S03.E01: A Winter's Tale

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Wednesday reappears in Shadow's life, wanting him to continue his war effort; Shadow learns about his destiny after a meeting with the god Wisakedjak.

Sneak peeks:

Trick:

Visit:

Original air date: 1/10/21

[ElectricBoogaloo]

It's been so long since S2 that I'd temporarily forgotten major things (like that Mads Sweeney was dead). I was surprised that Laura was so determined to kill Wednesday that she finally gave up the coin.

Poor Shadow. He thought he'd escaped Wednesday's clutches and found a normal life, only to have him pop up again and manipulate circumstances to force Shadow to do what he wanted as usual.

As much as I like Dominique Jackson, the Ms. World scene went on too long for my taste. I get it. The new gods want to win the war. They just say the same thing over and over!

Bilquis looked amazing as usual (as did Ms. World) but I was more interested in her gorgeous place (and the beautiful transition from Shadow at the northern lights to her apartment) than her conversation with Technical Boy.

[juno]

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

It's been so long since S2 that I'd temporarily forgotten major things (like that Mads Sweeney was dead). I was surprised that Laura was so determined to kill Wednesday that she finally gave up the coin.

Not only giving up the coin but then losing it before bringing back Sweeney (so far).

Even thought this show is like one long road trip it is still compelling and Shadow (Mike) is a great character. I wonder if the theme of this show is waiting for war and talking about it endlessly and visiting people and talking about war some more. If so it will get old eventually until this war actually occurs.

Luckily the cast is pretty great and if I don't have to see Glover and his angry whisper and angry whisper face that is a win.

[mjc570]

I had forgotten how  gorgeous Ricky Whittle is - wow, I completely empathized with those girls at the bus.  

Story-wise, at least it was coherent.  I would have liked more Graham Greene, he was a good reminder of Defiance.  Had to laugh at Laura completely screwing up her sacrifice by not making sure Sweeney had the coin.  I guess there is no hope of her resurrecting, but hope to see him soon.  

Great cast, too bad the writing isn't quite up to their level..  I'm sure there was a lot I missed in this episode, but I'm glad the show's back.  I had written it off after last season. 

[hnygrl]

They got me wondering what in the world they're gonna do next since, ya know, they have like 80 to 90% strayed from the original...we are in adaptation territory now...

[T Summer]

Since the coin was able to start glowing and slip  down through the earth,  make it's way through Laura Moon's casket  and into her body where it seems to reside in her core or solar plexus... I first thought she might get up  on top of Mad Sweeney  and line up that part of her body with his to see what that might do?

I wonder how it will get back inside her where she  needs  it to be to be sort of alive?

 

Do those bugs  in the tomb they made sure we saw have something to do with it?

 

We know Bilquis  (for one) has said to Laura Moon I know where to find you.

 

Laura left the door open, does Baron Samedi's lady friend come see what she's up to?

 

 

[isalicat]

Its been a while since I have read the book (twice, but a couple of years ago most recently) so I am not unhappy with whatever is going on that is not "canon" to the novel. I thought episode one of season 3 was highly entertaining and I'm just glad this particular cast of characters (especially Mr. Wednesday) is back on my screen.

[tennisgurl]

If that is really the end of Laura and Mad Sweeney, its kind of funny that what finally killed Laura was her own lack of planning with the coin. Hopefully we at least get a little bit of closure with them later, even if they cant be resurrected. 

This show has had a lot of changes and as much as I love the book and the first season, season two was a disappointment, so I am curious to see where this season goes. It already seems way more coherent than much of season two, probably helped by them actually getting back to the plot of the book again. Even with how weird this show got last season (and the behind the scenes issues) I love these actors, characters, and story, so I am still excited to see what happens this season. Already they seemed to be doing a better job at balancing the stylistic moments (I especally loved the raven shadow over the map when Shadow was traveling and the transition into Bilquis's lair) with the actual plot. 

I like the new Ms. World, but that scene went on way too long. We get it, the gods are itching for a fight, the New Gods love social media, we all get the point, there is a lot of other stuff we could be doing. 

Book Spoilers: 

Spoiler

Very cool seeing Lakeside at last as well as book characters like Whiskey Jack, Chad Mulligan, and of course Hinzelmann. Interesting that they gender flipped Hinzelmann here, it should work well enough as I don't think Hinzelmann's gender will change much about their plot. 

 

[nodorothyparker]

I only checked in with this episode because I wanted to see if the show would be offering any sort of resolution with the Laura and Mad Sweeney story, which is about the only thing on this show that ever resonated on any emotional level with me. The show, like the book, has a great premise that I think it mostly squanders for big character set pieces and eye-popping visuals. But in the end there's very little there, or heart, there. This episode did at least feel a little more cohesive and less scattershot than most of season 2, but that's not a super high bar at this point. It's still mostly Wednesday being a preening jackass while trying to strongarm other gods who don't like him into a war they're clearly not interested in fighting as they hang onto scraps of a world that's moved on from them, rinse and repeat. But hi, Graham Greene. Always nice to see you still getting work.

At least Laura's consistent in doing something without really thinking it all the way through first. Her end, if it truly is her end, had a wonderfully twisted Romeo and Juliet quality about it right down to the bodies laid out side by side before she disintegrated. I did laugh at her haphazardly pushing a barely concealed corpse through a New Orleans cemetery and getting little more than half a second of side-eye about it.

I like Bilquis and how she's trying to adapt her sense of her self and her "worshippers" to the modern world, but the lighting in the scene at her home base was terrible. Half the time I could barely make her out.

[T Summer]

From the season 3 trailer we see Laura Moon dressed in winter clothing holding what looks to be Grimnir's sword saying I'm going to kill Wednesday.

 

Also the actress who plays Laura Moon is listed as appearing  in  the next ten 2021 episodes. I'm glad it's not the end of Laura Moon, though I'll miss her interaction with Mad Sweeney.

Edited January 15, 2021 by T Summer
added Mad Sweeney comment

[AnimeMania]

10 minutes ago, T Summer said:

From the season 3 trailer we see Laura Moon dressed in winter clothing holding what looks to be Grimnir's sword saying I'm going to kill Wednesday.

 

Also the actress who plays Laura Moon is listed as appearing  in  the next ten 2021 episodes.

Did she look a little ashy in the trailer?

[T Summer]

4 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

Did she look a little ashy in the trailer?

I just rewatched it and she's in a scene before and after the one I referenced above. She looks well!

 

There's a scene where she has something dark brown draped over her and she looks pretty glowy. That may be inside the tomb... it's hard to tell.

Where she's  walking along in winter clothing carrying the sword she looks  alive, but cold.

Then she's  riding in a car with who I guess is the new Leprechaun and she looks quite normal and alive.

 

 

[WatchrTina]

Aaaaand we're back. Random thoughts (some of them shallow.)

Dear GOD, just when I thought Ricky Whittle couldn't get any better looking they gave him hair and . . . damn.  At first I thought the texture was a bit off but then I THINK I recollected that Shadow and his mother are part native American (hence the thick, black, straight black hair she passed on to her son.)  So I approve.  And if I'm remembering incorrectly -- or getting mixed up with book!Shadow -- then I guess I'll have to rationalize that he got that hair from his dad.

Did you notice that Shadow and Wednesday were wearing matching jackets?  Aw . . . like mother-daughter matching dresses.  

That being said, is it my imagination or is Wednesday looking a bit worse for wear?

Ms. World!  Well that came as a surprise.  But I loved Dominique Jackson in "Pose" where she was the embodiment of the word "imperious" so she's perfectly cast as the demanding and unforgiving Mr/Ms World.  That being said, I rather enjoyed Crispin Glover chewing up the scenery as Mr. World last season so I'm hoping we'll see him again.

Oh Shadow . . . first you get manipulated into going to Lakeside, then the damned key breaks in the lock (I suspect a mischievous local spirit that doesn't like strangers), and then someone sticks a rifle in the back of your skull.  Dude canNOT catch a break.

By the way Wednesday -- don't think that we (Shadow & I) didn't notice that you failed to answer the question when Shadow asked "What am I?"

Graham Greene can appear on my screen any time he wants.  I hope that's not the last we see of him.

Bruce Langley as Technical Boy never disappoints but that sweater was doing half the work for him.  That was COOL.

[lightninggirl]

13 hours ago, WatchrTina said:

Dear GOD, just when I thought Ricky Whittle couldn't get any better looking they gave him hair and . . . damn. 

That being said, is it my imagination or is Wednesday looking a bit worse for wear?

 I rather enjoyed Crispin Glover chewing up the scenery as Mr. World last season so I'm hoping we'll see him again.

Graham Greene can appear on my screen any time he wants.  I hope that's not the last we see of him.

I wasn't here for Ricky's hair in the previews, and I'm still not sure if I like it. I'm 100% willing to forget about it when I see him, however. He's blessed, that man. Truly blessed, as are the rest of us.

I noticed the same about Wednesday, but Ian McShane is 78 years old and kicking ass as Wednesday. I wonder if it's also because he's gone from suits to rolling around in Uggs. I did notice that even though he looked like he's aged since S2, he's pretty damn spry. He moves better than my husband, who is 30 years younger than Ian.

Agreed on Crispin Glover ... he was perfectly cast IMO, and seems to be popping up in future episodes. 

And TRIPLE YES to Graham Greene! I completely fangirl squee'd when he appeared. He is so good.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Messiah:

War:

Ms. World:

Inside the episode:

 

[Joimiaroxeu]

Is that Ricky Whittle's real hair or is he wearing a wig? Either way, it's distracting for me.

Nice of them to bring Pablo Schreiber back just to play Mad Sweeney's corpse for a few minutes.

Guess the boss doesn't like being questioned by her employees. Ms. World says, consider that your final performance review.

When Bilquis showed Technical Boy the vision of war I half expected him to come out of it and yell, "Again!"

How does Wednesday have such a young "fiance"? Am I missing something there?

Glad this show is back.

[WatchrTina]

On 1/23/2021 at 1:09 PM, Joimiaroxeu said:

How does Wednesday have such a young "fiance"? Am I missing something there?

That Wednesday has a "fiancee" is the surprise.  That must have happened off-camera during the time when Shadow's hair was growing out.  The fact that she is inappropriately young is pretty much par for the course for Wednesday.  We saw him hooking up with a twenty-something in season 1 and Shadow's mother was clearly much younger than him (he's a timeless god so he would have been the same "age" when he fathered Shadow as he is now).  And there are (alas) PLENTY of men in the world who think dating a woman who is 20, 30, or even 40 years younger is completely appropriate

All that being said, I don't think she is really his fiancee.  They may be knocking boots and he may be calling her that but I don't think Wednesday is the marrying kind and I also didn't get the vibe that his driver takes the title of fiancee seriously.

 

ETA:  I just watched the ep again and noticed a cool bit of cinematic trickery that they've used in the past.  Pay attention to the aspect ratio.  When Shadow and Wednesday go "backstage" to visit the Native American deity the aspect ratio of the screen changes so that there is a black band at the top at bottom of the screen (like you see when a film is aired on television in it's original aspect ratio.)  The same thing happens when TechBoy has his "bad trip" courtesy of Bilquis.  We've seen this bit of trickery before -- they used it when showing the flashback to the Vikings in season one.  And like that episode, they "break" the aspect ratio by allowing something from the scene to fly into the black band area, as if it has escaped from the scene.  In the Vikings scene it was a severed arm (still clutching a sword) that flies into the black band area.  In this episode it is blood splashes (when TechBoy has a vision of being shot in the jungle) that "escape" from the scene into the black band area.  Loved it.  This show is so cool to look at.

Edited January 27, 2021 by WatchrTina

[LoveLeigh]

On 1/10/2021 at 12:22 PM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

It's been so long since S2 that I'd temporarily forgotten major things

How did I miss that this show is even back? Now I am binge watching to episode 5. How did I miss 5 episodes? 

And I too have to go back to season 2 for a refresher course. 

This is a beautifully presented genre show. The art direction is magnificent.