Guardians, messengers, warriors fighting in combats too ineffable for our human minds to comprehend - angels can be a whole myriad of things. More often than not, they can even be some of our favorite characters. FromFrank Capra’sIt’s a Wonderful Lifeto The CW’sSupernatural, the world of movies and TV shows is full of angelic characters that have found new homes in our imaginations. And, most recently, no fictional angel is more beloved by film and TV buffs thanMichael Sheen’s Aziraphale, the heavenly bookworm from Prime Video’sGood Omens— except perhapshis demonic partner, Crowley (David Tennant), who also has somewhat of a claim to an angelic title. But, apart from being a great character, is Aziraphale an actual angel — as in, does he appear in any kind of sacred text? What about Crowley? And, perhaps most importantly, what about all the other characters that make up the cohort of angels fromGood Omens?
Well, those that are old fans ofNeil GaimanandTerry Pratchett, the authors behind the novel on which the show is based, already know that they love themselves some mythology. So, there’s little to no surprise to be found in the fact that most angels that appear inGood Omenshave indeed been mentioned at least once in some kind of holy text. Here’s a list of all the angelic characters that pop up in Seasons 1 and 2 ofGood Omensand where they originate from.
Good Omens
Now exiled from Heaven and Hell, Aziraphale and Crowley must team up once again after the mysterious arrival of a familiar face.
Aziraphale
Like most of the angels that pop up inGood Omens, both the book and the Prime Video series, Aziraphale has made an appearance in the sacred texts before. However, the lead angel in the story crafted by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett didn’t originally have a name. In that sense,Aziraphale was actually created by the two authors for their novel about the averted apocalypse, but his character was inspired by a figure that appears in the Bible. More specifically,Aziraphale is supposed to be the angel with the flaming sword that was left to guard the Tree of Lifeafter Adam and Eve were thrown out of the Garden of Eden,as described in the Book of Genesis. This, in turn, would make Aziraphale a cherubim, or simply cherub.
However, according toGood Omens, he is supposed to be an archangel. The explanation for this dual nomenclature can be found in NeilGaiman’s own Tumblr blog. Asked about why Gabriel (Jon Hamm) treats Aziraphale so poorly when he is supposed to be an archangel, the author replies that he and Pratchett have always differentiated between Archangels, with a capital A, and archangels, with a lowercase. In short, at least in the world ofGood Omens, the first are the highest choir of angels, i.e. the seven seraphim, while the latter are merely mid-level heavenly beings, not as important as Archangels, but not as lowly as regular angels. Thus,Aziraphale can be both a cherubim and an archangel.
While Aziraphale has a direct counterpart in the Bible, Crowley’s case is a bit more complicated. Though, as a demon, it is said thathe was the serpent that tempted Adam and Eve, little is known about his time working for the forces of Heaven. It sure seems that he was sort of a big deal, considering that Season 2 revealed that he was the one that said “Let there be light” in the creation of the universe, but no one knows for sure who his angelic self was. We don’t even know if he was called Crowley from the very beginning, though it does seem like a weird name for God to give one of his own people.
This lack of information, mixed with another remarkable absence, has led manyfans to theorize that Crowley is actually the demonic form of the Archangel Raphael. Completely absent from both theGood Omensnovel and the show,Raphael is a heavenly big shot: in both Christian and Jewish traditions, he’s consideredone of the seven Archangels who stand before the throne of God. He’s also one of the only three archangels named in the Bible, more specifically, in the Book of Tobit. In the scriptures, he heals Tobit from his blindness and saves his future daughter-in-law Sarah from the demon Asmodeus. Because of this, he’s very closely associated with different forms of healing.
Or maybe we should call him Jim? Either way, with or without his memory,Good Omens’Gabriel is one of the highest-ranking Archangels in all of heaven, the one responsible for leading the armies of God and for getting the apocalypse to start on time. A constant presence in all three major Abrahamic religions, Gabriel first appears in theBook of Daniel, in which he is tasked with explaining the prophet’s visions. In the New Testament,Gabriel is none other than the angel that receives the missionof announcing to Mary that she shall bear the child of God, a.k.a. Jesus.
It’s Ineffable, ‘Good Omens’ Has Been Renewed for Season 3
Aziraphale and Crowley are coming back for a third and final season on Amazon Prime.
The last of the three archangels mentioned by name in the Bible, Michael (Doon Mackichan) is presented inGood OmensSeason 1 as a power-hungry being desperate for the apocalypse to hit. In Season 2, their anger at Gabriel for trying to stop the second Armageddon is certainly part of what makes them so intent on finding the missing angel. In Christian texts,Michael does indeed play a huge role in the End of Days, so it’s no wonder they want the world to crash and burn so badly.In the Book of Revelations,Michael is said to be the angel that will battle Satan himself and escort the faithful to Heaven. Michael is also mentioned in theBook of Danielas the protector of the people of Israel, who will rise up to fight when the apocalypse comes.
Despite not being mentioned in any canonical religious texts, Uriel (Gloria Obianyo) is frequently grouped with Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael as one of the four main Archangels. That is probably because oftheir extremely important roles in Christian and Jewish tradition, as well as in Apocrypha and other non-canonical texts. The most famous to feature Uriel as a central figure isthe Book of Enoch, an ancient Hebrew text that describes the angel as one of the seven archangels that preside over the world. Throughout millennia,Uriel has been credited with rescuing baby John the Baptist from King Herod as well as with checking the houses marked with lamb’s blood during the firstborn plague, in which God sent a curse to kill all the firstborn children of Egypt apart from those of his followers. Due toUriel’s name meaning “fire of God”, many believe him to be the angel that escorted Adam and Eve out of Eden with a flaming sword, a role thatGood Omensattributes to Aziraphale.
The famous voice of God, the Metatron (Derek Jacobi)pops up a lot in Jewish literature, appearing both in the Talmud and in Kabbalistic texts. He’s described in many different ways, from the angelic form of the prophet Enoch toa second divinity. In pop culture, however,he is most famous for his role of a mediator between God and humankind.
Yet another one of Heaven’s higher-ups inGood Omens, Saraqael (Liz Carr) is another archangel mentioned in theBook of Enochas one of the seven that watch over the Earth. They sit alongside Uriel, Raguel, Remiel, Gabriel, and Michael, and watch over those who sin in spirit.
In Season 2 ofGood Omens, Muriel (Quenlin Sepulveda) is a low-ranking angel with a bubbly personality that is sent to Earth to ensure that Aziraphale isn’t hiding Gabriel in his bookshop. They arean angel with little to no mention in holy scriptures, appearing mostly in theological and occult texts. According toGustav Davidson’sA Dictionary of Angels, Muriel is the angel of the month of June and of the sign of Cancer. They can be invoked from the South to procure a magic carpet for their summoner. Very handy, Muriel!
Sandalphon
Last, but not least, there’s Gabriel’s right-hand angel from Season 1, Sandalphon (Paul Chahidi). Like the Metatron, to whom he is considered to be a spiritual brother, according to Davidson, he is mentioned in the Talmud and parts of the Kabbala, but also appears in some Christian works about the hierarchies of angels. He is said to be the angelic form of the prophet Elijah andto weave the prayers of humans into presents to God. Some even say he’s responsible for the differentiating sexes in embryos. Thoughmany texts agree that he rules over one of the seven levels of heaven, his dominion isn’t specified. In popular culture, Sandalphon is seen as the patron angel of music, which probably explains his love forThe Sound of Musicin the show.
