Serie - American Gods : the new phenomenal serie

By Mulder, Los Angeles, 08 may 2017

We have been able to watch the fourth episode of this new series before it aired on TV

Neil Gaiman, he can spin a long, beautiful, detailed yarn of a story. This is one of many books that should become some sort of series, but this is one of the shorter ones that I hope they will continue to do it well. I’m going to try to avoid spoilers for you, because it’s a completely new world that you should see.

It starts pretty basic, in fact it’s a pretty slow start, but that’s nice because for anyone trying to understand (like the main character, Shadow Moon), it keeps it open. It is like you are in his feet, not understanding who these people are and what the fuck is going on (swearing is allowed, if you plan on watching this).

We see a group of Vikings, and they are vicious to the end to get what they want, even though it’s a short intro. They can’t get into the land that they have discovered, and it is amazing what they force themselves to do, to get their God’s attention to get home, although I’m more curious on what was on the island itself.

You know something is unusual with our main character with a name like Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle), because through his whole life he could’ve changed it. Let’s be honest, if you were named Shadow Moon as a child, would you change your name the day you turned 18? You meet a man (is he a man?) named Wednesday (Ian McShane), who wants Shadow to work for him, and can make apparently, anything he wants happen. It’s an odd combo, Shadow is a man trying to make a clean life, and for some reason Mr. Wednesday is extremely focused on hiring him, making a habit of appearing everywhere he goes until he agrees. All I will tell you about him is that he’s getting a gathering of specific characters in mind, he does not list any information past that. Shadow concedes in the end to the job because he has nothing else to lose, has no belief in what he sees, and because the pay is good.

You meet a couple of characters along the way that you know aren’t human, and the portrayal of them is archaic, frightening and beautiful. Nothing says good TV more than a goddess (another ?) Bilquis (Yetide Badaki), reminding you of a succubus, but with more power. If you don’t love an Irish leprechaun named Mad Sweeney (Pablo Schreiber), who’s got way entirely too much sport about him, well, then get off this planet. He’s got just the right amount of spunk to turn into an amazing character that I definitely want to see more of. He pokes at Shadow in just the right way, and they fight and drink over a leprechaun trick that Shadow wants to learn, in the end he wakes up with a leprechaun gold coin, but doesn’t remember anything he learned. That’s a small spoiler, but we just want to point out that while Shadow is at his wife’s grave, he flips the gold coin into the dirt, and you see it sink quickly into the dirt.

There’s the Techno Boy, who is apparently part of another world, his physical image literally shifts back and forth from an 8bit image to a regular high def boy, and he has all these blank faced lackeys. Perhaps these are beings that he has just programed into the world? Either way, he is at odds with Mr. Wednesday, and has a negative run in with Shadow. Apparently, there is another tech team member named Media (Gillian Anderson!), she appears to be in the same area as the Technical Boy, but has more class and restraint. Maybe she’s on neither side, but technological items and media on screens seem to run hand in hand, right?

Terrible start for poor Shadow Moon’s entrance back into the world, having to deal with a situation with his wife Laura (Emily Browning), and I can’t wait to see her, along with the other exceptional cast in this series. You will also see their short lived friendship with their married neighbors Audrey (Betty Gilpin) & Robbie (Dane Cook). I say the phrase short lived because it seems like they have a normal life for a minimum amount of time. You see his overflowing, out of control affection for her, and her dissatisfaction for the world.

There’s another short story of a small boat coming across the seas, this time it’s a boat full of slaves being shipped over in 1697, and in answer to one of the slave’s prayers a man/spider Ananse, Mr. Nancy (Orlando Jones) appears in modern clothing. He brings them to a riot, to overthrow their captors and burn the ship with themselves on it, with of course this spider transfiguring man escaping on land.

There are characters that appear to be from middle east lands and myths, the Jinn, and characters called Mr. Ibis (Demore Barnes) and Mr. Jacquel (Chris Obi), referring to Egyptian gods. You see these characters in passing, and more like what their normal purpose in the show is versus what their future purpose is.

The following family though is my favorite lineup. Mr. Wednesday is requesting Czernobog (Peter Stormare) to be included in his mystery upcoming event. This family also includes the 3 sisters, Zorya Vechernyaya (Cloris Leachman, LOVE her), Zorya Utrennyaya (Martha Kelly), and Zorya Polunochnaya (Erika Kaar), all of them can read fortunes and see glimpses of the future, but the future is always changing. The eldest sister tells Wednesday he will lose, and the youngest sister gives Shadow a piece of luck, which is good since he tossed the one from the leprechaun away. And just why did it sink into the dirt?

There is a quote stated that is so amazing and so fitting to everything you have seen up to this point. I even wrote it down on a scrap of paper when I first heard it. “There are bigger sacrifices one might be asked to make, other than going a little mad (ie. insane).” I hope there are many more episodes in the season, because it is given the detail it deserves which takes a little more time. I can’t wait to see more!

Synopsis:
When Shadow Moon is released from prison, he meets the mysterious Mr. Wednesday and a storm begins to brew. Little does Shadow know, this storm will change the course of his entire life. Left adrift by the recent, tragic death of his wife, and suddenly hired as Mr. Wednesday’s bodyguard, Shadow finds himself in the center of a world that he struggles to understand. It’s a hidden world where magic is real, where the Old Gods fear both irrelevance and the growing power of the New Gods, like Technology and Media. Mr. Wednesday seeks to build a coalition of Old Gods to defend their existence in this new America, and reclaim some of the influence that they’ve lost. As Shadow travels across the country with Mr. Wednesday, he struggles to accept this new reality, and his place in it.

American Gods
Based on American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Developed by Bryan Fuller, Michael Green
Composer Brian Reitzell
Starring Ricky Whittle (Shadow Moon), Emily Browning (Laura Moon / Essie Tregowan), Crispin Glover (Mr World), Bruce Langley (Technical Boy), Yetide Badaki (Bilquis), Pablo Schreiber (Mad Sweeney), Ian McShane (Mr. Wednesday)