Aziraphale has shattered Crowley’s heart with a single line.
Season 2 of Good Omens is a very different beast than Season 1, scaling down on the biblical machinations in favor of an emotional exploration of the relationship between Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) and Crowley (David Tennant). There are many tender moments in Season 2 proving how much the demon and angel duo love each other, giving fans the ship they wanted for many years. Yet, Season 2 of Good Omens leaves us heartbroken after a tragic finale in which Aziraphale rejects Crowley’s advances in favor of a new job in Heaven. Aziraphale’s lack of perspective regarding taking the role of Supreme Archangel is already a shocking development. Yet, one line the angels say to Crowley during their breakup stings more than anything else, as it echoes the demon’s unfair punishment by God before the beginning of time.
Season 2 of ‘Good Omens’ Explains Why Crowley Became a Demon
In Season 2 of Good Omens, we are taken to the beginning of the universe. Before God put their plan for humanity into motion, enraging rebellious angels and causing the first great war in history, Crowley was a high-ranking angel at the service of the Creator. In fact, Crowley helped to design the many beautiful things we find in the universe, including constellations and nebulas.
Crowley first meets Aziraphale when he’s trying to put the universe in place. Once he does, the two angels look at the stars spreading to infinity, taking in the wonders conjured by the grace of the Lord. Unfortunately, Aziraphale soon reveals God plans to destroy everything in little more than six thousand years. Furthermore, the whole universe has been ordered, so humans can have something to look at when they gaze at the skies. That means all the beauty of the universe was doomed to end because of what happens on a single planet lost in the middle of boundless marvels. It doesn’t sound like a fair deal for Crowley, who quickly expresses his discontentment to Aziraphale.
As we learn, Crowley gets on the wrong side of the celestial war in Good Omens because he dares to question the Creator’s reason for letting so much beauty go to waste. That means that since the universe came to be, Crowley’s unique sense of justice prevented him from accepting nonsensical orders mindlessly, an admirable trait that nevertheless led him to be cast out into Hell and condemned to be a demon for eternity. On the other hand, Aziraphale is eager to preach obedience since his first encounter with Crowley, pointing out how there’s nothing grave about the Armageddon plans, since “nothing lasts forever.” Unfortunately, Aziraphale repeats these insensible words when breaking up with Crowley.
Aziraphale’s Words Make Crowley Relive His Biggest Trauma
Due to his inability to stand idle while the beauty of the universe gets destroyed, Crowley became a demon, a celestial treason that gave him justifiable trust issues. Even so, for millennia, Crowley wandered Earth by the side of the angel Aziraphale, developing a sincere affection that slowly taught the demon how to trust another person again. Simultaneously, Crowley showed Aziraphale the harm that comes from Heaven’s strict moral policies. Especially after Aziraphale and Crowley worked together to prevent Armageddon, the demon was convinced his dear friend understood how there are many shades of gray between the black-and-white of Heaven and Hell’s never-ending war. Sadly, Season 2 of Good Omens proves that’s not entirely true.
At the end of Good Omens’ second season, Gabriel (Jon Hamm) recovers his memories, professes his love for Beelzebub (Shelley Conn), and leaves with his paramour for Alpha Centauri, where they hope to have a good life away from Heaven and Hell. Gabriel’s decision puts Heaven in a complicated position, as there’s no longer a Supreme Archangel to oversee the celestial operations. Instead of promoting one of the Archangels in service, Metatron (Derek Jacobi), the voice of God, offers the job to Aziraphale. The highest of all angels even breaks protocol and tells Aziraphale he can give Crowley his angelic status back, so they can rule together in Heaven.
Aziraphale is excited about the sudden promotion because, for the angel, that means working with the “good guys” once more and spending eternity by the side of Crowley. Of course, that Aziraphale even considered Metatron’s proposition means he doesn’t truly know Crowley. The demon doesn’t want to become an angel again; neither does he want to work for Hell. All that Crowley wants is to be freed from nonsensical biblical disputes, together with the love of his life. In short, Crowley wants the happy ending Gabriel and Beelzebub had. Furthermore, the fact Aziraphale calls Heaven the “good guys” is evidence the angel quickly ignored everything he learned at the side of Crowley for many millennia.
Aziraphale and Crowley’s Final Scene Is Bittersweet
Aziraphale and Crowley’s breakup scene is painful. Yet, what hurts the most is when Aziraphale seemingly accepts to leave Crowley behind by saying, “Nothing lasts forever.” It’s a selfish way of looking at things and a way for Aziraphale to justify his senseless choice. In addition, it’s the most unfair thing the angel could have said to Crowley. After all, that same line also sealed Crowley’s fate as a demon long before they met again in the Garden of Eden.
At the beginning of creation, Crowley faced the harsh reality that the beauty of the universe would end prematurely because of the will of a Creator who refused to explain themselves. A few millennia after that, Crowley takes a risk by confessing his love to Azirapahale, once again witnessing a thing of infinite beauty being destroyed so that Heaven can move forward with its plans for humanity. In both occasions, Aziraphale remains passive in front of injustice, trusting that Heaven knows better than his own heart. And so, during their breakup, Aziraphale repeats the words he said emotionlessly before Crowley’s fall from grace: “Nothing lasts forever.”
