The creature

We’re asking, where does the soul live?

For those who think that who we are is shaped by a life time of experiences. That we grow and change with each each heartbreak and trauma. We see the ending as something horrible. We’re witnessing the death of our beloved characters and we are grieving for them.

For those who believe in a soul, who believe that Asa and Anthony are Aziraphale and Crowley because of the something intrinsic that lives inside them, what they’re seeing is a rebirth and a second chance. In that sense the ending is beautiful. They both get exactly what they’ve always wanted. To live as humans without the pressure of heaven and hell. In that sense, the ending is a joyous one.

Sadly these beliefs are deeply held, often the roots begin as far back as our childhoods. No amount of screaming at each other about media analysis is going to change anyone’s mind. Please just accept that there are multiple ways that one can view the ending and that those who are upset are experiencing grief. This is an extremely normal and valid reaction to end of something so meaningful and should be treated with care.

That said, your grief is not an excuse to lash out and those who don’t deserve it.

No one is ever allowed to tell me that Aziraphale abandoned Crowley because he didn't feel the same way. He knew damn well what Crowley meant and he wanted it too. He wanted "an Us". He knew he would have been happy with Crowley.

After everything is done, and they've had the cottage in the south downs as many wonderful years as possible, at some point they'll both close their eyes for the last time.

...and open them on the desert of the Discworld.* For those who aren't aware, the desert (probably The Desert, tbh) is not the afterlife. It's a place in between, where Death brings souls that need to travel onward. For some, it's an easy stroll. For others it's an insurmountable passage, full of whatever torment they bring with them.

I think, for our angel and demon, it's a place to turn to each other and grin and say "Oh, that was a good one!"

I think after they die, they sit down on the edge of the desert and chat, and because they expect there to be wine and a picnic, there inevitably is wine and a picnic. For as long as they want, they gush to each other about how it went and their favorite parts, tease each other, argue, complain—and compare.

Because this isn't the first time they've done this.

And it isn't going to be the last.

I think once they're done talking, Death will approach. He tends to be lonely, so I think he enjoys these visits every century or so. They'll chat with him a bit, and eventually he will ask if they're ready to cross the desert.

They look at each other, and it's how they always look at each other. It's "to the world" and fingers pressed to lips pressed to lips; it's stargazing in the South Downs and a first date in the back of a neighborhood cafe.

Not looking away, Crowley says, "Nah," or maybe Aziraphale says, "Hm, not quite yet."

Either way Death nods, and takes out two convoluted hourglasses, with almost embarrassingly obvious angel and demon theming—and he tips them both over.

Aziraphale and Crowley both go up in waves of golden dust.

...and somewhere in the world, two humans are born, and the story begins again.

Because maybe our universe doesn't have magic—but that doesn't mean no universe does, and who said our souls have to stay here forever?

Like we as the audience are lead to believe from the start that Crowley is this jaded, cynical little fucker who’s fond of one person and one person only. The typical “nothing in this world matters except you” grumpy who doesn’t give a shit about a universe that rejected him. Aziraphale, likewise, is pretty easily seen as the bigger picture guy, it’s obvious he loves Crowley deeply but it’s the mission of the larger world, the good of the people, that draws his time and energy- he chooses that responsibility more than Crowley. These are the roles we’ve seen them play and the archetypes we’ve kinda locked them in to. It matches with their grumpy vs sunshine attitudes, their aesthetics etc

Then in s2 we started noticing some cracks in it. We’ve met Angel Crowley who is a beautiful sunshiny dreamer who cares so deeply about the gorgeous world around him. Aziraphale starts to get a bit wrapped up in his own self interest from time to time, caring more about his bookshop or Crowley or even Jim than his larger mission. These little moments added depth to their characters, but ultimately didn’t shake our ideas of them. But THEN-

When they were asked by God what they would save, everything in the world has been stripped from them. The universe is lost- all that remains is each other and the final question of “what in the whole of existence matters to you most?” And we think we know what they’ll say, we think the way we’ve been taught all this time- Crowley is the selfish lover and Aziraphale is the heartbroken rejector.

But instead we meet their cores. We meet the truest stripped down versions of themselves and we learn the truth. Aziraphale picks Crowley. His lover, his life, the being that completes him. He makes the selfish, or loving, choice, no matter what it means to the world. And Crowley- Crowley is crying for the world. He is so utterly helplessly desperate for humanity to have their chance that he’s willing to throw away everything out of his sheer love for them. We’ve met the old part of him again, the artist and the lover, the selfless one he’s had within him all along. And for Aziraphale we’ve finally met the lover in him too, the one who’s finally willing to put his love for Crowley above all else.

BANG BANG BANG | Flambert Edition!

This song stuck in my head real bad and it's soooo them.