Other Doctor Lives: Good Omens: Series 3 – “The Finale” (2026)

*Premise spoilers, which include spoilers from the season 2 finale*

Here it is: the finale of Good Omens.

Obviously, getting here was a rocky road. The horrific abuse allegations against Neil Gaiman prompted a very necessary retooling of the final season. First and foremost, the survivors of his abuse deserve to have their voices heard, and they deserve justice for what was done to them. Full stop. The fates of the adaptations based on his work are trivial matters compared to all that.

That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt when good works of art are tainted or disrupted by predators who are involved with them. There are shows and films I loved once that I can’t bring myself to watch anymore. There are those I choose not to watch anymore. There are those that were canceled or cut short so as to stop associations with those predators. In the case of Good Omens, pre-production on season 3 halted and Neil Gaiman was removed from the show going forward. When the dust settled from that much-needed removal, we were left, not with a full final season, but with a single 90-minute finale, and stewards of the series (including Terry Pratchett’s daughter) had to fight to get that much.

So while it’s not the final season that fans were hoping for, 1) we very easily could’ve gotten nothing at all, ending on Crowley in the Bentley and Aziraphale in the lift, and 2) there are much more important considerations here than just the ending of a TV show. Gaiman’s been poking his head out again recently, creating more harm even as he tries to reclaim his reputation, and we can’t lose sight of the terrible pain he caused.

Okay, let’s talk about the actual episode. It’s been years since Aziraphale and Crowley’s heartbreaking separation—the Metatron urged Aziraphale to replace Gabriel as Supreme Archangel, sweetening the pot with a promise that he could restore Crowley’s angel status. But Crowley wanted nothing to do with Heaven and begged Aziraphale not to go. A plea, a desperate kiss, a fracture. Since then, Aziraphale has been busy in Heaven, organizing the Second Coming of Christ, while Crowley wallows in a drunken depression back on Earth. Right on the heels of the Second Coming, the newly made-flesh Jesus disappears from Heaven and the Book of Life is stolen, which leads pieces of reality to start being unmade. Frantic to fix everything and bring about “universal happiness,” Aziraphale returns to Earth to ask Crowley for help.

Right out of the gate, there’s not enough time. We pretty much knew that was going to be the case going in—how could it not be?—but it still hurts a little to watch the characters hurry through trying to wrap everything up while simultaneously introducing the biggest crisis Aziraphale and Crowley have ever faced. There are dangling threads, the conversations we’ve been waiting for happen in truncated versions between the larger action, and it’s just not enough. That said, the pacing is less of a fault than I might have expected. Although critical moments obviously get shortchanged, it doesn’t feel like the finale is just racing through a series of plot points to check off a list. There are scenes that get space to breathe.

Because the big headline here is what happens to Aziraphale and Crowley, it’s easy to feel dismissive of the apocalyptic goings-on. Something like that needed to be happening, of course—for one, it takes something big to put them in the same room again, and for another, part of what we love about these two is watching how they work together against the forces of both Heaven and Hell. But there are points where the whole Book of Life calamity feels less suspenseful and more of a “we have to up the ante to make this The Biggest Deal of All Deals!!!!” situation that just takes away from what we really want to see.

None of this, however, applies to Jesus, who is just wonderful. Both the writing and Bilal Hasna’s earnest performance create something really beautiful here. Jesus has just become corporeal again and His memories are a little hazy—He longs to speak with one of the humans He cherished the last time He was on Earth, but of course, everyone He knew is long gone. I just love that, when He wonders why He doesn’t have scars, He doesn’t mean scars from the crucifixion. “I had good carpenter’s hands,” He says. Throughout the finale, He radiates goodness and an honest desire to connect with people, regardless of what bigger plans Heaven has for Him.

And there’s Aziraphale and Crowley. I’ll save my more detailed thoughts for a spoilery post, and by then, I might have sorted out how I feel about it a little better. These are my first impressions: some scenes feel like too little, others too much, and others just right. On the whole, there’s a lot of Crowley expressing his hurt at Aziraphale and Aziraphale offering explanations for his actions without showing much acknowledgement of Crowley’s pain. Crowley goes along with helping Aziraphale even as he argues that he won’t, and Aziraphale proves more than once that he wouldn’t get very far without Crowley. As for the very end, all I’ll say is that I’m still thinking about it.

The thing is, though, amid all the busy rushing around and the lack of time, they’re still Aziraphale and Crowley. We get another very early flashback for them, showing a period the show had never depicted between them before. We get Aziraphale being a bit bowled over all over again by the depth of Crowley’s care. We get the Bentley in a ridiculous disguise. We get ice cream and dim sum and costume changes. We get heartbreak and anger, bickering and protectiveness, jokes and quiet overtures. I would’ve wanted a lot more, but I am grateful for what we got.

Over and over, Michael Sheen and David Tennant demonstrate just how excellent they are in these roles, not to mention how splendidly they play off one another. As Aziraphale, Sheen is repressed yet hopeful, avoidant yet longing. When he finally expresses what he hasn’t been saying, it’s a long time coming.

Meanwhile, Tennant is as fantastic as ever as Crowley. In the early scenes, he manages to be numb and a raw nerve at the same time, which is an impressive feat. And once Aziraphale arrives on the scene, his pain sharpens into a focused point. Crowley is both transparently upset and badly trying not to show the extent of his grief, but the latter keeps spilling out into the former. And despite how angry he is with Aziraphale, Crowley still keeps looking out for him and helping him.

Just a few snippets, some of my favorite non-spoilery bits from Tennant here. Crowley leaves a plant of his with Mrs. Sandwich while he goes out for a while, and when he comes back, he croons to it, “Were you good?” One of Crowley’s biggest weaknesses continues to be the way he cares about people and things—Aziraphale knows this about him and uses it to draw him out. Tennant has such a distinctive smitten smile. As I’ve said before, he uses the exact same one for the Tenth Doctor looking at Rose and Crowley looking at  Aziraphale. Crowley is still a little shit when it comes to dealing with both Heaven and Hell. This is a great exchange:

CROWLEY: “I quit, Dagon. Did you get the memo?” 

DAGON: “You didn’t send a memo!” 

CROWLEY: “Well, that’s because I quit.”

Even though I’m still deciding how I feel about the finale, I am glad we got to see these performances one more time.

Accent Watch

Not heavy RP, but a bit posh.

Recommend?

In General – Yes (although if people don’t want to watch a show where Gaiman was involved in the first two seasons, I totally get it.) This was a special series, and it meant a lot to me.

David Tennant – Absolutely! This is the performance that “unlocked” Tennant for me as an actor. He’s so superb in this role!

Warnings

Thematic elements, irreverent humor towards religion, violence, sexual references, language, and drinking.

Big Neurodivergent Energy Shows: 11-15

Mostly sitcoms today. I feel like sitcoms in general lend themselves well to neurodivergent interpretations, with lots of quirky characters who have outsized reactions to things. But there’s a difference between “yeah, I could see that” ND interpretations and “omg, autistic/ADHD AF!!!” ND interpretations. And these shows? Far more the latter!

 

Abbott Elementary

I went into this show knowing that a lot of autistic folks claim Gregory, and he’s positively spectacular—episode about safe foods! Not a drill! But I wasn’t prepared to get bowled over by the rest of the cast, especially my beloved Janine. She and Gregory are my favorite workplace sitcom will-they-won’t-they since Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt (surprise, surprise!) A beautiful show with room for all kinds of brains, including Melissa being canonically dyslexic!

 

Community

It’s not just Abed, which it is. It’s not just some of the other characters, which it is. It’s the lovingly intricate pop culture references and long-game commitment to bits. It’s the theme of broken, lonely people who are better when they’re together. It’s the turn of the jokes and the depth of the existential crises. A beautifully autistic show that’s often brilliant and sometimes messy, one that resonates with me on so many levels.

 

Good Omens

Production on season 3 has paused for now, which is good (ugh, Neil Gaiman, why?), but even if my feelings about the show have grown more complicated due to behind-the-scenes issues, I still really love these characters and their relationship. I love how Aziraphale and Crowley both feel autistic to me in completely different ways, which contributes to them fitting so well together despite having such different sensibilities. Really excited to see these two find their happy ending!

 

The Good Place

Like Community, this is a show with a great “freebie” autistic-coded character in Chidi, but he’s just a gateway to discovering how neurodivergent the show feels as a whole. I love every single one of the characters and how they interact with one another, the wordplay is delicious, and I love the notion that people aren’t “good” or “bad” but are always capable of better, especially with the love and support of those around them. And come on, this is a network sitcom that regularly features ruminations on moral philosophy! You love to see it.

 

We Are Lady Parts

I feel like there’s some strong overlap between neurodivergence and punk, so this show might’ve had Big ND Energy no matter what, but the neurodivergent coding is definitely strong with this one. Most of the characters give off a vibe, but most especially Amina and Saira. Like Aziraphale and Crowley, they have such polar-opposite traits but fit together so well. I love both of them so much, and I adore the show’s heart, bite, and quirkiness.  

Neurodivergent (Headcanon) Alley: Crowley (Good Omens)

Since I started Neurodivergent Alley, some of the characters I’ve highlighted have included Ariel/Eric, Stede Bonnet/Edward Teach, Leslie Knope/Ben Wyatt, Elizabeth Zott/Calvin Evans, and now Aziraphale/Crowley. It really hammers home that I’m not just drawn to individua; characters that I read as neurodivergent—it also greatly influences my favorite fictional couples.

Anyone who’s a fan of both Good Omens and Our Flag Means Death draws inevitable comparisons between them, especially between Aziraphale-Stede and Crowley-Ed. There are numerous parallels to be found within the two sets of characters, and that extends to neurodivergent headcanons as well. While Aziraphale, like Stede, feels more clearly autistic to me—both were the first characters on their respective shows who “pinged” for me in that regard—Crowley and Ed are a bit more covert. As with Ed, Crowley feels more AuDHD to me in that he’s better able to mask and often appears less outwardly stressed than his better half in social situations. He knows how to do what’s expected of him and can quickly adapt to situations, putting on the correct face to keep himself alive and recognizing the cues/ulterior motives that Aziraphale might miss.

(Side note: Neil Gaiman has recently been open about being autistic himself. I wouldn’t say that canonizes my ND interpretations of Aziraphale or Crowley, but I do think it lends credence to them!)

In the ol’ “plushy vs. stabby autism” continuum, it’s no secret where Crowley would fall. Even though he knows how to fit in in various settings, he prefers not to if it isn’t a matter of his or Aziraphale’s safety. He likes rubbing people the wrong way, whether that’s sauntering in drolly when other demons are impatiently waiting on him to deliver the Antichrist child or being rude/threatening to humans. He projects a “keep away from me” air of prickliness, and he can even include Aziraphale in that, despite how much he really does value Aziraphale’s company. When Aziraphale asks him for favors, Crowley often puts on a cantankerous show of refusal before eventually giving in.

Asking questions is deeply embedded in Crowley’s character, to the point that he suggests it’s why he fell and became a demon in the first place. He wants to understand things—facts, but also reasons. And in a cosmos where angels pliantly followed the will of God, wanting to know why you’re meant to be doing something is a big no-no. Questions are doubts, questions are challenges. There’s something that feels sooooooo autistic about Crowley being thrown out of Heaven for his honest and unquenchable desire to understand.

Hand in hand with asking questions comes wanting justice. Crowley may know how to play the part of a demon, pretending he doesn’t care about what happens to others, but he cares deeply. He can’t fathom how God would wipe out the entire Earth beyond the Ark with the great flood. When tasked by Hell to bring devastation upon Job, he can’t bring himself to kill Job’s goats, let alone his children. He can’t resist poking at Aziraphale’s hardline stance on morality, asking how an urchin in 19^th century Edinburgh can be expected to make righteous choices when she’s weighing the options of steal or starve.

Oh, and there’s a scene where Crowley is so upset, his entire body starts smoking in the middle of the street, which is evocative of meltdowns in such a visceral way!