#story of job

[ineffable-suffering]

Why Aziraphale is an unreliable narrator

Part 1: The Story of Job

I'm absolutely not the first one to talk about this on here and I probably shan't be the last either. Alas, here's my take on why all of the minisodes in Season 2 should be enjoyed with great care – and taken with a grain of angelic salt.

I'm gonna split this into 3 parts, aka the three minisodes we are shown, since I tend to get a bit waffley in my posts and want to still be able to include all the little details. Once I've written them, I'll link Part 2 & Part 3 here as well!

Alright, let's get into it under the cut of doom.

Episode 2 opens with the Story of Job. Right off the bat, I noticed that it sort of looks like an old film playing. At first I didn't read that much into it, but once we see the cut-away to Aziraphale at the bookshop, currently reading that part of the Bible (presumably), I immediately thought: "Oh! It's because it's his memory. He's remembering how it went down and therefore it plays like a figurative film in his head."

This, I then came to realize, is a very crucial difference to all the flashbacks of S1, which were exclusively told and narrated by God. May her intensions be as ineffable as they are: She did tell us all of these stories from an objective outsider's point of view. Now, however, it's Aziraphale who's re-telling those stories to us from memory.

And if there's one thing that's for certain, it's that a memory is something entirely different to an objective narration of a story. Just think about how you yourself remember things. Especially things that happened years, maybe even decades (or, in an angel's case, millenia) ago. What is it, that you really remember? Can you know for sure, that a conversation was held with those exact words? Are you 100% certain that the clothes someone wore weren't different? Had it really been snowing or would that make very little sense given what you're remembering happened in May? And did it even happen in May? Or does that just happen to be your favourite month, the current weather, your preferred style of clothing and what it was that you would imagine someone would have said to you?

What I'm trying to say is: The further away it is that something happened, the more your brain has to fill in the gaps. This is why, for example, your parents will remember the family summer holiday entirely different when you ask them about it 20 years later.

"No, it was Sarah who puked on the car ride home!" "Nonsense, Sarah never puked as a child. Bobby had that gone-off pizza, he's the one that was sick the whole ride long!"

We've all been there. Bobby made it out alive. Don't buy gas station pizza.

Alright, back to the plot: Naturally, Aziraphale is not actually human, so it is a pure assumption on my part that the way his memory works is similar to ours. However, the whole topic of "memory" is actually quite a recurring one on Good Omens.

Crowley seems to have lost his in the Fall, yet somehow managed to get most of it back. Not all of it, though, he clearly has some major gaps ("You used to jump on me back, little monkey in the waistcoat!"). Beelzebub helps Gabriel store all his memories in their little fly container before they get wiped entirely too, by the Metatron and/or Saraqael. Crowley and Aziraphale (and possibly Jimbriel) perform a miracle together that makes everyone in Heaven and Hell forget who Garbiel is or what he looks like. And we know that the Book of Life apparently has the ability to completely erase someone from existence – ergo also erasing them from everyone's memory and making it is as though the person had never been in them at all.

So, clearly, angels and demons being able to remember, forget, reconstruct and, if you're the Metadork, wipe memories, is very much canon. Apart from that very last one, it does make them quite human-like in a way. We too can forget or (wrongfully and incompletely) reconstruct memories, due to things like trauma, illness or simply a lot of time having passed.

So, just like Crowley remembers going into battle but doesn't remember Furfur being there, or just like Jimbriel has entierly forgotten who he is but still remembers the tune and lyrics to Buddy Holly's song Everyday, and just like archangel Michael was miraculously made to forget Gabriel and yet says "Don't I know you?" when seeing him again – just like that, Aziraphale's memories of the story of Job, the story of wee Morag and the story of the magic show in 1941, might not actually be the whole truth.

So, time to look at where the furniture isn't.

Now, it could very well be that the costume designers of S2 thought: "Fuck it, let's go crazy" – but given that this show has a track record of meticulously making sure to stick to accurate and cohesive character design, doesn't it strike you as odd that Crowley would go from this look at the Flood in Mesopotamia, 3004 BC:

... to the (very iconic, don't get me wrong) Bildad the Shuhuite drip in 2500 BC:

... back to this at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in 33 AD:

I mean ... I mean– come on, that seems like a bit of a far stretch, even for someone as enthusiastically experimental with fashion as Crowley.

And it's not just that: Where did the sunglasses come from, all of a sudden? And why do they look like some sort of obscure, ancient optometrist's device? It's a known historical fact that the Romans were the ones to have invented sunglasses, somewhere around 50-ish AD. Which actually matches perfectly with when Crowley and Aziraphale meet again in Rome 8 years after the crucifixion (51 AD).

So, where do the weird spectacles come from, over 2000 years too early? Maybe from Aziraphale's brain filling in some gaps? Hasn't Crowley always worn those ridiculous sunglasses? Was it Rome? Or Golgotha? Wessex? Oh, blimey, what does it matter!

And it's not just Crowley: Aziraphale's own clothes, as well as the other angels', seem to be very different from the rather plain linen we see him wear before and after the story of Job.

They're laced with golden embroidery along the neckline and sleeves. The remind almost of the clothes angels are depicted wearing in biblical and historical drawings. Ornate and decadent. Not at all like we see Aziraphale in the other flashbacks of S1.

Even Bildad the Shuhite's hair within the minisode keeps changing, going from all pouffy and voluminous to rather deflated and straight-looking:

The costume department either had to fix up two seperate wigs or manually straighten out the volume of the one again to give it a more sleek look. I'm not a professional in this field, but if there's anything I've learned from watching hours of behind-the-scenes material of movies and shows, it's that very little about costume, character, prop and set design is purely coincidental.

You know what it could be, though? An accurate representation of how memories aren't linear, historically correct and objective representations of a certain event, but rather an ever-changing, jumbled mess of impressions, emotions and exaggerations.

More specifically: Aziraphale's impression, emotions and exaggerations.

Like "remembering" Crowley with sunglasses because he's been wearing them for so long.

Like "remembering" himself wearing more luxurious, angelic clothes because that's how he thinks of the difference between Heaven and Hell.

Like "remembering" the permit as a ridiculously long scroll that folded out over an entire valley.

Like "remembering" Job's children to be weirdly sassy in an almost Aziraphale-esque way (Enon: "Don't be silly!") for the fact that Job would have probably taught them to be more humble and obedient in the presence of a literal angel.

Like "remembering" eating an entire fucking Ox after having just one bite of it while Crowley watched him lustfully, sipping on his wine.

Like "remembering" Crowley calling him 'angel', despite them having barely known each other back then.

There's a reason why the flashbacks in S2 seem so much more alive, quirky and, at many points, confusing and all over the place. Because they're not objective stories being told by a third party. They're Aziraphale's. So much of his own thoughts and feelings at the time get projected onto them because that's simply how memory works!

It's subjective. It's unrealiable.

It's not that I'm calling Aziraphale a liar. He's no more a liar than your parents are, mixing up Sarah and Bobby. Or you, remembering snow instead of sunshine. Memories aren't lies. They can simply be faulty, focus on things that you thought were more important and leaving out or changing things that weren't, to you.

The real challenge in all of this, is trying to filter through Aziraphale's stories to see what it actually is they're telling us. Where it is that the furniture isn't. And I think in this case, that's 6 main things (eff you, God, I know you like sevens, but I don't care):

God and Satan (still) talk to each other We see that Aziraphale is quite surprised when Muriel mentions that the whole Job thing is God's bet with Satan. But clearly, despite having made him and the rest fall, God still converses with Her number one traitor about whether or not the humans simply love Her because she gives them nice things or because they truly believe in Her.

God and Satan (and Heaven and Hell) can and do collaborate with each other when they feel like it So much for choosing sides, huh? Truthfully, this is not the first time this is shown to us, but still. It's another piece of evidence on the growing pile.

Aziraphale understands the World and humans way better than any of the other angels "Well, you see ... Citis is 58 ..."

Aziraphale, despite having troubles voicing it, absolutely disagrees and even condemns God's plan of destroying Job's children (and goats and camels and––)

Aziraphale is willing to lie and thwart the will of God Also not the first time we're being shown this but again, piiiile of evidence.

Angels don't automatically Fall simply by doing the above To me, this is one of the most important take aways. It's already hinted in S1 as well that 'Falling' seems to have been a one time even back when the first war broke out in Heaven. And I actually believe that ever since then, no other angels have Fallen again. Aziraphale is the best example for this. He has gone against God's plan numerous times and even lied to her very face (voice?) about it. And yet, nothing ever happened to him. Why exactly that is the case remains a topic for another meta (that I might or might not be working on already, teehee).

Alright, that concludes this first look at the Job minisode! If there's anything I missed, feel free to share it with me. I'll try and add Part 2 (the story of wee Morag) and Part 3 (the magic show of 1941) soon.

Update: Part 2 and Part 3 have officially been written, you can find it them right here:

Part 2: The Story of wee Morag

Part 3: The Story of the Magic Show in 1941

Hugs and kisses, (God)!

#good omens #good omens season 2 #gos2 #go2 #good omens 2 #good omens meta #ineffable husbands #aziraphale #crowley #story of job #job minisode #good omens analysis #aziraphale is a storyteller #but not a very accurate one #my own meta

[theshoesofatiredman]

Idk I think Job's wife really went off when she told him to curse God and die. It's interesting how there's no oxygen for her suffering in the narrative. She lost her children too. She lost her home too. Her health was taken from her too. Everything she had was stripped away by God. And yet there's no compassion for her. Not in the narrative nor in the commentaries or the sermons. She isn't even named.

#story of job #book of job #job's wife #ex christian #exvangelical #ex fundie #ex fundamentalist

[certified-scoundrel]

I constantly forget that Bildad the Shuhite is an actual person in the Bible, and it's really not good since my family is religious. The other day I made one of those 'this is only funny to me' jokes referencing Bildad the Shuhite (as seen in Good Omens), and my grandmother was very confused as to why I found this random guy from story of Job so funny.

Anyway, stan our favorite midwife/cobbler for clear skin and 7000 goats/sheep.

#Bildad the Shuhite #bildad the shuhite lover #good omens #anthony j crowley #crowley #good omens season 2 #good omens tv #story of job #crowley good omens #to many tags #but like #idc #sometimes i wonder if i should make a whole separate post for the things i put in the tags on a few of my posts

[purplemoonabove]

In my church, and my priest’s homily mentions the story of Job.

And I’m here, sitting in the back, and smiling while thinking:

#good omens #crowley #aziraphale #ineffable husbands #story of job #this show man 😂 #neil gaiman and terry pratchett #I can’t think of specific stories from the Bible without thinking of these two #good omens 2 #good omens 3 #Amazon prime

[hauntedpoetryruins]

I noticed a few similarities between Crowley and Job. Job lost everything he had just for God to win a bet. He had done nothing wrong, yet suffered. Crowley (Angel Crowley) fell not because he hated God, humans, wanted war and pain and suffering and so on... no, he fell for asking questions. He lost his stars, his eyes, his holiness and his Aziraphale

We saw that Job also asked questions... he wasn't given answers but after his conversation with God he still believed God did the right thing. Crowley doesn't get any answers nor acknowledgment as Job did, no he still, and rightfully so, questions God's power and will and knowledge and morality... Later, in season 2, Crowley is given a chance to become an angel once again (like Job did to get his earthly belongings and double that) BUT the important similarity I see is that neither of them cared about the status or goats or stars (I know this is a headcanon) as long as they have their children/Aziraphale. Job gets his old children back and has his happy ending. Crowley already has Aziraphale, they can be together now... giving Crowley no reason to be an angel, to want to be an angel. He has the love of his life until he is taken by Heaven... by God...

#good omens #aziraphale #crowley #ineffible husbands #angst #good omens s2 #aziracrow #analisis #speach #angel crowley #story of job #job #season 2

[forearmfeasting]

The Bible story of Job is one of the original “woman in the fridge” tropes.

A woman suffering to further a man’s plot.

#womaninthefridge #religious trauma #story of job #deconstructing christianity #trauma

[liquidstar]

If my mom sees a significant amount of blood she gets lightheaded, and has fainted on some occasions. Once it happened when we were kids, I wasn't there to witness it but I heard the story from my dad. Basically my brothers, around 7 or 8 at the time, were playing outside while my mom was making their lunch, and she accidentally cut her finger. It wasn't anything serious, but it drew a fair bit of blood and she passed out. My dad saw this and rushed over, but he didn't really know what to do so he just sort of started slapping her to wake her up (not recommended, but he had no idea and panicked)

At that exact moment my brothers both came in from playing, and all they saw was our mom unconscious on the floor and our dad slapping her. So, like, without even saying a word to each other they both just INSTANTLY start whaling on him, like, full blown attack mode to defend our mom. Which obviously didn't help the situation, but she did wake up and everything was fine.

Now our dad says that he's actually really glad they attacked him over what they thought was going on, because it means he raised good boys. And I still think that's true, they're very good boys.

#i think about this story sometimes like yeah I'm proud of them for that too actually. good job baby brothers #they're not babies anymore of course they're turning 20 next year which is crazy #but they're still the type of people who'd do something if they saw something of this sort happen for sure #respectful of women and everyone else too. they're good guys #I'm glad I ended up with them living in my house against my will for like 14 years #anyway i have no idea where i was for all this but my best guess is probably a friends house given the time period #i was always at my besties house lol #i hope she's doing well too actually. haven't spoken in forever... #bestie from greek elementary school... if you're out there... let's get muffins and fanta at the bakery across the street again someday 💜☮️

[nerdpoe]

Danny is about to be kidnapped in Gotham This is not a good time.

He's studying for the SAT, he's already been kidnapped by Vlad like, four times that week and it was a fucking Tuesday, he forgot his wallet at his new apartment, locked himself out of said new apartment (he could phase through the door but that wasn't the point), he's just been informed that the grant he applied for was denied so he needs to ask his mom and dad for college funds when he'd already told them he had it covered, and just...it was shit.

It had been shit. The entire week had been awful and annoying and he was ready to either murder everyone on the planet or go find a corner to cry in for the next three days.

So when the band of wild goons working for whatever villain of the week pulled up and tried to kidnap him, he snapped.

He used them to vent.

Shouted about how terrible his day had been, how terrible his week had been, how he'd already been kidnapped by his creepy godfather who was way too into him, how college funding was shit and the grant system was rigged, and how he'd have to call a locksmith or break down the door to his own apartment if he wanted to go to bed-all of it. He unloaded all of his frustration.

The goons actually backed off.

One of them gave him an awkward side hug and told him it'd get better.

Danny wasn't paying attention to his surrounding. He doesn't realize that the whole thing was livestreamed.

So when he gets home to his apartment later that day, his door is opened for him by the vigilante Spoiler before he can even turn intangible.

She brought over BatBurger and kidnapped Bruce Wayne, Gotham's bumbling Prince, to talk about college grants.

#dpxdc #dcxdp #dp x dc #dc x dp #phanfic #story prompt #steph watched the livestream and felt GREAT SYMPATHY #so she actually did trick bruce into coming with her and breaking into an apartment as bruce wayne instead of batman #told him it was an important job #he clued in that it wasn't crime related after she told him to stay put so she could get food #sure fuck it he'll give this rando kid a grant #he'll pay for the whole thing education is important #literally no one looks into the whole “i've already been kidnapped four times this week” thing #cuz everyone gets kidnapped in gotham #well almost no one looks into it #jack and maddie fenton do when they see the clip #vlad learns the hard way not to piss off the people who design weapons specifically meant for you

[watchyourbuck]

I don’t think yall understand how meaningful it is to have Oliver say “when you close your eyes it all feels the same” (kissing on screen). The fact that he doesn’t laugh it off, or say he had to push through it, or that it was a little weird like other actors have in the past is so incredibly important. This is him portraying a character and his sexuality, and it’s so validating to have the actor do his job the way Oliver has, in such a caring, positive way. It’s the feeling of finally belonging, of blending in when you’ve been marginalized and picked out all your life. Love is love, and a kiss is just a kiss.

#this post is specifically for real life and not the plot of the story #for Buck the kiss is obviously very important #this is about Oliver and his job and yall get my drift #911 fox #911 #911 tv show #evan buckley #evan buck buckley #oliver stark #911 abc #911 spoilers #911 show #911 season 7 #911 on abc #911 s7 #911 season seven #911 s7 ep4 #bucktommy #buck x tommy #tommy x buck #tommy kinard

[high-quality-tiktoks]

Its okay they could call me on a rotary faster than i could explain to them I’m old enough to know what a rotary phone is

#video #tiktok #tiktoks #story time #funny #lmao #wtf #retail #retail worker #retail workers #karen #karens #job #jobs #work #mimmytootnoot

[littlenimart]

early days in the Garden… i love thinking about Aziraphale at peak cute and naïve cherub :^]

#good omens #crowley #aziraphale #the Job story in 2x02 was feeding me.. Michael Sheen is so good at making him feel young and even more self-righteous and invincible #before he has reason to doubt literally anything and be tempered by that.. he’s so cocky and smug in a lovable way #this was meant to be a quick sketch and then OOPS Too Much Rendering. but I’m free now. letting it go.

[fleshdyke]

me when theres themes and motifs and symbolism and storytelling and colour language

#like the slightest most basic storytelling elements make me INSANE. why. #like holy shit this character wears a colour. no fucking way they were insane for this #<- was literally in charge of costuming for a play last year and putting character and story elements into th costumes was like my whole job #rambles #100 #best #1k

[francesderwent]

reblog this and tag with a food you no longer have access to (closed restaurant, state you moved away from, ex’s mom’s cooking, etc) that will haunt you until your dying day, mine are the spicy chicken sandwich on the employee menu at the fine dining restaurant I was a prep cook at, and the onion bagel from the kosher place down the street from my house when I lived in the city

#in which cate tells stories #that!!!! sandwich!!!!!! #spicy chicken breast with fresh mozzarella red onions and pesto on a ciabatta roll #I’ve tried to recreate it and I CAN’T #I don’t know what spice mix they used but DAMN #and nobody’s pesto was better than theirs #so much good food at that job tbh #the chef liked cooking for me because I was always so thrilled with whatever he did #he made ricotta gnocchi once??? it was THE BEST EVER #and lobster ravioli? that wasn’t even on the MENU we were both just there late at night and he made it for himself and gave me some #his greens and beans were also perfect #but I especially miss that sandwich #I ate that almost every day that summer

[certified-scoundrel]

fun fact- in the bible (meaning it's also likely the case in Good Omens), Bildad the Shuhite's name doesn't mean "from the land of Shua" as Michael says. It means "descendant of Shua/Shuah", one of the sons of Abraham. I just love how the Archangels are just as clueless about some shit as demons are.

#this is just random bible shit #but it makes the #where i am a leading shoemaker #bit #so much funnier to me #good omens #anthony j crowley #crowley #good omens season 2 #story of job #as seen in good omens

[meeyahmaya]

so evil of illumination to rob us from a luigi revolution subplot

ft bonus interaction:

#HE GOT ROBBED #he becomes the leader of the revolution by accident #IDK I WANT A CUTE MESSAGE SAYING THAT ITS OK TO BE SCARED BUT JUST BC YOU ARE DOESNT MEAN YOU CANT GET THE JOB DONE YKNOW?? #luigi was the best part of the movie imo #so evil of illumination and nintendo to make luigi the most specialest boy only to nuke him from the story #I DID REALLY ENJOY THE MOVIE THO DESPITE ITS FLAWS #mario #mario fanart #luigi #luigi brain rot #luigi fanart #mario movie #super mario #super mario Bros Movie #nintendo #illumination #mario Movie Spoilers

[nerbulent]

jobe such a bitch as loser. missed the point. if heda hated godt in the first place he wouldna got fucked. what a loser sad!

#bible verse #bible #god #job #story of job #biblical job