreshadowing, where sideshadowing was said to be the opposite of a Chekhov's Gun, so I could rule that one out. However backshadowing sounds like a word that should fit as foreshadowing's opposite, and yet still doesn't quite work in this case, as something that will affect the future - I'm still going to need a gazillion examples before fully understanding either term.

In contrast to my wittering, @vidavalor's "Good Omens has shown us, among other things..." was satisfying to read; a succinctly presented list of before's. Love lists, om-nom-nom.

Inventing a new term might be appropriate because, I mean, look up there, on that pedestal, a beam of light shining upon it and a choir singing -

<light beam><♫ah♫>GOOD OMENS</♫ah♫></light beam>

Foreshadowing, out of order?

In storytelling, is there a single word that means "the opposite of foreshadowing"?

WARNING: in trying to wrap my head around this, there will be wittering!!!

Wikipedia tells me that a flashback is a method of foreshadowing.

The Bullet Catch in the NZF minisode, being a flashback as well as told before the "present day" [speculated] event it sets up a clue for, well, that's what I've understood foreshadowing to mean until now, because isn't foreshadowing always presented before the event it foreshadows comes to pass?

The flashback/memory minisode, A Companion To Owls, is told after the "present day" event it foreshadows. Does that still count as foreshadowing, or is it instead considered "the big reveal" because it is told after?

And is this all that is meant by various things in Good Omens 2 being "out of order"?

The Hiding Miracle and the Memory That Both Foreshadows and Reveals It?

Indeed, it was a tiny miracle - as titled in the soundtrack - that worked as planned and "barely moved the dials" (but still a miracle in which "Noone will have noticed A Thing" however tiny it was, and that "Nobody notices he's here (...) Nobody can spot him, (...) especially if they're looking for him").

I believe it was the first of three events that happened that night, which, became the main focus of this "quiet, gentle, romantic" season, but paling in comparison to the other two events. Moving on!

Returning to how A Companion to Owls isn't told until after The Hiding Miracle and clues us in as to what was actually going on: this tiny miracle was made to appear far more powerful than it actually was, with the use of showmanship:

The ceremonious setup of being positioned on the circle in the middle of the room hidden under the carpet, between Aziraphale and Crowley; he could have been standing, but instead, "Jim... Sit in this chair." And it's a beautiful chair, like a throne, but Jim being taller wouldn't have worked for the image of the 'W' (similar to the 'W' shape made with Shadwell standing between Aziraphale and Crowley at the airbase, in the book Good Omens.)

ta-da!-look-at-this-very-complicated-and-powerful-miracle-that-we-are-doing

Why perform at all then, for an audience of none?

Ah, they're not alone, oooOoOoOOOoOoOooo, spooky. Go and see for yourself: check out the bottom left area of the screen when Crowley returns to the bookshop and says, "I'm BACK" (this is to do with the "framing opportunities" secret mentioned in the Gavin Finney BTS article https://britishcinematographer.co.uk/gavin-finney-bsc-good-omens-2/) Aziraphale calmly replies, "Yes, I can see that" and later gasps, reacting to something happening off-screen at 40m41s.

So this performance, not yet knowing who their audience might be, could be as a precaution, just in case.

Gabriel instinctively crosses his hands and is confused when Aziraphale and Crowley uncross them - or likely because Aziraphale was even standing there at all - because he remembers, or rather, in his mind's eye, sees the shape left behind by a missing piece of furniture.

The ceremonious setup of being positioned in the centre, between Sitis and Job, this time in the background to have Bildad appear a little shorter in height for the stylized 'W', then crossing his hands. The pot containing Sitis and Job's children being the circle, hidden by the circle of carpet (robes) made as Sitis and Job embrace.

ta-da!-look-at-this-very-complicated-and-powerful-miracle-that-we-are-doing

Had we seen Jim's and Crowley's conversation about memory before The Hiding Miracle instead of much later in episode 5, then it would have been foreshadowing, yes?

*temper rising* A "reveal," or "out-of-order foreshadowing"? (VBUAXNAUSX*keyboard smash*NYVIFGNOMAI) grrrrrr!

...

After the Job story is told, (save for the final scene) and Aziraphale calls for Crowley, my head-cannon used to be that Aziraphale wanted to talk about hair -

Aziraphale: Crowley, I gave you lovely long locks in my retelling of this story, how about you? Crowley: Nah, "shoulder-length bouncy 'bob'" is what I put - a "Lob" I think is what they're calling it these days.

But now I think that, to book-end Crowley's beginning with, "Your boss said that to Job, do you remember?" (imo they are so good at blending in, they can act human better than any human can act human! So, while feigning the memory span&loss&retention of a human, of course they can remember most everything. Angel stock: constitution of an Ox, memory of an Elephant.) Aziraphale may have wanted to remark on Jim's crossed hands from the night before and how similar it was to Crowley's doing so; that it was evidence of Gabriel still somehow being able to connect with images from his memory. "Crowley? You also did that thing... does Gabriel remember?"

If each minisode contains something that foreshadows or reveals what magic tricks occurred during this season's present day events, I feel that the only thing left is from "The Resurrectionists" minisode, where Crowley Goes Large (woah, woah, woah, another case for The Song Is The Clue?!?) ... or makes himself, something or someone else tiny.

"Size and shape are simply options" after all, so I do wonder about Hell's Usher, where the only time we've seen him is when he is small enough to fit in a bathtub and yet he is HUGE in the opening title sequence of season one. Behind him, Noah's Ark stranded between two damaged buildings (or one damaged building and maybe the Pleasure Cruiser Morbillo?)

Something else that may be revealing of stories yet to be told of the past, while also foreshadowing a near-future event:

Based on what Crowley said, this is not the first time Crowley and Aziraphale have performed a half-miracle together! Whatever biiiig miracle they're about to do (speculated event #2) could still be completely balanced and undetected, but then a plume of miraculous activity emerging from the circle gateway (privately speculated event #3) is what poor Aziraphale will appear to take the blame for.

Things being out of order may have started with the question, are season two's present day events being told out of order? There are other things appearing out of order as well, for example a change in the order of colours in the Rainbow (for "present day" episode two only I think, beginning Violet then Red, etc.) Or, in this case, narrative devices being so intertwined, one flashback-event can contain images and phrases that both foreshadow something yet to happen as well as to reveal what happened in a part of the story already told.

As always, please no asking or tagging Mr Gaiman as this blog post contains theory and speculation, thank you.

[leftduck9986]

I just think that it'd be funny if, after all this speculation about how horrible Crowley's Fall was and his drunken rambling of "a million-light-year freestyle dive into a pool of boiling sulfur", it turned out he just had the longest most boring elevator ride ever down to basement Hell and then stepped in a very small puddle of warm sludge of questionable origin when the doors opened.

#good omens #crowley #anthony j crowley #good omens fanfiction #fan theory #good omens meta #silly

[leftduck9986]

Holy shirt, y’all, I’m reading “Thud!” by Terry Pratchett and heck if it doesn’t describe the EXACT plot that we’re all expecting for GOS3.

“Chess, in particular, had always annoyed him. It was the dumb way the pawns went off and slaughtered their fellow pawns while the king lounged about doing nothing. If only the pawns would've united ... the whole board could've been a republic in about a dozen moves.”

#good omens #good omens theories

[leftduck9986]

Agnes Nutter, Prophecies and Memory

“It's memory, you see," said Anathema. "It works backwards as well as forwards. Racial memory, I mean." Newt gave her a polite but blank look. "What I'm trying to say," she said patiently, "is that Agnes didn't see the future. That's just a metaphor. She remembered it. Not very well, of course, and by the time it'd been filtered through her own understanding it's often a bit confused. We think she's best at remembering things that were going to happen to her descendants.”

#good omens meta #from the text #book omens #good omens memory #anathema device #agnes nutter #good omens timeline #good omens speculation

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Foreshadowing, out of order?

In storytelling, is there a single word that means "the opposite of foreshadowing"?

WARNING: in trying to wrap my head around this, there will be wittering!!!

Wikipedia tells me that a flashback is a method of foreshadowing.

The Bullet Catch in the NZF minisode, being a flashback as well as told before the "present day" [speculated] event it sets up a clue for, well, that's what I've understood foreshadowing to mean until now, because isn't foreshadowing always presented before the event it foreshadows comes to pass?

The flashback/memory minisode, A Companion To Owls, is told after the "present day" event it foreshadows. Does that still count as foreshadowing, or is it instead considered "the big reveal" because it is told after?

And is this all that is meant by various things in Good Omens 2 being "out of order"?

The Hiding Miracle and the Memory That Both Foreshadows and Reveals It?

Indeed, it was a tiny miracle - as titled in the soundtrack - that worked as planned and "barely moved the dials" (but still a miracle in which "Noone will have noticed A Thing" however tiny it was, and that "Nobody notices he's here (...) Nobody can spot him, (...) especially if they're looking for him").

I believe it was the first of three events that happened that night, which, became the main focus of this "quiet, gentle, romantic" season, but paling in comparison to the other two events. Moving on!

Returning to how A Companion to Owls isn't told until after The Hiding Miracle and clues us in as to what was actually going on: this tiny miracle was made to appear far more powerful than it actually was, with the use of showmanship:

The ceremonious setup of being positioned on the circle in the middle of the room hidden under the carpet, between Aziraphale and Crowley; he could have been standing, but instead, "Jim... Sit in this chair." And it's a beautiful chair, like a throne, but Jim being taller wouldn't have worked for the image of the 'W' (similar to the 'W' shape made with Shadwell standing between Aziraphale and Crowley at the airbase, in the book Good Omens.)

ta-da!-look-at-this-very-complicated-and-powerful-miracle-that-we-are-doing

Why perform at all then, for an audience of none?

Ah, they're not alone, oooOoOoOOOoOoOooo, spooky. Go and see for yourself: check out the bottom left area of the screen when Crowley returns to the bookshop and says, "I'm BACK" (this is to do with the "framing opportunities" secret mentioned in the Gavin Finney BTS article https://britishcinematographer.co.uk/gavin-finney-bsc-good-omens-2/) Aziraphale calmly replies, "Yes, I can see that" and later gasps, reacting to something happening off-screen at 40m41s.

So this performance, not yet knowing who their audience might be, could be as a precaution, just in case.

Gabriel instinctively crosses his hands and is confused when Aziraphale and Crowley uncross them - or likely because Aziraphale was even standing there at all - because he remembers, or rather, in his mind's eye, sees the shape left behind by a missing piece of furniture.

The ceremonious setup of being positioned in the centre, between Sitis and Job, this time in the background to have Bildad appear a little shorter in height for the stylized 'W', then crossing his hands. The pot containing Sitis and Job's children being the circle, hidden by the circle of carpet (robes) made as Sitis and Job embrace.

ta-da!-look-at-this-very-complicated-and-powerful-miracle-that-we-are-doing

Had we seen Jim's and Crowley's conversation about memory before The Hiding Miracle instead of much later in episode 5, then it would have been foreshadowing, yes?

*temper rising* A "reveal," or "out-of-order foreshadowing"? (VBUAXNAUSX*keyboard smash*NYVIFGNOMAI) grrrrrr!

...

After the Job story is told, (save for the final scene) and Aziraphale calls for Crowley, my head-cannon used to be that Aziraphale wanted to talk about hair -

Aziraphale: Crowley, I gave you lovely long locks in my retelling of this story, how about you? Crowley: Nah, "shoulder-length bouncy 'bob'" is what I put - a "Lob" I think is what they're calling it these days.

But now I think that, to book-end Crowley's beginning with, "Your boss said that to Job, do you remember?" (imo they are so good at blending in, they can act human better than any human can act human! So, while feigning the memory span&loss&retention of a human, of course they can remember most everything. Angel stock: constitution of an Ox, memory of an Elephant.) Aziraphale may have wanted to remark on Jim's crossed hands from the night before and how similar it was to Crowley's doing so; that it was evidence of Gabriel still somehow being able to connect with images from his memory. "Crowley? You also did that thing... does Gabriel remember?"

If each minisode contains something that foreshadows or reveals what magic tricks occurred during this season's present day events, I feel that the only thing left is from "The Resurrectionists" minisode, where Crowley Goes Large (woah, woah, woah, another case for The Song Is The Clue?!?) ... or makes himself, something or someone else tiny.

"Size and shape are simply options" after all, so I do wonder about Hell's Usher, where the only time we've seen him is when he is small enough to fit in a bathtub and yet he is HUGE in the opening title sequence of season one. Behind him, Noah's Ark stranded between two damaged buildings (or one damaged building and maybe the Pleasure Cruiser Morbillo?)

Something else that may be revealing of stories yet to be told of the past, while also foreshadowing a near-future event:

Based on what Crowley said, this is not the first time Crowley and Aziraphale have performed a half-miracle together! Whatever biiiig miracle they're about to do (speculated event #2) could still be completely balanced and undetected, but then a plume of miraculous activity emerging from the circle gateway (privately speculated event #3) is what poor Aziraphale will appear to take the blame for.

Things being out of order may have started with the question, are season two's present day events being told out of order? There are other things appearing out of order as well, for example a change in the order of colours in the Rainbow (for "present day" episode two only I think, beginning Violet then Red, etc.) Or, in this case, narrative devices being so intertwined, one flashback-event can contain images and phrases that both foreshadow something yet to happen as well as to reveal what happened in a part of the story already told.

As always, please no asking or tagging Mr Gaiman as this blog post contains theory and speculation, thank you.

#The Hiding Miracle and A Companion To Owls #wittering on #please forgive me #Good Omens 2 #foreshadowing #out of order #the big reveal #narrative devices #relearning something forgotten or learning something new? never too late #overthinking technical words and probably VERY wrong about it #Good Omens 2 theory #The Song is The Clue #Good Omens book reference “stylized W” #Tiny Miracle #Crowley Goes Large #“Size and shape are simply options” #Hell's Usher goes large? #Good Omens #Good Omens Opening Title Sequence #Good Omens 3 speculation #first time making GIFs such fun! #good omens meta

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Rainbows for Crowley and Our Car, S2E2.

Similar to Rainbows for Aziraphale and Visiting Archangels, the larger rainbow in the foreground begins with Violet instead of Red. It is a lower camera angle this time, also further away, so the double rainbow in the background against the bookshop front wall near the left pillar is barely there. The rainbow in the foreground really pops once in-front of the Bentley.

Seeing them everywhere now, I whisper-gasp-squeak, "rainbow lens flare!", having in the last week, spotted them in American Gods and Fallout. But they are the "usual" Red through Violet rainbows (maybe a hint of Magenta before Red in the Fallout screenshot. Also amazed to learn that the colours for some rainbows appear in reverse order - I always thought Red to be the largest ring on the outside!).

But the two foreground rainbows showing up for Aziraphale and Crowley on Whickber St in episode two are unique, starting with Violet for the outermost band of colour, instead of appearing after Blue on the inside - almost 100% certain of that, especially when comparing to St Jame's Park in episode one (reused shot from Season One, but the rainbow flares were added for Season Two).

Crowley's rainbow in episode three however, seems to be the usual red-through-violet, I'm not entirely sure. What do you think?

It was his rainstorm & rainbow after all. Crowley's choice perhaps?

Whereas God would be the creator of the two rainbows on Whickber St in episode two. Could it be an extra special apology following the unseen event(s) of episode one?

Might it count as one of the things Crowley is referring to when he says, "well, lots of things are wrong right now" and something being "wrong" could include anything out of the ordinary, e.g. the colours of the Rainbow being slightly out of order.

Tiny 'regular' rainbows are visible on Uriel and Saraqael in Heaven, episode six:

And finally, just look at the rainbow arc (colours reversed) and then a very faint full-circle rainbow (also reversed) appearing to the left of Aziraphale's Halo:

I'm not entirely certain for these last two pictures either, but IF these rainbows also begin with Violet (from the smallest/inside ring out), then FOR NOW I want to conclude that they are exclusively for Crowley and Aziraphale.

(to clarify, that's at least the two rainbows - The first, when Aziraphale returns from the record shop to greet the Archangels; second, Crowley approaching Aziraphale and Bentley outside market stalls - in the foreground appearing on Whickber St for episode two, but I want to believe that it also includes the rainbows made by Aziraphale's Halo in episode six.)

Re-bloggers with image enhancing skills, please come to the rescue. <3

#good omens 2 #rainbows #a new rainbow?

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All the music you didn’t hear: The Good Omens soundtrack is lying to you. *Part 1*

The Bonkers Meta Series part 2: Electric Boogaloo.

I so rarely get a chance to misuse my experience in classical music, but here we are. When I realized on my most recent watch-through of the series that the David Arnold score was brilliant, but also really wonky in some parts and I couldn’t put my finger on why, @embracing-the-ineffable suggested I listen to the album soundtrack to compare.

And when I tell you what I found hidden in there, you’re going to need Eccles cakes...

1) The Song is the Clue

So right up top we have this banger. The 12th track on the album is the orchestral backdrop to the scene in the Job minisode where Aziraphale reveals Crowley’s crow/goats. The duration is 2:22 (the only track with multiples on the album), and if you look at the track by itself it doesn’t mean much. But the song just before it is actually from this fucking scene:

You know, the one where there’s a song that’s a clue to a mystery. Except Clue is capitalised, and Aziraphale pronounces it. I’ve seen guesses that this is a reference to the movie Clue, but I would put a lot of money on the fact that we are supposed to read the title of the song currently playing at that moment in the show *as a Clue*, which is super convenient, because the word Clue is capitalized in the track listing. 

Seems like the overlords of Good Omens have a message for us : The song is the Clue. It’s what God wants. Cool cool cool. WHAT SONG?

2) Symmetry in all things 

Before I straight up tell you, we have to go back and look at season 1.

Now I’m far from the first to notice tons of parallels between the story, details and even lines in both seasons. It got me thinking that maybe there are some fun synch-up parallels between the two season’s soundtracks, seeing as they are both 6 episodes long. Here’s the end of S1 and then S2

Oh that’s a bummer, I thought to myself. 

They don’t even add up to the same number, or playtime, and neither of them is exactly 60 tracks. But do you want to hear a secret? S2 is actually missing 3 tracks on the album. And because there are 2 discs in S2 (cute), the numbers of the tracks start over again from 1. Remember how much God likes sevens? Check out where all the weirdness is happening in disc 2 (I’ve added the missing track listings in red to add context):

After checking each track with the show and listening side by side (for reasons that will become clear in another post) I can definitively say that there is something *very weird* going on at the end of episode 4. 

First is track 7, Zombie dressing room, which seems to actually reach over two distinct scenes of the photo evidence in the dressing room and then Shax in hell even though it only has one title.

But *between* these two scenes we get an eerily silent wine date with Aziraphale & Crowley.

There’s really no music or even sound here besides the dialogue and room tone (until after the cheers), and it seems like a very intentionally silent version of a ritz date from season 1.

My best guess is that we are supposed to divide that track into two tracks of 7, before and after the date to get a second track 7. Or maybe the silent one is missing music? The third track number 7 is the weirdest one. It’s this scene here, when Nina parks her bike, and Aziraphale parks the car at the end of S2E4.

If you take a close listen to the music, it’s a jaunty little piece, with an oom-pah base in 3 ⁄ 4 time. The thing is, this music does not exist in any Good Omens album. Please feel free to correct me, but I’ve tried to find any part of any song that this could even be a reprise of, and I Shazammed it to be sure it wasn’t anything else. This song does not exist anywhere except in this scene. (It quickly morphs into a reprise of the original theme once Nina leaves Aziraphale). It’s an invisible song.

So we have 3 tracks at the end of S2E4: a long one, a silent one and an invisible one. Only one of which is numbered 7, but that all fit into that place in the track listing.

Which, when we add the two extras to the original total of fifty-nine we get... sixty-one! Hey wait a minute.

How are we going to get to 62?

3) The real missing track. 

So the real reason we had to go back to the S1 album was because it contains the missing track that God is talking about. Let’s compare the last tracks on each album.

I’ve highlighted the mismatch between the in-show music and the album in S2, which means I had to add A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square back into the S2 album because guess what, it’s not in the S2 album. Even though it plays in the show. 

You want to know how not in the album it is? Amazon had to track it in the show as a season 1 song. They had to give Tori Amos credit for her song on Good Omens in the X-ray bonus features because that’s how not in the album this song is.

So my fellow beings, if the song is the Clue, then It’s what God Wants.

And if God wants a happily ever after with Aziraphale and Crowley on their own side, then by Job, I think Neil is going to give it to her.

-----------

And there's more where that came from! Part 2 coming shortly.

#good omens meta #art director talks good omens #go season 2 #good omens 2 #go2 #good omens prime #good omens season two #go meta #good omens season 2 #go3 #good omens 2 meta #crowley x aziraphale #aziraphale #anthony j crowley #good omens spoilers

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In which God? Someone? shows their presence

I feel like your tomato and my tomato might mean different things.

This scene bugs me. Gabriel does his naked walk down Whickber Street from the garden.

And as he struts his strut on over to you the tomatoes roll from the stand across the street.

Gabriel's Arrival upset the apple cart, the tomato cart, the what?

Come with me as I explore ripe fruit, grammar and divine influence.

The word tomato comes from the Aztec “xitomatl,” or Mayan “tomatl.” The tomato was introduced to Europe as a result of Spanish conquest. It's Latin name is Solanum lycopersicum, which translates to Soothing Wolfpeach.

The French thought tomatoes could make you fall in love, called them pomme d'amour or love apples. Italians called them pomodoro or Golden Apple. The first apples tomatoes from South America weren't red, but yellow. 

Tomato is an apple, got it. And a peach.

This new food wasn't trusted. Some believed tomatoes were poisonous. Tomatoes are in the nightshade family, some of which are deadly. 

Then there was the misattributed lead poisoning. Wealthy Europeans used pewter plates and flatware. Acid from the tomatoes would interact with lead in the plates, poisoning them. The poor didn't have fancy plates and lived to eat more tomatoes. There was just a smidge of distrust over the fruit. 

In 1820, New Jersey colonel, Robert Johnson, tried to win over skeptics by eating a basket of tomatoes in public to show he wouldn't drop dead. 

"To help dispel the tall tales, the fantastic fables that you have been hearing ... And to prove to you that it is not poisonous I am going to eat one right now"... There was not a sound as the Col. dramatically brought the tomato to his lips and took a bite. A woman in the crowd screamed and fainted but no one paid her any attention; they were all watching Col. Johnson as he took one bite after another. ... He raised both his arms, and again bit into one and then the other. The crowd cheered and the firemen's band blared a song. ... "He's done it", they shouted. "He's still alive!"

All this misunderstanding and confusion about tomatoes.

Tomato is considered a fruit, the sweet and fleshy product of a tree or other plant that contains seed and can be eaten as food.

So, you'd mix those apples and tomatoes and peaches in a nice fruit salad? Fruit salad, yummy yummy.

"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing you shouldn't put it in a fruit salad."

Wisdom and knowledge. Apples and tomatoes.

Which leads us to what is really going on. If you know, please tell me.

Upsetting the apple cart is an idiom which means to upset the status quo or to cause trouble.

But Gabriel's Arrival upsets the tomato cart.

Upsetting the tomato cart is a malaphor. Two figures of speech combined, a blend of a malapropism and metaphor.

Examples:

We'll burn that bridge when we get to it.

It's not rocket surgery.

You opened that can of worms, now lie in it.

"Upsetting the apple cart" is combined with "tomayto, tomahto." Apples and tomatoes.

"You like potato and I like potato

You like tomato and I like tomato

Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto"

Line in the song "Let's call the whole thing off." From the 1937 film Shall we Dance.

"Tomayto, tomahto and potayto, potahto are two phrases that mean the difference between two things is trivial. The terms tomayto, tomahto and potayto, potahto may be used dismissively, for instance, when the speaker does not believe someone has a valid point or does not acknowledge the importance of his belief."

Edit: @onceuponathyme noted they thought about the song in connection to Crowley's "You say potato, I say excellent" line about body snatching. Now I say EXCELLENT!

Combining things you normally wouldn't. The difference is trivial.

You say demon and I say angel. 

No, really.

Demon, original Greek word daimōn, is divine power or spirit. It didn't have Hell attached yet.

Angel original Greek is angelos or messenger. Add Abrahamic religion and voilà - heavenly messenger. 

 Potato, potahto. Demon, angel.

So far we have a malaphor, ancient Greek and tomato puns.

Let's get to the meat and tomatoes. The double-meaning of Apple Cart.

The Apple Cart: A Political Extravaganza

Satirical play written by George Bernard Shaw

Did I read it? No, but I read several summaries. That's the literary equivalent of staying in the Holiday Inn. There is a movie, BBC Play of the month in 1975 starring Nigel Davenport and Helen Mirren, not currently available on any platforms.

Written in 1928, set in 1967, a fictional king fights with and outwits his prime minister and his cabinet who want to strip the monarchy of remaining political influence.

From the Harvard Crimson

"The Apple Cart is a treatise on the impossibility of any kind of government. Democracy, autocracy, and monarchy are all making the best of a bad situation, and none of them is doing very well. Shaw is no anarchist; he simply wants us to recognize, as King Magnus does, the invisible shackles that trip government and turn it into a farce.

Magnus, the imaginary English king who tries to beat the democrats at their own game, is the character who teaches Shaw's lesson... Magnus flatters, cajoles, and bullies his barnyards of ministers and then, like an ironic lemur, sits back to watch them do just what he intended all along."

And there we have it. The Apple Cart.

The players are God, Heaven, Hell and Humanity. And maybe three kids caught up in an occult baby swap.

Will the current system stay in place or will the apple cart be overturned?

Will someone stop the demons and angels who are so committed to The System they see no other path forward other than Armageddon? 

"Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto

Let's call the whole thing off"

Let's call the whole thing off. No Armageddon. No sides. Just choice.

I think Season 3 is going to show us how many demons and angels have already chosen to throw off their labels and just be on their own side. It's not just Gabriel and Beelzebub.

There's been signs.

Everything is meant.

Take some time and read through this fabulous meta by noneorother. I read it, sat staring in a daze at the wall for a while and then read it again. 

Neil and Company spent ALLOT OF TIME AND EFFORT making sure this code is embedded in Season 2.

From bird calls to bells, there is a pattern. It's not just really elaborate editing. I think it's also meant to be evidence of God.

She is in Season 2 and She is everywhere. It's a literal perfect pairing. It's balance. It's ineffable. 

EVERYTHING is meant. There's no mistakes in what they created.

Every sideburn, every repeating extra, every continuity "error". No matter how many times things need reset, it's not error. It's design.

I think every reset of Soho has been God trying to get something Very Specific to happen. She's restacking the deck to break the bureaucracy. To upset the apple cart. It's the Ineffable plan. 

"Have we done anything wrong?" asks Uriel. "That remains to be seen," responds Metatron.

It seems like She is working against Someone, or Someones.

Metatron is pretty darn suspect.

I do wonder if it might also be Adam Young, acting on his own. Resetting Soho. Bringing people back from the dead. He's the only Occult Being who is shown to have the power to reset the world. There's also hints Death might be on unscheduled holiday through Season 2. Did Adam find a way?

GABRIEL

God does not play games with the universe!

Crowley and Aziraphale look at him with pity.

CROWLEY

Where have you been?

-Good Omens Script Book

The Ineffable Plan

Everything, every choice, every inconsistentincy has been to get Aziraphale on that elevator. Remember Metatron's sigh of relief?

He is the key to breaking the bureaucracy.

"We are here to lick some serious butt." Aziraphale / Madame Tracy, Good Omens Season 1

Original post and rb

"Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto

Let's call the whole thing off"

Let's call the whole thing off. No Armageddon. No sides anymore. No Heaven or Hell. Something in between with shades of grey.

Just choice. Just be an us.

What will Aziraphale say to Crowley when they reunite in Season 3?

"I love you from my head to-ma-toes."

#good omens meta #good omens #good omens 2 #malaphor #Knowledge and Wisdom: Apples and Tomatoes #Upsetting the Apple Cart #The Apple Cart by Bernard Shaw #Everything is meant #She is everywhere #tomato tomahto angel demon

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The wine that Crowley drinks after the "I know what you are" convo with Nina is a 1938 Chenevel Rouge.

Chenevel Rouge.... if you rearrange the letters you can spell these words: urgence he love.

Urgence is an archaic form of urgency.

Is this something is this a ✨️Clue✨️ or am I losing it send crepes send help.

(Chenevel Rouge also sounds slightly like evil red dog in French.)

#good omens #good omens meta #good omens analysis #good omens 2 #crowley #aziraphale #crowley x aziraphale #aziraphale x crowley #ineffable husbands