Good Omens has returned with a six-episode season 2. Fans who have been waiting four years for this sequel should be pleased, as the followup seems geared to give them more of what they liked, although “be careful what you wish for” is always good advice.
In the first season, based on the novel by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett and written by Gaiman, the angel Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) and the demon Crowley (David Tennant) team up to stop Armageddon. They’ve gone a bit native due to their time on Earth and don’t want to lose their favorite restaurants.
For Good Omens Season 2, archangel Gabriel (Jon Hamm) shows up at the door of Aziraphale’s bookshop. He’s naked and amnesiac, not knowing who he is (but making quite the entrance). That gives Aziraphale and Crowley another naive character to co-parent, much like the boys Warlock and Adam in the first series.
The kind of humor that results from an innocent in today’s world is also a reminder that this second series has a co-writer, John Finnemore. He’s previously done comedy with a similar, much-loved “innocent in today’s world” character in his Cabin Pressure radio show.
Crowley and Aziraphale work together, teaming up against all the celestial and hellish forces to protect Gabriel and each other. As part of this plot, they decide to make two neighboring shopkeepers fall in love. Maggie (Maggie Service) runs a record store; Nina (Nina Sosanya) owns the local coffee shop, “Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death”. Maggie is the sunshine-y blonde one, and Nina the grumpy, sarcastic, dark-haired one. As a friend said, these aren’t just characters that mirror the main pair; they’re flat-out copies.
Their storyline is also underbaked, with the most serious part of it (involving issues of consent) mostly ignored. And that’s the biggest issue with Good Omens Season 2 — it’s a little too simple and comfortable compared to the first series. It’s a quieter, easier-to-follow premise, leisurely walked through. Storylines and scenes are padded, filling out time. Plot points are reemphasized, in case the viewer missed something. Pacing is off, with the opening mystery often forgotten about for long periods of time, only for it all to be rushed through in the final episode.
Oh, there are plenty of cute bits — one of my favorites was Aziraphale referring to the Bentley as “our car” before he borrows it. Fans will love seeing Sheen and Tennant together as angels, making stars, in the time before Crowley’s fall. Aziraphale gets to play at being a magician again, and Crowley gets drunk. That results in pointless transformations that at least give fic writers something more to play with.
Three of the six episodes have substantial “minisodes” included that take up a good half of the running time. The flashbacks to Aziraphale and Crowley through history were much-loved in the first series, so now, we get expanded versions:
* Episode 2 – “A Companion To Owls” – written by John Finnemore – tackles the question of Job, and how God could penalize a righteous man. How a just god could let children die is a question also returned to (as in the Ark sequence in the first series). Job is played by Peter Davison, Tennant’s father-in-law (and fellow Doctor), while Job’s son is played by Ty Tennant, son of David, so it’s a three-generation acting family on-screen.
* Episode 3 – “The Resurrectionists” – written by Cat Clarke – set in Edinburgh, dealing with body-snatchers and poverty. The setting allows Tennant to voice his natural Scottish (although he often exaggerates it). The plot, as the previous does, raises the question of the fairness of God’s ineffable plan.
* Episode 4 – “Nazi Zombie Flesheaters” – written by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman – does what it says on the tin as well as serving as a reunion for The League of Gentlemen. Dyson wrote for the horror-comedy group, which consisted of Reece Shearsmith (here playing a demon), Steve Pemberton, and Mark Gatiss. The latter two reprise their roles as Nazis from season 1, along with Niamh Walsh, only they’re now zombies.
All of these minisodes together show the viewer how the relationship between Crowley and Aziraphale has changed over the centuries. The demon tempts the angel to try food, question how one really determines good and evil, lie, and most importantly, to think for himself.
Surprisingly, many of the key modern day scenes do not feature the two leads together. If I didn’t know Sheen and Tennant enjoyed working together, I’d wonder, as important moments are staged with other characters instead of each other. It’s likely due to filming during COVID; other scenes feature social distancing and even visible masks.
Perhaps that’s why so many scenes feel spare. There are the necessary establishing shots with crowds on the street, for instance, but many key scenes are two-handers in dark rooms. There are generally fewer people around in this glimpse of the world, and less happening. The climactic showdown gives up on visual background altogether. It’s supposed to be mystically spooky, but it looks like they forgot to insert the background for the green screen.
I also thought the costumes looked cheesier. There are lots of white robes with gold braid trim, and the overall feeling is that they didn’t have quite the same budget. The new angel, Muriel (Quelin Sepulveda), another innocent, has the best wardrobe, wearing either a traditional constable’s uniform (only all in white) or a charming blazer/waistcoat/plaid-lined pleated schoolgirl skirt ensemble.
And for my last quibble: now that Tennant is wearing sideburns, his facial snake tattoo is too low, almost down to his chin.
Regardless of this season not being quite as good as the first (not a surprise, just the sophomore curse, complicated by a worldwide pandemic), it is much to be hoped that a third season is approved and filmed. Although it would appear by 2026 at the earliest, fans don’t want to see their beloved “ineffable husbands” left where they are. As an old, I was reminded of The Empire Strikes Back; but at least then, we knew we were getting a conclusion.
Good Omens Season 2 is available to stream on Amazon Prime now.
I have read (from Gaiman I think) that season 2 is a bridge season to get the characters where they need to be for season 3 which is the real sequel that Gaiman and Pratchett had ideas for when Good Omens became a success when it was published.
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