Michael Sheen didn’t make Aziraphale the gayest character of all time just for y'all to claim there is no queer representation in Good Omens.
Signed, sealed, and notarized, 100%. And this…
I alluded to this somewhat in the tags on my GO/OFMD discourse postthe other day, but honestly I am flummoxed at how little credit Michael seems to be getting for making Aziraphale and GO incredibly, unbelievably, Cher-performing-on-Fire-Island levels of gay. Every look, every gesture, every glance he gave Crowley/David was beyondintentional.
And it goes so much further than Michael just playing a role, because time and again he has said how there is a part of him in every role he plays, so it’s hard not to see a parallel between the queerness in Good Omens and Michael’s personal journey with his own sexuality. He’s talkedfrequentlyabout his attractions to men growing up, and about not being sure of where the line is between him and Aziraphale, as well as how his entire characterization of Aziraphale was and is tied to David being there as Crowley.
It’s that relationship and that connection that enabled Michael to bring Aziraphale to life the way he did, and is a vital part of why his portrayal is so unique and makes GO as special as it is. As much as I enjoyed OFMD–and by no means am I shading the queer rep we got there–for me, the kiss between Ed and Stede didn’t have nearly the same passion and intensity found in just a single look that Aziraphale gave to Crowley. It’s because there was not an overt physical expression of affection between them in the first season that Michael had to put every scrap of longing, every ounce of love, desire, uncertainty, affection, and passion into his expressions and gestures, and he did so with uncontrollable aplomb. And I think maybe he did it because some part of him understood and related to that from his own life.
It’s also the difference between acting and being, in pulling out a piece of your soul and sharing it on screen for everyone to see, revealing a part of yourself that you’ve always kept hidden, or had no other way to express. And that is what I think Michael has done with the role of Aziraphale (well, with all the queer roles he’s played, but especiallyAziraphale): He is telling us not just who this character is, but also telling us who he is.
So yes, that queer representation is absolutelyin Good Omens, and Michael’s depiction of Aziraphale is a completely massive part of that and deserves far more recognition than it seems to currently be getting. And, I for one, cannot wait to see what he will be doing in season 2…
Look I am firmly in the I don’t care if they kiss or not camp, but can you just fucking imagine if there is an Aziraphale/Crowley kiss and every interviewer asks Michael Sheen how it was to kiss David? Like, that would be such an insanely feral press tour. I can’t even imagine. People would live and die in the looks Michael Sheen would give before answering that question.
Literally the first press tour, but turned up to 11. And Michael fiercely biting his tongue in an attempt not to reveal that that wasn’t the first time he’s kissed David…
(Putting this in a separate post, because I think it deserves its own. Original post is here, for those who are interested.)
Ever since watching OFMD, I’ve been thinking more and more about an Aziraphale/Crowley kiss in season two of GO. Whether it plays out the way I wrote it in my other post or not, it increasingly is something I really do want, and here is why. In the first season of GO, there was a sex scene between Newt and Anathema, and it was completely unnecessary. It added nothing to the plot, and was over the top to the point of being cartoonish. It was another in a long line of straight sex scenes that are in everything, everywhere, and nobody thought twice about it because it was between a man and a woman.
That is what I want for Aziraphale and Crowley. I don’t want it to be something extraordinary or special that two man-shaped beings would kiss. I want it to be remarkable because it is so unremarkable, because of course this angel and this demon love each other, of course they are together, and there is nothing that anyone can question about it.
It’s why having Aziraphale and Crowley say what they feel out loud matters so much. It’s why they don’t even need a sex scene, but just one kiss would mean the whole world. We live in a society that denigrates and dismisses queer affection in so many forms, but making Aziraphale and Crowley’s connection overt and undeniable would be the start of something, and would hopefully open the door to all the different ways there are to show queer love.
I also think more and more that Aziraphale and Crowley’s relationship being pushed to the place that it was in season one was because of Michael and David. As much as I love Neil, it’s become clear that he was operating within heteronormative parameters, and a relationship like Aziraphale and Crowley’s was something he doesn’t have a personal reference point for. But it was Michael and David who made that relationship what it was. Michael and David whose chemistry and acting and the connection they developed that made it impossible to deny that there is something between them. So even if Neil wasn’t prepared to take the relationship there, Michael and David brought it there all by themselves.
When I think of GO season 2, I can’t help but think of that chemistry, and how foolish it would be of Neil to see that chemistry between Michael and David and not do anything with it. I think he also very well knows by now that no matter what he writes–or doesn’t–Michael is going to gay it up to the 5000th power, and David will happily join him every step of the way, because that is who they are. Maybe they even got to have a little bit more say in the direction of things this time around, and maybe not…but regardless, I have hope.
Hope that things will be different this time.
Hope that Neil will use the powerful chemistry between Michael and David wisely, and won’t let everything that is between them go to waste. For the characters’ sake, and theirs.
Hope that the “extraordinary” idea of two men/man-shaped beings kissing on screen will become completely and utterly ordinary, something no one thinks twice about because that’s just what two people who love each other do.
“When Neil told you HIS PLANS for Good Omens 2” -> he got a boner from the plans not from the fact that they are doing season 2. Important distinction I think.
Oh, absolutely! That was what I was referring to in my post, and I apologize if that wasn’t completely clear.
So it was hearing Neil’s specific plans for GO 2 that gave Michael a boner, yes indeed. The problem in trying to figure out just what those plans might be, however, is that Neil could’ve literally said “Crowley does macramé for six episodes” and Michael would’ve gotten a boner.
Which, perhaps, is then why the other two adjectives in that tweet (”ecstatic” and “terrified”) might be the other clues as to what we can expect. Certainly, one could conceivably see Michael being equal parts ecstatic, terrified, and (of course) engorged because those plans involve him kissing David on screen. Or it could be because of any other number of twists and turns that await us in GO season 2–good, bad, happy, sad, romantic, pedantic, angelic, demonic.
But whatever the case may be, I think we are in for something very interesting and very special, and I, for one, am so ready…
Celebrating 32 years of Good Omens with these two lovely gentlemen - David Tennant and Michael Sheen promoting Good Omens at New York Comic Con in 2018
for Tennant Tuesday (or whatever day this post finds you)
Happy Good Omens Day!
The way my brain still sees them as holding hands in this picture three years later says it all. Happy Good Omens Day, boys…
