Warning: Major spoilers ahead for Season 2 of Good Omens.
If you’re reading this right now, you’re probably feeling a little fragile. And you’re not alone.
After all, Season 2 of Amazon Prime’s critically acclaimed Good Omens — which follows the angel Aziraphale and his demonic not-at-all-platonic bestie Crowley — has left us with a different kind of Armageddon. Here, the plot deals not with the literal end of the world; in its final ten minutes, we see the end of Crowley’s world after Aziraphale decides to go to Heaven and leave him behind.
The much-awaited second installment of the series delivers on everything author and showrunner Neil Gaiman had promised: It is “quiet and gentle and romantic,” dives into Jane Austen, and spoils us with sweeping, heartfelt, and sometimes silly moments that focus on character development instead of the fate of the universe. It even gave fans the gift of making the Ineffable Bureaucracy ship — composed of the Archangel Gabriel and the Prince of Hell Beelzebub — canon.
But, it also broke our hearts.
And with fans now back to waiting for news about the next chapter of this divinely written, acted, and edited show, it’s time to mull on that cliffhanger season finale, and what it means for our favorite Ineffable Husbands. What’s next for Aziraphale and Crowley? Does the Miracle Latte Theory hold any water? Let’s discuss it!
What’s Going to Happen to Crowley Now?
After six millennia’s worth of falling in love, Crowley is now alone.
The bookshop is being managed by Muriel, his apartment may not be returned to him, and even his Bentley holds too many painful memories. It feels very much like taking a flaming sword through the heart.
Of course, Crowley’s been rejected before: In Season 1, Aziraphale tells him in his car, “You go too fast for me,” and in the bandstand, that “There is no our side!” But this final rejection feels 6,000 times more devastating because Crowley had finally mustered up the courage to say exactly what’s on his mind — only to be left behind in favor of the same organization that cast him out.
As heartbreaking as the separation is, it’s not hard to feel proud of Crowley for knowing who he is and what he wants, and for walking away when he did.
Where Crowley is driving off to at the end of Season 2 is probably a mystery even to himself. Alpha Centauri is out of the question; he might run into Gabriel and witness their joy with Beelzebub — a joy that, for Crowley, would feel like a wicked injustice.
Wherever we do find him next, he’ll most likely be very drunk.
Why Did Aziraphale Go?
The object of the second stage of my grief — anger — was Aziraphale, and I suspect it is the same for fans around the world who screamed at their TV during the final moments of Season 2.
But really, his decision to go with the Metatron and accept the job of Supreme Archangel isn’t out of left field. And despite the utter heartbreak, one could argue that Aziraphale did it for Crowley — the decision borne from both an absolute love for and a tragic misunderstanding of the demon.
At the beginning of Season 2, we see pre-fall Crowley creating the galaxies and having the time of his life. His fall to Hell starts there, with him daring to suggest changes to God’s plan and, in the absence of a suggestion box, to have one in the first place.
Aziraphale has always, despite everything, believed in the inherent goodness of Heaven. And with him in charge of it, he thought that he could truly make a difference and give Crowley what he wanted back then.
But it’s his belief in Heaven as the side of goodness — as the only side of goodness — that has led him to misunderstand Crowley. He thinks that Crowley’s goodness is rooted in his past as an angel, and not in him actively choosing to do good (and also, absolutely rooted in being in love with Aziraphale).
Thus, the offer to reinstate Crowley to full angelic status was the biggest temptation, because for Aziraphale, it meant that:
- He could make a difference in Heaven;
- He could make Crowley happy; and
- He could be with Crowley in Heaven.
In other words: He could have it all.
To be fair, Crowley has never expressed any affection for Hell and being a demon. But Aziraphale’s mistake is in thinking that Crowley would be happy to be back where he was at the start of Creation, with a Heaven that was better managed. In truth, Crowley was happy to stay with him on Earth.
So when Aziraphale says, “Nothing lasts forever,” he’s saying that he was willing to give up his bookshop if it meant being with Crowley in Heaven.
But awful miscommunication aside, there’s also the matter of Heaven’s manipulation.
Aziraphale believes in Heaven’s goodness so much and wants to be accepted by it so badly that he falls for Metatron’s flattery. Crowley, who’s cut ties with both Heaven and Hell, sees it, and I suspect those of us who could recognize patterns of gaslighting in real life can see it, too. But Aziraphale can’t, and Crowley’s love isn’t enough to undo centuries upon centuries of religious trauma.
Finally, there’s also the matter of the Second Coming. If Aziraphale had any lingering doubts about his decision to take charge, they were gone the moment the Metatron said the words. He truly believes he could do good — and stop the Second Coming — from the inside.
And if he couldn’t be with Crowley, being the Supreme Archangel at least means that Aziraphale could protect him.
The Miracle Latte Theory: Metatron’s Deception?
Sharp-eared fans have pointed out that when the Metatron insists that Aziraphale drinks the coffee, one could hear a very faint sound effect associated with miracles on the show.
Here’s what we know:
- In Season 2, Episode 3, the poison laudanum makes Crowley drunk and high. Since demons and angels are from the same stock, we can assume that the effect is similar on angels like Aziraphale;
- In the finale, the Metatron orders a latte with “a dash of almond,” but when the Metatron gives the latte to Aziraphale, he says that it has “a hefty jigger of almond,” which is a significantly larger amount of almond than “a dash.”
- Cyanide, a deadly poison, tastes like almonds.
The Miracle Latte theory is interesting because there was so much focus on the coffee for it to be just a throwaway detail. The specific coffee is even mentioned in the episode summary!
The theoretical combination of the poison and the miracle might help explain why Aziraphale’s actions feel a tad off-beat.
After all, a core part of his character is his love for books, food, and Crowley. To say goodbye to all that feels wrong. Him saying, “Nothing lasts forever,” after having spent the whole of Season 1 trying to stop the end of the world, feels wrong. Him acting (and even smiling!) like pre-Jim Gabriel feels very wrong.
And, we’ve learned that Heaven isn’t above being sneaky. With the miracle that Crowley and Aziraphale created together being so powerful, it makes sense that the Metatron would want to either use them both or keep them apart.
It’s also a little poetic: Crowley tempted Aziraphale with food and introduced him to the joy of life on Earth, while Metatron tempted him with a coffee from a café that offers death (theoretically).
This isn’t to say that Aziraphale couldn’t have made the awful decision to go on his own, as discussed above, and in truth, all this could be nothing.
But, it could also be everything. The only time we’ll know for sure is when Season 3 is finally upon us.
Will There Be a Good Omens Season 3?
The short answer is yes.
The long answer is that Neil Gaiman is absolutely set on continuing the story (and with a happy ending in store for our favorite husbands), even if he’d have to do it in another format. Where Season 2 was “quiet and gentle and romantic,” Season 3 is set to be “Bigger, louder, final.”
The tricky bit is whether Amazon Prime will renew the show. This is a waiting game that many queer TV shows know all too well.
But there’s also the matter of the strikes, and how no work is going to be done until companies like Amazon Prime agree to pay people fairly. Both David Tennant and Michael Sheen, who play Crowley and Aziraphale, respectively, are members of SAG-AFTRA, which is on strike. Gaiman is a member of both SAG-AFTRA and the Writer’s Guild of America, which is also on strike.
The good news is that the set for Good Omens is pristine, and it is just waiting for work to be picked back up again. But Season 3 really is up to Amazon, and whether enough people watch the show to make them happy.
Gaiman has summarized what we, as fans, can do to make Good Omens Season 3 happen::
- Watch Season 2;
- Get others to start watching Good Omens Seasons 1 and 2; and
- Encourage Hollywood studios to negotiate with the WGA.