You know, I genuinely try to respect the people who liked the finale, as long as they don't come into our spaces and try to force their opinion on us.
But I still don't understand them, and here I want to talk about one of the reasons why I never will.
In the finale, Aziraphale is portrayed as a naive, stupid idiot who simply doesn't understand that "everything has already been decided, you can't change anything! There will always be someone above you pulling the strings, so there's no point even trying. You should have just run away to Alpha Centauri and forgotten about everything. But no, you, you foolish, naive sheep, decided to keep fighting, and look where that got you! You should have listened to Crowley! He told you so! Now do the apology dance, because he was right and you were wrong!"
Practically every character in the film drags Aziraphale through the mud, just as the writers do through the story's narrative. Even though I personally interpret the ending of season two differently, for the sake of this post I'll be looking at it from season three's perspective, that Aziraphale really left because he genuinely wanted to change something (and, for some reason, immediately believed the Metatron without recognizing the threat hidden in his words), while the ending presents his hope and faith as something genuinely stupid.
For two entire seasons, Aziraphale did everything he could to protect Crowley. He loved him sincerely and tenderly, but he understood perfectly well the circumstances they were trapped in. He expressed his love subtly and carefully, afraid of taking one step too far and risking them being discovered and destroyed. Aziraphale always tried to keep their relationship balanced on that thin line where they could care for one another without putting either of them in danger. And Crowley always understood that. He knew the rules of the game, and he willingly accepted them just to stay by the angel's side, to spend time with him, to protect him and help him. He loved Aziraphale just as sincerely, even if his way of expressing that love was more obvious to the audience.
He loved Aziraphale precisely because he loves good food, precisely because he's not entirely immune to hedonism, precisely because he sometimes behaves like just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing, precisely because he can be a little selfish at times, precisely because he isn't perfect. He loved both Aziraphale's strengths and his flaws. He fell in love with Aziraphale's courage, his desire to help others, his kind and pure heart. He values and loves the fact that Aziraphale is willing to stand by his principles until the very end, willing to fight and keep going even when there seems to be no hope left (which is exactly what Aziraphale taught Crowley over the centuries, because deep down, I think Crowley remained an optimist largely thanks to Aziraphale), willing to put himself at risk if it meant protecting even just a handful of innocent people like when he gave the flaming sword to Adam and Eve, or when he saved Job's children while believing that lying to Heaven would send him to Hell.Just remember the way he portrayed Aziraphale at the end of the first season, it reflects how he sees his angel. Brave, courageous, compassionate, full of hope, and never losing his composure even in the face of danger or bastards like the archangels, who treated him terribly.
The ending portrays absolutely everything Crowley loved about Aziraphale as something bad, laughable, and utterly worthless. He was wrong for hoping. He was wrong for refusing, over and over again, to run away with Crowley to Alpha Centauri and leave everyone else to fend for themselves.
(Although I think the foundation of their arguments has always been that they both simply want to be together and left alone, but because of who they are, they pursue that goal differently. Aziraphale might have wanted to run away with Crowley, but he knows that neither of them could ever abandon Earth and the people they've grown attached to. And Aziraphale doesn't want to give up. Crowley, just like Aziraphale, simply wants a peaceful existence away from Heaven and Hell with the angel he loves. But when he panics and believes nothing can be fixed anymore, he's more inclined to give up and focus on saving the most precious thing he has, without really thinking about what comes afterward.)
He's stupid and naive for believing that anything can actually be changed, that they might still find another way. Of course you should have run away with Crowley, you foolish angel! Can't you see you're breaking Crowley's heart? You selfish bastard! Look how poor and miserable Crowley is!
(I want to make one thing clear here: I love and appreciate both Crowley and Aziraphale. What I hate is that the story went from "they're both right and wrong in their own ways, shades of gray" to suddenly trying to tell us that Crowley was the only one who was right, and that only Crowley suffered, because we were never shown Aziraphale's suffering during all those years he spent in Heaven.)
After everything literally disappeared and the two of them were left alone in the bookshop surrounded by nothingness, Aziraphale performs the damn "I Was Wrong" dance. It's as though the writers are trying to tell us that Crowley was right in his speech about everything being predetermined and nothing ever being changeable, which directly contradicts what the book and season 1 based on it were about.
Everyone hates Aziraphale. From the characters to the narrative itself.
And that leads me to one question...
How can you love this film while also loving Aziraphale?
From my perspective, loving this film and loving Aziraphale are complete opposites that simply cannot coexist in the same sentence. The entire film is saturated with absolute hatred toward this character. It portrays him as a stupid, naive bastard who doesn't care about the person he loves, the one he spent 6,000 years beside.
"If it weren't for Jesus, I wouldn't need you," and "Angels aren't killers" - those two lines tell me loud and clear just how "deep" the creators of this "masterpiece" understand Aziraphale as a character.
That's why I feel that the people who enjoyed this film either don't understand Aziraphale as a character, or they hate him, or they're simply not as emotionally attached to him. As someone who identified with him for five damn years, I want to say that the Aziraphale in this film is a pathetic, disgusting, unbelievably stupid parody of that wonderful, brave, courageous angel who was full of hope, full of pain from having to suppress his feelings, who did everything he could to survive, to stay with Crowley, and to do the right thing. The angel who absolutely melts when Crowley calls him a bastard, because that one line contains all of the demon's love for every one of the angel's flaws, flaws he loves just as much as all of his virtues (though honestly, I think Crowley puts them on exactly the same level as his virtues, lol).
The angel who deserved every word of love this world has to offer, deserved to be accepted for who he is, deserved to be loved, deserved peace and warmth.
The finale certainly did its fair share of mistreating Crowley as well, but that's a topic for another post.
@a-zira-ziraphale-fell, I wonder if you have something to add or say, dear:3
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