So I was thinking about the scene in the tv series where Crowley responds to Aziraphale saying he’s “nice” by pushing him up against the wall. In the book the reaction is more subdued- possibly embarrassed but certainly more offhand. He’s annoyed but not angry.
When I first saw it my immediate thought was “ah, obviously an excuse to push Aziraphale against the wall. Very good, very gay.” But, while that is an excellent reason it also doesn’t feel 100% correct.* It is a fairly extreme reaction to something that, at most, deserved an angry snarl.
So, I got to thinking about why they may have interpreted it differently in the adaption. Crowley describes, multiple times, how he was essentially in the wrong place at the wrong time when he fell. A member of that group but not an instigator. It wasn’t a conscious choice to rebel, really. Much of the evil he does is annoying, things that make everyday life worse but they’re not as outright diabolical as many of the demons. He makes people lose faith but a lot of it isn’t done directly.
He’s a demon, it’s his job. And I use the term job here quite literally. He has to make reports to the head office, presumably that means there’s at least some kind of punishment for not doing anything- though discorporation is likely to be a last resort, I’m sure Hell can come up with all sorts of nasty things.
So Crowley isn’t truly evil and, importantly, he knows this. I’d say at worst he’s a rebel without a cause. He rebelled against heaven and against hell in about the same measure. He’s not really bad enough to be a demon or good enough to be an angel.
So where does this reaction fit in? Crowley knows if he was really “nicer” he wouldn’t be a demon. He doesn’t ENJOY being a demon, unlike his fellows. Hell is an awful, cramped place. The demons enjoy torturing each other and revel in cruelty. I don’t think he likes a single one of his “co-workers”. If not for a small twist of fate he could have remained in heaven. He knows that if he hadn’t fallen he could have been Aziraphale’s friend/lover/whatever this whole time. He wouldn’t have had to create a complicated scheme (the Arrangement) to interact with him. If he were only as “nice” as Aziraphale thinks he is maybe he could have avoided all of this. It’s an anger born of regret.**
TL;DR Crowley is not angry about being called nice, he’s angry that it doesn’t mean anything
*The Doylist explanation here is that it was to mirror Uriel in that scene by the bookshop. Which is excellent, directing-wise. But that’s not an in-universe explanation.
**And also being gay for Aziraphale
@tinsnip I thought you might enjoy this
i do, i do!
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