Good Omens, Episode 6 Review: “The Very Last Day Of The Rest Of Their Lives”

Good Omens may have avoided the apocalypse but how well did it do at wrapping up the series? Like Aziraphale and Crowley, parts of the finale were heavenly, and parts of the finale were hellish. Here’s a rundown of which parts were which:

Hellish = Being told Crowley’s going to be tried by demons

For a moment, at the beginning, you wonder whether you missed something. Crowley wasn’t in Hell, the last time we saw him, right? A rewind effect settles the matter once and for all, but for the rest of the episode you’re waiting for Crawley to be captured. Anytime it looks like Armageddon will be resolved you know it’s not because Crowley’s still walking free. It removes the element of surprise when other threats are taken out quickly.

Heavenly = The power the series places in belief

It never hurts to have a flaming sword by your side, but belief is what kills Famine, War, and Pollution. Adam nearly lost hope in the world but the first step to making things better isn’t violence: it’s believing change is possible. Good Omens has never shied away from religious hypocrisy, but faith’s capacity for hope is immense and that’s what the finale makes a point of showcasing.

Hellish = The disparity between Crowley showing his emotions and Aziraphale being cagey about his.

David Tennant is a master at conveying loss (in the car, when he thought Aziraphale was dead in “Doomsday Option;” because of the car, when it blows up this episode). Michael Sheen’s acting is equally impeccable, but I wish his character didn’t backslide so much. Rigidness is part of Aziraphale’s DNA, and he grows a lot considering, but having waited for him to grow past comments like he shouldn’t have “to do the dirty work” (while not offering Crowley any sympathy for his deceased Bentley), he continues to fall back on generalizations he knows to be false.

Heavenly = The spotlight the series throws on fathers and the family you choose

While this may have hit a bit harder if the series had included more scenes of Adam with his (human) dad, this is the first time we’re meeting Satan. You almost forgot he’s his biological father (God comes up a lot more in conversation) and, when Adam could forsake authority figures all together, that he recognizes his dad for being there when Satan wasn’t is moving to watch.

Also moving: the scene where Crowley stops time. In that moment it’s no longer the good angel and the bad angel offering Adam conflicting advice but two (more) fathers coming to his aid.

Hellish = God saying “… everything depends on one small boy,” when that refutes everything the show has been telling us about friendship.

Heavenly = Everyone contributes to saving the world

Newt crashes the computers. Adam’s friends, without saying anything, take turns picking up War’s sword. Madame Tracy (Miranda Richardson) refuses to let Aziraphale use her body to kill Adam. Crowley and Aziraphale throw the word “ineffable” around (not to mention setting up Adam with the wrong parents in the first place). Adam may be a key player but it’s all hands on deck.

Other thoughts on episode 6:

• How did War find up with Aziraphale’s sword?
• Is Adam completely human again? Crowley and Aziraphale express that opinion but the bush he makes disintegrate says otherwise (unless that was the Hellhound’s doing).
• Anyone else resent that Adam isn’t shown catching up with the Them, or that the Them don’t decide to stay with him, on their own? Besides Dog, he’s left rather alone at the end.
• Nice touch: Having Pepper be the one to tell War “I believe in peace, b*tch,” given her backstory of being born on a commune. Also, Adam grounding himself, in recognition of how close his actions came to disaster.

Good Omens is streaming on Amazon.