I know Iām kinda reiterating on points that I made in previous posts, but, likeā¦ as far as critique of traditional Black-and-White views of Morality in āGood Omensā, go I always thought the way the narrative treated the concept of āSelfishnessā was a very important theme. How, while it seemed like such an obvious ābadā and āHellishā trait, it fueled so much of the charactersā sympathetic and even heroic actions. Especially how the Themās arguments to Adam against destroying the world, and Adamās arguments against Heaven and Hell, were fundamentally self-interested. They wanted to save the world because the world is neat and they wanted to grow up in it.
From the Metatronās (in the TV Continuity, Gabrielās) perspective, Adam was being selfish, stopping Godās will and the Greater Good for the things he wanted to do and the responsibilities he wanted to avoid.
And then of course, Crowley and Aziraphale being the only Demon and Angel willing to (try to) stop Armageddon, purely because theyāre so Selfish and Hedonistic. And then their Show-Exclusive relationship arc seems to emphasize that point, as Aziraphale titters between the āselflessnessā of sacrificing his happiness for Heavenās idea of Morality and his āselfishā desire to love and adore and be with Crowley.
Of course that selflessness is also important, shades of gray and all that, and the most obvious example of that in the original text is Crowley and Aziraphaleās first attempt at a Heroic Sacrifice, to save the Humans from Satanās wrath. Like, it was important for both of their character arcs in the original book on several different levels that they reached that point.
But that moment fizzled out with zero casualties specifically because the joke is that this is not what that story was about, in the sense that this Epic Sacrificial Fight Against Satan is far too Dramatic for this silly little comedy, in the sense that this isnāt actually Crowley and Aziraphaleās story and in the sense that this isnāt a story about grand selfless gestures of heroism. Itās about a kid fighting for himself, for his right to be a kid and do whatever he feels like.
For the show, that basically rearranged that whole sequence to remove the whole Dramatic Self sacrifice thing, it felt like it was going to engage with that nuance of āhey, being selfless is important even if this isnāt really what this story is aboutā with Crowley and Aziraphaleās relationship arc in GO2. How Aziraphale is sometimes kinda Passively Obliviously Selfish and doesnāt sacrifice enough in the relationship, even as he still has that same problem of selflessly sacrificing his happiness with Crowley for what he perceives as the Greater Good of the entire world.
So I really thought this would conclude with something about, yāknow, balance, shades of gray. Aziraphale learns to sacrifice more in the relationship, but also that his and Crowleyās happiness together is worth selfishly fighting for, and Crowley also maybe learns to not be so unhealthily selflessly self-sacrificing in when it comes to Aziraphale as well, that heās also allowed to be āselfishā in this relationship sometimes.
But instead GO3 seems to pivot to a total unironic glorification of selflessness and self-sacrifice. Crowleyās unhealthy levels of self-sacrifice, even giving up the Bentley, as much of a prized possession and his current house as it was an extension of his own body, was just romanticized as just an uncomplicated unironic example of his love and dedication. And not, like, kind of a red flag for his mental health regardless of his partner being a āTakerā or not. Because Aziraphale didn't make him sleep in that alleyway, but it's something the character never learns to overcome or heal from, it just changes focus on who is the target of his self-sacrifice.
And while the Finale again and again (ā¦and againā¦) criticizes Aziraphaleās decision to take on the Supreme Archangel role, it doesnāt really address the matter of Aziraphale genuinely seeing it as a selfless sacrifice on his part, giving up on a selfish escape with Crowley and all of his beloved Earthly Delights to try to save the world. Instead of just focusing on the idea that it was just foolish and naive of him to even try to reform Heaven and the Second Coming, and painting him as Selfish for leaving behind the people/places he was close to. Even as he left them behind so he could work as hard as he can to save them.
And āoh, you were trying to selflessly sacrifice your happiness to help us as part of your plan to help everyone, but by losing focus on the āselfishā small picture, you also lost focus on what we really wanted or needed, so it still hurt us and still felt selfish to usā would have been a great nuance to add inā¦ if not for the way this fucking Finale ends, with a grand gesture of selfless sacrifice for a very abstract Greater Good ideal done with zero affection or consideration of the opinion of the āsmall pictureā individuals they supposedly cared about.
A sacrifice that the narrative goes to great lengths to show as Pure Undiluted Selflessness, Crowley is giving up everything for humanity, Aziraphale is giving up everything for Crowley, the whole point of building up their relationship up to that point was to emphasize all the possibilities they just sacrificed, they are supposed to get absolutely no benefit from it, not even the satisfaction of knowing and seeing the positive effects of their sacrifice. A sacrifice thatās supposed to be oh-so-inspiring and touching, like that selfless love is the greatest thing in the world.
Thereās nothing inherently wrong with ending the Ineffable Husbandsā arc showing they can be selfless. Again, there is a reason why the had that Moment at the climax of the book, and I do see the value of the message that dismantling oppressive systems will take some sort of sacrificeā¦ but it feels so weird and thematically discordant for āGood Omensā of all stories to end on such an uncomplicated, straightforward glorification of pure and selfless self-sacrifice. Does an act of selflessness has to be 100% certified with zero self-interest to have value? Does a Sacrifice have to be both absolute and completely with nothing for you to gain to be worthwhile? Wasn't there something to be said about shades of gray?
Yes. To be honest it is very Pratchettian to celebrate selfishness. I frequently think of this quote from Wee Free Men:
"All witches are selfish, the Queen had said. But Tiffanyās Third Thoughts said: Then turn selfishness into a weapon! Make all things yours! Make other lives and dreams and hopes yours! Protect them! Save them! Bring them into the sheepfold! Walk the gale for them! Keep away the wolf! My dreams! My brother! My family! My land! My world! How dare you try to take these things, becauseĀ they are mine!
I have a duty!"
- Terry Pratchett - The Wee Free Men
I feel Aziraphale and Crowley's selfishness in Good Omens is very much along these lines. Yes, they are selfish! They want to save the world so they can keep enjoying each other's company and the pleasures of Earth. So what! The world still gets saved!
One of the reasons I loved Good Omens was the atypical storytelling. It didn't follow the usual tropes and cliches. S3 seems to have erased all that and gone with the tired messaging we see in so many other shows. "Well we all know selflessness is good, therefore their noble sacrifice is a happy ending."
Do we? Is it? I don't think so.
