Fuck it. My hope for s3 is that Neil is satisfied with the finished product. I hope he tells the exact story he wants to tell and I hope he finishes it with a feeling of “this is what Terry and I had in mind all those years ago”.
a list of Good Omens season 2 things from episodes 1-3 that i haven’t seen mentioned in other posts
how much Aziraphale loves music. the way he sighs when his record is interrupted, how he mopes to the front of the shop because he just wanted to listen to the beautiful human creation
the smile Aziraphale has on his face as Jim/Gabriel says “when you don’t know anything at all, and yet you’re totally certain that everything would be better if you were just near one particular person” because yes! he does know! and Aziraphale is so happy to have that knowledge even if he does almost immediately try to hide it
Crowley’s hat from 1941 is still in the bookshop, hanging on a hat rack. (episode 1, 21:56)
I find it extremely funny that the entire Good Omens fandom is absolutely in love with Bildad the Shuhite for seemingly no reason. Can one of you please tell me why we love him so?
It’s like distilled Crowley before his walls have come up entirely. He’s clearly considered his place in the world and made some decisions about the kind of person he wants to be and seems more or less comfortable in those lines he’s drawn for himself. He’s goofy and having fun, teasing people and taking delight in being a little bit of a shit when Aziraphale first shows up. He’s… lighter generally than modern Crowley but not naive like the Starmaker either. He’s maybe the most Balanced we’ve ever seen him. Then he for just a little, once it’s clear to him that he’s safe to be a little vulnerable, lets himself be. He lays out in front of someone who should be his enemy, talking openly about being on his own side more than Hell’s. Then reassures that same supposed foe in his own way that things are okay like this and that they can be alone together. He’s excellent and an excellent insight into the kind of person Crowley is both within his own context and also once he lets himself open up a little more. At least, that’s some of what it is for me.
A few more reasons, some frivolous, others less so:
Best costume in the entire series, both seasons, bar none. It’s so layered and detailed and gorgeous. Stop gawping at the beard, y'all. Look at that CAFTAN. In closeup wherever possible – a lot of the fabric texture and stitching detail gets lost in long shots (not that it doesn’t still look good – it very much does). If there’s ever a Good Omens costume exhibition, Bildad’s caftan NEEDS to be in it.
His dance between “these are the rules” and “ain’t no rule.” He uses the bet documentation to justify his presence and talk Aziraphale down from instant smiteage. Then he “ain’t no rule"s his way into rescuing kids of two species. (Yes, I know I owe a rules meta. I will get to it, promise.)
His Captain Carrot Exact Words gambit against Aziraphale. The grim, deliberate delivery of his trick-with-the-truth is so perfect.
His displays of raw fiery power. Dude is kinda scary taking down Job’s villa tbh. I’m here for it.
His raw honesty about where he stands vis-a-vis Hell. His hints to Job about how horrible She and Satan are. His independent-mindedness. Set yourself free, Bildad, and try to free others!
His “yes, and” improv style. He miracles Sitis into naming him and just rolls with what she says. Aziraphale needs an obstetrician, he gets one. The angels need an ersatz Eve-like birth, he picks up the cues immediately and provides one.
His refusal to hide from Her while She’s talking to Job. Whether it’s “what else can You possibly do to me?” or straight-up “do Your worst” defiance, it’s brave. Sure, he had license to be there and do things, but the things were done already at that point. His welcome, especially standing next to an angel, is not what I would call assured.
The way he backs off on the humor when it becomes clear to him that Aziraphale is deeply distressed about defying Her, and how gentle he is from that point on.
hello! I work in tech and here are some important things to know about “tumblr is going into maintenance mode.” please note I do not work at tumblr, I’ve just worked at tumblr-adjacent sort of companies for my entire adult life and i’ve gone through this before.
what does maintenance mode mean?
literally what it sounds like – Automattic is not going to be hiring new staff, investing in new product features, or doing anything new on tumblr. the staff that remains working on tumblr will be maintaining the status quo. most of the staff will be allocated elsewhere (or possibly laid off, though it looks like from that memo that’s not what they’re planning to do). it does not mean tumblr is shutting down. you should still buy premium, get merch, etc, because this is definitely step one of the shutdown process, but a maintenance mode designation is basically to see if tumblr will generate a revenue without putting more money into it than strictly necessary.
why did this happen?
obviously I do not know directly. from my observation, it’s in part because Yahoo had absolutely no idea what to do with this platform, and then when Automattic bought it they also… struggled… but it is also in part because the user base has been so viciously anti-monetization that most attempts were killed outright.
yes, the user base is part of the problem. the absolute feral anti-premium, anti-ads, anti-tipping, anti-everything tumblr tried to do to make money is part of the problem. it’s not the only part of the problem by a long shot, but I would be remiss not to mention it.
what do I do now?
use the platform. just like, keep using tumblr. do not abandon ship. buy premium, get yourself some badges, get yourself some merch, but use the platform. ad revenue is based on impressions and clicks. if a ton of the user base gives up, that revenue disappears.
–
tumblr is extremely special. I’ve never seen anything like it in my 20-odd years of being Very Online, and I was a minor BNF in WolfStar during LiveJournal days. I don’t know that it can be recreated elsewhere. I don’t know where fandom will go. I know that something else will exist after tumblr and that nothing gold can stay, but i don’t think the specific kind of joy found here can be recreated. i say this not to be a downer, but to be realistic. I guess I should find a Bluesky invite.
I’ve been here since 2008. I’m not going anywhere as long as this site exists. hope you’ll stay here with me.
