Good Omens season 2 episode 1 recap: Who visits the celestial archangels?

The British fantasy comedy series Good Omens has returned with its second season on Friday, July 28, 2023, on Amazon Prime Video. The new season has dropped six episodes, each taking us through the lives of Aziraphale and Crowley.

The second season of Good Omens takes a romantic turn as the two lead characters get involved in saving a relationship while the dangers around them keep increasing. Amazon Prime Video provided a crisp summary of the first episode that paves the way for the rest of the season. It reads,

"Retired angel Aziraphale and retired demon Crowley's lives are upended when a visitor arrives on the doorstep of Aziraphale's bookshop, bringing chaos. Local shopkeepers Maggie and Nina get locked into Nina's coffee shop when Crowley loses his temper. Heaven and Hell are suspicious, and Crowley and Aziraphale have a disagreement."

As fans prepare themselves to binge-watch over the weekend after a four-year wait since Good Omens season 1, let's take a look at a quick recap of the first episode of season 2 to understand what could be in store.

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Good Omens Season 2 episode 1 brings an unexpected visitor to stir things up

The first episode of Good Omens season 2 of the much-awaited television series continues the journey of Aziraphale and Crowley as they navigate the complexities of life on Earth and face challenges simultaneously after ten years since their last stint. The second season brings the reunion of the angel and devil duo who try their best to stop an imminent Armageddon while they save a human romance.

The episode opens with a flashback of Crowley and Aziraphale's first meeting as angels, which takes place before The Beginning. Aziraphale looks on while Crowley creates a star factory, aka the cosmos. As nebulae explode and universes form, Crowley shrieks in excitement. He says,

"That's just priming the engine. This is the fun bit. I've been waiting for this since, um..well, always."

However, Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) soon bursts his bubble as he tells him about Earth and humans, who were to become the center of all attention. Crowley is unhappy with the idea and plans to take it up with God.

The scene in Good Omens cuts to present-day London, where Crowley is training his replacement, Shax (Miranda Richardson), on the ways of the world, and Aziraphale is still the owner of the bookshop and the record store next door. The first episode is called The Arrival, as a bewildered Gabriel, played by Jon Hamm, arrives naked with an empty box for Az. As Crowley is called into the scene, he refuses help and storms out, reminding him how Gabriel had tried casting him into Hell. He says,

"You’re on your own with this one."

Meanwhile, archangels Michael and Uriel fight over Gabriel's position in his absence, while Muriel brings in an empty matchbox from a pub. They figure out that Gabriel is on Earth. Likewise, Hell has also been looking for the missing archangel.

Beelzebub, played by Shelley Conn in Good Omens season 2, takes Crowley to Hell and coerces him to help her find Gabriel. In return, his sins would be erased. However, anyone involved with the disappearance would be erased from the Book of Life and would be dealt with severely.

The electric malfunction caused by Crowley (David Tennant) when he left the bookshop ended up locking record shop owner Maggie and café owner Nina inside Nina's shop. Maggie is seen to have a crush on Nina, who is annoyed with her partner's texts from home.

Crowley returns to set them free and senses sparks flying between them. He proceeds to apologize to Az, who requests a performance of I Was Wrong. Post-reunion, the duo are left with the choice of hiding Gabriel or turning him in. The two decide to work on half miracles each, as one whole miracle would draw attention from Heaven. Having done so rather confidently, they start calling Gabriel by a new name, Jim, to conceal his identity on Earth.

The episode of Prime Video's Good Omens ends with the two half-miracles resulting in a miracle and setting off alarms in heaven—quite the opposite of what Az and Crowley had guessed.