‘Good Omens’ gets queer representation right

Let’s play a game: put a pound in a jar every time a straight character appears in hit fantasy show Good Omens. How many pounds do you have by the end of season two? Probably zero, because Good Omens is super-queer – and always has been. In their 1990 fantasy novel on which Prime Video’s TV series is based, writers Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman describe protagonist Aziraphale – an angel played on screen by Michael Sheen – as “gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide”. And season two is really loud and proud about it.

In its first season, Good Omens followed Aziraphale and his longtime demon accomplice Crowley (David Tennant) as they tried to prevent armageddon. The climactic battle between heaven and hell brought about by the coming of the Antichrist was a comedy of errors, but ultimately they succeeded. At the start of season two, we see them living a quieter life in London’s Soho. But not for long – their lives are soon turned upside down by the arrival of amnesiac archangel Gabriel (Jon Hamm). He has been cast out of heaven for disagreeing with fellow angels who want to provoke a second armageddon, and needs their protection from various ethereal and occult forces. Over the next six episodes, our dynamic duo are also kept busy playing matchmaker to their Soho gaybours Nina (Nina Sosanya) and Maggie (Maggie Service).

Michael Sheen and David Tennant have outrageous chemistry as Aziraphale and Crowley, but Good Omens‘ depiction of other characters is equally important. We’ve known since season one that the show’s angels and demons are canonically non-binary and genderqueer, and season two newbie Muriel (Quelin Sepulveda) was confirmed to use they/them pronouns by the Good Omens Twitter account. Beelzebub – played by Anna Maxwell Martin in the first season, then Shelley Conn in the second – also goes by they/them. Then there’s Ennon (Ty Tennant, David’s son), who openly flirts with Aziraphale in episode two of the new season. And when Aziraphale goes to Edinburgh in episode three, he fixes a man’s phone which has two apps on it: Twitter and gay hookup hub Grindr. We also see Mutt the magic shop owner (Jeff Alexander) out and about with his non-binary spouse (Andrew O’Neill), who wears a 19th century dress to Aziraphale’s ball in episode five.

Good Omens‘ social makeup isn’t like ours. Being queer is the norm – and homophobia doesn’t exist. It would be a stretch to say that all queer people in this fantasy world are happy, especially given the gut-wrenching season finale, but for the most part, they seem to be. While it is important to talk about queer trauma and have it represented on screen, this show doesn’t focus on it, and that’s okay, because the Good Omens universe isn’t filled with bigotry. It stands apart from past shows that have queerbaited us, like Supernatural, which teased its gay subtext for 15 seasons, then ended with a baseless love confession from Castiel to Dean. When Castiel died mere minutes later, many fans were rightly incensed.

By contrast, Good Omens doesn’t need overt coming-out scenes or direct declarations of love. Its queerness is baked in and impossible to miss when Crowley tells Aziraphale, “I’ll give you a lift, anywhere you want to go” and “we could go off together”. It’s equally front and centre when Aziraphale desperately yells “I need you!” and pleads “I thought we built [this quiet fragile existence] for ourselves”. Queer characters are just themselves and that’s the beauty of it.

It’s not just the show itself that is a breath of fresh air. So is Gaiman and the cast’s support for the entire LGBTQ+ community. Tennant rocked up to the season two premiere wearing a t-shirt supporting trans kids. Sheen has challenged the Salvation Army over its anti-LGBTQ+ reputation. Gaiman has consistently written queer characters and cast queer actors – not just in Good Omens, but in his other hit shows The Sandman and American Gods. At a time when JK Rowling continues to spew hateful comments towards the trans community, tarnishing Harry Potter’s legacy in the process, Gaiman’s allyship is heartwarming and necessary. It also feels rock-solid. Unlike Rowling, who told fans on Twitter in 2007 that she “always thought of Dumbledore as gay” despite failing to mention this in any of the Harry Potter books, he has never tried to retcon queerness into his work.

Ultimately, Good Omens season two is good. Really good. The queerness is amped up and the show is all the better for it. Should Prime Video order a third season – and it would be a mistake not to – we can expect more queerness and (hopefully!) queer joy for our protagonists. Gaiman has promised he’ll write another Good Omens novel if the show isn’t renewed, but there is a lesson to be learned either way. Namely: don’t end a beloved queer show on a cliffhanger before it’s confirmed to be returning for another season. Positive representation is more vital than ever, and there is only so much waiting fans can take.

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