Surviving Armageddon (aka COVID-19) through "Good Omens: Lockdown" fan fiction

Authors

  • Rachel Loewen University of Warwick

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2025.2639

Keywords:

Fissures, Health messaging, Mental health, Personalization, Queer identity, Speculative

Abstract

In May 2020, Neil Gaiman and some of the team behind Good Omens (2019–2025) created a YouTube video titled "Good Omens: Lockdown" ("Lockdown"). In this video, the demon Crowley (David Tennant) and the angel Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) have a phone conversation discussing the pandemic and the importance of following the current UK health guidance. "Lockdown" inspired a large amount of fan fiction. I chose a sample of sixteen of the most popular stories in order to examine how fans transformed aspects of the video in ways that may give insight into and comment on potential fissures in the messaging. The analysis revealed that many fan writers actively resisted the normative, prescriptive health messaging of "Lockdown" and instead worked to make the messaging personal and inclusive of complex situational intersections, such as queer identity and mental health struggles.

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Published

2025-09-14

Issue

Vol. 46 (2025): General

Section

Article

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Rachel Loewen

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