How the TV Adaptation of 'Good Omens' (2019) Challenges Christian Dualism - Medieval Literature in Context

Seminar paper from the year 2023 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,7, http://www.uni-jena.de/ (Institut für Anglisitik/Amerikanistik), course: Literature in Context: Stories of the Bible - The Medieval Stage and Modern Takes, language: English, abstract: This term paper was created as part of a literature seminar on biblical stories. It deals with the modern adaptation of Christian dualism in the Amazon Prime series 'Good Omens'. The TV series Good Omens (2019) is a third-person omniscient narration of the demon Crowley and the angel Aziraphale who have been living on Earth for over 6,000 years. Since they have loved their earthly way of life and surprisingly have become friends over time, they want to rescue the world by preventing the apocalypse, the end of the world, that will cause a war between Heaven and Hell. Since the concept of Heaven is understood as the reward of good people after their death and Hell is seen as a punishment for bad people after their death, it is very uncommon that the respective messengers of Heaven (Aziraphale) and Hell (Crowley) are friends. This paper aims to show that Christian dualism, known as the idea of Good and Evil but nothing in between, gets fundamentally challenged in the series 'Good Omens' (2019). It is particularly shown in the individual characters of the two protagonists in contrast to other characters who fit in the duality of fundamental Christianity. This term paper provides a brief introduction to the topic. The analysis will show how the protagonists Crowley and Aziraphale especially challenge the dualistic concepts of Good and Evil. This will become even clearer by juxtaposing them with two characters who abide to their respective sides uncompromisingly; Gabriel and Beelzebub.