#zira ur adorable

[benisasoftboi]

Recently there has been a lot of talk about the problems with ‘subverting expectations’ in fiction, thanks to A Certain Show I Won’t Name. A while back I actually had a whole mini-essay ready on the subject, because that particular show annoyed me too. But then I thought no, there’s already about a million essays out there, and most of them are a hundred times better than anything I could say. So I decided it better to scrap the whole thing. 

And then, Good Omens dropped. And I was reminded of just how much I love this story and these characters and that, despite recent grumbling to the contrary, ‘subverting expectations’ is something you totally can do right. Because Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett did. So now I’m going to gush about it a little.

Obviously it’s there in the comedic parts, playing with audience expectation is one of the basics of comedy writing. I don’t think anyone’s ever complained that they were surprised by the punchline to a joke. But it’s done in the dramatic moments and the characterisation too, and it pretty much always works really well. 

The clearest example is probably how there’s all this build up to Adam confronting his father, and he pretty much just tells Satan ‘lol ur not my REAL dad’ (and in the book, it doesn’t even get as far as that) and goes off with his human father - yes it’s anti-climactic, but sensibly and fittingly so, since we’re dealing with a reality warper who has just been declared to ultimately be human - the trait that’s also just saved the day.  

However, my favourite example is easily Aziraphale and Crowley’s relationship (I posted something about this before and I’m kind of going to just be rehashing it I’m afraid, so apologies if you’ve seen that already). This relationship is surprising. Not because they’re an angel and a demon, because that’s the ultimate opposites attract and everyone knows by now that if a work has one of each, they will at the very least end up the best of friends. The reason Zira and Crowley are surprising is because (when they’re not trying to stop Armageddon) they’re so incredibly mundane.

If I said ‘angel demon forbidden relationship’, your first thought would probably be ‘trashy romance novel’ or ‘forever unfinished Destiel Demon!Dean AU fanfic’ or ‘the CW’. Something cheesy and over dramatic and probably also unbearably soppy. You would likely not be expecting me to be describing two guys who don’t really like their jobs, and so lie to their bosses and bunk off to drink wine together. But that’s what they are, really, and that makes them relatable, and memorable in the best way - plus, the fact that it’s so unexpected also makes them much, much more interesting than they otherwise might be. The two of them really are the soul of Good Omens, and I don’t think that they, or even the book as a whole, would be nearly as beloved if the authors had taken a more typical direction with these characters. 

I also really like that Good Omens knows when not to subvert. As just one example, the show had the new addition of the Crowley/Zira body swap at the end, and it was immediately obvious to me what was going on. But there was also this tiny part of me that was rather concerned that it was going to be revealed that ‘oh actually, Crowley’s an angel now, and Zira’s a demon! Wow! What a ~twist~’, and it would ruin everything because - just - ugh, seriously, how dumb and pointless would that be? Thankfully, exactly what I first guessed would happen happened instead, but the fact that I saw it coming a mile off didn’t make me enjoy it any less - because it made sense and it was a fitting addition for the story and their characters. It can be fun to be surprised, but it’s always fun to be satisfied (and the two should not be seen as mutually exclusive).

Conclusion: Neither predictable nor expectation defying writing is inherently good or bad. It’s all down to how people choose to use it. Also, Good Omens is excellent in every form and I will adore it forever 

#good omens #good omens tv #ineffable husbands #crowley #aziraphale #long post #good omens book #good omens spoilers #i could probably give a thousand other examples #but this already feels too long as is