David, what has happen to your HAIR!?

“I’ve trapped you here.” “No, don’t worry about me.”

After a very long time, something's coming back.

Behind the Scenes of Aziraphale’s Bookshop (as it burns down)

Excerpt from The Nice and Accurate Good Omens TV Companion:

Responsibility for the bookshop blaze fell to the special effects supervisor, Danny Hargreaves. Like everyone else in the cast and crew as filming at Bovingdon [Airfield - where the bookshop set was built] progressed, he had come to appreciate the scale and detail invested in the set by Michael Ralph [production designer].

“I went from being just a guy on set to being the bad guy,” he laughs, as the man appointed to set fire to it. “It also broke my heart a little bit as there were thousands of books, tapestries, and beautiful grandfather clocks inside the shop that were real.”

“Everything is under control,” Danny points out, “but there is a limit as to where that fire can go, and we took it right to that limit. The burn time inside the bookshop was quite long, because David Tennant had to do a whole scene in there. Now, as Crowley is from Hell that means fire is his thing. So David had to be very cool about being in there, and he did it so well. The radial heat coming out was incredible, and there were moments where I shut off the gas lines sooner rather than later. One time Douglas [Mackinnon, director] came out and questioned why I’d cut it. I had to point out that the roof was about to catch fire.”

As the individual responsible for creating such a magical set, Michael Ralph considers the burn to be just another purpose for its existence.

“What we’re doing is supporting the actor,” he says, “and the emotion around that actor. The set is monstrous, huge, but it isn’t the show.”

Bonus:  New-to-us Photo from Danny Hargreaves

uh, I don't know if crowley and aziraphale know of this popular human custom... um, hugging, I believe – but I think they'd like it a lot actually 🥺

This scene proves, doesn’t it, that living in the car is Crowley’s choice. When Aziraphale comes back from Scotland, Crowley shoves the box at him before he gets to the threshold. He gives Aziraphale no option to even say, “won’t it be easier to leave the plants here” let alone to propose anything else. Was Crowley, by any chance, actively avoiding a conversation about him living in his car this whole time?

Crowley is absolutely not okay, we know, we know. He is frustrated, he is struggling; he is asking what the point of it all is. Yes, he is fiercely protective of his independence when he says “my car”, “the precious, peaceful, fragile existence I have carved out for myself”—and the same time, he is still not willing to talk. He probably does not even see a way to have important conversations safely; the fear of rejection might still be too much. His instinct remains to run away from trouble. With something as terrifying as vulnerability and openness, he needs Nina and Maggie to tip the scales.

He has the swagger. He acts like he knows what’s happening, like he has things figured out.

It’s a getaway car.

This is established in s1 when Crowley literally tries to load Aziraphale up and, apparently, drive the Bentley to Alpha Centauri. It’s a very strong symbol of safety for Crowley - he survives the wall of fire on the M25 because he believes the Bentley will carry him through, and he drives it all the way to Tadfield on fire believing beyond the shadow of a doubt that the car will deliver him safely.

S2 shows that Crowley’s flat is owned by or paid for by Hell and thus he’s had to move out. Fine. There’s a suggestion that Crowley is or has been submitting expenses for reimbursement anyway, and Crowley is still capable of doing miracles. There’s no real reason at all for him to be living in his car.

But he’s always ready to move. He’s always ready to go to Aziraphale. When Aziraphale rings him up and says, come here, he’s two minutes away. By living in the Bentley, Crowley is always, always ready to run away.

Presumably the only reason he hasn’t yet is because he can’t ask Aziraphale to leave the bookshop - both because Aziraphale loves the shop but also because doing so would require the same bravery he finally pulls together in ep6. But he’s ready on a moment’s notice.

In s2e1, Crowley is tense, struggling with what he’s supposed to do now, anxious about what will happen next. He’s doing regular check-ins with Shax, keeping tabs on what Hell is up to despite his fear of being found out (asking Shax if she thinks Hell knows, Shax responding that Hell wouldn’t care anyway). He’s lingering within a 5 minute radius of the shop. When Aziraphale leaves with the car, he monitors them - he can tell that Aziraphale is going too slow (urging Aziraphale to be faster about going and coming back). And Crowley doesn’t officially give in to Aziraphale’s request to use the car until Muriel arrives - until Heaven’s representative shows up to monitor Aziraphale.

Then Crowley immediately capitulates. Tosses over the keys. Literally minds how they go.

Because Crowley trusts that Aziraphale will be safe in the Bentley. Because Crowley thinks of the Bentley in terms of protection and escape. He grounds himself with Gabriel and Muriel to allow Aziraphale to leave in the safest way possible, away from prying eyes.

He’s living in the car so he can leave on a moment’s notice. So he can get to Aziraphale on a moment’s notice. He knows they’re not safe.