#goodomens2

A few days after the release of the final episode of Good Omens, I feel almost forced to get this off my chest. Beyond our personal takes on the ending (I can say right now that it left a bittersweet taste in my mouth), I think we are overlooking something crucial: how different the world we live in today actually is. And looking at this, I can't help but think of one specific thing: the right wing has won again.

Good Omens was never just a romance show; in fact, I’d argue the romance was the least important part of the show or the book. It was a story that invited us to question the mandates established by those who shape our world: government, religion, society, dogma, etc. The bureaucracy of Heaven and Hell served as a mirror to the bureaucracy of real life, where the rules of how to behave shape us as subjects. Likewise, they punish those who step outside the norm: women, trans people, sexual dissidents, etc

This is why when the allegations against Neil Gaiman came to light in February 2025, the fandom felt deeply betrayed. That space of fantasy and characters where we had found a reflection of our own society was shattered. I still remember a tweet that said:

“Neil Gaiman: you built a shelter for all of us and then you set it on fire.”

Because of this, it was decided to push through with an ending to give fans closure, though many of us didn’t expect much. It was clear the series had become a political radioactive for everyone involved. No one (no matter how much they loved the product) wanted to be associated with Neil Gaiman, and it was completely understandable.

Now you might ask: What does this have to do with the global rise of the right wing and the ending we got? Well, actually, a lot. A finale that was already on shaky ground, whose main creative anchor had been expelled, and where no one was willing to risk their reputation to save it, was left adrift. It goes without saying how much the world has changed since July 2023, when Good Omens 2 aired (and we had that kiss we still miss).

The global right wing has gathered a terrifying amount of strength and power. Rights that once seemed carved in stone are now being held with both hands out of fear of what might happen next.

To quote Simone de Beauvoir: “Never forget that a political, economic, or religious crisis will be enough for women's rights to be questioned.”

Consequently, what used to be the floor: that kiss between Aziraphale and Crowley, has now become an unreachable ceiling. Not just because we are talking about two adult men kissing on screen, but because we are talking about a show that rebelled against dogma. In a historical moment where conservative ideas are reinstating themselves and fear of the influence of the powerful is growing, creating a show like the one that started in 2019 is a radical political statement.

You might say that there's a lot of LGBT content in TV series these days, and it's clear in shows like Heated Rivalry, but there's no comparison. While in Good Omens the problem of Crowley and Aziraphel's inability to be together was SOCIAL and POLITICAL, in Heated Rivalry it's portrayed as INDIVIDUAL. The protagonists' personal fear of being discovered and of what others will say. Shane and Ilya struggle against their own prejudices about their sexuality and sports, fighting practically alone against societal judgment. Meanwhile, Aziraphel and Crowley fight against a political order they directly seek to destroy, not alone, but as part of a community (neighbors and various allies). The social aspect is key to understanding this because it's what the right wing is attacking more and more fiercely today. I say this as someone who loved Heated Rivalry.

By this, I don't mean that the finale of Good Omens turned out the way it did due to direct, literal pressure from the right wing (I have no proof of that). Rather, the producers, writers, and executives successfully read the current political and social climate and decided it wasn’t worth martyring themselves for a product that was already bound to lose. And you know what? I understand them.

Because looking at the continuity of the story after the second season, it was obvious that the ending required Heaven to be the ultimate enemy. And when I say Heaven, I mean the ENTIRE Heaven as an institution, not just a single rogue angel like Michael suddenly deciding to wipe out humanity out of nowhere. No! Heaven as an institution! Religion as dogma! But making that statement becomes dangerous in a world where conservatives use religion to police and dictate the lives of minorities. The only thing we were given instead was a choice by Crowley to eradicate everyone, including himself and Aziraphale (another day we will talk about how they would never do this to a straight couple), which made no sense for his character. Rather than a heroic way to save everyone, it felt once again like the narrative of punishment: the punishment for loving who you shouldn’t love.

There is literally no way that is not directly connected to the vicious hatred millions of fans show toward Aziraphale for being an ab*se survivor.

We deserve better representation of survivors than this. Like maybe, y'know, representations that are written with input from survivors and survivor advocacy organizations. Then maybe survivors in the fandom wouldn't have had to be traumatized by so much victim-blaming bullshit about Aziraphale for the past three years.

Just a thought.

Someone insinuated that the reason people are saying that Azi doesn't need to apologize (for doing what his ab*sers forced him to do) is because N*il G*iman manipulated part of the fandom into feeling that way.

Why the fuck would a famously ab*sive man with a black belt in victim-blaming "manipulate" fans into defending Aziraphale, an ab*se victim (who was also s*xually assaulted)? This is so utterly, utterly backwards.

What's more likely here - that N*IL G*IMAN manipulated one part of the fandom into defending an ab*se victim against victim-blaming (yeah right lol), or that he manipulated the other part of the fandom (most of it) into victim-blaming?

In work as in life, he deliberately framed GOS2 to make an ab*se victim appear unsympathetic and responsible for their own ab*se.

It's okay if you got sucked into this one, gang. This isn't about blaming anyone in the fandom. It's about warning people about the very toxic, dangerous message that he successfully shoved down almost everybody's throats. And the fact that that message is now lurking in people's psyches causing unfathomable emotional harm.

I used to think the fandom was toxic, but for a long time now I've felt that the toxicity in the fandom against Aziraphale was in fact 99% G*iman's fault. (The fandom's still to blame for continuing with the Azi hate after victims spoke out saying it was harmful, but they're not the primary instigator here. I blame them, especailly the young fans, far, far less than I blame the incredibly wealthy, influential s*xual ab*ser who got $100 million from the most evil company in the world to sell whatever message he wanted as hard as he could. The fandom never would have jumped down Azi's throats if that hadn't been exactly what G*iman wanted.) He did this to us.

I'm less worried about the fandom using the Aziraphale-blaming to harm ab*se victims (although that has happened, to me and other victims/survivors in the fandom) and more worried about them blaming themselves for their own ab*se because of the messages G*iman shoved down our throats with GO. (I have very much seen it happen. I've seen people say things like "Like Aziraphale, I should have woken up to how evil my ab*sers were much sooner", as though their ab*se were their own fault, and not their ab*sers'. It breaks my heart. It's so unfair, to the individuals themselves and to others who might see it.)

It scares me so much. I am so angry that N*il G*iman did this to vulnerable young people and I'm damned if I'm gonna let it go by without saying something.

He wrote one of the unhealthiest depictions of ab*se to appear on television in the 21st century.

He wanted to teach us to blame victims.

*Grabs megaphone* YOUR AB*SER APPROACHING YOU IS INHERENTLY A THREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There's a reason this shit sounds exactly like the shit G*iman defenders are saying. Because this is exactly how he wants us to think about ab*se victims.