Good Omens season 2’s ending felt like fanfiction — for better or worse

Season 2 Good Omens wasn’t really ever You can also find out more aboutTo happen. The first season was originally planned as a miniseries, a one-and-done adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s classic 1990 novel. The first season was a miniseries, a one-and-done adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s classic 1990 novel. Good Omens left the question of Aziraphale and Crowley’s relationship dangling, fans read and wrote fic by the truckload, imagining all the different ways things might play out after the fall of the curtain. Season 2 has been green-lit by Amazon. But it’s always been a mystery how the series would follow the endless fanfics. And the result is… actually remarkably close to what the fanfic thought it might be.

The plot of the first season was faithfully followed by the multiple interconnected plotlines. Aziraphale, played by Michael Sheen, and Crowley, portrayed by David Tennant, were undoubtedly the stars. But Anathema and Newt as well as Shadwell and Miss Tracy along with the residents of heaven and hell, got plenty of screen time, in addition to Adam Young’s and his friend’s adventures. But while the second season (out now on Prime Video) has an assortment of new secondary characters to support its plot, there really isn’t any pretense that it is supposed anything other than the Aziraphale and Crowley Show.

It could be that some of it was due to shootings during the COVID-19 outbreak. Good Omens did. It is likely that reducing the size of the set to a simple skeleton on the soundstage and limiting the number of complex on-location shots and crowd scenes in favour of more intimate moments between the main characters eased the production pressures, and enabled the shoot to go smoothly.

But there’s also the fact that at the end of the day, that was the most interesting and in fact obvious direction for the series to go in. The series should have a slow simmer after the apocalypse, and then focus on the main relationship. You can also find out more about the following:The show is a major attraction.

Photo: Mark Mainz/Prime Video

Season 2 of Good OmensIt was like watching fanfics come to life. Some of it was curtainfic, as much of what I wrote in the wake of Season 1. Centered on domestic tranquility — figuratively “shopping for curtains” together — it’s low stakes and high reward. As the series progressed, however, it began to feel more and more like a fanfiction. Casefic, a type of fanfiction, is an attempt to recreate the plot of a show (usually procedurals or mysteries) in order to tell a story with a lot of action.

The elements of the story were all there. There was the mystery plot to get the characters in motion — how did Gabriel lose his memory, and how can our heroes protect him from heaven and hell? There was the cast of new OCs (original characters, in fandom parlance), including a flirty demon (Reece Shearsmith’s Furfur), an overeager angel (Quelin Sepulveda’s Muriel), and a gender-swapped human reflection of Crowley and Aziraphale (Nina and Maggie, played by Nina Sosanya and Maggie Service). And there was, of course, the fact that all of that stuff matters very little in the face of what we’re all there for: them getting together.

Tennant & Sheen have a great chemistry after spending three seasons together on BBC’s two-hander Stages) is unreal. Each glance, each touch is weighted. Crowley has a key to the bookshop; Aziraphale drives the Bentley (“our car,” as he refers to it). Multiple characters refer to them as, or mistake them for, a couple — far more explicitly than the oblique references in the first season. The banter, as you would expect, is flawless. It’s made better by John Finnemore, the co-writer. Cabin pressureThe scripts are full of charming puns and charming exchanges.

Photo: Chris Raphael/Amazon Studios, BBC Studios

Photo: Mark Mainz/Prime

It’s wonderful to read a well-written, engaging casefic. All genres have their place and time, whether it’s the PWP or the novel-length Slow Burn. But a casefic that feels like it might actually happen is a wonderful thing. The following are some of the ways to get in touch with each other. Canon has a very immersive, exciting quality, even if your ship is made to be canon. It’s a five-course meal including dessert.

Does this approach translate well? BackWhat if you want to bring back the original format? What if you want to convert a DVD into its original medium? Good OmensSeason 2… Well, What kind? Each time, I’d predict the beat of a song by thinking WIf I were to read this article on AO3, what would be the next thing that happens? Half triumphant and half disappointed, I was. In episode 5, when Aziraphale drags Crowley off to partake in a spot of dancing, I let out a delighted noise — but in the back of my mind I couldn’t help worry about the many plot threads that seemed to have fallen by the wayside.

In a fic, even a casefic, it’s OK if the plot takes a backseat to the love story. A canon installment will be more tolerant of flimsiness. The actual episode of the show isn’t just a rehash after four years spent savoring the most imaginative, creative and elaborate plots that the fans could imagine. All right. but it isn’t even finished (tale as old as time in fandom). The romance beat that usually comes about three-quarters of the way through the story — called “the crisis” or “the dark moment” — instead lands here squarely at the end of the finale. This leaves the final conclusion to be resolved in season 3 but, in the interim, shippers will find themselves in a pit of despair. Aziraphale is separated from Crowley permanently. It’s a familiar scenario for long-suffering fanfiction readers who often wait years — or forever — for a multi-chapter story to wrap up. Good Omens got a second season thanks to its adoring fans, and so the season certainly tries its best to give the fans everything they want — but only up to a point.

“We’re real people, you can’t just pair us up for your amusement,” Maggie admonishes Crowley, on her and Nina’s behalf, in the finale. This might seem reasonable in context, but to some fans it comes across as a judgemental “tsk-tsk” for thinking that their favourites would reach a romantically simple happily ever after, following six episodes filled with blatant and deliberate hints. I don’t think I’d be as frustrated with a fanfic that proceeded the exact same way as the season did — in fact, I think I’d adore it without reservation. In television terms, however, the meandering, domestic-focused approach that many fic readers enjoy, where they linger on family matters while speeding through plot points, may feel a bit disappointing.

It’s good to know that there is a way to deal with these feelings. I will read every new piece of fanfiction being created right now.