A violent end is where we begin. We start with the dead body of a white woman left to rot in the street, a mob of white men thirsting for blood, and then the brutal murder of a black man. No words are spoken but the story has been told time and time again. He’s brutalized, strung up, and dragged across town all while the mob of white people cheer in joy and laughter. It doesn’t hold back and this scene will be repeated again later on, so take that in mind while watching. Shadow awakens from this historical nightmare to a terrifying look in the mirror with the murdered man once more. Meanwhile Wednesday is planting and watering Yggdrasil the only way he can, not could, can. Wednesday and Shadow part ways for the time with Shadow staying in Cairo and Wednesday heading out on business once more.
Mad Sweeney awakens in New Orleans and well, when in Rome, he spends his time drunk and angry at his rotten luck until Laura arrives to ask for his help with getting her life back together. We learn that Sweeney’s help comes in the forms of Baron Samedi and Maman Briggite, the husband and wife loa of death. This is a huge departure for what was a cameo set much later in the book into a full blown encounter here with the Baron.
This episode is all entirely its own material separate from the book, most of these characters were in it for maybe a few pages and gone are now front and center here and it’s better for it. We meet characters who never got a moment in print but now add to the rich tapestry of gods and myth. We learn about ghost stories and the power they wield and what we can learn from them. We discuss race, racism, love, death, and of course, faith. This episode is almost a microcosm for the entire show, so it does feel a bit loaded. Though we don’t get any stories from the new gods, this episode is already stuffed to the gills with something going on for the old gods. The effects are pretty tame for this episode, mostly sticking to a flaming head or practical effects of brutal bodies. This episode also brings in a lot more nudity, though it does seem to shy away from showing butts, and I’m sorry if you were hoping to see any male nudity, which the show doesn’t usually shy away from, there isn’t anything here except bare chests. So, take that as you will.
I will say that since the show is firmly on its own path with the story, it’s thrilling to wonder what will come next since it doesn’t desire to be so tied to its source material as it is inspired by it. Part of me will always wonder what could have been had Bryan Fuller been allowed to stay on, he had an eye that I feel the show is still missing but it’s doing alright on its own. It’ll just always be a what if that can’t be shaken. I do wonder where we’ll be going next week and who we’ll be seeing so the show still has me there. See you next time!
For reviews of past episodes of American Gods you can click here!
Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
