It's a Friday night at 11:54pm so naturally I have begun to obsessively dissect the "I Was Wrong" dance from Good Omens.
I think I was so distracted by how funny and cute it was that I didn't realise how much of a LORE DROP this little apology ritual is for Aziraphale and Crowley.
First of all, Crowley is under the belief that Aziraphale doesn't dance. He tells him as much when Aziraphale asks him to dance at the Jane Austen inspired ball.
Aziraphale: Well perhaps you could tell me, while we dance?
Crowley: You don't dance...
And it makes sense that he believes this because as the narration of God explains in Season 1:
How many Angels can dance on the head of a pin? ...Firstly, angels don't dance. It's one of the distinguishing characteristics that marks an angel. So...none. At least, nearly none. Aziraphale had learned a dance called The Gavotte in a discreet gentleman's club in Portland Place in the late 1880's. After a while he had become fairly good at it and was quite put out when some decades later, The Gavotte went out of style for good. So, providing the dance was a Gavotte, the answer was a straightforward 'one'.
Crowley thinks angels don't dance and Aziraphale is an angel.
He has made Aziraphale do a little apology dance on at least 3 other occassions we know of. And he thinks this is the only kind of dance Aziraphale ever does or has ever done.
Aziraphale: I did the 'I was wrong' dance in 1650, 1793, 1941...
The dates here cannot be an accident. Because we have seen flashbacks that take place on two of those dates:
1793 - Paris and the reign of Terror. Crowley saved Aziraphale after he got himself locked up in the Bastille while trying to find some crepes.
1941 - The Blitz and the Nazi spies turned Zombies. Crowley saved Aziraphale from being killed and embarassed and later from being discorporated by a magic trick and a miracle blocker.
We don't know why Aziraphale had to do the apology dance in 1793, but it might have been him admitting he was wrong to go to France during a revolution. We also don't know why he had to do it again in 1941 but it could be many things. Maybe getting duped by Nazi spies or thinking he could pull off the bullet catch.
In both situations, Aziraphale got himself in a dangerous situation and Crowley had to save him.
The only dance we have no context for is the first one that took place chronologically in 1650.
And I think its possible we might get to see it in Season 3.
I would even speculate it could be shown as a reminder that the dance exists or to foreshadow Aziraphale having to do one in the future.
If we follow the same pattern, Aziraphale will once again get himself into a bad situation that Crowley has to save him from.
Heaven, the second coming...yeah that seems like a big bad situation.
I can just imagine after it's all over, they're safe but things between them are tense and Aziraphale approaches Crowley to beg him for forgiveness.
Crowley is a blank. Then he lets out a breath and, sounding defeated, says:
"I... Angel I can't. I can't possibly forgive you..."
Aziraphale looks crushed. He knows he deserves it. But it hurts because he still hoped after all this time that the demon might still feel...
"...without the little dance."
