#staged is what happens after season 3 but aziraphale can now be pissed off and crowley can be sad. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nofomogirl · 9 months

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Metatron's manipulation step by step

Part 4: Putting on a human face

Part 1 - where I discuss the significance of the coffee.

Part 2 - where I take a look back at season 1

Part 3 - from Metatron's arrival on Earth to sending the Archangels away

Okay, so after we've discussed how Metatron set the stage, it's finally time to have a look at how he interacts with Aziraphale.

Obviously, Aziraphale's initial attitude is not friendly. He's very guarded and doesn't want to talk at all.

His exact words are "I don't believe there's anything left to be said. I've made my position quite clear."

Sure, it's not said in the most assertive way possible, but what taints it is simple nervousness, not indecisiveness of any kind. Aziraphale genuinely means it. Whatever he said and did in season 1 was not something that happened in the spur of the moment and was regretted later. I haven't seen anything in season 2 that would hint at Aziraphale being in any way unhappy with his little retirement or missing his attachment to Heaven.

I'm absolutely sure he was ready to stand his ground.

So what does Metatron hit him with?

"Yeah, well, I brought you a coffee from the shop."

It's a deceivingly simple two-layered trick.

The first layer is a classic foot-in-the-door technique, where you see pushing your agenda doesn't work, so instead you temporarily drop the subject and simply don't allow the interaction to end in the hope that given enough time the other person might lower their guard down or otherwise become more open, and then you will present your case again.

As a matter of fact, Crowley used the exact same strategy in season 1 episode 1, when he was trying to convince Aziraphale to try and stop the Armageddon.

"We've only got 11 years, and then it's all over. We have to work together." "No." "It's the end of the world we're talking about. It's not some little temptation I've asked you to cover for me while you're up in Edinburgh for a festival. You can't say no" "No." "We can do something. I have an idea." "No! I am not interested." "Well, let's have lunch."

Of course, lunch with Crowley was something far more appealing for Aziraphale than a coffee offered by Metatron (not to mention he didn't actually want Armageddon). Still, he is far too polite, far too caring about the proper etiquette, to simply tell someone who had brought him a drink to piss off.

But what really makes it work is the second layer - confusion.

The gesture is so unexpected, Aziraphale completely loses his footing. His love of Earthly food and beverages was something other angels could never understand. It made him an anomaly, in the worst sense possible - something gross and unnatural. And here the great Metatron not only tolerates it when Aziraphale chooses to indulge, but he himself offers!

He's so baffled, he needs to make sure. "Shall I...?" he asks uncertainly rising the cup in question. And only after Metatron confirms "Drink it? Of course" does he take a sip.

Now, the next line is quite interesting:

"I've ingested things in my time, you know."

Metatron very efficiently shows how he's different from other angels and may have more in common with Aziraphale than the Principality might suspect. He humanizes himself. Maybe not in the most literal sense within the lore of Good Omens, but he does. Not only is he okay with Aziraphale's unusual interests, he understands the appeal.

But he's actually doing something truly devious here. Yes, it is validation, but somehow it's dismissal at the same time. The in my time combined with the creepy tone in which the line is delivered, gave me strong "it's okay, it's just a phase" vibes. Made me think of all the situations a small-minded person belittled someone's passion by saying it's fine to have a hobby and they also had hobbies when they were younger but you can't make a career out of it. Or that some place is fun to visit but one cannot seriously consider moving there. Or that it's normal to experiment when you're young, who didn't experiment, but then you grow up and enter straight marriage...

Metatron offers Aziraphale a coffee and says it's fine to indulge but he doesn't have a drink for himself. Because he only went for it "in his time".

So yes, Metatron is demonstrating he understands Aziraphale, just like I've written earlier. But at the same time, he's already subtly signaling it's time to let go and grow up and be a proper angel.

But for now, Aziraphale only sees the good things, like he so often does.

And it works.

Metatron once more insists they need to talk, and this time Aziraphale isn't as ready to turn him down. He doesn't outright accept, but he is not certain what to do anymore.

He turns to Crowley. And Crowley, unfortunately, doesn't see the danger at all and encourages Aziraphale to go.

And Aziraphale leaves.

And I'll end here.

Continued in: Part 5: The offer ("canonical" version)

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens 2 spoilers #good omens meta

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