Good Omens: Season 2 Review

Director: Douglas Mackinnon
Writers: Neil Gaiman, John Finnemore, Terry Pratchett
Cast: David Tennant, Michael Sheen, Maggie Service, Steven McNicoll, Miranda Richardson, Nina Sosanya, Jon Hamm, Doon Mackichan, Quelin Sepulveda, Gloria Obianyo, Liz Carr, Shelly Conn
Episodes Watched: 5 of 6

It’s been four years since the first season of Good Omens — a series many assumed would be a one-and-done because a) there’s only one book and b) co-author Terry Pratchett passed away in 2015. But Neil Gaiman, teaming with John Finnemore, expands ideas he once discussed with Pratchett, and now Good Omens feels like it’s building a (hopeful) multi-season story.

Season 2 eases off the brisk, apocalyptic pace of the first — it kind of has to, given you can’t really go bigger than the end of the world. Instead, it lingers on the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley’s wonderfully flirtatious rapport. Did Gaiman read the Tumblr ships? He hardly needed to; the chemistry is all in the performances.

Aziraphale and Crowley in Good Omens Season 2

As before, the simple joy of the show is watching David Tennant and Michael Sheen bounce off each other — in the present day and in three “minisode” flashbacks sprinkled through the season. Seeing their devil-and-angel double-act work for, against, and alongside one another through history adds even more charm, and underscores how they’ve always been playing cat-and-mouse with Heaven and Hell.

This time, the plot centers on a naked, amnesiac Archangel Gabriel turning up at Aziraphale’s bookshop. Heaven wants him. Hell wants him. And once again it’s up to Aziraphale and Crowley to do what’s best for humanity. Jon Hamm, freed from Gabriel’s former pomposity, seems to be having a ball — his wide-eyed delight at discovering gravity particularly tickled me.

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Outside the shop doors, the London street begins to feel like a sitcom set — knowingly stagey in a way that works, like watching a play. The show is very British (surprise!), even as an international Prime Video production, and that tone may be divisive for some.

Poking fun at Biblical chapters, our obsessions with social media, and more, there’s light social commentary, but Good Omens mainly aims to deliver a good time — and thanks to Tennant and Sheen, it largely can’t miss. I could easily watch Crowley and Aziraphale’s adventures for a few more seasons if they’re as enjoyable as this. It’s candy at times, sure, but I’m not ashamed to say I love it.

Good Omens: Season 2 streams on Prime Video from July 28th.