| “ | Don’t tell me from genetics. What’ve they got to do with it? Look at Satan. Created as an angel, grows up to be the Great Adversary. Hey, if you’re going to go on about genetics, you might as well say the kid will grow up to be an angel. After all, his father was really big in Heaven in the old days. Saying he’ll grow up to be a demon just because his dad became one is like saying a mouse with its tail cut off will give birth to tailless mice. No. Upbringing is everything. Take it from me. | ” |
–Page 32, Good Omens (novel) | ||
Anthony J. Crowley is a demon and one of the main characters in Amazon series Good Omens. He was the snake that tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden, and thus his human form also has snake eyes, which he usually covers with designer sunglasses.
He is Aziraphale's best friend and life partner. In Season 2, Crowley admits he has romantic feelings for Aziraphale.
He has a flat in Mayfair, London, which he does not consider a home, but simply a place he returns to when he's in town and is only filled with a Stereo System without speakers, an alphabetically arranged collection of what he refers to as "Real" Soul music, which does not include James Brown, a copy of "The Extremely Big Book Of Astronomy", a table, a huge throne, a statue of an angel and a demon "fighting", a flat screen TV, an original sketch of Da Vinci's painting "Mona Lisa", which hides a safe containing gloves, tongs and a bottle of holy water, which was given to him by Aziraphale and, last but definitely not least, the only thing he devotes any real attention to: a room filled with London's most luxurious, verdant and beautiful, as well as terrified plants.
Background
Not much is known about Crowley before he Fell, though he does make a few references to his time as an angel. Crowley states he didn’t so much as Fall as “saunter vaguely downwards” and that he didn’t mean to Fall; he just “hung out with the wrong people”. It’s also implied that he joined Lucifer’s Rebellion because he was bored or Fell because he asked too many questions about the Great Plan. He has been on Earth for at least 6,000 years. It is also implied he may have had a high ranking when he was an Angel as he was able to access Gabriel’s files in Heaven, which Muriel said could only be done by “a Throne, a Dominion, or higher”. (He most likely was a Dominion because they traditionally rule stars and other celestial objects and Crowley is seen creating a nebula in season 2 (this is in no way confirmed)
Furfur also mentions that they were in the same legion just before the Fall and did Battle on the Plains of Heaven.
During the formation of the universe, before Earth was created, Crowley designed a nebula cluster. It was during this time that he first met Aziraphale, though he did not introduce himself by name. Crowley was very happy at this point, showing a great sense of love and pride for his design, and was heartbroken when he learned it would only be used as a “wallpaper” for Earth. He began questioning God’s decision to end the universe after only 6,000 years, feeling like it was a waste of his efforts. It was this line of questioning that would lead to his eventual Fall. He also shielded Aziraphale with his wing when thousands of falling stars (presumably falling angels) started crashing down around them.
After his Fall, Crowley moved to Earth under the guise of working to bring about Armageddon. In reality, it was largely because he liked it there and wanted to escape Hell's toxicity. He and Aziraphale crossed paths and interacted many times over all of history, shown in flashbacks, prior to the present day. Neil Gaiman confirmed on Twitter that at the time of the crucifixion flashback, Crowley was using she/her pronouns.
In his attempts to keep up appearances for Hell, he aided in the design of the M25 so it would be in the shape of the demonic sigil odegra, causing a circle of low-level evil to be produced around London by the motorists, and making it incredibly frustrating to drive on. Odegra means “Hail the Great Beast, Devourer of Worlds” in the language of the Black Priesthood of Ancient Mu. The design earned him a commendation. Besides purposeful efforts, he also took credit, often accidentally, for many events caused by humans (such as the Spanish Inquisition). He remarks that no sin any demon could devise could possibly outcompete the ones humans think of themselves.
Significance in series
"In the Beginning"
After being cast into Hell with the other Fallen Angels, Crowley is told to go upstairs and cause problems. He turns into a snake and tempts Adam and Eve to eat fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, which results in them being thrown out of Eden—something Crowley thinks was a bit of an overreaction on God’s part.
Crowley, then Crawly, properly meets the angel, Aziraphale, standing on the wall of the Garden and watching Adam and Eve depart into the wilderness. The pair wondered whether they had done the right thing—giving up the sword—and the wrong thing—tempting Adam and Eve—respectively. Crawly reassures Aziraphale for giving Adam his flaming sword by stating that, as an angel, Aziraphale might not be able to actually do anything bad, and they watch Adam use it to fend off a lion. Aziraphale shelters Crawly with his wing from the rain, beginning a 6,000 year old friendship between the two.
Eleven years before the end of the world, Crowley is summoned by Hastur and Ligur to deliver the Antichrist to the nuns at St. Beryls and ensure he is raised as the son of an American diplomat. Arriving at the nunnery, Crowley mistakes another father for the diplomat, which, along with a misunderstanding amongst the nuns, causes the Antichrist to be delivered to the Young Family instead.
Crowley tries calling Aziraphale but is initially unsuccessful due to his own sabotage of the mobile network around London, so he has to use a phone box to call him. Crowley attempts to persuade Aziraphale that they should try and stop the end of the world from happening by influencing the Antichrist (named Warlock). Though initially against the idea of disobeying Heaven's orders, Aziraphale agrees to help neutralize good and evil in Warlock so he can grow up normal and not end the world. Aziraphale becomes a gardener at the estate and teaches Warlock only good things, while Crowley poses as a nanny who teaches him only bad things.
On Warlock's eleventh birthday, Aziraphale puts on a magic show at the party while he and Crowley wait for the appearance of the Hellhound, hoping Warlock will turn the dog away and avert the Apocalypse. The Hellhound never shows up, however, revealing that Warlock was not the Antichrist. Crowley lies to Hell to cover this up and begins working with Aziraphale to find the misplaced Antichrist.
"The Book"
Aziraphale and Crowley go to St. Beryl's to find records of the Antichrist's birth, only to discover it has been turned into a paintball facility. As a joke, Crowley turns all the guns into real ones but makes sure no one actually gets hurt. When Aziraphale calls him “nice”, Crowley angrily slams him into a wall, insisting on the contrary. After recognizing the owner of the facility as the nun he gave the Antichrist to, Crowley uses hypnosis on her, and she reveals Hastur burned down the nunnery eleven years ago, destroying the records of the delivery.
On the way back to London, Crowley's car hits Anathema Device, who was cycling past. Aziraphale heals her and fixes her bike, convincing Crowley to give her a lift home.
"Hard Times"
- 3004 Mesopotamia
Crowley later bumps into Aziraphale standing by Noah’s ark and is slightly put off by the coming Flood, remarking it was something he thought “his side” would be doing. He is disturbed that the Flood will kill the local children, stating that "you can't kill kids". He also tries to point out that one of the unicorns had run off, but no one else noticed.
- Golgotha, 33 AD
At some point, Crowley met Jesus and showed him the Kingdoms of the world because, according to her, as a carpenter, Jesus didn’t have many travel prospects.
Crowley later changed his name from Crawley to Crowley sometime before Jesus’ death, where she again bumps into Aziraphale. She once again questions God’s plan for having Jesus killed. When Crowley asks what Jesus said to make everyone so mad, Aziraphale replies, "Be kind to each other."
- Rome, 41 AD
Crowley visits a tavern in Rome after doing some tempting, where he once again runs into Aziraphale, who invites him out to lunch.
- Wessex, 537 AD
During the reign of King Arthur, Crowley poses as the Black Knight to cause unrest and disturbance in a peaceful time, where he is eventually confronted by Aziraphale. The demon points out that by doing their jobs in the same place, they were neutralizing each other and suggests they stop bothering with their jobs and just report some things back to Head Office since it would only have the same effect. Though Aziraphale initially rejected this idea, by the 1600s they had come to an arrangement whereby one of them would go if both had been sent to the same place and do both blessing and tempting.
- Globe Theater, London, 1601
At the Globe Theatre, Crowley watches some of Shakespeare’s new play, Hamlet, remarking that it is too depressing. He does a coin toss with Aziraphale over who would go to Edinburgh, with Aziraphale going. Crowley uses a miracle to make sure Hamlet is a success, since Aziraphale seemed to enjoy it.
- Paris, 1793
In the 1700s, Crowley rescues Aziraphale from being guillotined during the French Revolution after he was mistaken for an aristocrat. By this point, Crowley has started using the nickname "Angel" to refer to Aziraphale. He tells Aziraphale not to thank him for the rescue, and they go out for crêpes.
- St. James Park, 1862
In the 1800s, Crowley worries that his and Aziraphale’s friendship will be discovered and asks Aziraphale for ‘insurance’ in the form of Holy Water. Aziraphale refuses, believing Crowley wants it as a ‘suicide pill’, and storms off.
- London, 1941
In 1941, Crowley rescues Aziraphale from being shot by Nazi spies, wincing painfully when he steps on the consecrated ground of the church they were in. He directs a bomb to hit the church, killing the spies. He also uses a miracle to save Aziraphale’s prophecy books, which touched Aziraphale.
- Soho, 1967
In the 1960s, Crowley organizes a mission to rob a church with some criminals to get Holy Water. He meets a member of the Witchfinder Army whom he would come to use the skills of. Aziraphale gives him a thermos of Holy Water so he won’t have to go through with the robbery of the church and suggests they go on a picnic or have lunch at the Ritz at some point. This is the earliest appearance of his beloved Bentley, which he claims to have had when it was new.
- The Present Day, One Day to the End of the World
Crowley maintains to Hell that everything is perfectly fine, and he contacts the Witchfinder Army to try and find the missing Antichrist. He and Aziraphale meet up, and Crowley tries to convince him they are on their own side, away from Heaven and Hell. He suggests that the universe is massive and they can run off together, but Aziraphale rejects this idea. Crowley eventually decides to go to Alpha Centurai.
"Saturday Morning Funtime"
Crowley tries once more to convince Aziraphale to join him, but after the angel snubs him, Crowley yells at him and drives home angrily. Hastur and Ligur discover that Warlock is not the Antichrist and go to confront Crowley. Crowley uses the Holy Water Aziraphale gave him to kill Ligur. He tries bluffing that he has enough Holy Water to kill Hastur too, but is called out on this by the Duke of Hell. Crowley pretends he is testing Hastur when Aziraphale calls with a message about having found the Antichrist. Crowley hangs up on him and then uses the voicemail the angel left to trap Hastur inside his answering machine.
"The Doomsday Option"
Crowley rushes to Aziraphale’s bookshop only to find it in flames, with Aziraphale nowhere to be found. Crowley assumes that Aziraphale has been killed, and he takes Agnes Nutter’s book before going to a bar and getting drunk, ranting about his Fall and how he has lost his best friend. Aziraphale appears, having been discorporated from his body and Crowley briefly doesn’t recognize him, still lamenting Aziraphale’s death. When he does recognize him, he is delighted. He tells the angel that his shop has been destroyed. Aziraphale shows him his notes on Adam Young, the real Antichrist, and Crowley goes to Tadfield while the angel finds a host.
The demon becomes stuck in traffic thanks to his design of the M25, which became a ring of fire thanks to the incoming Apocalypse and the fact it was a demonic sigil. Crowley debates how to get through the fire when Hastur appears and destroys Crowley’s sunglasses, telling him it is over. Crowley, instead of surrendering, starts playing music in his car and drives straight into the fire, discorporating Hastur and using his imagination to imagine his Bentley is perfectly fine and not on fire as it actually is.
He arrives in Tadfield with the Bentley still on fire where he gets directions to the Airfield and meets up with Shadwell and Aziraphale now inside of Madame Tracy’s body.
"The Very Last Day of the Rest of Their Lives"
Crowley tries to convince the soldier guarding the airfield to let them in but is cut off by Adam and the Them cycling through the now open gates. As the soldier chases after them, Crowley's car finally explodes and the demon falls to his knees mourning the loss of his Bentley. Aziraphale tries to get him to deal with the soldier but Crowley was "having a moment" meaning Aziraphale has to deal with the soldier.
Grabbing a piece of his car, Crowley refocuses and drives the four of them further into the airfield where they watch as Adam and the Them faced off against the Four Horsemen, Crowley tries to convince Aziraphale to kill Adam but the angel is stopped by Madame Tracy. Adam restores Aziraphale's body and the Them defeat all the Horsemen but Death who departs. Crowley also returns Agnes Nutter's book to Anathema.
When Beelzebub arrives, Crowley bows and tries to play along but Beelzebub dismisses him as a traitor which Crowley is slightly offended by. Crowley also backs up Aziraphale when the angel suggests that the war couldn't be God's plan because God's plan was 'ineffable' - something Aziraphale had said to him the first time they met.
As soon as Beelzebub departs, Crowley collapses in pain as he feels the full force of Satan's anger at Adam's disobedience. He seems ready to give up because there is no beating Satan and tells Aziraphale it was nice knowing him. The angel initially seems ready to threaten Crowley with his burning sword but instead threatens Crowley that he would never speak to him again if the demon didn't do something.
Crowley freezes time and Aziraphale and Crowley tell Adam that as the Antichrist he won't be able to fight Satan but he does have control of reality itself and can use that. Crowley restarts time to watch as Satan bursts through the Earth. Adam tells Satan he has never been his father, which Crowley encourages him to repeat the phrase so that Adam's reality warping abilities destroy Satan. Arthur Young arrives not long after and Crowley explains that Arthur is now Adam's real father.
As they board a bus back to London, Aziraphale shows Crowley the prophecy he had caught telling them they would face fire and need to choose faces wisely. The two spend the night at Crowley's apartment since Aziraphale’s bookshop burned down, and then at some point the pair alter their appearances to look like the other. Crowley, as Aziraphale, goes to the angel's bookshop to find Adam had reset reality and restored it, additionally leaving a new collection of books.
He meets up with Aziraphale, as Crowley, in the park they frequent. He is abducted by a group of angels and taken to Heaven. Crowley tries to convince them that they are the good guys and shouldn't execute him by fire. The demon steps inside the column of Hellfire meant for Aziraphale, which can't harm him because he is a demon. He also spits fire, scaring Gabriel and the other angels who then let him go.
Back on Earth, he freezes time to switch back appearances with Aziraphale in the park. He also comments that he believed the bigger war would be Humanity vs. Heaven and Hell before he and Aziraphale go to lunch at the Ritz.
After the angel mentions that Crowley is, deep down, a bit of a good person, Crowley responds that Aziraphale was deep down, enough of a bastard to be worth knowing. The two toast 'to the world' and have lunch.
"The Arrival"
Before the Fall, Crowley is designing a new nebula system in the as yet unfinished universe. He flags down a passing Angel for help who turns out to be Aziraphale. Aziraphale introduces himself but Crowley does not instead powering up the new nebula system with a wind up, his book, and “let there be light”. Crowley is gleeful at his new design being gorgeous and explains that it will create new stars over millions of years.
He is upset when Aziraphale tells him God is only planning to keep everything running for 6000 years and Earth will not be positioned anywhere near his nebula. Crowley complains that his work is not “wallpaper” for Earth and starts questioning the whole plan. He gripes about the lack of a suggestion box and asks how much trouble he could possibly get in for asking questions.
Almost immediately, stars start to fall out of the sky - presumably fallen angels. Crowley shields Aziraphale with his wing - an action that Aziraphale would do for him on the walls of the Garden of Eden when they met again after he became a demon.
In the present, Crowley is now living in his Bentley with his houseplants after his apartment was given to Shax - Hell’s new representative on Earth whom he regularly speaks to. He confirms to Shax that it is always this easy tempting humans after she states that humans always come up with something far worse than she ever could. Shax also tells him that something is “going down in the Up”. When she later told him it had something to do with Gabriel, Crowley was delighted that “his Royal smugness” was possibly in trouble.
After Aziraphale called him, Crowley immediately deduced that he was in trouble by his tone of voice and met him in Nina’s coffee shop. He raised an eyebrow when Nina mentioned Aziraphale’s “naked man friend” and was horrified by “Jim” - an amnesiac Gabriel’s - presence in the bookshop. He and Aziraphale argued about what to do with him with Crowley refusing to help and storming out. He was so frustrated by the situation he tried calming down by breathing and counting from 1-10 “like humans do”, but became so enraged he was blasted by lightning and fried the power in Nina’s coffee shop trapping her and Maggie inside until nightfall.
Back in his car, he was contacted by Beelzebub and summoned to Hell in their swarm of flies. He commented on their new face and was briefed about the Gabriel situation. Beelzebub informed him that Heaven would enact “Extreme Sanctions” on anyone involved. Although initially dismissive, since Crowley and other angels had made that up to scare the cherubim, he became worried when Beelzebub added that anyone who helped Gabriel would be scrubbed from the Book of Life and erased from existence.
When he returned to his Bentley, he immediately raced across London back to Aziraphale in order to help him. He also very reluctantly did the “I was Wrong” apology dance when Aziraphale demanded it.
Together, they decided to each do half of a tiny miracle to conceal Gabriel from Heaven and Hell but, unbeknownst to them, accidentally created an enormous 25 Lazarii Miracle that immediately sent red alerts throughout Heaven.
"The Clue"
In 2500 BC, Crowley was given permission to and tasked with destroying everything that belonged to Job - God’s favourite human - as part of a test of his faith. Satan had told God that Job was only faithful because God was so nice to him, so God agreed to test him. Crowley was sent to destroy Job’s goats, house, farm, and to kill his three children. If Job proved his faith all of these would be replaced with twice as many as before.
As he was in the process of destroying Job’s goats, Aziraphale intervened in Heavenly Light and ordered him to stop. Crowley refused and unrolled a miles long permit contract that showed he was fully allowed to destroy everything. He then proceeded to “destroy” the goats - secretly turning them into crows. He later destroyed Job’s house and took on the identity his wife gave him as a “Bildad the Shuhite”. He kept up his face of destroying everything to Aziraphale and made it expressly clear that Heaven was allowing and encouraging him to murder Job’s three children.
After a crow bleated, Aziraphale undid the disguises on the goats and was smugly happy about Crowley not being as evil as he claimed. The pair met Job’s three children and instantly disliked his oldest son and daughter. Crowley set the house on fire and transported them all to the basement. Hell would destroy the house above them that night. He turned all three children into lizards to hide them - even making the youngest child a blue one when she specifically requested it.
He convinced Aziraphale to try human food for the first time which the Angel immediately took a liking to. As the night went on, Aziraphale questioned Crowley who explained he went with Hell up to a point but he wasn’t really on their side. He was on his Own Side. Aziraphale told him it sounded lonely but Crowley denied it.
They later saw Job pass God’s trials and directly speak to God Herself. An envious Crowley said it would be amazing to even be in the position to ask the questions.
At Job’s house, a host of angels including Gabriel, Saraqael, Uriel and Michael arrived to gift Job twice as much as was taken. Job’s wife Sitis, did not want to have seven children at her age and they wanted their original children back but the angels were unsympathetic. Crowley, in his human guise, undid the disguise on the three children and, with Aziraphale’s help (and Gabriel’s lack of understanding of how human reproduction worked), successfully convinced the angels that these were three brand new children.
When he approached Aziraphale a while later, the Angel presumed he was there to take him to Hell as he lied to Heaven and went against God’s plan. Crowley laughed but reassured him he wasn’t Fallen. He told Aziraphale to do what he did and go with Heaven up to a point. He admitted it was lonely and that when he denied it he had lied.
In the present, Crowley met Aziraphale at the pub. Aziraphale was confronted by Mr. Brown and pressured to host the Shopkeeper’s Association Monthly Meeting at his bookshop much to Crowley’s amusement. Aziraphale explained that their miracle had been detected by Heaven and so he had lied and said he miracled for Maggie and Nina to fall in love. Crowley came up with the idea to get the two under an awning in the rain so they could look into their eyes and realise they were made for each other. He said he saw it in a Richard Curtis movie and was certain it would work. Aziraphale latched onto the idea of a Ball like in Jane Austen novels, which confused Crowley who had known Jane Austen as a smuggler and bank heist mastermind.
Aziraphale also revealed he had received a Clue about Gabriel. In the bookshop, they tried to jog Gabriel’s memory with Crowley threatening him and he was able to recall the moment he heard all the angels sing but nothing else. Aziraphale’s revealed that his clue was about a pub in Scotland where all the jukebox songs magically transformed into “Everyday” by Buddy Holly - in a similar way to Crowley’s Bentley turning every song into a Queen record. When Aziraphale said he was going to use the Bentley, referring to it as “[Their]” car, Crowley initially refused. He also looked stunned at the idea of having to look after “Jim” by himself while Aziraphale was gone.
"I Know Where I'm Going"
In Scotland 1827, Crowley discovered a very lifelike statue of Gabriel in a cemetery that he took Aziraphale to see for his amusement. Crowley joked that Gabriel probably came to stare at it all the time - this actually being true! As they viewed it, they stumbled across Elspeth grave robbing to sell corpses for money.
Although Aziraphale was horrified by how morally wrong the actions were, an amused Crowley adopted a Scottish accent and delightedly helped Elspeth with what she was doing. They took the corpse to a local surgeon but Aziraphale miracled it to rapidly decay and be unusable. Crowley introduced himself as a doctor and suggested the surgeon start washing his hands as it would be “all the rage” in a few years. At Aziraphale’s request, he used his time manipulation ability to freeze the surgeon and convince him to have a drink with the two of them.
Over drinks, Crowley and the surgeon were able to show Aziraphale the grey morality of grave robbing convincing him to change his mind. They returned to Elspeth and her friend wee Morag and agreed to help them loot another corpse. Crowley and Aziraphale commented on a grave gun trap that Morag was then accidentally shot by. This alerted the graveyard diggers who rushed over to them.
As the four hid in a crypt, Crowley created a massive hole in the earth to swallow their pursuers and mused that he may have overshot it a bit. Morag died of her injuries before Aziraphale could intervene and when Elspeth went to donate her body to the surgeon, Crowley stated that it was harder when it was someone you knew.
He later stopped Elspeth from poisoning herself with laudanum by drinking it himself. Since he couldn’t die from it, it had an effect similar to extreme drunkenness or being high. Crowley began behaving extremely erratically, bursting into song - possibly inventing “O Flower of Scotland” in the process - shrinking to a tiny size and then growing into a giant that burst through the crypt roof. He told Elspeth that killing herself was “not on” and told Aziraphale to give her all his money so she could buy a farm and not get shot by a grave gun.
After Elspeth left, Aziraphale helped an extremely wobbly Crowley walk forward. Crowley denied being kind and that he was just too off his face on laudanum to be evil. He hoped Hell would not notice this but he was then sucked through the ground back to Hell. (Aziraphale wrote in his diary that he didn’t see Crowley for some time after that). It’s unclear what happened to Crowley during this time.
In the present day, Crowley arrived at Aziraphale’s bookshop to find Muriel - a naïve, young Angel - badly disguised as a human police officer attempting to find intelligence on Gabriel’s whereabouts and to confirm that they had indeed used the miracle to make Nina and Maggie fall in love. He found their attempts at disguise very funny especially their name “Inspector Constable” and very easily tricked them into admitting this was their first time on Earth.
He was also able to trick them into letting him and Aziraphale talk privately where they discussed how they were going to make Nina and Maggie fall in love. Crowley finally agreed to let Aziraphale take the Bentley to Scotland to investigate his clue while he looked after the bookshop, attempted to get Nina and Maggie together, and kept a close eye on both Gabriel and Muriel.
Crowley was able to sense when Aziraphale drove the Bentley under the speed limit, irritably contacting him through the car’s radio and demanding he drive faster, stop eating snacks in it and revert it back to black from the yellow Aziraphale had transformed it to. He threatened to start selling Aziraphale’s books or just start giving them away if he refused.
He summoned a rainstorm as part of his plan to get Maggie and Nina together but accidentally overdid it causing a shop tarpaulin they were sheltering under to flood and break, drenching them. Crowley was disappointed his plan didn’t work. He pressured Gabriel to remember more and the archangel ominously recited about the dead leaving their graves and something getting closer.
While tending the bookshop, Crowley haphazardly threw stacks of books around. He answered a call from Aziraphale telling any potential customers that the bookshop didn’t have what they wanted and even if they did he wouldn’t give it to them anyway. Aziraphale informed him of what he had discovered and that the surgeon they met in the Victorian era had killed himself and had a pub named after him. Crowley bemusedly remarked that you couldn’t get too attached to humans.
Shax tried to threaten Crowley into revealing Gabriel’s whereabouts having deduced that he was probably in the bookshop. However she was barred from entry since she hadn’t been invited in and couldn’t recognise Gabriel due to the miracle cast upon him.
Crowley angrily snapped at Gabriel for how much trouble he was causing by being there and began to threaten him if anything happened to Aziraphale because of it. However, he gave up halfway since he wasn’t speaking to the “real” Gabriel and concluded it was too late anyway.
"The Hitchhiker"
Just after saving Aziraphale from the Nazis in Blitz Era London, Crowley drives him back to his bookshop. On the way he makes a quick stop to the West End to deliver some black market booze to a theatre. However due to the bomb blast, the bottles are all destroyed. The Theatre Owner laments her bad luck for that day mentioning the magician has also cancelled so Aziraphale eagerly volunteers to take his spot.
Crowley helps Aziraphale come up with an act for his show recommending that he buy some tricks from a local magic shop to jazz up his routine. At the magic shop, he reluctantly agrees to help Aziraphale with the “Catching the Bullet in the Mouth” trick on the condition that they use miracles to make sure that it doesn’t go wrong.
At the theatre, Crowley takes his seat as an audience member and is brought onto the stage by Aziraphale. However they both realise that neither of their miracles are working (they had been followed by the reanimated corpses of the three Nazis they had killed earlier that night, created by the demon Furfur after he grew suspicious of the two working together). Furfur cast a “miracle block” on the surrounding area forcing the Angel and Demon to do the trick for real. A nervous Crowley - who had never held a firearm before - was able to successfully shoot just past Aziraphale who popped the hidden bullet in his mouth out and they received thunderous applause for the trick.
Backstage, Crowley watched a delighted Aziraphale before they were interrupted by Furfur and the three zombies. Furfur triumphantly revealed the photograph he had taken of them two of them on stage and that since the trick required 100% trust he had all the proof he needed for the Dark Council to have Crowley severely punished. Crowley scoffed at him and refused to cooperate.
Later that night, Aziraphale revealed he had successfully used sleight of hand to swap the photograph for a flyer from the theatre. Crowley suggested that he retire from doing magic and they toasted to “shades of grey”. Though Crowley insisted on very dark shades of grey.
In the present, Crowley delightedly greeted his Bentley when Aziraphale returned with it and put his houseplants back in it. He informed Aziraphale he had failed at getting Nina and Maggie together so it was his go next. Crowley queried whether Aziraphale was actually going to host the Shopkeeper’s Association Meeting when the Angel decided to use the setting to push the two women together.
"The Ball"
Crowley accompanied Azirphale on his trip to all the local shopkeepers to convince them to come to the Meeting. He was expecting to be amused by all of them rejecting but was instead blindsided by Aziraphale offering to trade or lend out several rare books in his shop in exchange for people’s attendance. He also tried on a Fez at the magic shop and goofed around with one of the crystal balls.
Crowley was later stopped by Nina who asked him how long he had been together with Aziraphale. The question caught Crowley off guard, as did her subsequent interrogation about whether he had a husband or boyfriend and if Aziraphale was “[his] bit on the side”. Crowley strongly rejected that, protesting that Aziraphale was too pure hearted to be anyone’s bit on the side. Nina’s passing comment about everyone else’s love lives looking easier from the outside caused Crowley to pause. This statement seemingly caused him to consciously consider his relationship with Aziraphale in a romantic context for the first time.
He went to have a glass of wine at a local bar where he was rejoined by Aziraphale who had successfully confirmed everyone’s attendance. Crowley then went to see Gabriel who was staying in his room. The Demon angrily confronted Gabriel about “Aziraphale’s” attempted execution and how the Archangel had told “Aziraphale” to shut up and die. He ordered Gabriel to jump out the window but stopped him when he realised “Jim” would actually do it.
“Jim” vaguely recalled his memory was possibly in a matchbox that he took out. An exasperated Crowley also made “Jim” a hot chocolate.
He sensed that Aziraphale was up to something with the Shopkeeper’s Meeting. He then went to confirm both Nina and Maggie were coming. He met Nina who had changed her mind since her girlfriend had just dumped her but sensed danger was approaching so urged her to enter Aziraphale’s bookshop for protection.
Later on, he spotted a hoard of bottom-of-the-barrel demons following Maggie down the street and hastily confronted them all. He demanded to know what they were doing and yelled that they were out of order. He then went inside the bookshop to warn Aziraphale but was left to hold a plate of hors d’oeurves. The Angel had enchanted the bookshop to make everyone act as if they were in a Regency era Ball and ensure Nina and Maggie fell in love. Crowley tried to warn Aziraphale again but the Angel dragged him into dancing with him.
While they danced, Crowley was finally able to direct Aziraphale’s attention to the crowd of demons outside. Although the Angel insisted they were safe since the bookshop still counted as one of Heaven’s Embassies, the Demons led by Shax broke a window and demanded that Gabriel be surrendered over to them. Crowley was happy to let Gabriel go but was still surprised when he voluntarily walked outside.
Unfortunately, his miracle with Aziraphale had worked a little too well and neither Shax nor any other demon could recognise him. Crowley hastily made up a fake rule about civilian non-combatants and escorted the terrified humans (with the exception of Maggie and Nina who stayed behind, and Mr Brown who was seized by the mob) out of harms way. As Crowley tried to work out what to do, he spotted Muriel taking notes nearby and quickly got them to “arrest” him and take him to Heaven.
"Every Day"
In Heaven, Crowley disguised himself as an Angel to blend in and got Muriel to take him to their office. The Angel realised that they’d been tricked into helping Crowley, but he convinced them to show him all of the files on Gabriel.
Muriel tried but was unable to show him them since they didn’t have clearance - only a Throne, a Dominion or higher could open it. Crowley easily opened the file stating that he hadn’t always been a demon and Heaven never changed its passwords.
Crowley watched with surprise when Gabriel rejected the plans for Armageddon 2. Saraqael discovered them and showed Crowley Gabriel’s trial led by the Metatron. Crowley watched as Gabriel undressed and dropped the matchbox before taking the elevator to Earth. Realizing something, Crowley rushed back to Earth followed by the Angels.
Representatives from Hell also arrived after Aziraphale had used a forbidden technique to end the attack on his shop. Unlike Aziraphale, Crowley was able to see Gabriel’s stuff inside the box and found a note the Archangel had written on the bottom for himself. He asked Beelzebub to find the fly with Gabriel’s memories. Crowley reacted with surprise when Gabriel and Beelzebub revealed they had fallen in love with each other and had chosen each other over sides.
Crowley recognized the Metatron when he arrived and commented that this day couldn’t get any weirder. At some point he was also offered a promotion to a Duke of Hell but rejected it. While Aziraphale talked with the Metatron, he tidied up the bookshop. Nina and Maggie confronted him about his and Aziraphale’s attempts to set them up. They also convinced him to admit his own romantic feelings to Aziraphale.
When the Angel returned, he attempted to but was interrupted. He was horrified by the Metatron’s offer of Aziraphale returning to Heaven in Command and Crowley being restored as an Angel. He was distraught over Aziraphale’s acceptance of this deal having no desire to ever go back to Heaven.
Still, he pressed forward and admitted his feelings towards Aziraphale. He pointed to Beelzebub and Gabriel’s example and asked the Angel to run off with him. Aziraphale tried to get him to accept Heaven’s offer stating that “nothing lasts forever”. A heartbroken Crowley agreed with this remark and started to leave the shop. Aziraphale begged him to come back and to be an Angel again but Crowley refused. He told Aziraphale to listen and remarked that there were “no nightingales”. He called Aziraphale an idiot and said that they could have just been an “us”.
Crowley then kissed Aziraphale.
However the Angel pulled away from him. Crowley waited for Aziraphale’s response which was; “I forgive you”. Crowley told him not to bother and walked out of the shop.
He waited by the Bentley hoping that Aziraphale would still join him. In the end, he watched Aziraphale leave Earth (and him) to take the elevator with the Metatron back to Heaven. Crowley got in the Bentley and switched off the car radio when it began to play “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” before driving off.
Personality
Crowley is overall a non-threatening demon. He somewhat attempts to be evil in his own way, but is actually quite morally decent in human terms. He objects to the killing of innocent people and animals and wants to save the world, albeit for his own reasons. He has a flair for the dramatic and can be a heavy drinker. He seems to not take his job seriously and doesn't really partake in "normal demon" things. Most of his "accomplishments" were faked or done by humans, whom he considers are better at making their own lives miserable than he is. He thinks of himself as evil, but is usually a minor inconvenience at worst. He also has a soft spot for Aziraphale, thinking of him as his best friend and more and typically going out of his way to save or help him. He later recognised that he had romantic feelings towards Aziraphale and confessed to him. However he was rejected when Aziraphale chose to return to Heaven.
Crowley rarely thinks things through, as many of his own plans end up backfiring on him. He is sarcastic but overall rather friendly and lovable, especially compared to other demons. Crowley is also curious by nature, and his tendency to ask too many questions caused him to Fall. Unlike other demons, Crowley has an imagination - something that helps him in various situations, such as keeping himself and the Bentley together while driving through the burning M25 to reach Tadfield airbase.
Appearance
Crowley usually presents himself in a male form and generally uses He/Him pronouns. He has red hair and often changes his hairstyle every few decades. He has a black snake mark on the right side of his face next to his ear. He usually wears black and dark colours. He has yellow eyes with slit pupils like a snake that can change from just his irises being yellow to his entire sclera - this seems to be affected by his mood at the time. Crowley started wearing sunglasses to hide them from humans sometime after Noah’s Ark. He also has black wings but keeps them hidden most of the time.
As an Angel he had brown eyes without the slit pupils and white wings. He also wore white robes with a gold collar. When he disguised himself as an Angel to sneak into Heaven with Muriel, his snake mark changed from black to gold. He also wore a silver and white suit with a gold tie. He also used a headband to push his hair back.
He can also transform into snake both completely and partially. As a snake he has fully yellow eyes, black body scales and a red underbelly. He can also partially summon his snake features such as his forked tongue. He also made his entire head like a snake to scare one of the people paintballing.
Sometimes Crowley presents as female with She/Her pronouns such as when she was disguised as Nanny Ashtoreth. She wore a dress suit with heels and a small hat. She also stuck to her usual black colour palette.
Powers and Abilities
Time Manipulation
Crowley has the ability to freeze humans in place and was able to freeze time when Satan broke through the Earth so that he and Aziraphale could talk to Adam.
Shapeshifting
Crowley can shapeshift into a giant black and red snake or summon some of his snakelike features when he is in “human” form. He can also alter his clothing such as when he made himself look like an Angel when he infiltrated Heaven. He and Aziraphale also swapped appearances in order to trick Heaven and Hell and survive their respective executions.
He also shrank to an incredibly small size and grew into a giant when he was drunk of laudanum.
He can also influence the appearance of others such as Job’s goats which he turned into crows and Job’s children when he turned them into lizards.
Telekinesis
Crowley can move objects with a click of his fingers and change traffic lights from red to green as he’s driving through them, and unlock doors among other abilities.
Weather Manipulation
He was able to summon a rainstorm in his attempts to push Maggie and Nina closer together. When he was angry at Gabriel’s presence in the bookshop he also blasted himself with lightning.
Near-Invulnerability
Crowley is generally immune to anything that would kill most humans. He can still be killed by Holy Water or inconveniently discorporated if his body is destroyed. He survived being blasted by lightning, sitting in his burning Bentley for several hours on the drive to Tadfield, and drinking a large amount of laudanum.
Technokinesis
Crowley can influence electronics such as speaking through his Bentley’s car radio and changing traffic lights.
Pyrokinesis
Crowley summoned fireballs to blast Job’s goats in 2500 BC and set Job’s house on fire.
Polyglot
Crowley can speak every language.
Relationships
Aziraphale
Crowley’s best friend, life partner and love interest. He and Aziraphale met prior to his Fall when he was creating a new nebula system but they didn’t properly get to know one another until after he had become a Demon.
They have known each other for 6000 years on Earth meeting properly at the Garden of Eden. After constantly bumping into one another for several centuries, they eventually formed an “Arrangement” where if they both needed to go somewhere only one of them would go.
Crowley has a soft spot for Aziraphale convincing him to try human food, using miracles so that Hamlet would be successful after Aziraphale liked it so much, rescuing him from dis-corporation at the hands of the French Revolution and Nazi spies (even though it meant he had to step on consecrated ground that was extremely uncomfortable for him), assisting him with his magic act at the West End and regularly having food and drinks with him.
They kept up a steady friendship for six millennia although they often pretended that they weren’t actually friends. He is also protective of Aziraphale immediately rushing to his rescue on several occasions, and angrily confronting an amnesiac Gabriel about the latter trying to kill his best friend.
At some point, Crowley developed romantic feelings towards Aziraphale which he realised after speaking to Nina. After the Gabriel situation was finally resolved, Crowley admitted his feelings to Aziraphale and kissed him. However Aziraphale had agreed to go back to Heaven and left Earth (and Crowley).
Quotes
- "Well that went down like a lead balloon." - "In the Beginning"
- "Didn't you have a flaming sword?" - "In the Beginning"
- "You did, it flamed like anything. What happened to it?" - "In the Beginning"
- "You what?" - "In the Beginning"
- "I didn’t fall, I just... Just sauntered vaguely downwards. - Hard times
- "I didn't mean to fall... I just hung around the wrong people."
- "Can I hear a waHOO?"
- "Oh, Lord, heal this bike." - ""The Book"
- "Excuse me ma'am, we're two supernatural entities looking for the notorious son of Satan, wonder if you might help us with our inQUIRIES?" - "The Book"
- "What kind of stupid question is that ‘still a demon’? What else am I going to be? An aardvark?" - "Hard Times"
- "I wrote it down. Walls have ears. Well, not walls. Trees have ears. Ducks have ears. Do ducks have ears? Must do. That's how they hear other ducks." - "Hard Times"
- -ObVioUsLY - "Hard times"
- "Sorry, consecrated ground. Ah, it's like being on the beach in bare feet!" - "Hard Times"
- "It's just a 'J', really." - "Hard Times"
- "GROW! BETTER!"
- "Somebody killed my best friend!! BASTARDS!!! ALL OF YOU!!!" - "The Doomsday Option"
- "If you've gotta go, then go with style!" - "The Doomsday Option"
- "DUCKS!"
- "We're FUCKED"
- "(sings) You were right, you were right, I was wrong, you were right." - "The Arrival"
- "Because humans are weird and that's how it works" - To Muriel, "I Know Where I'm Going"
- "He's not my bit on the side, he's far too pure of heart to be anyone's bit on the side, he's just an angel. I know. - To Nina, referring to Aziraphale, "The Ball"
- "I'm not, actually. Either. But thank you!" - To Mrs. Sandwich, after she calls him a good lad, "The Ball"
- "No nightingales." "Every Day"
- ”You idiot. We could have just been… us.” - "Every Day"
- "Don't bother." - "Every Day"
Gallery
Promotional Images
.jpg "GoodOmens2 Crowley Promo (3).jpg (1.64 MB)")
BTS Images
Promotional Videos
Notes and trivia
- Crowley is into gardening and his plants are some of the healthiest and most verdant because of his unique gardening technique: he'd learned from the radio that talking to plants helps them grow... so he threatens them by periodically culling the least healthy or slowest growing and parading the newly-emptied pot in front of his remaining plants, which terrifies them into not slacking off.
- Crowley personally knew Leonardo Da Vinci and was a friend of his, hence the rough sketch of the Mona Lisa in his apartment (signed by Da Vinci himself to Antony J Crowley).
- Crowley seems to be more powerful than Aziraphale, displaying a more diverse set of powers. Whether this is because Crowley was a higher ranking angel before his fall or his change to demonhood is unknown.
- Crowley is in love with Aziraphale. Neil Gaiman has stated that he wrote the relationship between the two as a love story in the show, though they were not intended as a love story in the book.[1] This is also supported by both Michael Sheen and David Tennant, stated in many interviews.
- His name is a reference to Aleister Crowley, notable occultist and magician.
- Unlike other demons, Crowley can write without making any grammar or spelling mistakes.[2]
- Crowley usually goes by He/Him pronouns, but sometimes, when he presents himself as female, like when they were a nanny or while watching the crucifixion, they go by She/Her pronouns.
- Crowley had been living inside his Bentley for 4 years, between the time of season 1 and season 2. He lost his flat due to the fact that it is technically owned by Hell and they kicked him out after he was perceived as a traitor. In season 2, Hell's new representative in London, Shax, lives there.