“Git Gone,” episode four of American Gods, was the best, most thoroughly developed episode of the series thus far. This episode has massive shoes to fill, following one that provides focus and depth to a singular character. “Lemon Scented You” has teased another appearance by Gillian Anderson, so it’s safe to say we’re expanding back into the full-blown god universe.
Another side story takes us to a frigid winter in ancient Siberia, where a burial takes place for an infant. This heavily animated sequence follows a clan who ventures to a desolate badlands, so the leader prays to an old god for answers and receives guidance that also means death. The lesson of this tale is that “gods are great, but people are greater.” Over time, all gods can be forgotten.
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The Walking Undead
We’re back with Laura awaiting Shadow’s return in a hotel room, with a makeshift fly trap snatching up the pests. Shadow walks in and sees her on the bed in one of her best dresses and casually greets her with, “Hey, baby. What you doin’ here?” He throws a pillow at her to see if she’s real. After everything Shadow has seen and done, it’s no wonder he’s slightly underwhelmed at his late wife’s undead appearance.
Laura plays off her martial indiscretions with her remarkable resurrection, but Shadow isn’t having it. He asks her how long she waited for him, and she tells Shadow that she began sleeping with Robbie 13 months after Shadow went to prison, after the cat’s death. Visibly vibrating with agitation, Shadow continues to calmly ask Laura questions about what happened to her and gets a play-by-play of the blow job car accident. If I were Shadow, I’d divorce Laura simply on the merit of her incessant insistence on calling him ‘Puppy.’
At the Starbrite Hotel, Shadow fulfills Laura’s request for cigarettes, all while being observed by someone in an unknown black car. When he returns to his room, Laura is in the bathtub in the hopes that she will be warm in case he wants to touch her. In response, Shadow places her wedding ring on the counter and tells her that he had a feeling he would never see her again the last time they talked on the phone. Autopsy stitches and all, Laura makes a move on Shadow. Her chest glows as they kiss, and it’s apparent that her connection with him is tied to her life force.
Laura thanks Shadow for the coin and asks him if he still belongs to her, and he surprisingly says no. A raven shows up at Mr. Wednesday’s door to deliver some surprising news. Mr. Wednesday shows up at Shadow’s hotel room and asks him out for a drink. When Shadow turns him down, Mr. Wednesday gets the hint that Shadow has seen something shocking, but the two are interrupted by police officers. The cops arrest Shadow for bank robbery and take them both away.
A Slave to Technology
The god of technology heads through a parking lot when the lights shut down one by one, and he is taken by a device similar to his own. It turns out he’s grabbed by the goddess of media, who chastises him like a child for picking fights and instructs him to apologize to Mr. Wednesday and Shadow. She insists that his interrogation strategies have fueled the fire of the old gods instead of dampening it.
At the precinct, Shadow requests a lawyer since he’s starting to be questioned about his boss. Mr. Wednesday pretends to be an elderly man suffering from dementia in the meantime. When asked what he’s doing in Chicago, Mr. Wednesday actually tells the truth, that he’s attempting to recruit the god of death for a war with the new gods.
A fax machine that hasn’t functioned in years sent the Chicago police Shadow’s whereabouts, which the cop finds suspicious. Meanwhile, Laura continues to soak in the tub but is interrupted by the Leprechaun, who wants his coin back. It turns out said coin is the source of Laura’s resurrection — her beating heart, if you will. The Leprechaun reveals that he mistakenly gave Shadow the wrong coin, but Laura is not impressed. She begins to question him about the job Shadow is performing.
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The Lucky Unlucky
Laura realizes that the Leprechaun can only get his coin back when she gives it to him freely, but he seems confident that her reanimated body will soon fail her. Right as the Leprechaun is attempting to drown her in the tub, the cops bust in and arrest him.
The lady cop reunites Shadow and Mr. Wednesday, and Shadow confronts him about the fear he sees in Wednesday’s eyes. The lights dim, and the media goddess saunters in as Marilyn Monroe. Suddenly, the televisions shut off as the creepiest man in the universe approaches and addresses Mr. Wednesday and apologizes for not reaching out to him sooner. The mystery man confronts Shadow Moon and begins to recite detailed information about Shadow’s being before being interrupted by Media again.
The Technical Boy is called in to apologize to Shadow for the lynching. Mystery Man offers up Technical Boy to be punished. And when Shadow turns him down, he then approaches Mr. Wednesday to offer up his assistance. The new gods offer up a coexisting merger to Mr. Wednesday, and the Mystery Man reveals himself as Mr. World. Media presents a colorful, unicorn-laden proposal for the collaboration, but Mr. Wednesday shuts them down. He insists that the new gods only serve to occupy their time, but the old gods gave people meaning.
When Technical Boy confronts Mr. World about apprehending Mr. Wednesday while they have him, Media and Mr. World give Techno Boy a nice slap in the mouth after he rebukes Mr. World’s explanation that Wednesday is full of age and wisdom and deserves their respect. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right?
After the new gods leave, Wednesday and Shadow make their move to escape, but it’s not difficult to manage since every cop in the precinct has been killed. Just as another cop pulls up with Leprechaun in the back seat, Shadow appears to be suffering from sharp pains as a growing, animated tree chases them. The Leprechaun breaks out of the cop car and escapes.
A worker at the morgue investigates a disturbance, only to witness Laura breaking out of where her dead body is being stored yet again. She gazes at her reflection in the mirror and gives it a kiss before examining another dead woman’s body and stealing a bag of blood.
Each episode of American Gods still serves up more questions than it answers, but the dish is delightful enough to keep getting hungry for more.
How long do you think Laura will be able to keep herself alive? Will she be able to get Shadow to forgive her? Do you think Techno Boy will keep following the rules or go rogue? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
American Gods season 1 airs Sunday nights at 9/8c on Starz. Want more news? Like BuddyTV’s Facebook page.
(Image courtesy of Starz)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
