Everyone Knows That The Crows Do "baaah" And Ofc The Angels Can't Be Tempted... Right?

Everyone knows that the crows do "baaah" and ofc the angels can't be tempted... right?

If anyone here knows what the Katydid is dancing to please feel free to add a soundtrack...

I just wanna say that I love this discussion and in general I DO think that Mrs. Cheng is a bit... weird, even when compared to the other people (that are somewhat peculiar) of that little corner in Soho.

That being said, the only thing I can add to this conversation is that whether or not Mrs. Cheng is God (would be interesting if she is, why else give her the type of focus shown in the show if she doesn't end up being important), is that God is dead and the Metatron killed Them (I'm only half joking)

Ms. Cheng

Okay so this might be a bit out there, but there's something about this moment that I can't stop thinking about.

Why do we have a particular moment of Ms. Cheng STOPPING and LOOKING WORRIED on her way into the bookshop? It feels like maybe she's noticing something. (s2e5 22:03)

This moment is giving me a similar feeling to another scene.

^This is the moment when Gabriel's file plays "However, I am the only First-Order Archangel in the room, or, you know, the Universe..." and we get THIS shot of Crowley. It's quite an odd shot, but it's there FOR A REASON. It has to be. The shot could've remained as a wider shot, but it didn't. (s2e6 09:22)

Back to Ms. Cheng. We don't get a lot of information about her, nor do we see her very often on screen. She's a very minor character, that's for sure, but something about that moment seems so significant. Perhaps she's just very in tune with the metaphysical (re: angels/demons), or perhaps she's not who she seems to be at all. Could she be God? Or could she be some other kind of entity?

God doesn't narrate the second season. Perhaps there's more to that than just a simple change of delivery style. Perhaps God went down to Earth after Armageddidn't and has been living on Earth. Perhaps she was curious about this little planet? Perhaps she needed to get away from Heaven? Perhaps Metatron is up to more fuckery than the audience is aware of? We all know the Metatron is an ass and throws his weight around as the Voice of God (TM), but is he actually in touch with her? Does he actually communicate with her? Or is he staging or has he staged a hostile takeover?

Or, perhaps, Ms. Cheng is someone else entirely that's been keeping an eye on Aziraphale and Crowley? Who knows!

What does Aziraphale know, and when does he know it? Part 1

Prologue, for those who haven't seen it.

Zira's first encounter with the Metatron in the Final Fifteen Minutes is when the Metatron walks into the bookshop disguised as mild-mannered Derek Jacobi human and interrupts Michael, who is threatening Aziraphale with total obliteration. He insults the archangels, then calls on them to say who he is. Aziraphale at this point -- we get one reaction shot of him -- appears to be in wary wait-and-see (heh) mode.

(Not wholly relevant here, but -- the first to show recognition of the Metatron isn't Crowley or Aziraphale, it's Saraqael, and isn't that interesting. I definitely have a meta in pickle about Saraqael, Heaven's Only Competent Angel.)

The Metatron then asks whether Crowley knows him. Aziraphale finds this intriguing, turning to Crowley with interest. Crowley does the-thing-that's-all-over-the-show-where-he-and-Aziraphale-drop-one-another-clues; rather than say the Metatron's name, he mentions his appearance as "big floating giant head." That's enough for Aziraphale to clue in and spill the beans, with genuine shock that the other angels (except Saraqael, again) echo.

What Aziraphale now knows that he hadn't known:

The Metatron has a human corporation. (Yes, he may have been Enoch-human in the past, but that's not entirely show canon yet; before now, Watsonianly, we've only seen the Big Giant Disembodied Head.)

The Metatron insults archangels. Labor angle here, incidentally: this is a manager insulting his employees in front of their supervisees (Aziraphale, Muriel) and even outsiders (Crowley). Management 101: DO NOT DO THIS, IT IS BAD. Praise in public, critique in private and without insults.

The Metatron and Crowley know one another. (Zero details on when, how, or why.)

The Metatron then dismisses Michael, Uriel, and Saraqael back to Heaven, talking down to them like Mary Poppins to the von Trapp children (seriously, "spit spot"? also, nice s1 callback). He even covertly threatens them! Uriel asks whether they have done anything wrong -- getting caught doing something wrong is fatal to an angel's identity as angel, as Aziraphale's concerned face in a brief reaction shot shows he knows -- and the Metatron only says ominously that that "remains to be seen."

After ordering the archangels off again, he openly hurls an ableist slur at Muriel rather than use their name, while demanding that they stay because "I may need you." This is a hardcore, shocking Villain Moment, y'all. The Metatron is Having A Moment. Pulling back to a Doylist perspective -- Neil freakin' Gaiman isn't going to drop a slur lightly. He's just not. He did it with full intent, and that intent is "the fucking Metatron is ableist trash." Returning to the Watsonian viewpoint, however...

What Aziraphale now knows that he hadn't known:

The Metatron wears scorn like royal vestments. It's pretty basic to how he treats others. (Doylistly: this tracks with both s1 and what we see of him in the recorded meetings that Crowley, Muriel, and Saraqael view. "Oh, don't be so wet!" he snarls at Saraqael, just for starters.)

The Metatron can order archangels around like children, even threaten them with judgment and punishment, and get away with it.

The Metatron doesn't just punch sideways-ish at the archangels, which might be justifiable; the Metatron absolutely punches down with his scorn. And wow, does he ever not pull his punches.

The Metatron thinks he's entitled to use others to serve his own needs.

If Aziraphale hasn't figured out by now that the Metatron abuses his quite substantial and dangerous power, he's not the angel I think he is. (As for Crowley, he's been absolutely leveled -- look at him sprawled out all but flat on Aziraphale's desk chair! He's not really paying attention. Also, per e3 he kind of agrees with the Metatron about Muriel, though he never himself uses ableist language about them.)

The Metatron says "Right," and we see Aziraphale again. Is he happy? He is not. Body held tense and straight, arms at his sides (though he looks about to clasp his hands together in front, a worry sign), face even warier. Seems a reasonable reaction to what he's just seen!

"It's just you and me, Aziraphale, eh?" It's damned blessed bloody well not. Crowley's right there, Muriel's right there, and the Metatron just erased both from consideration. RUDE! "I think we need to have a bit of a chinwag, don't you?" Aziraphale in both words and body would very much rather not, and I can't blame him one bit.

The Metatron then forces a bribe on Aziraphale, in the form of The Coffee That Launched A Thousand Metas. Aziraphale isn't clear on what the Metatron wants of him at this point -- "shall I drink it?" There's a striking parallel here to Crowleian temptations via novel experiences that other meta-ists have pointed out; like those, Aziraphale's reaction is positive ("it's very nice") but unlike them, it's decidedly subdued, scaled way down -- Zira certainly doesn't guzzle the coffee the way he inhaled the ox-rib. The Metatron indicates that getting a positive reaction from Aziraphale is the point ("well, I should jolly well hope so!") and verbally forces Aziraphale out the door for a Crowley-less, Muriel-less discussion.

Aziraphale is... less than enthusiastic, turning toward Crowley -- possibly to accompany him, possibly for a lead on how to handle this. Crowley, still in a state of exhaustion and bogglement, misses the cue. Oh, Crowley. Gargantuan, awful mistake! Totally understandable, of course, but Aziraphale needs a rescue here badly and (for the first time ever?) Crowley doesn't provide one!

Aziraphale's walk toward the bookshop door is diffident, halting. He glances back at the Metatron and Crowley as he goes.

What Aziraphale knows at this point:

The Metatron wants something from him. Just him, not Crowley or Muriel.

Rather than straight-up asking, rather than ordering (as he could perfectly well do), the Metatron is loading the dice with a Crowleyesque bribe/temptation. This is a slight hint (which the Metatron will shortly confirm) that the Metatron knows some things about the Crowley-Aziraphale dynamic.

What Aziraphale likely wants to know at this point:

What the hell the heaven on earth does the Metatron want from him?

And why might he need Muriel?

And we are all Aziraphale -- we all want to know too!

This is more than long enough for a post, so let's post it. Next up: The Chinwag.

September 13: Marvel VFX Workers Unanimously Vote to Unionize With IATSE

Variety

Marvel VFX Workers Unanimously Vote to Unionize With IATSE

In a historic move, Marvel Studios’ visual effects workers unanimously voted in favor of unionizing with the International Alliance of Theat

Huge news! Congrats to the newly unionized Marvel Studios VFX workers.

LET'S GOOOOO!!!!!

ARE YALL READY TO BILDAD YOUR SHUHITES