Good Omens season 2 review: Less scope, more fan service

If the only thing you want to know about season two of Good Omens is whether or not Aziraphale and Crowley finally take their unconfessed love for each other to the next level … well, sorry, we’re not going to spoil that for you here. We will say that if you’re asking that question, it’s likely you’re going to enjoy this season quite a bit. If, on the other hand, your curiosity extends to more general storylines or characters from season one, you may feel let down. In season two, which premieres July 28 on Prime Video, Aziraphale and Crowley are the show’s center of gravity, around which all of the other characters, old and new, are forced to revolve.

Since the two characters first appeared in the pages of the novel Good Omens, written by Neil Gaiman and the late Terry Pratchett, fans have been parsing their relationship for signs of a deeper connection. Their love story, for those who chose to see it as such, has been the slowest of slow burns, spanning literal eons. In the TV adaptation, created and nurtured by Gaiman, the undeniable chemistry between Michael Sheen’s high-strung angel and David Tennant’s sultry demon was a big draw for viewers, expanding the fan base of “ineffable husbands” shippers beyond book readers. The fandom has been steadily growing in the four years since season one debuted, inspiring fan art, fan fiction, cosplay, and the like, which Gaiman has enthusiastically encouraged. And maybe the creative team of the show has gotten a little too high on its own supply.

While season one of Good Omens had a published book to use as source material, there was no sequel to adapt for season two. Gaiman has said that he and Pratchett outlined a complete story for another book once upon a time, and he’s already used bits of it in the show. He’s also said that he’s saving most of it for season three, if the series gets there. That left the door wide open for something new. But how do you top Armageddon? What greater stakes could there be than the literal end of the world? Can you follow that up without repeating yourself? Unfortunately, season two does away with the epic scope of previous episodes and shrinks the narrative down until it fits within the one-block radius surrounding Aziraphale’s Soho bookshop.

It’s there where the season’s main storyline kicks off, with the arrival of Archangel Gabriel (a scene-stealing Jon Hamm)—naked and carrying a seemingly empty cardboard box—on the steps of said bookshop. He’s somehow become a blank slate, with no memories of who he is or why he’s there. Naturally, Aziraphale and Crowley don’t agree on what to do with him, but they know that they need to keep him hidden from the forces of heaven and hell. Together, they perform a miracle that prevents anyone from recognizing him for who he is, and just like that they’re suddenly parents. The miracle attracts the attention of the very forces they were trying to evade, though every angel and demon who comes to the shop asking questions about the missing archangel doesn’t realize he’s standing right in front of them.

There’s love in the air elsewhere on the street, too. Aziraphale becomes invested in the romantic attraction between two neighboring shop owners, Maggie (Maggie Service) and Nina (Nina Sosanya). Sparks fly, but the show never lets them grow beyond their sole narrative purpose, which is to unsubtly parallel the relationship between Aziraphale and Crowley. Maggie is the sunny and sweet one, while Nina is grumpy and brooding. In Good Omens, the only relationships worth depicting, it seems, are those between polar opposites.

You may remember that Service and Sosanya both appeared in season one as satanic nuns from the Chattering Order of St. Beryl. Their characters this season are new and unrelated. Also returning is Miranda Richardson, who played Madame Tracy, now in the role of a demon called Shax. If you’re wondering how the series might explain this, it doesn’t. Richardson just suddenly shows up as hell’s new ambassador to London, and we’re supposed to accept it without question. It’s easier to get used to Service and Sosanya in their new roles, as they were only in one episode and wore habits, but Richardson had a much larger presence in season one. This proves to be a constant distraction, but even if it weren’t, Shax quickly becomes tiresome anyway. The rest of the cast is far more entertaining in their parts, especially Tennant, who gets a big, showy scene in the final episode and pours everything he has into it.

Another new feature this season that needs some explanation is the concept of “minisodes.” Gaiman announced on his blog back in 2022 that half of the episodes would include “stories that begin and end within a larger episode, ones that dive into history.” If that’s hard to wrap your head around, let us demystify it for you. They are functionally no different than the standalone flashback stories you might see in shows like Lost, Orange Is The New Black, or Arrow. In a similar vein, these three tales (all featuring Aziraphale and Crowley, of course) are seamlessly woven into the episodes. What distinguishes them here is that they have their own titles and were written by someone other than Gaiman.

Episode two’s minisode is called “The Resurrectionists,” written by Cat Clarke and set in Victorian Edinburgh. In episode three, we get “A Companion To Owls,” a retelling of the Job story written by co-showrunner John Finnemore (starring Tennant’s father-in-law and fellow Doctor Who veteran Peter Davison as Job, and his son, Ty Tennant, as Job’s son). And episode four includes “Nazi Zombie Flesh Eaters” by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, which takes place in London during the Blitz. They all provide context for the ongoing storyline in the present day and work fine within the episodes, but they’re kind of a cop-out. Either commit to that format for all the episodes or find another way to fill the time.

There are traces of good ideas in this season of Good Omens that we wish were more fully explored. The mystery of what happened to Gabriel is unevenly teased out in little morsels across the six episodes—and then downloaded all at once in the finale. What unfolds over a few minutes of screen time could have been spread out over the course of the season, and it would have been fun to follow and piece it all together, like a puzzle. But that would require Gaiman & Co. to escape the pull of the ineffables for a stretch and focus on someone else for a change—something they don’t seem at all inclined to do.

Good Omens season two premieres July 28 on Prime Video