Line #54 Fridge/GoodOmens


1	!!FridgeBrilliance:
2	It can take years to get some of the jokes. More if you don't read Literature/TheBible that often.
3
4	* War:
5	** War is a woman... oh, sort of like Helen of Troy. Yet another reason for men to kill each other.
6	** "Now"? Remember that as Pepper goes up against War, War smirks and says "little boys with their little toys", and Eve was given the flaming sword--not Adam. War has ''always'' been a woman.
7	** Why is War depicted as a beautiful, alluring, desirable woman who, once you get closer, starts to look off-putting and terrifying? Because that's how war has been for the majority of history – glorified, glamourised and romanticised outside of the battlefield, until you're in the thick of it, and then it's already too late.
8	** More than half the time in human history, the deity of War has been female: Ares/Mars was a late addition to the crew and had to jostle for space with deities like Pallas Athena, Bellona and Artemis. (and Eris/Discordia). The ancient Irish had the triple-war-goddess Morrigan/Medhbh/Macha. So why should the Christian personification therefore be male?
9	** War uses the flaming sword that an angel gave Eve. This may seem arbitrary to you, but think about it. The sword War uses is the first weapon mankind ever handled since its creation.
10	*** Additionally, it's a flaming sword. In the radio play especially, it is hinted that this is what gave man knowledge of fire. Now, fire protects us, but has a greater potential to consume and destroy. What else does that, I wonder?
11	*** Also, fire is used in war. What did people do to destroy cities? What lit the first bomb?
12	* The only composers Heaven got were Liszt, who joined the Third Order of Saint Francis and received Holy Orders, including the title ''exorcist'', and Edward Elgar, who wrote ''Land of Hope and Glory'', one of England's unoffical national anthems.
13	* The earth is a Libra, because it's the focal point of ''balance.'' It houses the forces of Heaven/Hell as well as being the location of their final war, and a main message of the book is humanity's capabilities for both good & evil, and how to find balance between the two.
14	* We know Crowley is the serpent from the Garden of Eden – a demon who corrupts humankind by causing them to reject God's instructions and eat from the tree of Knowledge. But Aziraphale, the angel who gives them his flaming sword for warmth, is ''Prometheus'' - the Titan who gave the humans heavenly fire, against the orders of Zeus, and was punished for it. Both myths describe a supernatural being in favour of humans having independent intelligence, who were punished by a god jealously guarding it - but Satan is the [[DesignatedVillain bad guy]], whereas Prometheus is a hero. Two sides of the same coin, as Crowley and Aziraphale are shown to be throughout the book - both rejected from their respective sides of the BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil as they both consider that whether humans act for good or bad, they deserve to have the ''choice''.
15	** It may also be worth noting that Prometheus is a hero among some Satanists for defying the gods for the glory of man, which is another point in the "angel and demon aren't so different" camp.
16	** Notably, however, Aziraphale is ''not'' punished by God for giving humans the flaming sword. Because the Abrahmaic (unlike Greek) God is very definitely on the side of humans.
17	* Anathema's relief upon hearing Crowley address Aziraphale as "angel" was that she was wary of getting raped and assumed it was [[Main/MistakenForGay a term of endearment]] that led her to believe neither were interested in women. It's also driven home when she mentally refers to them as "the ''mutually consenting'' bicycle repairmen", the term 'mutually consenting adults' having become something of a meme after the laws on homosexuality were changed in the UK.
18	* Shortly after Aziraphale turns all the Secret Service men's guns into harmless water pistols at Warlock's birthday party, Crowley does pretty much the same thing but in reverse at Tadfield Manor, which reinforces the mirror image vibe these two give us.
19	* Who, exactly, the Them are. They're the ''real'' other Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the benign versions of the Rider they [[spoiler: took out.]] Red is War and Pepper is Friendly Scuffles, Chalky is Pollution and Brian is Getting Delightfully Muddy, Sable is Famine and Wensleydale is something along the lines of ForgetsToEat, and while Azrael is Death, Adam is [[spoiler: Normal, happy life.]]
20	** There are also the similarities and differences between each of the Them and their Horsepersons:
21	*** Pepper is a violent red-head, but she is a scruffy tomboy who actively disassociates herself from anything "girly", in contrast to War's FemmeFatale demeanor.
22	*** Wensleydale is slim and meticulous in his appearance, as Famine is, but he is described as pale-skinned and -haired while Raven Sable is, well, raven/sable.
23	*** Opposite to the above: Brian is dark in opposition to the albino Pollution, though their personal grubbiness and apparently supernatural ability to produce litter is shared.
24	* Another example of Azirapale and Crowley being two sides of the same coin: their vague reference to having "resources" actually referred to the same one person, since [[spoiler:both of them rely on (and pay) the Witchfinder Army.]]
25	* In another (very punny) instance of "two sides of the same coin" while having dinner together: Aziraphale is eating [[{{Pun}} deviled eggs]]. Crowley's eating [[{{Pun}} angel food cake]].
26	* [[MeaningfulName Aziraphale's name]]. "Zira" in Hebrew means "brightness of morning." Aziraphale was the guardian of the Eastern Gate of Eden. Also all of the motifs of fire and light worked into his character. The angel Israfel's name is also close enough to be considered a corruption of Aziraphale and means 'the Burning one'. There's also that parking warden's notebook Aziraphale makes combust into flame. And he gifts humans with flame = power/knowledge, essentially making him and Crowley the two daddies of Free Will, and is apparently demoted and assigned to wander the Earth for it, which is not entirely dissimilar to being 'chained to a cliff', if you will, and is likely considered a horrible fate by his fellow angels. The 'fire' and 'light' and Prometheus theme is very real for him.
27	** The Hebrew word for 'brightness' would more accurately be pronounced either 'zehara' or 'zriha', which are indeed very similar to 'zira'. However, the precise word 'zira' means either 'messenger' in ancient Hebrew, or in modern Hebrew, ring, arena or battlefield. This is probably not intentional, but it has interesting implications too.
28	* During Crowley's and Aziraphale's exchange before they face Lucifer: Aziraphale says 'I'd just like to say... I'll have known, deep down inside, that there was a spark of goodness in you.' Look very carefully at the difference in phrasing. In Aziraphale’s phrase, the ‘deep down inside’ comes before ‘that’ and makes no sense if it’s referring to the spark of goodness, as in a spark of goodness deep down inside Crowley. If it were, it should’ve been ‘I’ll have known that, deep down inside, there was a spark of goodness in you.’\
29	The phrasing is correct in Crowley’s response (and it’s appropriate - Aziraphale’s bastard side really is pretty far down inside), but not in Aziraphale’s. Why? Maybe because he isn’t talking about Crowley.\
30	He’s talking about himself. That ''he'' has known all along, deep down inside, that Crowley had a spark of goodness in him. And it certainly looks in some parts of the book that he wants to believe in Crowley’s better side despite what he considers his better judgement - but formally he is still very much in the ‘demons evil, Heaven good’ camp for most of the book up till that point.\
31	Aziraphale is essentially apologising for six thousand years of treating Crowley as inherently evil, assuring him that he ''did'' know better, deep inside, even if he didn’t always act like it. Setting things straight between them before their expected final battle. Getting the truth out there.
32	* Towards the end of the book, [[spoiler: after the Them get rid of the Four Horsepeople of the Apocalypse, {{Satan}} is supposed to come. But then Adam- who, keep in mind, is TheAntichrist- just waves his hand, and Satan ends up not doing anything. What happens immediately after that? Mr. Young, Adam's ''adoptive'' father shows up, and is somewhat cross at Adam for not doing what he said. Adam's father showed up, angry at him for not obeying.]]
33	-->[[spoiler: [[AntiAntichrist Adam seldom did what his father wanted]].]]
34	* More to support Aziraphale's gayness than his relationship with Crowley, but it's mentioned that he learned how to gavotte at a "discreet gentleman's club." Molly houses (aka proto-gay bars) existed in roughly the same time period as the gavotte (18th century). He also collects Wilde first editions - Oscar Wilde was famously inclined towards gentlemen.
35	* Everything about Adam invokes duality and being neither good nor evil.
36	** Gray eyes:
37	*** An old and largely forgotten trope is to symbolize innocence with gray eyes and blond hair. Gray eyes are often associated with danger and death and thought to be a trait of the ColdSniper by Civil War soldiers.
38	*** ColorCodedEyes: Adam is neither wholly good nor evil. Hence, black and white equals gray, reflecting his GreyAndGrayMorality.
39	** Not to mention his name meaning "man". Also, it's derived from the Hebrew for "earth", originally referring to how God shaped Adam from clay. In the battle between Heaven and Hell, this Adam opts to side with Earth.
40	** He is 11 during the book. Eleven. Two equal digits.
41	* God is named in the dramatis personae without explicitly appearing in the story proper because He's omnipresent. We never hear from or see God directly in the book, but if you believe that God loves mankind, then an ending in which [[spoiler:humanity survives the predicted Apocalypse]] is still a ''victory for God'', despite the novel's messages of balance and neutrality. We don't see Him, but He's always there, and He knew that [[spoiler:it would all turn out for the best]] in the end.
42	* Despite ostensibly being the main characters, Crowley and Aziraphale actually have little to no impact on the story – the entire plot is carried forward by the human characters' actions, thereby reflecting the book's central idea that people have far more influence on our world and ourselves than any supernatural forces.
43	* When the Four Bikers ride out, Death wears a mirror-shiny motorbike helmet while the other three are bare-headed, meaning that the humans who interact with him only see their own faces where his should be. The symbolism of this is brought home later, when Death's true form is considerably less NightmareFuel-ish than that of the other three: a skull is simply what is inside every human face.
44	* All that jogging Agnes Nutter did certainly helped how she could walk with eighty pounds of [[spoiler:gunpowder and roofing nails]]. Heck, that could even be ''why'' she started jogging in the first place!
45	* Agnes Nutter's TakingYouWithMe stunt is more than just simple revenge. At some point in the novel it's mentioned that the wages of the Witchfinder Army are so low because the main 'payment' in being a witchfinder is [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt laying claim to the property of the witch]] after [[BurnTheWitch disposing of them]]. Meaning that killing Witchfinder Major Pulsifer and any other lower-ranking Witchfinders he might have had with him, was her way of making sure the only copy left of "The Nice and Accurate Prophecies" ended up with her descendants and not with the Witchfinder Army.
46	* When Anathema meets Adam, the narration notes that Adam looks as magnificent as an angel from illustrations of the Bible or as "a prepubescent Greek god", worthy of being sculpted by Michelangelo, minus the twentieth century kid's clothing. Of course he would, his [[{{Satan}} father]] was the most beautiful angel in Heaven before the Fall.
47	* Even as War, Famine, and Pollution have been defeated by Them, Death states "You cannot destroy me. It would destroy the world." The superficial truth is that humanity is capable of overcoming war, famine, and pollution, but that everybody will still, eventually, die. But the second sentence is a reference back to Revelation. Part of Armageddon is that the forces of God will defeat the forces of Satan, and Jesus Christ will return to conquer Death itself and give everlasting life to the truly faithful. So in order to destroy Death, the End Times must come.
48	* Why can Adam [[RealityWarper alter reality]]? The Antichrist in scripture is said to undermine Christ by fooling others into believing that he is Him. Jesus is well known for His miracles, which could change the natural laws of the universe, like turning water into wine. Come to think of it, Adam subconsciously making Tadfield the perfect English town and altering history so Mr. Young is his father instead of Satan could count as miracles.
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50	!!FridgeHorror:
51	* Why was Crowley so upset about Aziraphale's bookstore, even though he knew that nothing could kill him except fire? Well, the phone was likely off the hook, since Shadwell caught Aziraphale in the midding of...calling Crowley, which would have released Hastur into the bookshop. And what's the one thing that can eradicate an Angel from existence, holy-water style? Why, that would be a demon's infernal flames, which a Duke of Hell would be perfectly capable of getting ahold of or even carrying. He didn't just think Aziraphale had been taken away or discorporated – he thought Hastur had escaped and ''fully murdered him'' to punish Crowley.
52	** Even without that idea crossing his mind, the fire could have easily gotten Aziraphale "inconveniently discorporated" and shunted back to Heaven. In which case, they either keep him captive there or they force him to join the celestial armies, but the battle is fought. Scenarios? 1., Aziraphale is held captive in Heaven, Heaven wins, Crowley is killed with the other demons and Aziraphale is killed too for trying to avert Armageddon. 2., Aziraphale is held in Heaven, Hell wins, Aziraphale is killed with the rest of the angels and Crowley is killed as per the threat earlier. 3., Aziraphale has to fight and dies in battle. 4., Aziraphale fights, survives the battle, Heaven wins and Aziraphale is killed for trying to avert Armageddon. 5., Aziraphale fights, survives the battle, Hell wins and kills him with the rest of the survivors and Crowley is killed as per the threat. None are good options.
53	* Deliberately invoked [[spoiler: and thankfully later averted]] in regards to Baby B.
54	-->It would be nice to think that the Satanist Nuns had the surplus baby - Baby B - discreetly adopted. That he grew up to be a normal, happy, laughing child, active and exuberant; and after that, grew further to become a normal, fairly contented adult. ... Possibly you would like to imagine some children, and a hobby - restoring vintage bicycles, perhaps, or breeding tropical fish.\
55	You don't want to know what ''could'' happen to Baby B.\
56	We like your version better, anyway.\
57	He probably wins prizes for his tropical fish.

Context Fridge / GoodOmens