REVIEW: ‘Good Omens’ Season 2 Remains A Joyful And Heartfelt Romp

David Tennant and Michael Sheen return as our favorite ineffable duo, demon Crowley and angel Aziraphale for Good Omens Season 2. Originally based on the novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, Season 2 deals with stories that stray from the source material. This deviation allows for greater exploration into the duo’s past as the story weaves moments they’ve shared throughout history into the modern day. The result is a playful and heartfelt story that continues to challenge the notions of good and evil, what it means to be tempted by simple pleasures, and the general hypocrisy of heaven and hell. More than anything, though, it’s about how a demon and angel come to need one another while simultaneously realizing how much that necessity for an ally turns into genuine friendship.

The apocalypse they faced in season one has been avoided, but with a naked and amnesiac archangel Gabriel (Jon Hamm) arriving at Aziraphale’s doorstep, the two are faced with new, possibly larger issues. Of course, Aziraphale’s first instinct is to protect the being that wanted him cast into Hellfire, making it all the wiser to have Crowley on his side. His demeanor remains critical of all those who reside in heaven. His instincts also remain sound, especially next to Aziraphale’s knack for naivety.

Directed by Douglas Mackinnon, the show’s scale is drawn into the main street of Aziraphale’s bookshop for the majority of the season. That is, aside from when we take small adventures back in time to witness the stages of the duo’s relationship as it grows from tempestuous alliance to friendship. This dichotomy of time and storybook aesthetics draws on everything from Pushing Daisies, to Doctor Who, to Paddington. There’s no lack of color, from the vibrancy of Crowley’s darkened red hair to the shop fronts that line the street, or the distinctive costuming that enriches the world.

Episode 5 “The Ball” is a particular highlight in terms of sheer set and costume design. However, there’s palpable glee throughout the show’s aesthetics. Despite being set in the modern day, the style and interests of our leads create a timeless atmosphere, fitting for two beings who’ve been around since the very start of the universe. Crowley and Aziraphale maintain the tether and heart of the series, even in the sillier moments as they’re decked out in their silliest outfits. The season achieves this consistently as it tackles mini episodes within the episode as we travel and witness stories from The Book of Job, to the Resurrectionists, to World War II.

Good Omens Season 2 is, in ways, stronger than its first due to a streamlined story with a direct, main objective. While Season 1 had the benefit of the source material, the follow-up can focus on what has become the greatest draw of the series: the main relationship at its core. There are very few side plots or the need to divide time between a large cast. The biggest supporting players are often involved in the going ons of our angel and demon pairing. Season 2 excels because it’s honed in on the dynamic between Crowley and Aziraphale. While it may have been the main push behind the narrative before, it’s the clear, beating heart of Season 2.

Crowley is the character who has weathered the greatest transformation, though it was never quite as extreme as one might think. His interests always align more with himself than with hell. But with Aziraphale, he’s always played a level of protector, and that’s allowed him to shift and change in tandem with the angel, as the latter found himself tempted by simple human pleasures such as good food and drink and greater company.

Crowley and Aziraphale both see the universe without the shades of black and white that dominate heaven and hell. As such, they’re destined to walk a solitary path. Or, they would be, had the other not come into their lives. The series has done a terrific job in shaping these characters into two halves of the same coin.

The performances of Tennant and Sheen aid the relationship greatly. Sheen fares better in the past stories as we watch multiple versions of Aziraphale at war with himself over his proposed ideals and perception of right and wrong. His general heartbreak whenever he realizes that all is not what it seems, or worse, he is not all of what he seemed, is effective. Sheen is tremendous in these moments of vulnerability. Tennant, meanwhile, is as hilarious as always, although he too is given smaller moments to revel in, both comedic and dramatic. While he often goes big and broad for comedy’s sake, he’s just as effective in smaller moments, such as the mountains of work his face does when he realizes the trouble he and Aziraphale might’ve gotten themselves into with a performance on the West End. His warmth shines through though, always making him a captivating presence with incredible control over his physicality. Even if the rest of the show lacked charm (it doesn’t) they’d be worth sitting through all six episodes for.

If anything, the only drawback is a divisive one, and that’s the amount of screen time Hamm gets as Gabriel. There’s plenty of humor to derive from the character’s memory loss, especially with so much of their fate being tied to it, but Hamm is better in small doses as the character. The same goes for the agents of hell, though they’re given far less to do in Season 2. One of the funniest running gags, however, is how little both demons and angels understand about humanity and how that blinding gap of knowledge has allowed Crowley and Aziraphale to get away with so much over time.

Good Omens Season 2 maintains the fantastical energy of season one and the punchy humor of the novel while creating a sense of wonder. Thrumming with immense tenderness and curiosity and anchored by the charismatic performances of Sheen and Tennant and their considerable chemistry, Season 2 best captures the whimsy of their self-made universe. Tucked away in their bookstore where books are very rarely loaned, Crowley and Aziraphale’s stories are vast and endless, as old as time itself, and yet each scene they share brings with it something new.

Good Omens Season 2 will premiere all six episodes on July 28 on Prime Video.