I’ve never been a religious person. I had seen Breakthrough out of curiosity, mostly to see if it was as religious as I thought it would be. When I saw advertisements for Good Omens, I had similar concerns. Was it meant for an audience that had a better understanding of Christianity? I wasn’t sure I was willing to watch something like that so soon.
Then, I read that a group of Christians, calling themselves Return to Order, was petitioning Netflix to cancel the series. There were several problems with the petition. Most notable is the fact that the series is produced and distributed by Amazon. It’s also a limited series, a.k.a. miniseries, so there were never any plans for a second season anyway. So, if 20,000 Christians were that raving mad about it, I knew it was worth a try.
The show centers on Aziraphale, an angel, and Crowley, a demon. The two are friends, although they may not admit it. It would probably be better to call them the ultimate odd couple. They hang out together and occasionally cover for each other.
The story starts around 4004 B.C. in the Garden of Eden. The miniseries hits on a lot of Biblical events, like Noah’s Ark. Most of the story takes place in the present day, though. Both Crowley and Aziraphale are told that the Antichrist is about to land. Crowley was the one that had to deliver the baby to an American diplomat. Through a misunderstanding, the bouncing baby boy goes home with another couple.
He grows up to be a normal kid named Adam Young. He has friends and would like a dog for his eleventh birthday. Funny thing is that his eleventh birthday is supposed to be the beginning of the end of the world. (He even gets a small dog that’s actually a hellhound.)
Aziraphale and Crowley realize that they have to do something. Aziraphale finds the thought of killing Adam distasteful, but might prove necessary. Even if they did decide to do something, their respective bureaucracies are adamant about letting The Devine Plan unfold as it should. Plus, it takes them a while to realize that they gave the baby to the wrong couple. They have no idea who the actual couple is or where they live.
There is a satirical element to the miniseries. We’re given an angel and a demon who have to face normal problems. Both have bosses that don’t seem to do their due diligence. (Crowley has admittedly been phoning it in for a few millennia.) Both sides are intent on a war that could be easily averted because it’s part of an ineffable plan. The Four Horsemen even get an updated look, riding motorcycles instead of horses. There’s also a book of prophecies that happens to be true. It acts as more of a McGuffin, but it has its moments.
It’s difficult for me to say if the Christian group has a point. It’s easy for me as an outsider to think they have no sense of humor about this, but I do get that it’s a religion. People tend to take that sort of stuff seriously. I don’t think that it was anyone’s intent to poke fun at Armageddon.
Rather, it serves as a mirror of just how easily we are to do battle. Look at how easily people argue over issues when we might find we agree. No one wants to be shot. Do we limit access to guns or do we arm more people? No one wants to go hungry. Do we give tax breaks to corporations? Do we extend unemployment benefits? It’s easy to see our differences when maybe we should be looking at our similarities. If Aziraphale and Crowley can get along, maybe there’s hope for the rest of us.
Then, I read that a group of Christians, calling themselves Return to Order, was petitioning Netflix to cancel the series. There were several problems with the petition. Most notable is the fact that the series is produced and distributed by Amazon. It’s also a limited series, a.k.a. miniseries, so there were never any plans for a second season anyway. So, if 20,000 Christians were that raving mad about it, I knew it was worth a try.
The show centers on Aziraphale, an angel, and Crowley, a demon. The two are friends, although they may not admit it. It would probably be better to call them the ultimate odd couple. They hang out together and occasionally cover for each other.
The story starts around 4004 B.C. in the Garden of Eden. The miniseries hits on a lot of Biblical events, like Noah’s Ark. Most of the story takes place in the present day, though. Both Crowley and Aziraphale are told that the Antichrist is about to land. Crowley was the one that had to deliver the baby to an American diplomat. Through a misunderstanding, the bouncing baby boy goes home with another couple.
He grows up to be a normal kid named Adam Young. He has friends and would like a dog for his eleventh birthday. Funny thing is that his eleventh birthday is supposed to be the beginning of the end of the world. (He even gets a small dog that’s actually a hellhound.)
Aziraphale and Crowley realize that they have to do something. Aziraphale finds the thought of killing Adam distasteful, but might prove necessary. Even if they did decide to do something, their respective bureaucracies are adamant about letting The Devine Plan unfold as it should. Plus, it takes them a while to realize that they gave the baby to the wrong couple. They have no idea who the actual couple is or where they live.
There is a satirical element to the miniseries. We’re given an angel and a demon who have to face normal problems. Both have bosses that don’t seem to do their due diligence. (Crowley has admittedly been phoning it in for a few millennia.) Both sides are intent on a war that could be easily averted because it’s part of an ineffable plan. The Four Horsemen even get an updated look, riding motorcycles instead of horses. There’s also a book of prophecies that happens to be true. It acts as more of a McGuffin, but it has its moments.
It’s difficult for me to say if the Christian group has a point. It’s easy for me as an outsider to think they have no sense of humor about this, but I do get that it’s a religion. People tend to take that sort of stuff seriously. I don’t think that it was anyone’s intent to poke fun at Armageddon.
Rather, it serves as a mirror of just how easily we are to do battle. Look at how easily people argue over issues when we might find we agree. No one wants to be shot. Do we limit access to guns or do we arm more people? No one wants to go hungry. Do we give tax breaks to corporations? Do we extend unemployment benefits? It’s easy to see our differences when maybe we should be looking at our similarities. If Aziraphale and Crowley can get along, maybe there’s hope for the rest of us.
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