WiC Watches: Good Omens

Episode 5: “The Doomsday Option”

Good Omens kicks up a lot of dust in “The Doomsday Option” as it barrels towards its conclusion. The recently discorporated Aziraphale, in need of a body, possesses the spiritually receptive Madame Tracy during a seance. This allows Miranda Richardson all the slack she needs to cut good and truly loose, railing at an empty-headed customer who wants to contact her dead husband just to bitch about their friends. It’s the best scene of the episode.

Elsewhere, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse finally get together, cutting a bloody swath through England on their way to Tadfield Air Base, where they intend to activate the planet’s nukes and set the countries of Earth against each other. And Crowley is determined to get out of London, even if he has to rocket through a wall of fire to do it.

So yeah, “The Doomsday Option” is overblown, frantic, fantastic fun, and the second-best episode behind “Hard Times.” Who needs emotional resonance woven together with dorky historical references when you’ve got David Tennant driving through a sleepy English village in a flaming Bentley while blasting Queen?

RELATED PRODUCT

Nolan Ryan Houston Astros Game Of Thrones Iron Throne Legends Bobblehead

Buy Now!

Buy Now!

If there’s a down side to all this excess, it’s that the special effects budget isn’t quite up to the job. Adam the Antichrist looks silly rather than threatening hanging in the air above his frightened friends, and as fun as Crowley’s flaming ride through the country is, it never reads as anything but campy.

But then again, the choppy special effects go with the arch tone of the show. Yeah, it’s campy, because what did you expect this show to be? A grounded drama about a flying scooter?

The momentum and imagination makes up for everything. I’m even getting on board with Anathema and Newton, who come off as more personable as they do their part to prevent armageddon, whatever that part is. And good for Adam for kicking the genetic power trip and deciding to save the world rather than destroy it.

“The Doomsday Option” (the title refers to Sergeant Shadwell’s killer index finger, by the way) ends on a cliffhanger, the first episode to do so. And it’s done its job, because I can’t wait to see how this thing concludes!