A show about an Angel and a Demon. That’s all I knew and that it had heavy christian themes. I typically avoid shows involving subject matter like this. His Dark Materials/The Golden Compass are things I won’t EVER touch; sorry. However, I decided to give Good Omens a go, and at first, I was very surprised. Yes, it was jarring to discover the main plot of the show: angel and demon working together to stop the coming Aramgeddon. (I won’t say what exactly is the cause as I didn’t know and it served as a wonderful surprise for me). But I actually enjoyed the show right out of the gate. It is another British Dark Comedy, so of course, I would enjoy it to a degree. Having grown up in the Christian church, Season 1 was very familiar to me and I enjoyed recognizing all of the elements from the book of Revelation. However, I found the plot never at any moment gripped me as tightly as other shows have done in the past. Season 2 really brought the comedy up a few notches, especially in the finale. That’s not to say Season 1 isn’t funny, but I didn’t laugh quite as loud as I did for season 2. There is a joke in the finale with “Pillar of Salt” and I rewound that and rewatched the entire bit SO many times; top comedy!
The production value is undoubtedly some of the best and most expensive I have seen for a streaming show that isn’t Netflix. Amazon REALLY believed in this one, and rightfully so, I will say. It’s just not my cup of tea, fully. Crowley’s character arc and growth is some of the best writing I have seen since Cass’s storyline in Repunzel’s Tangled Adventure (SUPERB cartoon–holy COW). That’s really for whom you stick around: Crowley & Aziraphale. I will warn you that each season is self-contained, sort of. Each season deals with its own issue and resolves it by the end of the season. Where Season 1 ended with no indication of a continuing story, Season 2 ended with a promise for potentially the third and final season, yet there still is no word whether or not the show has been greenlit. Likely, that is due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes happening at the time of this review. So, we will see if a third season manage to pull through as a survivor of the strikes, or if it gets canned by Prime Video.
However, the episodes can be a little too long, I feel, as there will be dramatic moments that really do pay off, but sometimes you just want to get on with it. Then, at other times, you hardly even realize 50 minutes have gone by and it’s time to hit, “watch next episode.” The show is good, but with it being only 6 episodes at an hour length a piece, I expected a little more cohesiveness within its own story. However, that is British writing for you, so it makes sense, technically. It’s just not my favorite style of storytelling, hence why Shadow and Bone was just alright for me. Good Omens is very cute, but not phenomenal.
I give Good Omens 8.7 out 10.