American Gods episode 2 review: A seat at the table
In many ways, we mean haunted in a literal sense given that within the early going of episode 2, Ricky Whittle’s main character found himself seeing the spirit of his dead wife Laura. He had a reason to be enraged at her as to how she died — Mr. Wednesday was quick to remind him of that — but he could not use that to let go of his guilt and how things may have been different if he was there.
As if this was not enough when it comes to Shadow trying to keep his grasp on the surrounding world, we also had him beginning to experience the battle between the old gods and the new. With Wednesday, Shadow finds himself on an odd buddy-cop road trip that takes him to off-the-beaten-path parts of the country that you don’t quite get to by taking the main highway. Within this episode, he was on a collision course with Zorya Vechernyaya (the incredible Cloris Leachman) and Czernobog (Peter Stormare). There was clear resistance on the part of Czernobog to join in with Wednesday’s initiative, but there was far more interest in testing the beliefs and resolves of Shadow through a game of checkers. If Shadow lost, he would bash in his skull with his blood-hungry hammer.
Shadow lost, and the credits roll. Yet, he didn’t run away. Maybe the lack of fear is enough to spare him of a grisly, bloody fate as we inch forward towards the remainder of the season. The final scenes of this episode were very dialogue-heavy, and we wonder if there are some who will complain about the pacing. For us, it was a little slow, especially when it comes to how many episodes of the show there are this season.
Meet Media
This was the biggest highlight of the season, as Gillian Anderson arrived on the show for the first time as one of the new gods, living within technology and desperate to convince Shadow that he was living and operating the wrong way. She was the follow-up to Technical Boy last week, and seeing her dressed us as Lucille Ball in an I Love Lucy episode was incredibly bizarre but also very inspired.
The poignancy of Shadow buying Wednesday a phone, only to see him toss it out the window, cannot be forgotten. This is him rejecting anything that can be considered new in favor of respecting old traditions and the manner of doing things. This is the perfect reflection by and large of where we are on the show at the moment.
Other odds and ends
The introductions to the show are a little more atmospheric, emotional, and disconnected in some ways, though they serve as powerful means to connect the concept of faith and what certain cultures feel about gods through time. Also, we’re waiting to see how Bilquis integrates herself further beyond some of the bizarre sex scenes that we’ve seen over the course of the series to date.
What is interesting is that American Gods airs at the same time as The Leftovers, and both shows do have a good bit in common in terms of exploring themes, visuals, and statements. They are not always so cohesive when it comes to story, but they do so many other things right that you often don’t find yourself caring as much. Grade: B+.
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