Good Omens Series 2 Episode 5 — “The Ball” — A Review

22nd September, 2023: The Intro.

It’s Friday: and … ?

I officially live in a ground floor flat.

And have just seen three — count them, three — whole police vans go past.

Police Technical Support vans, so you know.

Quite what’s happening at the other ens of my street?

I think I’d rather not know!

~≈👼🏻≈~

At any rate … ?

It’s Friday night.

Which means?

Well, as ever, it’s fish and chips for dinner!

Next … ?

I’ll be watching the next episode of Good Omens: then telling you about it, tomorrow.

Assuming we’ve not been arrested.

~≈👼🏻≈~

23rd September, 2023: “The Ball”.

Episode 5 — “The Ball” opens not with a summary of earlier episodes … but with Shax (Miranda Richardson), determinedly walking the corridors of hell, heading for the office of Furfur (Reece Sheersmith).

Shax … ?   Needs to arrange an invasion: and needs a little help from Furfur.

Meanwhile … ?

In Whickbar Street, Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) is persuading, cajoling, and outright bribing, his fellow traders: into coming along to the monthly Whickbar Street traders meeting.

He has the reluctant help of Crowley (David Tennant): and assorted preparations.

Frankly?   Aziraphale’s planning not a meeting: but a dance.

What he doesn’t realise?

Is that Hell has plans … 

~≈👼🏻≈~

Now … 

What did I make of this episode?

Of “The Ball”?

It has to be said: I miss something!

At least three episodes — “The Hitchhiker”, “I Know Where I’m Going” and “The Clue” — have all had what the show’s producers call a minisode, a mini-story, incorporated into them: something the main part of the episode then expands on.

“The Hitchhiker”, for example, tells us about zombie Nazis: revived, in order to chase Aziraphale.

Those, I felt, added a certain something: a certain amount of heft that enriched each of the relevant episodes.

By contrast, “The Ball” didn’t have a built-in minisode: something I felt weakened it.

It lacked a little punch, I think.

Saying that … ?

Saying that, “The Ball” is a very good episode, in and of itself.

• The acting — unsurprisingly, given this cast — is great: Richardson as Shax, in particular.
• Gaiman and Finnemore’s writing is superb.
• The production, itself, is great: especially as it’s built around a minimum of sets and locations.

And … ?

Inevitably, there’s a nod to the late Terry Pratchett: in the shape of Mrs Sandwich, played by Donna Preston.

She’s a seamstress.

No, not someone who sews for a living!

If you’ve not read Pratchett’s Men at Arms?

You’ll not know that Ankh Morpork, chief city of Pratchett’s Discworld setting, has nine hundred and eighty-seven women who identify as seamstresses.

And two needles.

Mrs Sandwich doesn’t exactly do sewing, lets put it that way.

~≈👼🏻≈~

Sir Terry uses the term ‘seamstress’ constantly, in his Discworld novels: as a euphemism for ‘prostitute’.

It’s something that — as far as I know — stems back to at least Victorian times: or, at least, to the late 1880s.

And it’s something I’ve been aware of for a long time: along side the old phrase, ‘house of ill repute’, as a description of a brothel.

(The one that’s supposed to be in Brentwood?   Isn’t a house of ill-repute.   On the contrary, it’s quite well spoken of … !)

~≈👼🏻≈~

At any rate … ?

Seeing an old Discworld joke?

For me, was like seeing an old friend at a slightly strange party.

Extremely familiar: and very reassuring.

As reassuring as seeing other familiar signposts in the earlier episodes of this season.

Yes: I, found the lack of a lack of a minisode something of a down.

But yes: this episode is reassuringly good.

Frankly?

I’m going to be back, next week, to watch the last episode of the series.

I’ll be watching the last episode of Good Omens — “Every Day” — on Friday, 29th September: and posting my written and video reviews of it on Saturday, 30th September

I will, hopefully, see you then.

Take care!

“The Ball”.

★★★☆