Good Omens – Chapter 4: The Hitchhiker featuring the minisode Nazi Zombie Flesheaters

By starrymag | August 7, 2023

By: Kelly Kearney

 

 

No good deed goes unpunished and Aziraphale is about to learn that lesson exponentially. He has made a serious mistake in helping Gabriel and now his friend Crowley is working overtime to try to find a way out of the consequences both Heaven and Hell ordered. In a flashback to 1941 we learn why Crowley cares so much about his better angelic half and it all has to do with a demon named FurFur and three Nazi-zombies.

 

The Hitchhiker From Hell

 

We begin with Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) picking up a hitchhiker (Beth Rylance) on his way back from Scotland. The young woman broke down and after failing to flag someone down, she seems desperate for the angel’s  help. Once she climbs into the car she morphs into Shax (Miranda Richardson) and Hell’s best representative wants to know where Gabriel (Jon Hamm) is and why Crowley (David Tennant) would risk his neck for him to cover it up. She makes a comment about how she heard through the rumor mill about the two of them being an item back in the old days, but as she looks him over she says he doesn’t seem like Crowley’s type. Aziraphale snorts at that, as if to say this demon has no idea what she’s talking about. He is most definitely Crowley’s type! As Shax digs for information about the whereabouts of the Archangel, Aziraphale tries his best to throw her off Gabriel’s scent, but she’s a bit smarter than he gives her credit for and traps him into telling her where the hidden angel is. If she knows, it won’t be long until her boss does too, and that wont bode well for him.

Next, we cut to a flashback of 1941 London, where we find Crowley once again protecting Aziraphale. The two men were meeting with three Nazi spies when a bomb exploded. The Nazis don’t die right away and wind up overhearing Aziraphale thanking Crowley for his help. So tight are the two that the demon even offers to give the angel a ride back to London since he’s expected at the theater not far away.

 

Dead Nazis and Magic Shows

 

Down in Hell, Shax comes up with a plan to take some of the weight off of the demon Furfur (Reece Shearsmith) who is a bit overwhelmed with all of the newly killed souls he’s had to process. She says she can help him get promoted to The Temptations Department if he lets her know anytime he gets a vibe about an angel/demon partnership on Earth. Her offer seems like a good deal and as Furfur gets back to processing those three Nazis that were just killed– Greta (Niamh Walsh), Glozier (Steve Pemberton), and Harmony (Mark Gatiss), he overhears the three talking about that deadly bomb. Apparently it was never meant for the church and Harmony blames Crowley for it. When Furfur hears the demon’s name mentioned, he listens closely as the three mention the other man–Aziraphale, who was with Crowley at the church. The two men seemed to be working together and now Furfur has all the information he needs for that promotion.

Over at the Camelot theater,  Mrs Henderson (Sian Phillips) is furious at Crowley for failing the task that was asked of him. He was supposed to smuggle in a shipment of whiskey but when the bottles arrived at her door they were all smashed due to that bomb. He is a constant problem for her, because besides the missing booze, they also lost their magician. Luckily for her, Crowley knows a guy who’s pretty good at heavenly magic, so as a thank you for  helping him at the church Aziraphale offers to pull whatever rabbit out of a hat his friend needs him to, but down in Hell, Furfur has other ideas. As thanks for the information they provided he offers them two choices: they can either rot in hell like they’re dead bunker boss, or go back to Earth as the walking dead. If they choose that zombie-life, then all he asks of them is to find a shred of evidence tying Aziraphale to Crowley. Once they have that, they are to send him a message through a magical ring so he can swing by and snap a photo for Shax. They also don’t have to worry about the two working any miracles or curses on them because Furfur owns a miracle blocker that would prevent both men from summoning their special skills. The blocker will give them ample time to track down that evidence and get away before they’re ever noticed. There is just one catch though, the zombie Nazis are going to have to eat human brains to keep themselves Dead Alive. The afterlife makes you hungry and these three will be dining on brains to keep them upright. Their first meal comes when they get transported back to the church, and once they’re full of brains–probably the first time they have those, the three head to the pub located directly across the street from the bookshop.

 

Trust Me

 

Of course, in the book shop Crowley is already worried that Aziraphale can’t hold his own on stage as a magician. His skepticism does not dissuade the angel from taking the stage because little does he know that his friend studied magic under a famous magician, and heaven brags about entertaining Nefertiti with his tricks. Crowley has to see this, so he asks Aziraphale to show him a practice trick, but in the background a zombified Harmony tries hisnhand at lip reading. He thinks he sees Aziraphale rattle off a list of words like” banana, gorilla and dash of nutmeg” which makes no sense to him and is definitely not the reason why Furfur sent him back. What they are discussing is the show and how it needs an amazing trick–one Aziraphale is nervous he won’t be able to provide. Crowley is worried about that too, so he takes his friend to a magic shop for some props and inspiration. As they head inside we see the three Nazi zombies following closely behind and stay out of sight as they try to meld in with the props. The owner, Pat (Pete Firman), of the shop tells Crowley he is also worried that his friend is going to fumble through his performance because Aziraphale keeps mixing up the props and can’t even remember what theater he’s performing in. Needless to say, their concern is founded.  Suddenly everything clicks for Aziraphale when he spots a magical rifle and bullets in the store’s shelf. Instantly he knows that’s the prop for him, but the owner doesn’t feel comfortable letting this amateur buy that gun. This really isn’t his best shot– pun intended, for a first magic show because he needs a license and a partner who can shoot the rifle at him. Aziraphale has a partner and as he looks at Crowley he assures the shop owner that his demon buddy is the right man for the job. Aziraphalel has a license and now he has a partner and there’s nothing holding back the shop owner from selling him that magic gun. While the shop owner and the two men discuss the magical rifle, we can see Glozier in the back fiddling with the stage props until his two zombie pals signal for him to use that ring and call Furfur. Before he makes the call the dead man winds up squirting himself in the face with a prop ring that unleashes a stream of ink and it  blinds him just as the angel and demon exit the shop. Without any evidence to give Furfur and the hunger pains hitting them tenfold, the zombies put aside their mission for a moment to devour the shop owner before they take in some theater.

Speaking of showtime, Aziraphale has a bit of stage fright and starts sweating over this favor he’s doing for Crowley. Meanwhile, the Nazi zombies are all full of shopkeep and finally able to call Furfur, who remotely activates their miracle blocker that gives them 30 minutes to get what he needs and get out of there before they are seen. Onstage, Aziraphale tries a little warm up miracle to get him in the mood for magic but when it fails, Crowley gets nervous and tries to offer his friend some support. There is no time to second guess the trick when Mrs Henderson urges the angel to get on with the show and it forces him to hand Crowley the magic rifle. The trick is a rather famous one; Crowley shoots a bullet passed Aziraphale’s ear  only for him to reveal a second bullet he had hidden between his teeth, tricking the audience and winning them over. Perhaps Crowley should have mentioned this before, but this seems to be a case of better late than never, because he lets  his partner know that he’s never really shot a gun before. Now the two men are terrified and as they shake and sweat through their anxiety even the audience is holding their breath and on the edge of their seat. As all of this is going on, we see Furfur pop in to take a photograph of the two men and once he has what he needs, he takes a seat and enjoys the show. The demon knows that his miracle block is in action, so if Crowley fails then the angel is going to meet a very messy end. Shockingly, Furfur doesn’t get his bloody wish because Crowley shoots the gun and it goes whizzing past the angel’s head and the very happy man smiles with the second bullet between his teeth! The crowd goes wild, and later we see the two men celebrating their successes backstage. Furfur also shows up backstage but winds up disappointed when the infamous demon doesn’t even remember him. Reunions are often messy so when Furfur shows them the photograph he took of their little stage show the Aziraphale knows they’re busted and he looks nervous, His demonic counterpart doesn’t seem too worried though.

With the photo in hand, Furfur goes back on his word and says he never promised to return those zombies to living humans, because, hey, he is still a demon after all. These zombies are so brainless that they shrug off Furfur’s lies and consider death on earth better than an eternity in Hell. Next we see Furfur handing the evidence over to Hell’s council only for them to open it and not find a photograph but a pamphlet for the magic show. It turns out the best magic trick of all was when the Aziraphale replaced the photo with the pamphlet and the entire trick involved those odd words, “Banana, fish, gorilla, shoelace with a dash of nutmeg.” It was all to distract them so he could make the switch!

 

Shades of Grey

 

Having thwarted Furfur and his Nazi zombies for now, Crowley and Aziraphalel celebrate their success with a drink. The angel always knew the demon had his back because all he ever has to do is ask Crowley to trust him. He may be Beezlebub’s best boy, but Crowley isn’t so evil after all. The flattered demon mulls that over and admits that Heaven and the angels are the ones who see things in black and white–he prefers to blur those edges. The two men toast to those many shades of grey.

Back to the present and Shax lets her boss know what she learned from her hitchhiking ride with the angel. Gabriel is at the bookshop and she wants her Beelzebub (Shelley Conn) to grant her an army to go raise that section of London from the ground up until she finds Gabriel. After a short back and forth, the devil agrees to let Shax gather the troops to take Gabriel to Hell and make a certain angel go M.I.A. from The Book of Life.

Speaking of Aziraphale, he returns to London after his trip to Scotland, and spots Nina (Nina Sosanya) having an argument on the phone with her partner Lindsay. He hasn’t found out anything else from The Resurrection Pub or that song Gabriel continuously hums, but Crowley is happy to see him, and he has faith that the angel will figure it out. The conversation moves on to the two women across the street, and Crowley admits that his rain plan didn’t work out too well. He guesses that means it’s up to the angel and his Jane Austen ideas and Aziraphale can’t wait to tackle this mission. He tells Crowley that he’s been planning a shopkeeper and Traders Association meeting every month at his shop, and now he’s going to use that to bring the coffee shop owner and the record shopkeeper together. Love is in the air, and from the way Crowley keeps saving Aziraphale, Nina and Maggie aren’t the only hearts getting pierced by Cupid’s arrow, The Ineffable Husbands are on the brink of admitting their true feelings, so let’s hope they hurry before Satan’s army shows up on their doorstep.