I always thought the mention of forgiveness somewhat hurt Crowley, since he regards himself as inherently unforgivable ("part of the job"). The second time I'm not sure he understands what Aziraphale forgave him for, or what he meant, adding to his feelings of hurt.
Ooh I didn't know, that was a great read!
The possibility of Aziraphale thinking Crowley was actually mourning their friendship broke my heart a little - it had never occurred to me. I hope he doesn't think anything along those lines after the "no nightingales" and "we could have been an Us" 😱
We saw Aziraphale get in trouble and doing something unorthodox to save the world, going straight to Crowley for help. I expect something similar to play out in the finale.
rejects Aziraphale's plan in a hurtful way ("stupid" / no understanding of the Metatron's offer + "no nightingales", "we could have been an Us").
In both instances:
Aziraphale forgives him, which in turn hurts Crowley.
Crowley makes to leave, only he doesn't.
Aziraphale ends up in Heaven.
Crowley, sensing the world is about to end and afraid of what Heaven might do to Aziraphale, suggests running away. He appeals to emotion ("how long have we been friends" / his monologue + "you can't leave this bookshop"), resigns ("have a nice doomsday" / "good luck"), comes back and
I see it as a parallel to the bandstand and subsequent street scenes, but with ramped up emotions.
Aziraphale, afraid for Crowley's wellbeing offers him safety in his own way (denying their association / asking him to come with him). He tries to involve higher authority to fix things both times.
Their banter warms my heart so much. I wish I could get an endless stream of it.
I like to think he has established some sort of feedback loop with slightly mad prophets as to the rules he comes up with.
I agree, it seems God sets the initial conditions and constraints and lets creation evolve. The Metatron would take it upon himself to extrapolate and set policies and procedures to maintain order and move things along like a proper bureaucrat.
And this could be the way God tests him.
Crowley is emotional and desperate because he knows Aziraphale will be opposed to the Second Coming and is afraid for his safety, having just seen what Heaven intended to do to Gabriel. But he also knows that Aziraphale has to try and shows he will be there for him by standing there watching him go.
Absolutely. Even so, there is so much evidence as to his intent and feelings in those last moments alone: the way he falters and then puts on a fake smile when the Metatron comes back in, his last look to Crowley, his expressions in the lift.
And of course Crowley knows he's not being betrayed.
He knows very well what he's up against and what it takes to do good within this system. His mind is already racing in the lift.
He talks about doing good and making a difference. But what does good mean for him? Protecting humans, the world, Crowley, even Gabriel who tried to execute him. And he does so by giving away his sword, lying to his superiors, conspiring, manipulating, even resorting to force.
I guess this misconception comes from taking his words to Crowley at face value and completely out of context.
He only accepted the job because there was no other way to keep Crowley (and maybe himself) safe at the time. So he will buy them time, until he hatches a plot to save the world and keep them together. I think whatever change will come as a result of this.
Enough to bend reality to their will, unbeknownst to them.
A scene showing Aziraphale taking Crowley's hand after the latter agreed to help with the Bullet Catch. A sword in the background seems to go through where their hands are joined.
In quick succession, acts necessary for survival, then acts of kindness, then mutual trust. Two beings who are a team, can always rely on each other, etc...
Replaying the 1941 flashback in my mind, I realised we got a depiction of their relationship through actions escalating in terms of closeness:
C: diverting the bombs
A: keeping them alive
C: saving the books
A: making up for C's mishap
Both: overcoming adversity by trusting each other, no miracles
Yes, Aziraphale had been insisting on doing something for him in return. This might not have been what Aziraphale had in mind, but it still made him really happy.
Pass it along, let's see your pfp in its full sized glory!
Crowley, immersed in hellfire. A render for the 3D model of his sigil I made - it was my first ever fanart 🥰
Alright, who's picking up their pencil 😂
One can hope 😁
This has already caused confusion:
bsky.app/profile/sind...
Well, it's his personal copy with a dedication by the author...
Or (this is where I first noticed it):
bsky.app/profile/myth...
A scene showing Aziraphale reading Professor Hoffman's "Modern Magic". The book has a dog-eared page.
But he might sometimes employ unsavoury methods 🤭
A scene showing Aziraphale searching through a Bible. The book is open on a bookmarked page.
Both. He uses bookmarks for the same reason he uses reading glasses and magnifying lenses.
Here is one of his Bibles:
It just occurred to me, the latter would fit with the Metatron's comment to Aziraphale "always did want to go his own way".
But their history surely goes further back - he's the Voice of God, so maybe angel Crowley had been pestering him with suggestion boxes and trying to convince him not to end the world before his engine even had a chance to warm up.
