WARNING: The following contains spoilers for "In the Beginning," the series premiere of Good Omens, available now on Amazon Prime Video.
With co-author Neil Gaiman serving as the showrunner, writer and executive producer of Amazon's adaptation of Good Omens, the miniseries is an especially faithful retelling of the bestselling novel by Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. And just as with the apocalyptic tale's original literary incarnation, the show's emotional core is heavily informed by the friendship between the angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley, portrayed by Michael Sheen and David Tennant, respectively.
The unlikely friendship stretches back millennia, with the existence of dinosaur bones aged millions of years revealed to be nothing more than an elaborate practical joke on humanity by God. In the series premiere's prologue, the two figures meet as they watch Adam and Eve cast out of the Garden of Eden for eating forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Watching the first two humans traverse the desert, Crowley had taken the form of a snake to tempt the couple into eating the fruit despite God's explicit instructions while Aziraphale had guarded the premises with a flaming sword. With each divine figure's initial mission having been completed, the two muse over the nature of the forbidden fruit and discover that they quite enjoy each other's company setting the events of the miniseries in motion as they live among humanity right through until the present.
The two friends find themselves at odds when given their final assignment on Earth: to locate the Antichrist and raise him oriented toward their respective factions to bring about the apocalyptic war between Heaven and Hell and, with it, the end of days. However, the two immortal figures have grown fond of the planet and its nuances, and bonded over their mutual love of mankind.
Earth's arts and cuisine hold a special place in the heart of Aziraphale, who runs a rare bookstore in England while enjoying the finer things. The demon Crowley, wearing sunglasses and leather jackets, embraces the expected bad-boy offerings of the planet; he often listens to Queen and favors a strong drink when not on the job. Both characters' appreciation of human culture quickly sets them apart from their co-workers in Heaven and Hell and strengthens their respective bond.
The friendship at the heart of Good Omens s a case of opposites attracting, on a biblical scale. Despite being on opposing sides of the eternal, divine conflict, Crowley and Aziraphale develop a firm friendship over their shared love for humanity, an appreciation that has only grown over the course of six millennia stationed on Earth. The meek, unassuming Aziraphale and loud, unapologetic Crowley are a completely mismatched couple yet they make it work despite these vast differences.
However, with the long-prophesied end of times coming, the two's friendship will be put to the ultimate test moving forward in the miniseries as they are torn by their conflicting loyalties and whether they want to help play their respective roles in the apocalypse or save the planet and its population that they have grown so incredibly fond of.
Starring Michael Sheen, David Tennant, Adria Arjona, Michael McKean, Miranda Richardson, Sam Taylor Buck, Jack Whitehall and Jon Hamm, Good Omens is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.