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SO. this part of gomens has always had me feeling some type of way. it is honestly one of the moments that define Aziraphale for me, and today I am going to TALK ABOUT IT !!!!!!! :)
the angels have ALWAYS made Aziraphale feel stupid for his enthusiasm for humanity. over time, he has gone from "it& #39;s ineffable" to arguing to his superiors that there needn& #39;t be a war. throughout, he is kind. he tries to use reason - never deception, violence, etc.
he believes in other& #39;s capacity to be good. it is even upon this principle that he does his work (encouraging humans to do good, not miracling). he BELIEVES good will ultimately prevail, and though he is made to feel naive for it, it& #39;s fair to say that he is, eventually, correct.
he wants others to do the right thing, and he knows that they can. he& #39;s seen it through his work with humans, and no matter how he is criticised for it by heaven, he stands by this principle and is dignified enough to believe it even of those who have been criticising him.
it may be the thing that others think he is foolish for, but for me it was momentous to see a character so unerringly kind and optimistic about other& #39;s capacity for growth.
and so, THIS CLIP:
when Crowley said this to Aziraphale, I was shocked.
and so, THIS CLIP:
when Crowley said this to Aziraphale, I was shocked.
note: this is NOT a Crowley bash. I believe that the moments when A&C say/do hurtful things are a product of their strained circumstances, not inherent cruelty!
BUT, the context (heaven& #39;s treatment of Aziraphale) only furthers how what Crowley says here is SO mean/thoughtless.
BUT, the context (heaven& #39;s treatment of Aziraphale) only furthers how what Crowley says here is SO mean/thoughtless.
Aziraphale has, undoubtedly, come to trust Crowley. he is the only one who has not only accepted his beliefs/optimism, but encouraged them. for Crowley to (perhaps unintentionally) compound what heaven have been (wrongly) saying about Aziraphale since the start is.... very unkind
and so, to me, the fact that Aziraphale, without hesitation, says "I forgive you", despite how out of pocket that was for Crowley to say is...... groundbreaking !!!!
not only does he choose to let the dig slide, but he KNOWS Crowley is not unkind. and he knows that Crowley sees himself as unforgivable: Aziraphale chooses to respond to crowley& #39;s quip with the kindest, weightiest sentiment he possibly can. even in the face of possible desertion
and that is why this moment is so important to me!!!!! it baffled me at first, how passive Aziraphale came across in response to Crowley& #39;s rushing. until I realised that it says everything I need to know about his character, how well he knows Crowley and how much he loves him.
Aziraphale is not passive, or stupid, or foolish. he is trying to be kind, and good. and even if he sometimes gets it wrong (which he does), I love him so damn much for trying.
FIN!
here is an angel to say thank you to anyone who trudged through all of my ramble :)
FIN!
here is an angel to say thank you to anyone who trudged through all of my ramble :)
