S02.E01: House On The Rock

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

Following the epic showdown at Easter's party, Mr. Wednesday continues his quest to pitch the case for war to the Old Gods. Meanwhile, Mr. World plans revenge and Technical Boy goes on the hunt for Media.

Returning to our screens on Sunday, March 10, 2019.

[oldCJ]

Not feeling the new showrunner this season. The entire vibe is wrong. Also disappointing that Kristin Chenoweth and Gillian Anderson left. Maybe it’ll improve in the coming episodes. 

[AuntieMame]

I'm already heartbroken about no Kristen Chenowith because she really embodied the goddess of spring for me. I've noticed the changes of spring coming already and have tried to be mindfully grateful. I'll watch again and write more later in the day because I don't know what platforms have this up early. 

[starri]

I definitely noticed the change of tone, and parts of it did seem quite pedestrian, but I don't quite get the hate that all the critics seem to be feeling.  I knew the dreamy tone the first season had wouldn't be maintained, but even with weaker material, the actors sold it.

[mjc570]

I just watched it on Demand, and quite liked it.  It was pretty easy to follow, which I appreciate because I didn't read the book and am a pretty shallow watcher, so exposition is appreciated.  Not as manic or weird (not the right word, I know) as the 1st season, but great acting.  Actually, great casting across the board.  My only quibble - I thought the flaming eyes were distracting, unnecessary and poorly done. 

[LoveLeigh]

This was awful in my opinion. The final episode of last season showed them arriving at the House on the Rock, so why did this episode show them traveling to that destination? 

The segments seems very disconnected and it just was not all that interesting. I actually turned it off after half way in. 

Edited March 14, 2019 by DakotaLavender
typo

[WaltersHair]

Missing Kristen and Gillian Anderson was the reason I originally came.

BUT, I'm back and enjoyed the first episode. If the Leprechaun Sweeney (Dead Wife! will never get old) or Odin hadn't been back, it might have been a different story. And how is it the actress who plays Bilquis never ages?

[peridot]

3 hours ago, DakotaLavender said:

This was awful in my opinion. The final episode of last season showed them arriging at the House on the Rock, so why did this episode show them traveling to that destination? 

I thought that only Bilquis arrived at the house last season?  The others were still at Ostara's house.

I'm glad the new season is finally here.  It's a shame that we lost some of the actors, but I wanted to see the story continue.  It was interesting to see more gods appear.  What happens if a god dies?  Does this mean that all 3 sisters are dead as well?

Mr. World is pretty creepy.  I wonder why Media abandoned him, but Tech Boy stayed?

[preciousperfect]

I thought it was fine? Interested to see where the season goes. 

[WatchrTina]

Hmmmm.  I'm disappointed to find so little conversation here.  I'm glad the show is back but as episodes go I thought that was pretty slow . . . which is kind of sad since the encounter at The House on the Rock is one of the main set-pieces of the book.

I'm fairly certain that all the scenes involving Cloris Leachman were filmed separately.  You never see her at the diner until she is shot and then you only see her from the back in that set.  All the shots of her face are in close-up.  So I think they created that one, special set where she had her chat with Wednesday at the House on the Rock (Cherborg was there too) and then they filmed the close-ups of her death scene (again with just Cherborg and Wednesday) and then they used a body double for all the other scenes at the diner and photoshopped her three-in-one face into the "backstage" scenes.  I think it's great if they did that to make filming easier for her -- she is getting up there in years -- but the fact that THAT is what I focused on pretty much says it all.  I wasn't engaged in the plot so I was mentally deconstructing the production techniques.

BTW I could totally have lived without seeing that slo-mo of a guy's face being shot off and his brains landing on the table.  I know it was all fake but . . . ew.

Edited March 11, 2019 by WatchrTina

[LoveLeigh]

3 hours ago, peridot said:

I thought that only Bilquis arrived at the house last season?  The others were still at Ostara's house.

I'm glad the new season is finally here.  It's a shame that we lost some of the actors, but I wanted to see the story continue.  It was interesting to see more gods appear.  What happens if a god dies?  Does this mean that all 3 sisters are dead as well?

Mr. World is pretty creepy.  I wonder why Media abandoned him, but Tech Boy stayed?

Honestly, it has been two years since this show was on. I forgot much of it... but this episode was not for me. 

[hnygrl]

I’m gonna give it a chance. 

I noticed it strayed from the book completely. Took a serious left turn into obscurity there. Thing about season one? A lot of the dialogue was straight from the book.  This season thus far? After one episode? If you read the book you got confused at the shooting scene. 

And I agree. That was so fake. Looked like blueberries and  raspberries. Not blood and brains. 

The new writers/showrunners just threw out the source material to tell their own story. 

Dont know how I feel about it yet. I enjoyed it for what it was, but....we’ll  see...

Edited March 11, 2019 by hnygrl

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The carousel was so beautiful.

Sweeney never fails to amuse me. I loved the exasperated look on Laura's face when she got shot in the arm

It's been so long since S1 and I didn't bother doing a rewatch so I was a little worried that I would have trouble remembering everything, but it all came back pretty quickly (thank goodness).

[Haleth]

I intend to stick around.  There were quite a few laugh out loud lines (which of course I can't remember 11 hours later except for Sweeney calling Dead Wife "Road Kill Rhonda.")  Oh, and I laughed at Blackbriar subbing in for Greenbriar.

It hadn't occurred to me that Cloris wasn't on set, but that makes sense given her age.  I hope she is well.  RIP Russian goddess of the night (and probably her sisters too).  I won't even try to find her name.  (Incidentally, this goddess plays a large role in the third book of Katherine Arden's series that started with The Bear and the Nightingale in case anyone is interested.)

Yeah, I'll keep watching just for Sweeney and Mr Nancy if nothing else.

[terrymct]

1 hour ago, Haleth said:

Yeah, I'll keep watching just for Sweeney and Mr Nancy if nothing else.

... and Wednesday.  I'd watch Ian McShane read a phone book.

[Drogo]

Personally I think this show is just as beautiful and entrancing as it ever was. 

I wasn't as impressed as most by Gillian Anderson's Media so I won't miss her, and I didn't exactly form a bond with KC/Easter's in her 10 minutes onscreen in Season 1. 

3 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Sweeney never fails to amuse me

"Give the corpse a coin."  "Here I'll write you a fortune:  at some point in the near future I'll give the leprechaun back his coin." 

His face at the Laura/Bilquis smooch was everything. 

11 hours ago, peridot said:

I thought that only Bilquis arrived at the house last season?  The others were still at Ostara's house.

Correct, and Bilquis was only on her way there, on a bus.  Everyone arrived in the premiere.

3 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

The carousel was so beautiful.

I need to visit House on the Rock before I die, and I want to meet Czernobog there and buy him a beer and lots of cigarettes. 

[shockermolar]

13 hours ago, peridot said:

Mr. World is pretty creepy.  I wonder why Media abandoned him, but Tech Boy stayed?

I have a theory that Media vamoosed because Media is all about the sell. Before she knows how to sell she needs to see who ends up on top. Of course, logically I know she's gone because Anderson is gone. But that's my theory anyway.

[Bruinsfan]

13 hours ago, peridot said:

Mr. World is pretty creepy.  I wonder why Media abandoned him, but Tech Boy stayed?

My guess is that Media was shaken by one of her big successes at co-opting old religions being undone so quickly and easily. I noticed that they dramatically reduced the impact of Ostara holding the spring for ransom though—there was a background newscast about "thousands of acres" when the implication at the end of last season was that it might be all of America. (Of course it could also be that Media's just a lot smarter than Tech Boy.)

I'm a bit confused by the behind-the-scenes drama. I'd heard that Gaiman wasn't pleased by how Season 1 departed from his story, but this seemed to follow the book even less.

[arachne]

1 hour ago, Drogo said:

I need to visit House on the Rock before I die

I've been there, and it's pretty much like that. 

I thought this episode was okay, even with actors missing from last season. But I hope Media (the character) returns in some form this season; it would make no sense for her not to. 

[nodorothyparker]

I know I'm some kind of philistine in this fandom because while I thought the first season was beyond gorgeous to look at and I liked individual set pieces, none of it really registered on any emotional level for me except for the Laura and Mad Sweeney story.  So I didn't really go into this with a whole lot of expectations or attachment, particularly to the two departed actresses who were frankly little more than cameo players.

I'm not really sure I would have noticed any difference in visuals had I not known about Bryan Fuller's departure from the show or the backstage turmoil there.  It's been so long since I've read the book, that a lot of Mr. World's hamming it up onscreen just falls flat for me.  My nonbook reader husband is asking me specifics about him and I honestly can't remember much and don't much care.  I got my Mad Sweeney fix with all of the side-eye and covert attention he was paying to Shadow interacting with Laura, who still unsurprisingly isn't getting much back from him or where he is in this, and Sweeney's annoyance that after all the time he's put in for Wednesday he's seemingly been thrown over for this pretty but seemingly empty flavor of the month.  So needless to say, I'm good.

"You're a god but you can't open a fucking gate?"  Orlando Jones's Mr. Nancy is just glorious to watch.  Loved Laura getting the blank fortune as you might expect a corpse to and "in the very near future you'll give the fucking leprechaun his coin back, lie down, and rot."  Dead Wife, indeed.

[Haleth]

2 hours ago, Drogo said:

I need to visit House on the Rock before I die, and I want to meet Czernobog there and buy him a beer and lots of cigarettes

But don’t play checkers with him. 

[Drogo]

1 hour ago, Haleth said:

But don’t play checkers with him. 

I was leaning towards Wack-a-Mole. 

[DarkRaichu]

I haven't read the book and I thought the episode was ok.  In fact I did not know Andersen and Chenowith left until I read this thread. 😄

It was weird how last season recruiting Spring was such a big deal but in season 2 she was brushed away in 1 line.  Also, she already pissed of the new gods by her show of power last season but she did not go to the old gods' side afterall?  That does not make sense.

Also Odin only killed Mr. World's (dancing) proxies right?  How did that almost killed Mr. World himself ??

Mr. World was sending messages to Mr. Town to execute the assassinations. Was Mr Town the one pulling "beam me up Shadow" routine ?

I thought the carousel scene was good and the meeting of the old gods look great.  It made sense the backstage of Wednesday head would look like Vikings territory and Valhalla

Curious if the god killer bullets would kill Djinn and Sweeney, since they are technically not gods

I always enjoy Mr. Nancy on screen.  Noticed he kissed Bilquis' hand in respect.

Also, Bilquis's cell phone was doing something during the meeting at the diner.  That's how Mr. World figured out their exact location.

14 hours ago, WatchrTina said:

I'm fairly certain that all the scenes involving Cloris Leachman were filmed separately.

I noticed they never shot Cloris Lechman standing up

[Lemur]

1 hour ago, DarkRaichu said:

I noticed they never shot Cloris Lechman standing up

She apparently has very bad joints and mainly gets around via a scooter these days, as my Celebrity Wife Swap-watching mother has informed me. 

So many things rubbed me the wrong way in this episode, and so many rubbed me the right way so it's a mixed bag on my part.  Didn't like the whole "backstage" scene as it seemed forced and out of character of Shadow.  The diner assassination looked horrible.  I'm not a fan of the storyline with Bilquis.  I didn't particularly care for the vibe between Mad Sweeney and Dead Wife.  That said, Orlando Jones is still one of the funniest SOBs on television (and apparently he ad-libbed or wrote a good bit of his own dialogue).  The House on the Rock was visually stunning and the fortune teller scene was particularly well done.  

Hey ... anyone else notice that Salim, Sweeney and Dead Wife couldn't ride the carousel but Shadow could?  *raises eyebrow* 

[Drogo]

12 minutes ago, Lemur said:

Hey ... anyone else notice that Salim, Sweeney and Dead Wife couldn't ride the carousel but Shadow could?  *raises eyebrow* 

Because Wednesday told the Jinn not to let them in.

[WatchrTina]

I've been thinking about the show and I have a question.  The last scene of season 1 was Laura Moon raining on Wednesday's parade by merely clearing her throat.  She'd just learned that it was Wednesday who had arranged for her to be killed her and she had some questions for him.  Fast-forward to this episode and we see some awkwardness between everybody in the car but doesn't it seem like we missed an important scene?  Wouldn't Shadow be very angry to learn that Wednesday had had Laura killed? It seems clear that Laura was planning on bringing the topic up.  It feels weird that we never saw that confrontation.

And having learned that it was Sweeney who actually did the killing, she seems surprisingly not hostile to him.  I guess being dead gives you some perspective and makes you pretty "chill."  (Ba-dum ching!  I'll see myself out.)

Edited March 13, 2019 by WatchrTina

[tennisgurl]

Honestly I am just amazed that this show even has a second season, with all of the behind the scenes drama and people leaving, which must have seriously changed the plot they had for this season. You can really see the places where they tried to stitch together some plot threads into what they have now (like Easter and her plague not being such a huge deal now, and Media taking off) and that led to some issues with the pacing and character beats, but I still enjoyed it a lot. I just love this story and the vibe and the characters, and as long as they dont deviate too terribly from those things and the book that created them, I am along for this long ass car ride across America. 

The House on the Rock scene is one of the books most memorable, and I think they built up the House enough to really give a sense of what a strange, surreal place it is, and the carousel scene itself was great, it looked very beautiful and strange. I am concerned that the new show runners could be less interested in sticking to the original story, but I will wait and see how it goes. 

As much as the critics seemed to be hemming and hawing about how bad this was, I didnt really think it had a massive downside in quality. The actors are all still great, and the images are still creative and interesting. I really want to know who the other gods we briefly saw were! I might not want this show to deviate from the main plot of the book, but I am totally down for more gods and old mythological people and figures. The more the merrier! 

I am still forever amused by the Sweeny and Laura interactions. Her annoyed "really?" expression when she got shot in the arm made me giggle so much. She just has that Hungarian death goddess vibe. 

I went to House on the Rock a few years ago, and yes, it really is that weird and surreal. There is such much weirdness there, like a whole room made of stone like a cave, the infinity room, which is a hallway that sticks out from outside the house and looks like it goes on forever, the rooms filled with old automatons that play music, its a very strange place. Its the perfect place for this story, kitschy and mythical. And the carousel is huge! I didnt ride it though, I listen to signs, sorry Mr. Nancy! Its a strange and wondrous place, even without old gods hanging there. All the scenes there really took me back, and they were all really well done, especially the fortune telling machine. I played that game too! 

Some stuff that might be interesting in the context of the book...

Spoiler

I wonder if the shooting was orchestrated by Wednesday to push the old gods into siding with him? That seems very on brand for him and his plot from the books. Also the fortune about "like father like son" is a nice bit of foreshadowing what is to come for Shadow, especially as Wednesday was just talking to Laura about how he died and came back. And of course, who Shadows father is.

[formerlyfreedom]

I grew up an hour from The House on The Rock, so I've been there a few times. I highly recommend it, if you are into the strange - there's just no good way to explain it. The Rube Goldberg machine sticks in my mind years later.

I came into the episode nervous, and I'm so happy to report that I really enjoyed the it - Mad Sweeney and Laura, and his obvious infatuation with her - it's like watching middle schoolers with him, making eyes at Laura and then being mean to her. When Bilquis and Laura kissed? Loved it!

Glad to see all the returning cast - yes, no Easter which was disappointing, but I loved the bit with Mr. Nancy about Wednesday being a 'rabbit racist'. I'm on the fence about Media/Gillian Anderson - not that I had any problem with the character or her role, but I think it can be done by another actor, interpreting it in another way, without losing a lot? I dunno, maybe I'll be wrong, but I'm still on board, and anxious to see what happens!

[Normades]

Did anyone else catch how they used the neon Wisconsin sign, but framed it so that you only saw consin?  Interesting. Oh and one other thing.  Someone needs to tell Ian McShane how to pronounce Weeki Wachee.  I'm a native Floridian and that is not how we say it!!  It's Week - ee  Watch - ee.  But I do love Ian, so I'm going to excuse him this one time!!!

Edited March 12, 2019 by Normades
forgot about Weeki Wachee

[JayBird23]

Wow!  I got a free weekend of Starz and got to see Season 1 of AG--Loved it.  I've read the book and also loved it.  I also read Neverwhere which was also amazing.

Season 2 of Gods is not gonna live up to Season 1.   I realized this early on in the new episode.  When Nancy said Easter isn't coming it was disappointing.  The last scene of Season 1 was so powerful I needed the carryover with Easter.  

I didn't have a clue about how all the people behind Season 1 bailed because of disagreements with the producer.  I read up on all the stuff and it made sense why episode 1 of Season 2 was good but not great.

I think we will be taking a road trip with the crew, stopping at every attraction on the way and fighting constantly with the New Gods.  I think it may get tiring.  I'm sad.  Oh well, we'll always have season 1.  

[Haleth]

9 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

And the carousel is huge! I didnt ride it though, I listen to signs, sorry Mr. Nancy!

Do you mean that you really cannot ride that beautiful carousel?  What a waste!

[Lemur]

6 hours ago, JayBird23 said:

Wow!  I got a free weekend of Starz and got to see Season 1 of AG--Loved it.  I've read the book and also loved it.  I also read Neverwhere which was also amazing..  

Your next mission, should you choose to accept it, is to read Good Omens (Gaiman's collaboration with Terry Pratchett) before it debuts on Amazon Prime on 5/31.  

 

14 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I am concerned that the new show runners could be less interested in sticking to the original story, but I will wait and see how it goes. 

Gaiman was apparently on set and did extensive rewrites and acted as show runner for part of Season 2.  I think the bigger issue is Gaiman exploding the book into something bigger, as he's said that the television show is giving him a chance to expand the AG world, and unmanageable.  That's pretty much what the issue that killed the original production deal with HBO and Playtone.  Considering what Gaiman said about acting as sole show runner on Good Omens (namely that it was exhausting and he'd never do it again), I wonder if he's finally going to take Stephen King's advice on tv/film adaptions, meaning cash the check and stay out of the way of production.

[Normades]

25 minutes ago, Lemur said:

Your next mission, should you choose to accept it, is to read Good Omens (Gaiman's collaboration with Terry Pratchett) before it debuts on Amazon Prime on 5/31.  

I've currently chose to accept that mission.  I really love Neil Gaiman.  He's such a great writer.

[Bruinsfan]

The idea that some of the Weeki Wachee mermaids might be the genuine article amused me to no end. (I've visited that attraction too, and saw a small blue heron in flight that looked like a CGI effect so it really did feel like a magical place.)

[janey99]

14 hours ago, WatchrTina said:

I've been thinking about the show and I have a question.  The last scene of season 1 was Laura Moon raining on Wednesday's parade by merely clearing her throat.  She'd just learned that it was Wednesday who had arranged for her to be killed her and she had some questions for him.  Fast-forward to this episode and we see some awkwardness between everybody in the car but doesn't it seem like we missed an important scene?  Wouldn't Shadow be very angry to learn that Wednesday had had Laura killed? It seems clear that Laura was planning on brining the topic up.  It feels weird that we never saw that confrontation.

And having learned that it was Sweeney who actually did the killing, she seems surprisingly not hostile to him.  I guess being dead gives you some perspective and makes you pretty "chill."  (Ba-dum ching!  I'll see myself out.)

Wednesday had Laura killed, but at the same time revealed her to Shadow for who she was (a woman cheating on him with his best friend while he was in prison).  Maybe Shadow's lack of reaction or lack of care in the car scene is a reflection of what Wednesday also told him  - given the circumstances of her death, Shadow is only obligated to feel bad about it for so long.

[wanderingstar]

Not a bad return episode, though I did find some of the dialogue cringeworthy, specifically, Shadow's big speech to the Old Gods.

It was great seeing the majority of the cast together at The House on the Rock. 

I may be the only one who doesn't find Laura and Mad Sweeney all that interesting. 

RIP, Zorya Vechernyaya. I'll miss your flirting with Wednesday. Ian McShane remains a delight.

Yetide Badaki is stunningly beautiful and looked amazing in this episode.

[Drogo]

50 minutes ago, janey99 said:

Wednesday had Laura killed, but at the same time revealed her to Shadow for who she was (a woman cheating on him with his best friend while he was in prison). 

For me, that's not who Laura is- that's something she did.  People are more than their actions.  That said..

Who Laura is:  a woman who couldn't be happy living under a bridge with a man she loved, better known as a woman who let a man believe she loved him when she really didn't. 

[janey99]

35 minutes ago, Drogo said:

For me, that's not who Laura is- that's something she did.  People are more than their actions.  That said..

Who Laura is:  a woman who couldn't be happy living under a bridge with a man she loved, better known as a woman who let a man believe she loved him when she really didn't. 

True, good clarification.

[JayBird23]

8 hours ago, Lemur said:

Your next mission, should you choose to accept it, is to read Good Omens (Gaiman's collaboration with Terry Pratchett) before it debuts on Amazon Prime on 5/31.  

Gaiman was apparently on set and did extensive rewrites and acted as show runner for part of Season 2.  I think the bigger issue is Gaiman exploding the book into something bigger, as he's said that the television show is giving him a chance to expand the AG world, and unmanageable.  That's pretty much what the issue that killed the original production deal with HBO and Playtone.  Considering what Gaiman said about acting as sole show runner on Good Omens (namely that it was exhausting and he'd never do it again), I wonder if he's finally going to take Stephen King's advice on tv/film adaptions, meaning cash the check and stay out of the way of production.

Thanks for the recco!  While we are  at it, any other Gaiman work's you would say are must reads?  

Thanks in advance!!

[raven]

7 hours ago, janey99 said:

Maybe Shadow's lack of reaction or lack of care in the car scene is a reflection of what Wednesday also told him  - given the circumstances of her death, Shadow is only obligated to feel bad about it for so long.

I actually thought he was just weirded/creeped out because he thought she was dead, she IS dead, she LOOKS dead and apparently smells dead.  He did make sure she got down when the shooting started - though she wasn't in any danger.

I thought the ep was a bit messy but still looked good.  I wasn't attached/impressed with GA or KC (thought she was miscast) so I don't miss them.  As long as we have the leprechaun (I laughed so hard when the cigarette blew back into his face), Dead Wife, Mr. Wednesday, Anansi and Shadow (so pretty!) I'm good.   I also enjoyed Bilquis's role in this one as well.

Not a bad start.  I would like to visit House on the Rock. 

[JayBird23]

So Shadow is missing again.  That's the catch at the end of ep. 1, right?  I don't remember his disappearance in the book at House of Rock, right?  Is there another option besides his getting captured by the New Gods, again?  

Also, I'm a little worried the series is going to have Laura following too many ends.  I'm sure they will have her looking out for Shadow like the book.  Is it love, guilt, something else?  Still, Mad Sweeney and her relationship is a wining match, both much better actors than Shadow, but Shadow is supposed to be a puppy so I'll give him a break.  

The book has so much to draw from but sometimes the translation to film doesn't work.  Or, is there a way creative minds can always make it work?  

Oh well, see you Sunday!

Edited March 13, 2019 by JayBird23

[Kel Varnsen]

So far I enjoyed it I like Laura and her attitude to the whole gods thing. Although there is one thing I still don't understand. If Odin wants worshippers, why not just reveal yourself to a bunch of people and show off your god powers calling down thunder and shit. It has been decades since I read any mythology but didn't gods interact qith humans all the time?

23 hours ago, saoirse said:

I grew up an hour from The House on The Rock, so I've been there a few times. I highly recommend it, if you are into the strange - there's just no good way to  I'm on the fence about Media/Gillian Anderson - not that I had any problem with the character or her role, but I think it can be done by another actor, interpreting it in another way, without losing a lot? 

I really don't know why they couldn't recast Media. I mean Gillian Anderson is good but there are lot of other good actresses and actors out there. And all you need is a 2 second line about how media is constantly changing to explain it.

2 hours ago, raven said:

He did make sure she got down when the shooting started - though she wasn't in any danger.

I don't think that is totally true. Her body can still take damage. If she gets her head blown off into smal enough pieces they probably won't be able to put it back together. 

[JayBird23]

43 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

 really don't know why they couldn't recast Media. I mean Gillian Anderson is good but there are lot of other good actresses and actors out there. And all you need is a 2 second line about how media is constantly changing to explain it.

Maybe they thought it would be cheesy to keep the part and give it to another actress.  I think we can count on a new character to come in who has different but valuable qualities than she and is probably a lot meaner than Media. 

I'm still mad about not answering the Taking of Spring by Easter.  That was a powerful last scene in Season 1.  I was bummed about the Rabbit killing but a lot more bummed when Mr. Nancy said Easter wasn't coming.  Oh well, what can you do?

[Lemur]

On 3/12/2019 at 4:42 PM, JayBird23 said:

Thanks for the recco!  While we are  at it, any other Gaiman work's you would say are must reads?  

Thanks in advance!!

Anasi Boys, of course, especially after you get through American Gods.  Plus the two Shadow Moon short stories Monarch of the Glen and Black Dog.  I can honestly say I've enjoyed everything I've read by Gaiman.  The Ocean at the End of the Lane is totally underrated. Norse Mythology is also good, but if you're looking for a twist, see if you can find the BBC radio dramatization of it that was presented this past Christmas.  Really, really good stuff.  Half of the voice cast was from Game of Thrones.

 

23 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

So far I enjoyed it I like Laura and her attitude to the whole gods thing. Although there is one thing I still don't understand. If Odin wants worshippers, why not just reveal yourself to a bunch of people and show off your god powers calling down thunder and shit. It has been decades since I read any mythology but didn't gods interact qith humans all the time?

Sure, but the basic premise is that people have to sacrifice to the gods.  He's not going to feed off of the attention alone, if you know what I mean.  

[Bruinsfan]

It may be that faith without tangible confirmation is a necessary component for the gods to be able to benefit from people's worship.

I'm sad to see Gillian Anderson go as Media (she was so much of a treat in the role), but at least the character is one that lends itself to a new actress as mediums change so rapidly in today's world and constant changes of appearance/avatar were already established. The seams show a lot more with Kristin Chenoweth's Ostarra suddenly vanishing from the story.

Edited March 13, 2019 by Bruinsfan

[JayBird23]

5 hours ago, Lemur said:

Anasi Boys, of course, especially after you get through American Gods.  Plus the two Shadow Moon short stories Monarch of the Glen and Black Dog.  I can honestly say I've enjoyed everything I've read by Gaiman.  The Ocean at the End of the Lane is totally underrated. Norse Mythology is also good, but if you're looking for a twist, see if you can find the BBC radio dramatization of it that was presented this past Christmas.  Really, really good stuff.  Half of the voice cast was from Game of Thrones.

Thank You! Lemur!  I shall read all I can of this incredible author.  

[Kel Varnsen]

5 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

It may be that faith without tangible confirmation is a necessary component for the gods to be able to benefit from people's worship.

Maybe but it is not like the new gods rely on blind faith to get followers.  Plus like I said the old gods used to interact with humans right. It is hard to separate what I know about Norse mythology from Thor comics but the bible has a bunch of stories of Jesus doing miracles for his follwers. Why can't Odin just do that now.

[Miles]

This didn't quite work for me. Maybe it's because I know that Bryan Fuller was fired and it's all in my head, but it seemed to me like they were trying to copy his unique style, but just missing it completely. Even when episodes had their lengths in season one I was glued to the screen watching the spectacle play out. This episode I had massive trouble getting through. I did so finally in three sittings.

I'm not sure who is hard to work with here. On the one hand Fuller was fired from STD and this, but these are both notably troubled productions. STD a lot more so than american gods, but it's notable that they couldn't get Kristin Chenoweth or Gillian Anderson back for this season.

Even if Fuller should be the problem, I think he's generally worth it. There is no other show runner with his style and vision out there. I hope he can helm his next project for longer.

Regarding what happened in this episode: Why is Mr. World suddenly a dumbass? He has to know that killing gods is just going to unite the other gods against him, right?

On 3/10/2019 at 12:43 PM, oldCJ said:

Not feeling the new showrunner this season. The entire vibe is wrong. Also disappointing that Kristin Chenoweth and Gillian Anderson left. Maybe it’ll improve in the coming episodes. 

So it's not just me? Good to know. 🙂

On 3/11/2019 at 2:50 AM, peridot said:

I thought that only Bilquis arrived at the house last season?  The others were still at Ostara's house.

At the end of the episode you see a bunch of cars (including Shadow's/Odin's) and one horse drawn carriage arriving. The implication being that it's all the gods arriving.

I just looked up the end of that episode on Prime and man is it a massive difference in style. You can just feel it.

On 3/12/2019 at 3:22 AM, tennisgurl said:

I wonder if the shooting was orchestrated by Wednesday to push the old gods into siding with him?

I did wonder that too, but then the shooter had that beam-up-technology and that doesn't seem like something Wdnesday would have. That would just be bad writing if it turned out to be him, imo

Edited March 14, 2019 by Miles

[Kite]

It's been forever since the last season and I don't remember much, same goes for the book, so mea culpa for not understanding quite a bit of this episode. It did seem this episode whenever it could take the "edgy" option, it did on cue. Yes, life sucks and is mean and tough and then you die you'll learn kid etc. I tend to avoid a lot of books written by men. But importantly, it was leavened with humour and beauty.

I nerdily love alternate retellings with Norse mythology (like, reading Scandi language novels nerdy), so here I am despite the show not being quite up my alley. I LOVED the dream Asgard sequence with the emptiness and grandeur and cold and skulls rolling around on the beach, and the reality-bending scene of all the gods in full aspect with flaming eyes. Gods are not usually shown or written very well as gods, as avatars of power and belief, I liked how this was done, 8/10.

I LOVE Mr Nancy, I could watch him all day. Just, so great. Favourite character.

Come on Shadow, I know you're meant to be the audience avatar, but the bemusement is getting to me. You're not THAT much of a babe in the woods, especially by now.

I don't feel much affinity for US culture, I feel it would really help if I did, it's a homage.

The brains looked just like the defrosted mixed berries on my breakfast.

In general I really like the surrealism, like a free drug trip, I just half-arsedly couldn't figure out what was going on half the time.

[hnygrl]

Can't wait to meet New Media! I think she's going to kick ass and take names!

Old Media was more Television, Movies, radio, newspapers, stuff like that.

New Media (I think) will be edgier, meaner, sharper. She's all streaming and social media, the internet and wi-fi. Amazon and Email. Right up there w/Technical Boy. I'd love to see her take him down a peg or three...