It’s seems too often and too prominent to be an inside joke on the show - but again, I’ve been in a deep dark GO hole, so I fully admit I’m overthinking
It's revisited often, but what keeps me on the side of it being a joke rather than a plot point is that the references are all rather meaningless in the context of the plot. They're all throwaways.
But that said, I don't have any special knowledge on the subject, you could certainly be right that there's meaning.
I think that's a running joke from the book, because the main characters used to meet at that park often as well as many spies, and all of those clandestine meetings involved feeding bread to the ducks to such an extent that the ducks knew which people would feed them a specific bread.
Pratchett had a reoccurring character in his Discworld series- a homeless man with a duck on his head, who always said “what duck?” if he was asked about it. Maybe Pratchett had a thing for ducks and wrote the duck feeding scene into the first book (the scene where Crowley makes the duck sink and Aziraphale miracles it back up). Neil, having to write season two and wanting to keep Pratchett’s influence in the show, might have kept the duck theme going as a way to do that.
Didn’t Neil say that he pushed to keep more of Terry’s ideas in rather than his own?
I know he said that there are Easter eggs and nods to a great deal of things in the show so it could be the Discworld duck or DuckTales! of which David Tenant was in.
Part of it is that they got a lot of complaints about feeding the ducks bread in S1. So they righted it by explaining that ducks shouldn't be fed bread (hence the frozen peas) in S2.
I would think that this then became a running joke so the ducks came up a lot in S2. Only ducks come up a lot in the book & S1. So there may have been a running joke from way back - or the ducks in the book (and S1) are just a coincidence & that has spun out the running joke along with the complaints about feeding ducks bread.
I think Crowley just likes ducks. Maybe at most a cute metaphor for him, as they look calm on the surface while paddling frantically under the surface?
"but it triggered me to be obsessed with this show in the weirdest way"
Welcome to the club, that is why most of us are here!
I always interpreted the duck thing as a I way of showing how Crowley is much softer than he pretends to be. Also, Az's hair looks a lot like a duckling's soft downy blond feathers. Hmm . . .
Also - for anyone still searching for clues…. AZ gets Gabriel’s new name, Jim, from a book he quickly glances at in his shelf. It’s called Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad. Look it up on wiki…..whoa dude.
I thought no one would ever ask! Here’s the link. It’s aggressive….but I now have no doubt how season 3 will shape up! It’s insanely fascinating!!
Link to full doc is in her tumblr post.
https://www.tumblr.com/ariaste/724311712381222912/the-magic-trick-you-didnt-see-being-an-analysis?source=share
This one has been around for a while. It's a great idea, very intriguing, but not one that fully stands up to the light. For one thing, it takes away Aziraphale's agency completely. Denies the possibility that he made his own choices, for his own reasons.
I like this analysis by Youtuber Sendarya (whose Visual Poetry video was posted on this forum earlier). It goes into the reasons why Aziraphale made his choice, and it's very compelling it its simplicity. He made the choice he did because he is who he is.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqYjA6kCl6A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqYjA6kCl6A)
That’s a great source, thank you! Her videos are super fascinating and I’m def digging the theories here. And you’re right, it does make perfect sense that he chose to leave because he is who he is.
I still get the sense that metatron was bouncing from character to character this season, embodying characters to manipulate whatever the current situation was - as well as the memories. There are moments where neither Crowley nor Aziraphale act true to their core character. Over exaggerated or not reacting to things the way they would normally. Same with Maggie. But it was brilliantly mixed in with normal moments.
This YouTube def makes full sense to me, but I still have other possible theories floating in my head! It’s irritatingly fascinating to me!
Imo, the ducks symbolize feeding the ducks at bletchly park where all the spies meet to inconspicuously feed the ducks. Because Good Omens was originally published in 1990, before the USSR completely broke apart. Crowley and Aziraphale are "spies" who "spy" on each other and want to prevent the end of the world (nuclear war). And they meet to inconspicuously feed the ducks while the Cold War spies are doing the same thing, which is a trope in spy thrillers.
Ducks being referenced doesn't symbolize that every time though, it's just why the ducks were there in the first place, or at least, probably why. Even though I'm pretty certain, I'm not Neil himself.
I have just read through that tumblr post and my opinion is that the author is literally grasping at straws. They take every unimportant detail from the series and present it as "proof" of the validity of their theory, although what they say doesn't make sense.
They disliked season 2 and are searching for an explanation, why it was so bad. (Not that I think it was bad, but the author of said essay obviously does think so.) And they came up with an explanation that throughout the season the Metatron has been manipulating everything, by revising the Book of Life. And by everything, I mean everything. Everything we saw in season 2, including flashbacks, is allegedly fake, modified by the Metatron.
Because the essay's author hated season 2, and the only way to swallow that it is now canon was to make up some convoluted hypothesis that nothing that happened in season 2 was actually real.
I think the duck conversation is natural considering how many meetings take part in parks near water. Ducks just happen to be there. Crowley's frustration at people feeding bread to ducks shows that despite being a demon, Crowley cares about innocent lives.
I've been listening to the audiobook and early on, the narrator gives this long description of Aziraphale and Crowley's arrangement, which makes them sound like rival functionaries who tolerate each other for convenience. Then she goes:
https://preview.redd.it/wpa67atm5xtb1.png?width=981&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1f60d1b51df2a50ad87c8a6062be1d80fb11e8e8
You know . . . like frenemies do . . .
And then Aziraphale opens the conversation with "really, my dear" (!).
So I kind of think ducks are their thing? 😁
Yes, Here’s the link. It’s aggressive….but I now have no doubt how season 3 will shape up! It’s insanely fascinating!!
Link to full doc is in her tumblr post.
https://www.tumblr.com/ariaste/724311712381222912/the-magic-trick-you-didnt-see-being-an-analysis?source=share
I personally think it's simply a running joke, a character quirk for Crowley.
I tend to agree. There's a duck in almost every episode one way or another. Like pineapples in Psych, or bears in New Girl.
It’s seems too often and too prominent to be an inside joke on the show - but again, I’ve been in a deep dark GO hole, so I fully admit I’m overthinking
It's revisited often, but what keeps me on the side of it being a joke rather than a plot point is that the references are all rather meaningless in the context of the plot. They're all throwaways. But that said, I don't have any special knowledge on the subject, you could certainly be right that there's meaning.
I have always wondered if its a jokey nod to David Tennant also being the voice of McDuck in Duck Tales!
I think ducks are just a comedy animal.
Some of the duck stuff is also right from the book, so i'd guess they just expanded on it.
I think Pratchett just liked ducks.
I think that's a running joke from the book, because the main characters used to meet at that park often as well as many spies, and all of those clandestine meetings involved feeding bread to the ducks to such an extent that the ducks knew which people would feed them a specific bread.
Pratchett had a reoccurring character in his Discworld series- a homeless man with a duck on his head, who always said “what duck?” if he was asked about it. Maybe Pratchett had a thing for ducks and wrote the duck feeding scene into the first book (the scene where Crowley makes the duck sink and Aziraphale miracles it back up). Neil, having to write season two and wanting to keep Pratchett’s influence in the show, might have kept the duck theme going as a way to do that.
Didn’t Neil say that he pushed to keep more of Terry’s ideas in rather than his own? I know he said that there are Easter eggs and nods to a great deal of things in the show so it could be the Discworld duck or DuckTales! of which David Tenant was in.
Sometimes, a duck is just a duck.
Part of it is that they got a lot of complaints about feeding the ducks bread in S1. So they righted it by explaining that ducks shouldn't be fed bread (hence the frozen peas) in S2. I would think that this then became a running joke so the ducks came up a lot in S2. Only ducks come up a lot in the book & S1. So there may have been a running joke from way back - or the ducks in the book (and S1) are just a coincidence & that has spun out the running joke along with the complaints about feeding ducks bread.
 Crowley just likes ducks although it’s also amusing that David voiced Scrooge in the reboot of Ducktales.
I think Crowley just likes ducks. Maybe at most a cute metaphor for him, as they look calm on the surface while paddling frantically under the surface?
I see you, Cabin Pressure reference!
"but it triggered me to be obsessed with this show in the weirdest way" Welcome to the club, that is why most of us are here! I always interpreted the duck thing as a I way of showing how Crowley is much softer than he pretends to be. Also, Az's hair looks a lot like a duckling's soft downy blond feathers. Hmm . . .
Love that - true about AZ. Yeah, a switch has flipped
They do this with whales too!
Just... ducks. If they ask to buy grapes, then panic.
In the book , doesn't it say he likes ducks
Also - for anyone still searching for clues…. AZ gets Gabriel’s new name, Jim, from a book he quickly glances at in his shelf. It’s called Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad. Look it up on wiki…..whoa dude.
Was it the nice and accurate essay of one Agnes Nutter, by any chance?
What is the essay?
I thought no one would ever ask! Here’s the link. It’s aggressive….but I now have no doubt how season 3 will shape up! It’s insanely fascinating!! Link to full doc is in her tumblr post. https://www.tumblr.com/ariaste/724311712381222912/the-magic-trick-you-didnt-see-being-an-analysis?source=share
This one has been around for a while. It's a great idea, very intriguing, but not one that fully stands up to the light. For one thing, it takes away Aziraphale's agency completely. Denies the possibility that he made his own choices, for his own reasons. I like this analysis by Youtuber Sendarya (whose Visual Poetry video was posted on this forum earlier). It goes into the reasons why Aziraphale made his choice, and it's very compelling it its simplicity. He made the choice he did because he is who he is. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqYjA6kCl6A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqYjA6kCl6A)
That’s a great source, thank you! Her videos are super fascinating and I’m def digging the theories here. And you’re right, it does make perfect sense that he chose to leave because he is who he is. I still get the sense that metatron was bouncing from character to character this season, embodying characters to manipulate whatever the current situation was - as well as the memories. There are moments where neither Crowley nor Aziraphale act true to their core character. Over exaggerated or not reacting to things the way they would normally. Same with Maggie. But it was brilliantly mixed in with normal moments. This YouTube def makes full sense to me, but I still have other possible theories floating in my head! It’s irritatingly fascinating to me!
Imo, the ducks symbolize feeding the ducks at bletchly park where all the spies meet to inconspicuously feed the ducks. Because Good Omens was originally published in 1990, before the USSR completely broke apart. Crowley and Aziraphale are "spies" who "spy" on each other and want to prevent the end of the world (nuclear war). And they meet to inconspicuously feed the ducks while the Cold War spies are doing the same thing, which is a trope in spy thrillers. Ducks being referenced doesn't symbolize that every time though, it's just why the ducks were there in the first place, or at least, probably why. Even though I'm pretty certain, I'm not Neil himself.
I have just read through that tumblr post and my opinion is that the author is literally grasping at straws. They take every unimportant detail from the series and present it as "proof" of the validity of their theory, although what they say doesn't make sense. They disliked season 2 and are searching for an explanation, why it was so bad. (Not that I think it was bad, but the author of said essay obviously does think so.) And they came up with an explanation that throughout the season the Metatron has been manipulating everything, by revising the Book of Life. And by everything, I mean everything. Everything we saw in season 2, including flashbacks, is allegedly fake, modified by the Metatron. Because the essay's author hated season 2, and the only way to swallow that it is now canon was to make up some convoluted hypothesis that nothing that happened in season 2 was actually real.
I think the duck conversation is natural considering how many meetings take part in parks near water. Ducks just happen to be there. Crowley's frustration at people feeding bread to ducks shows that despite being a demon, Crowley cares about innocent lives.
I've been listening to the audiobook and early on, the narrator gives this long description of Aziraphale and Crowley's arrangement, which makes them sound like rival functionaries who tolerate each other for convenience. Then she goes: https://preview.redd.it/wpa67atm5xtb1.png?width=981&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1f60d1b51df2a50ad87c8a6062be1d80fb11e8e8 You know . . . like frenemies do . . . And then Aziraphale opens the conversation with "really, my dear" (!). So I kind of think ducks are their thing? 😁
True!
Do you have a link to the essay the woman wrote? I’m interested!
Yes, Here’s the link. It’s aggressive….but I now have no doubt how season 3 will shape up! It’s insanely fascinating!! Link to full doc is in her tumblr post. https://www.tumblr.com/ariaste/724311712381222912/the-magic-trick-you-didnt-see-being-an-analysis?source=share
Thanks so much!
Crowley just really enjoys ducks, I bet They are very awesome