The Cat Came Back

The abrupt genre switch in season 2 was a bold move on Gaiman’s part, as the genre changes from sprawling divine comedy/apocalyptic fantasy in season 1, to a slower, more contained fantasy/romantic comedy/mystery in season 2. If you’ve never read or enjoyed anything in the romance genre before, half the jokes and most of the plot are going to go straight over your head, and you may need a second or third watch before the plot elements and themes really make sense to you. This is what happened to me, as the romance genre usually bores me to tears, but the friend I watched it with is an avid romance-consumer. I was upset that some of the bigger adventure elements from season 1 were gone, but I really liked Good Omens season 1, so I thought more about season 2’s changes. I realized, with season 1’s core themes being about people coming together against heaven and hell (and having three main pairs develop throughout season 1: Newt/Anathema, Tracy/Shadwell, and Aziraphale/Crowley), that season 2’s romance was actually a perfectly natural development of the existing plot. Once I accepted that the romance genre is the answer to the question “How do people come together, despite differences?” Season 2 made a lot more sense. After Aziraphale and Crowley become outlaws at the end of season 1, heaven and hell are still craving a fight, and Aziraphale and Crowley themselves still have major ideological differences that represent giant stumbling blocks for their reluctant relationship. You have to ask: if the angel and demon have known each other and helped each other out for 6000 years, why did it take them until the apocalypse to admit they were friends? Gaiman answers: because they never actually resolved their differences, they just found a common enemy in fighting the apocalypse. Season 2 is a breakup arch, my dudes. Neil Gaiman’s writing style is different than Terry Pratchett’s, (the plot is looser and wanders more) something not necessarily to this season’s detriment with its choice to focus on character development. I genuinely had no idea where this season was going and what it was doing until the last fifteen-ish minutes. The jokes kept me laughing, the tragedies kept me crying, the mystery of Gabriel was a surprise up until the last episode, and the ideological puzzle of Aziraphale and Crowley’s conflicting moralities kept me engaged throughout. This was a fun season that I spent days afterwards thinking about in all its nuance and subtleties. Was about to cancel my Prime video subscription until this dropped, tbh. Overall, 10/10, watched it three times and noticed something new on each watch. Time for me to read some Jane Austen and see what all the fuss is about.

Stunning. A humanizing and thought-provoking portrayal of Taylor Swift and the faults of the music industry. I wasn’t much of a fan of Ms. Swift before (I knew and liked a couple of her songs, of course), but after seeing her dedication to her craft, and her humor and strength in the face of everything the public has thrown at her, I’m eager to look at every song’s lyrics with fresh eyes. With fascinating and often tragic insight into the pressures female musicians face, along with interesting commentary on a star’s role in politics, the movie is certainly worth the watch. I only wish it were longer.