Episode 2
The Book
The End of Days has begun, and Aziraphale and Crowley must join forces to find the Antichrist and prevent Armageddon. Only problem is, they have no idea where to start looking. Meanwhile, the forces of fate begin to turn, summoning the four Horsemen: War, Famine, Pollution, and Death.
Tropes That Appear In This Episode:
- Bad "Bad Acting": Since they don't usually interact with humans, Gabriel and Sandalphon very loudly proclaim that they are buying pornography from Aziraphale in a pointless attempt at keeping humans from suspecting them.
- Berserk Button: Crowley pins Aziraphale to the wall for insinuating that he isn't as evil as he says he is.
- Burn the Witch!: Thou-Shalt-Not-Commit-Adultery Pulsifer has Agnes burned at the stake for her progressive (on account of her prophetic abilities) knowledge. Since she knew it was going to happen, she allows it to happen without a fight, taking her revenge in having stored away gunpowder and nails under her dress.
- Camera Abuse: Just as the camera pans towards Newton's window during his adolescence, the camera hits the window with a thud.
- Cannot Tell a Joke: When Sandalphon remarks that "you can't have a war without War", Gabriel is so amused and impressed by it that he treats it like a new winning slogan.
- Cardboard Box of Unemployment: Inverted and then Played Straight, within the span of a morning: when Newton Pulsifer gets a job as a wages clerk at United Worldwide Holdings (Holdings), he shows up on his first day with a worn out Bankers Box full of desk supplies and personal items— a plant, some highlighters, a pencil cup, and the sandwiches his mother made him for lunch. When his Walking Techbane powers short out his computer station and the office's electricity, he's quickly let go, walking out the door with the same battered Bankers Box full of office supplies— one gets the impression that he didn't even have time to unpack. The box breaks as he stands dejectedly in the business' parking lot, dumping all his possessions on the ground.
- Embarrassing First Name: Witchfinder Major Thou-Shalt-Not-Commit-Adultery Pulsifer ("Adultery" for short). He prefers to be referred to as Witchfinder Major Pulsifer.
- Everyone Can See It / Mistaken for Romance: Crowley pins Aziraphale to a wall for calling him nice. Sister Mary assumes this is a Wall Pin of Love, apologizing for "interrupting an intimate moment."
- For the Evulz: Crowley turns the paintball guns into real guns just because (though no one gets killed).
- Hate Plague: War's very presence turns what was going to be a peace treaty in an African country back into war in a matter of minutes.
- Insistent Terminology: When Crowley explains that Adam will be camouflaged from occult forces like the two of them, Aziraphale insists that angels aren't "occult", they're "ethereal".
- It Will Never Catch On: The initial reaction to much of Agnes Nutter' prophecies."'Prophecy 2214: In December 1980 an Apple will arise no man can eat. Invest thy money in Master Jobbes's machine and good fortune will tend thy days.' I mean, this is balderdash!"
- The Jinx: Any computer that Newton touches is utterly destroyed to the point of absurdity. After he gets kicked out of his new job on his first day, his box breaks and all of its contents spills out under his feet.
- Killed Offscreen: We never see what Crowley does to the plant with the spot in its leaves, but it probably involves a garbage disposal by the sound, and with Crowley walking back into the room with the plant's plastic pot, now empty.
- Mythology Gag: When Crowley removes the blemished plant from the room, after demanding the rest grow better, there is a whirring sound before he returns like he put it through some kind of mulching process. This is a reference to the books, where Adam's powers making the rainforest rapidly grow back is described as sounding like a chainsaw running.
- Nightmare Face: Crowley momentarily manifests one to scare a paintballer into unconsciousness.
- Number of the Beast: It turns out that this is how Aziraphale manages to find the Youngs. Once he puts in the area code for Tadfield, he dials the ''phone number'' for Adam's house.
- Pals with Jesus: Aziraphale possesses personally autographed copies of different books of prophecy, including ones by Martha the Gypsy, Ignatius Sybilla, and "[his] old friend" Nostradamus.
- Puppy-Dog Eyes: Aziraphale uses a pleading stare to coax Crowley into miracling a paintball stain off Aziraphale’s jacket without Aziraphale asking directly.
- Reading Ahead in the Script: All of Agnes's predictions act as this historically, including her own execution, the Apocalypse, the healthy application of cardio and fiber, and that investing in stocks for Apple will make her descendants rich.
- Scare 'Em Straight: Having heard of the idea of talking to plants in The '70s, Crowley administers this by threatening his plants to "grow better", making an example of a small plant with a spot in its leaves. While the plants are the healthiest in London, they are also the most terrified.
- Stating the Simple Solution: When Sister Mary recognizes Crowley, he paralyzes her. Aziraphale points out that she would probably have been perfectly willing to just give them the answers if they asked normally.
- Take That!:
- When Gabriel and Sandalphon remark that they smell evil in Aziraphale's shop, Aziraphale claims that it's the Jeffrey Archer books.
- When Crowley thinks that angels disapprove of guns, Aziraphale remarks that they tolerate them when in the right hands as to "give weight to a moral argument." Still, he clearly does not seem sure of his own answer, especially after Crowley twists his words and turns all of the paintball guns into real guns.
- Walking Techbane: As a child, Newton's attempt at fixing an old computer causes the entire neighborhood to black-out (implied by his mother to be a recurring problem). As an adult, just entering in a password does the same thing to his new office.
- Weirdness Censor: Anathema tells the immigration official at the airport exactly why she is there and she doesn't bat an eye.
