Preparing for Good Omens Season 2
We are hopping on to let you know what our plans for discussing Season 2 of Good Omens, and what you can expect from the upcoming episodes. Bottomline: We are bamboozled, and are hoping to talk it out and reach the other side a little bit less confused. Join us if you want to find out whether we can manage!
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25th October 2023 @ 8:45 am
Hello! I only just finished the 2 seasons of Good Omens (finally) hence the late reply. I have similar feelings regarding season 2 so I’m looking forward to your thoughts after closer inspection!
In separation, I enjoyed every scene with Aziraphale, Crowley or Gabriel in it. I also liked the past stories that depicted the conflict in Aziraphale regarding good and evil. It didn’t make much sense to me when put together though. All those moments that should have been the turning point for Aziraphale didn’t seem to make a difference. I don’t get his thought process.
I’m also confused about the Aziraphale and Crowley’s dynamic. I had a clear picture of their relationship throughout 6000 years in season 1 but when I got to season 2 everything seemed to be different. It was like season 1 and 2 were different stories. I think part of it is because of the sudden intensified romantic tone? I was thrown out a little since I felt none of it in season 1. They were like an old marry couple but I didn’t get the romantic vibe. Now suddenly Aziraphale had that pining stare all the time and Crowley became a protective boyfriend. They were still lovely. I just haven’t caught on the changes.
The ending… didn’t make sense to me. But I saw there were many theories and some of them looked convincing. I’m curious about your theory.
Anyway. Look forward to this series! And do igore this post if you already finished the recording.
27th September 2023 @ 7:16 pm
Hi! I realize that I’m leaving this message over a week after you posted your “Looking Forward To” episode, so I have no idea if you’ll get this before you post your first episode. However, I had a few thoughts I want to get out there, so I’m going to post this anyway.
Firstly, you have to know that I’m an Ineffable Beauracracy (GabrielxBeelzebub) shipper. I have been ever since Season 1, and I might even say that I ship them more than I ship Aziraphale and Crowley. Therefore, when I learned that Gabriel would play a bigger role in this season than he did in the last one, I was understandably excited. The actual show, however, gave me somewhat mixed feelings even before we got to the finale.
Simply put, I was disappointed with how little time we actually spent with Beelzebub and Gabriel. I loved what Jon Hamm and Shelley Conn did with what they had, and I wished that we had more time with them and their characters. I understand that this is a show about Aziraphale and Crowley, but we spent a lot of time in the past this season. Though Gabriel made an appearance in one of the flashbacks, Beelzebub never did, and I feel that their presence could have provided an interesting juxtaposition to Gabriel’s, as well as a contrast between past and present. (Shelley Conn could easily have done this if they hadn’t made this the first time that Beelzebub changed their face.)
That being said, I was quite fond of Season 2 overall, and I’m sorry to hear that you weren’t fans of it. Even so, I’m interested in hearing your thoughts.
21st September 2023 @ 10:38 am
Hello! I resonated with quite a bit of what you two shared during this “Preparing” episode. Strong performances from particular actors, and a general sense of “?????!” as well. One piece of information I had seen online that helped form my perspective on Season 2 was a tweet response from Neil Gaiman to @Ethereal_Gen. Gaiman has said that he and Sir Terry Pratchett had imagined and discussed the sequel to the Good Omens book, and the tweet said that the content of that story is reserved largely for Season 3 of the show. Perhaps our confusion about some of the story choices in Season 2 will be alleviated by some kind of payoff in a few years, but this hypothetical does not alleviate all of my angst about the new season itself. Thank you for sharing your thoughts! You are not alone in your “not-overwhelmingly-positive” view of Season 2, and I think many listeners will appreciate hearing you two deconstruct and process these 6 episodes.
A link to an article that has the aforementioned tweet: https://screenrant.com/good-omens-season-3-story-sequel-book-neil-gaiman/
16th September 2023 @ 6:06 pm
I’m so glad you’ll be covering Good Omens Season 2, and I’m sorry to hear it didn’t redeem itself for you – I know how excited you were for Season 1. I quite enjoyed Season 2, even more than Season 1, but my viewing is much less analytical than yours (that’s why I enjoy hearing your thoughts) AND I watched it while I was sick as a dog and didn’t require much from the show. Also, I haven’t watched the finale yet – saving it for a time when I can give it my full attention.
I’m curious about
– how do you feel if you view the plot just as a vehicle for Crowley and Aziraphale to interact? That is, accepting that the plot is thin and just a season-long McGuffin to give the characters a reason to be together? (For me, I want more Aziraphale and Crowley, and am willing to accept most any premise to get them interacting.)
– what is your take on recasting Nina Sosanya and Miranda Richardson into new roles? I found this fairly jarring, and am wondering if it’s all going to come together in the final episode. They’re both incredible actors and I’m happy to see them again …but having them back on the show, as brand-new characters, confused me until I just accepted it.
16th September 2023 @ 9:01 pm
Ohhh, y’all – I just watched the finale and the tone of your “Preparing” episode makes a lot more sense to me now! I feel like I got the rug pulled out from under me! Putting that reaction in the form of a question … how much of your disappointment is based on the finale? Had the finale gone another way, would you feel differently about the rest of the season?
16th September 2023 @ 3:06 pm
Oh this will be an interesting one. I’m a huge good omens fan and absolutely loved the show (both seasons). Already when listening to you podcast on season 1 I sat there disagreeing with a lot of what you said. I’m very curious to hear what you will have to say now.
You said you want other people’s thoughts and I hope I will have some useful ones. Most of my thoughts watching good omens end up being “Aaaah look at them 🥹” and I don’t think that would be very useful here. When I watch a show and I end up really liking it, it’s always about the characters. I pretty much ignore any and all plot elements and only focus on what it means for the characters and their relationship. Good omens gave me Aziraphale & Crowley. Neil could give me an hour of them doing pretty much anything and I’d be happy. So as you can see, very biased opinions here.