S02.E02: The Beguiling Man

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

Promising vengeance for the death of a beloved old god, Mr. Wednesday begins preparation for a great battle; Laura and Mad Sweeney chase Shadow's diminishing light after he disappears.

Airing Sunday, March 17, 2019. PLEASE NOTE: This episode may be released on demand before airing on Sunday evening. Entering the topic will spoil you if you enter prior to viewing. Thank you!

 

[formerlyfreedom]

Hey, it's Mayhem!

[starri]

There is something so charming about the djinn and Salim going on their own roadtrip together.

[WaltersHair]

Quote

Hey, it's Mayhem!

That's Mister Mayhem to you, 😉

Much less enthralled this week. I read the book over two years ago and I don't remember any of this being a part of it.

ETA: When Odin said berserker, it pinged my memory and I kept thinking WHERE have I heard that before.

the movie Clerks. Friggin Clerks!

Edited March 18, 2019 by WaltersHair

[marleyfan]

I laughed when Mad Sweeney called Laura  'manky wife' (closed captioning said manky)

Edited March 19, 2019 by marleyfan

[formerlyfreedom]

As always, loved Sweeney and Dead Wife's interactions. They really seem to be developing quite the friendship. And Mr. Nancy and Wednesday on a roadtrip was fun - I liked it when Nancy realized where Wednesday was going with the car on the tracks, and he was all sorts of outta there.

I don't know if anyone else could truly play Mr. World besides Crispin Glover. He has the right kind of quiet, disturbed menace, with just a sliver of joviality for the role. I really wanted Bilquis to go to town on him. A-hem.

Technical Boy chasing Media, well that could get dull quick, so I hope Media shows up soon.

I didn't realize at first (I missed something obviously) that the young man was Shadow with his mother. I must have looked away at a key moment or missed something. The second time I watched, it was better, although all the hitting and the bloody saliva...well, I did sign up for this show but sometimes. As far as the second season storyline,

Spoiler

from what I have read, including an after show interview with Rickey Whittle, they are diverging from the book a bit, and I'm okay with that. I think sometimes, it just means we're getting a slightly different story, it doesn't make it lesser.

Also, Dean Winter as Mr. Town - I'm still thinking about this one. I love me some Dean Winter, but because it was Dean Winter, I'm not sure if this was a great idea or not. Will continue to think on this.

[arachne]

Eeeee, this episode was more violent than usual; I was scrunching my eyes pretty often. (Okay, I'm a bit of a wuss.) 

Gut-wrenching flashbacks about young Shadow and his mom.

Anyone figure out what Mr. Town is supposed to be? Is he a new god, or just a person working for Mr. World?

[hnygrl]

I'm going to have to do for this series what I had to do for Ready Player One: Consider it not an adaptation OF the book, but an Homage TO the book cause this series just threw the book out the car window along with the chicken (laughed SO hard at that). I think I'll enjoy it more if I look at it that way and not be so sad at how far it's fallen from season one - which was damn near word-for-word straight outta the book.

I liked it. I like Technical Boy flexing on Media that way: "You don't know who you messin' wit" That was very...satisfying...Still, don't see the point in the torture of Shadow. WHY???? He knows literally NOTHING and you'd think a friggin' GOD would get that by now. That was unnecessary and stupid and it's just gonna piss Odin/Wednesday alllll the way off and he's the god of war and death so it ain't gone be pretty.

Edited March 19, 2019 by hnygrl
finally thought of the word!

[JayBird23]

3 hours ago, hnygrl said:

I'm going to have to do for this series what I had to do for Ready Player One: Consider it not an adaptation OF the book, but an Homage TO the book cause this series just threw the book out the car window along with the chicken (laughed SO hard at that). I think I'll enjoy it more if I look at it that way and not be so sad at how far it's fallen from season one - which was damn near word-for-word straight outta the book.

I think we will have to accept that Season 2 is gonna be a bit choppy.  I'm not upset about temporary departures from the book but I feel this episode, with the exception of Mad Sweeney and Laura, was just okay. 

Shadow's always in the wrong place at the wrong time and now he's being tortured for info he is unaware of by Mr. Town, who I'm used to seeing on an Allstate Insurance commercial stealing a car.   It's a bit messy. 

All the best actors were not really featured in this episode.  I thought the Shadow flashbacks were a bit tiresome and tenuous.  Laura is killing it, though.  I know she's not in the book that much but American Gods has become her show.

What I started off saying is, with all the problems the show had trying to get Season 2 done, I think we got to cut it some slack.  There will be much to keep us entertained, but it's not gonna be a smooth ride. 

Let's just hope the show gets through this season and gets the green light for Season 3.  It can hire the right people and really find itself, with a good balance between the book and the new vision of the series.  

The right Showrunner can turn the future of American Gods into a real winner.  Keep Gaiman involved, of course, but find someone who can work with him and make it magic. 

Green and Fuller (Season 1 Showrunners) were very good, awesome at times, but I believe there is someone who can do even better.  Alexander (who replaced Green and Fuller) tried to mend what was already written with some new ideas and this is what I think we are seeing in Season 2.  

If my hunch is right, Season 2 will improve, at least at times.  I want to believe tonight's episode may be the weakest.  Go easy on the flashbacks and get back to the present with more incorporation of the book.  I believe there is hope. 

And, I know Alexander got clipped at some point in Season 2 and Gaiman took the controls., more or less.  I have a feeling Season 2 ends strong.  There are limitless possibilities with such a gripping book as a guide.  There's got to be material for at least Season 4.   And I'm sure we could stretch it much longer without abandoning the main story line provided in Gaiman's masterpiece.  

Unfortunately, Season 1 left us hanging with Easter taking Spring and Laura's finding out it was Wednesday who ordered her death.   Then, after two years of floundering, the series resumes last week and doesn't resolve what they left hanging. 

The critics, and you really can't blame them, are slamming season 2, with the assumption American Gods lost it's creative minds and best role actors, Media and Easter.  

However, the critics are not going to reflect what the fans think because I'm a fan and there is enough here to keep me invested.  I still enjoyed tonight's episode despite it's holes.  Laura and Mad Sweeney were magical together and the pictures were still really beautiful and really gory.  Can't wait until next week. 

Edited March 18, 2019 by JayBird23

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ryan O'Reily! Hey, dummy!

I know Crispin Glover has made a career of playing creeps, but I am already tired of his constant whispering.

5 hours ago, JayBird23 said:

Let's just hope the show gets through this season and gets the green light for Season 3. It can hire the right people and really find itself

The show has already been renewed for S3 and they have announced the new showrunner:

Quote

The Fremantle-produced Starz television series based on the Neil Gaiman novel has officially been picked up for a third season and has tapped Charles “Chic” Eglee to lead the season as showrunner and executive producer. The news comes less than a week after the show launched its second season.

He will now be the third showrunner at the helm of the series. Bryan Fuller and Michael Green served as co-showrunners during the first season but departed over clashes with Fremantle over the show’s budget and creative direction. Jesse Alexander shepherded “Gods” through its second season, but he was reportedly sidelined during production without being officially let go.

[Haleth]

I hoped they wrap up the story this season.  Much as I love the various road trips it's already starting to be redundant.  And I guess we're done with the opening stories of the lost gods?  That's too bad since it gave the characters some context.

Of course the acting is still superb.  Ian McShane is a god and the actors playing Sweeney, dead wife, World, and Nancy are all wonderful.  Very cool to add Winters to the mix, because of course Mayhem is a new world god.

[nodorothyparker]

I get what the show was going for with the long flashbacks showing us that Shadow never really fit in anywhere and only had his mother before her untimely death, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that it was a bit of a slog to sit through.  My attention kept drifting and it made this episode feel a lot more like a series of disjointed vignettes than anything resembling a cohesive story as a result.

I know Dean Winter has had a long career playing lots of different roles, but all I could see here was Mayhem from the Allstate commercials.  Which might be an inspired bit of casting or not, I'm not sure.  I kept waiting for the character to needlessly crash a car or fall through a roof or something.  Again, there's no clear explanation of who or what Mr. Town is and I can barely remember him from the book, which they're apparently only using as a guideline anyway.

Mr. Nancy griping about only being offered a bucket of chicken was funny, as was his noping on out of there as he realized just what Wednesday intended with the car on the tracks.  Which I guess shows that Wednesday already knew exactly where Shadow would be and knowingly let Mad Sweeney and Laura engage in some pointless busy work hunting for him to keep them occupied.  That'll probably make Sweeney mad again when he realizes it, but he and Laura remain the emotional core of the show for me.  It takes quite a bit of chutzpah to be riding shotgun as a reanimated corpse insisting to a supernatural character you know in fact to be supernatural that none of them are real.  That they're all made up.  Yet there's also a little something quietly heartbreaking underneath that in also insisting that she'd do anything to get her life back when we know she didn't much appreciate it when she had it, as is Sweeney's clearly wanting that for her when she barely seems to see him at all.

[terrymct]

13 hours ago, WaltersHair said:

Much less enthralled this week. I read the book over two years ago and I don't remember any of this being a part of it.

Some storylines are still following the book, but the author Neil Gaiman said that he's using the series now to expand some storylines.   Some things appear to be cut (not going to mention specifics in case they end up being spoilers).  Some characters who are among the most interesting in the book are expanded.  Mad Sweeney has a lot bigger part in the show than in the book, as does Biliquis.  Both I think are improvements.   The Jinn and Selim are also expanded.  I'm really interested in the expansion of Cenozog, especially with that big fat curse he put on the shooter last week.  I think that he was calling up a demon.  That could be fun.  I could do with less of Dead Wife's whining that her "puppy" is gone, but she has her part to play in the story arc.

From this week's episode, it should be pretty clear to everyone who Shadow's father is and why he's been so strangely important to many of the gods.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

3 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

I know Dean Winter has had a long career playing lots of different roles, but all I could see here was Mayhem from the Allstate commercials.  Which might be an inspired bit of casting or not, I'm not sure.  I kept waiting for the character to needlessly crash a car or fall through a roof or something. 

I know this definitely won’t happen, but a tiny part of me wants to see him try to sell a pager to someone. 

[hnygrl]

2 hours ago, terrymct said:

From this week's episode, it should be pretty clear to everyone who Shadow's father is and why he's been so strangely important to many of the gods.

I mean...could they BE MORE OBVIOUS??????

[Joimiaroxeu]

Bringing Mayhem into this mess? Perfect.

Damn, Ricky Whittle is a beautiful man. Why is he not a bigger star? I know they say he's a poor actor but just let me starting listing the people who've done well in TV and film with little more than a pretty face and a hot body. I might finish in a few years.

[terrymct]

1 hour ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Bringing Mayhem into this mess? Perfect.

Damn, Ricky Whittle is a beautiful man. Why is he not a bigger star? I know they say he's a poor actor but just let me starting listing the people who've done well in TV and film with little more than a pretty face and a hot body. I might finish in a few years.

It's hard to tell from this role if he's a bad actor because he's the straight man with all sorts of emotion and mischief etc going on around him.  It reminds me of Timothy Oliphant's role in Deadwood.  Everyone else had roles where they were bouncing off the walls, but his sheriff was supposed to the normal-ish man walking through the middle of it all.

In both cases, the straight man doesn't really get to show much range, just some fine good looks.

[Bruinsfan]

Hasn't Whittle also had to adopt an American accent for his stateside roles? Might be a complication that makes it harder for him to show range/depth in his performances.

[JayBird23]

13 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

whispering.The show has already been renewed for S3 and they have announced the new showrunner:

Thank you! Electricboogaloo!  I hope it doesn't take two years, lol.  

I had a lot of questions but went back and watched the episode again with subtitles to catch all the tough-to-hear accents.  It really helped.  There's so much going on.

I enjoyed the episode more than the first time..

Edited March 19, 2019 by JayBird23

[WaltersHair]

Quote

whispering.The show has already been renewed for S3 and they have announced the new showrunner:

Thank you! Electricboogaloo!  I hope it doesn't take two years, lol.  

The comments in that article are not exactly encouraging. There was an anti-American flavor to this episode and I hope it doesn't continue. I'm a straight up moderate, but damn.

[Kel Varnsen]

On 3/17/2019 at 5:22 PM, saoirse said:

Hey, it's Mayhem!

Has Dean Winters ever played someone who is not a total asshole?

12 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

I get what the show was going for with the long flashbacks showing us that Shadow never really fit in anywhere and only had his mother before her untimely death, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that it was a bit of a slog to sit through.  My attention kept drifting and it made this episode feel a lot more like a series of disjointed vignettes than anything resembling a cohesive story as a result.

The flashbacks were kind of interesting although I think I would have rather had more Sweeney and Deadwife. And I definitely would have rather had more Wednesday and Anansi.

[Pallas]

22 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

That'll probably make Sweeney mad again when he realizes it, but he and Laura remain the emotional core of the show for me.  It takes quite a bit of chutzpah to be riding shotgun as a reanimated corpse insisting to a supernatural character you know in fact to be supernatural that none of them are real.  That they're all made up.  Yet there's also a little something quietly heartbreaking underneath that in also insisting that she'd do anything to get her life back when we know she didn't much appreciate it when she had it, as is Sweeney's clearly wanting that for her when she barely seems to see him at all.

What a beautiful post. For all Sweeney and Laura's bravado, they and their situation are quietly heart-breaking. Add to that, Sweeney's knowing his luck won't improve until he's no longer with Laura (as she is now), at the same time that being with Laura is becoming his purpose. Replacing his labor as Wednesday's muscle.

A purpose rooted in presence. A kind of godly devotion -- omnipresence, with no pretense -- and perhaps the ROI that Laura said she sought from her deities. 

[terrymct]

I really like the idea of roadside attractions as the places in America that have magical linkages.   It's where some kind of spirit or feeling moved someone to start building something or doing something.  I can see how Gaiman links this to holy sites in the old world.  If you pick a shrine or temple in Europe, Asia, or the Middle East, you could dig down through an archaeological lasagna of layers and see that this church was built on top of that church, which was built on top of that temple, and so on and so on.  The original person who built something on the site was moved by some kind of feeling to start the first construction...like the guy who built the House on the Hill or the person who started creating the world's largest ball of twine.   Holy sites sit on top of other holy sites all the way down to where the first guy decided this would be a fine location to build an altar or something.

In Rome, there's a church near the Coliseum called the Basilica of St Clemente (http://www.basilicasanclemente.com/eng/).  In the 1850's, an Irish priest was bothered by the sound of running water in the walls and opened up a wall.  He found the Basilica was built on top of a 4th century basilica.  More digging.  Underneath, there are a couple of buildings including a Mithraic temple.  Below that, another layer that may have been part of the gladiator schools associated with the Coliseum.   It's the clearest example of the layering of civilizations I've seen.  Well worth a visit.

[The Mighty Peanut]

On 3/17/2019 at 10:18 PM, arachne said:

Eeeee, this episode was more violent than usual; I was scrunching my eyes pretty often. (Okay, I'm a bit of a wuss.) 

Gut-wrenching flashbacks about young Shadow and his mom.

Anyone figure out what Mr. Town is supposed to be? Is he a new god, or just a person working for Mr. World?

Spoiler

He’s a minion of Mr. World. Referred to as being similar to a CIA “spook”, fueled by the persistent faith in the existence of shadowy govt operatives.

Edited March 20, 2019 by The Mighty Peanut

[AuntieMame]

I miss the prologue vignettes that introduced each episode and told us about the g ods. I miss Mr. Nancy telling his got damn stories, along with Anubis. I hope they don't lose this completely. Worst of all, they're underutilizing the incomparable Orlando Jones. I know Season 1 was dreamy but so far Season 2 has yet to grab me. I know this show isn't plot driven, but at the moment it isn't character driven either with the exception of Mad Sweeney and Dead Wife. I'm still in, and I'm planning on rewatching both episodes tonight but the behind the scenes kerfuffle has affected the show. And now a third showrunner? How is that going to work? 

[tennisgurl]

The God of Mayhem is here to cause trouble! 

I know they are kind of doing a different thing with Mr. Town, but 

Spoiler

I hope they get into the whole spook show thing, because its one of my favorite smaller bits in the book. They're Men in Black government types who exist because so many people just think that they must exist! They're a conspiracy theory come to life! 

I dont mind that the show is expanding on the book, I figured that it would have to happen if they made the book into a full television show, and not a mini series or something. The book is really a pretty simple story, with a lot of vignettes and bits of philosophy and magic and musing on life and death and belief and various gods beliefs and such. There also arent that many major characters beyond Shadow, Wednesday, and Laura, as the book is more or less a road trip story, so while we did have plenty of characters who showed up from time to time, it wasnt a very consistent supporting cast for a whole show. Its a great book, but I can see why an exact translation would be difficult. I do hope they dont change the very core of the book and how things work out though, even if they add some stuff around the middle. The first season just nailed so many moments directly from the book, I hope they give us a few more of those. 

Sweeney and Laura are great together, and that scene of them in the flowers was very beautifully shot. They have such a weird but sweet dynamic, I love it. I really want to know what breakfast was like between them, Salim, and the Jinn. Speaking of, I hope we can check on them again soon, Salim worked so hard to find him. 

Also, I have to laugh at Laura saying how God cant exist at this point. I mean, says the undead women to the leprechaun! 

Poor Shadow and his poor mom. The poor guy just cannot catch a break! 

Spoiler

So much of those flashbacks, especially whenever Shadows mom would talk about his "light", his missing father, and Wednesday taking an interesting in him so long ago. How interesting...

On 3/18/2019 at 6:41 AM, nodorothyparker said:

Yet there's also a little something quietly heartbreaking underneath that in also insisting that she'd do anything to get her life back when we know she didn't much appreciate it when she had it, as is Sweeney's clearly wanting that for her when she barely seems to see him at all.

Very well put! So much of Laura and Sweeney is hilarious, but its also such a sad quest, with both of them desperately hanging onto the past that they never appreciated while it was happening, trying ti find some purpose in their existence. Really, its one of the tragedy's of the old gods in general. They're still here, but without their old powers and followers, what are they actually supposed to DO? What is their purpose in this brave new world? Its a lot like with Laura. They used to have a purpose and a life, but now the world has seemingly left them behind, and yet they keep hanging on, trying to hold onto the past while looking for some kind of reason to be.

[JayBird23]

1 hour ago, AuntieMame said:

I miss the prologue vignettes that introduced each episode and told us about the g ods. I miss Mr. Nancy telling his got damn stories, along with Anubis. I hope they don't lose this completely. Worst of all, they're underutilizing the incomparable Orlando Jones. I know Season 1 was dreamy but so far Season 2 has yet to grab me. I know this show isn't plot driven, but at the moment it isn't character driven either with the exception of Mad Sweeney and Dead Wife. I'm still in, and I'm planning on rewatching both episodes tonight but the behind the scenes kerfuffle has affected the show. And now a third showrunner? How is that going to work? 

Don't quit now, it's just getting good.  I watched both episodes again and got a lot more out of them.  I even watched with subtitles so I wouldn't miss any important references.  This episode introduced a bunch of different story lines going in different directions.  We will catch up with all of them next week.  There's like five, I think, or more.  

If you want to go deeper like I did, you will want to pay attention to little things like what books Shadow was reading or what is the purpose of each God.  I was interested in the effect of Zorya Vechernyaya's death, as they made a reference to a star and a hound.  I found a website that helped.  https://nerdist.com/article/american-gods-history-primer-zorya-sisters/.  It is a pretty important task that ZV had, lol.  

Anyway, this season looks like it might be a lot better than I first thought.  Can't wait until next week. 

 

43 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Very well put! So much of Laura and Sweeney is hilarious, but its also such a sad quest, with both of them desperately hanging onto the past that they never appreciated while it was happening, trying ti find some purpose in their existence. 

What was the verdict of the past relationship of Laura and Mad Sweeney?  Is Laura the reincarnation of Essie McGowan?  Or does she just remind Mad Sweeney of her? 

I've accepted that we are not going to see an exact replication of Gaiman's book in this series.  And that is fine with me--a lot more suspense.  

[raven]

I liked the Shadow flashbacks.  The young actor did a good job and has a believable resemblance to Ricky Whittle. 

So was the fried chicken scene between Wednesday and Anansi poking fun at Green Book's fried chicken scene?

"Are you going to fold that map or fuck it"  "I'm gonna fuck it!"

"Valhalla? Ain't no way I'm going to fucking Valhalla!"

Not having more of the Wednesday and Anansi road trip was a crime against television.

I loved the version of Black Betty that played over the closing credits.

[tennisgurl]

5 minutes ago, raven said:

I loved the version of Black Betty that played over the closing credits.

That was a really great version of the song, I listened to it twice in the credits! This show has such great music choices that span so many different american musical genres and styles.

[AuntieMame]

1 hour ago, JayBird23 said:

Don't quit now, it's just getting good.  I watched both episodes again and got a lot more out of them.  I even watched with subtitles so I wouldn't miss any important references.  This episode introduced a bunch of different story lines going in different directions.  We will catch up with all of them next week.  There's like five, I think, or more.  

If you want to go deeper like I did, you will want to pay attention to little things like what books Shadow was reading or what is the purpose of each God.  I was interested in the effect of Zorya Vechernyaya's death, as they made a reference to a star and a hound.  I found a website that helped.  https://nerdist.com/article/american-gods-history-primer-zorya-sisters/.  It is a pretty important task that ZV had, lol.  

Anyway, this season looks like it might be a lot better than I first thought.  Can't wait until next week. 

What was the verdict of the past relationship of Laura and Mad Sweeney?  Is Laura the reincarnation of Essie McGowan?  Or does she just remind Mad Sweeney of her? 

I've accepted that we are not going to see an exact replication of Gaiman's book in this series.  And that is fine with me--a lot more suspense.  

Thank you Jaybird. I will pay closer attention on my rewatch. TBH, I was dozing/distracted a bit, this the rewatch. I'm ok with it not being an exact replica of Gaiman's book too. I find that the long form of serial television generally adds to the adaptation. This is often not the case when adapting books for movies. I'm looking forward to Good Omens too. 

I always loved Wednesday 's courtliness with Zorya, so I'm going to check out the site. 

[Pallas]

On 3/19/2019 at 8:18 PM, JayBird23 said:

What was the verdict of the past relationship of Laura and Mad Sweeney?  Is Laura the reincarnation of Essie McGowan?  Or does she just remind Mad Sweeney of her? 

So far, nothing in the show has made it explicit. Between Emily Browning, Fuller and Green, the story is that she read the script before casting for the episode began; when the showrunners approached her to ask that she consider the dual role, she beat them to the punch. This suggests that the relation Essie-to-Laura is truly in the eyes of the beholders: Mad Sweeney and us. 

It was a brilliant stroke of intuition, the kind of genius that can illuminate an adaptation. Laura is like Essie not only in all the similarities that survived 300 years, but in the one that didn't. Like Laura, Essie is a woman of her time and place, and a keen-eyed skeptic. In her day, this critical intelligence could share a heart with faith: Essie believed. In our day, she would not. 

[Kite]

On 3/19/2019 at 11:37 AM, WaltersHair said:

There was an anti-American flavor to this episode and I hope it doesn't continue.

I only caught references to immigrants getting a hard time? Not news.

I enjoyed this episode quite a bit, I liked it all culminating in the train. Laura and Sweeney were bloody good together, they made the episode. Not enough Mr Nancy's snark. I found it hard to connect Shadow-present with Shadow-past. 

I missed what was what with the train. So that's Gungnir the spear? Or the galloping horse? What's the car mean to Wednesday again?

Edited March 20, 2019 by Kite
grammar

[terrymct]

16 hours ago, AuntieMame said:

I miss the prologue vignettes that introduced each episode and told us about the g ods. I miss Mr. Nancy telling his got damn stories, along with Anubis. I hope they don't lose this completely. 

Mr Nancy told Wednesday that he'd see him in Cairo (pronounced Kay-ro, of course) so it's likely we'll see the Anubis soon.

Edited March 20, 2019 by terrymct
fixed a typo

[JayBird23]

10 hours ago, Pallas said:

So far, nothing in the show has made it explicit. Between Emily Browning, Fuller and Green, the story is that she read the script before casting for the episode began; when the showrunners approached her to ask that she consider the dual role, she beat hem to the punch. This suggests that the relation Essie-to-Laura is truly in the eyes of the beholders: Mad Sweeney and us. 

It was a brilliant stroke of intuition, the kind of genius that can illuminate an adaptation. Laura is like Essie not only in all the similarities that survived 300 years, but in the one that didn't. Like Laura, Essie is a woman of her time and place, and a keen-eyed skeptic. In her day, this critical intelligence could share a heart with faith: Essie believed. In our day, she would not. 

Thank you! Pallas!

I like your viewpoint.  Leaving something open leaves a lot of room for interpretation and it could be different for every person.  The mystery lives on throughout the series.  I do get the feeling the Mad Sweeney is in love with Laura and he is haunted by the similarities of Essie and her.   But that's just my interpretation.  What works for me may not work for others.   I'm really glad you didn't say yes or no to my question.  I believe there are a lot of people who would have tried to answer it definitively.   

[DarkRaichu]

- I never read the book but I could see a huge missed potential in not having Easter (the character, not necessarily the actress) in the story.  There would have been opportunity to address how nature's involvement affect Odin's side vs Tech on Mr. World's side.  Nature vs Tech

- Why would Tech boy be subservient to Mr. World? Given the amount of users of technology, his followers should be huge.  It also made sense he had power over Media, since most people who worship Media do it via Tech but not necessarily the other way around. 

- History of Shadow was well acted but kind of boring and cliched. 
I wonder if his mom knew who the father was and in on the plan. (dang it, even my comment to that storyline is a cliche)

- I like Dead Wife & Sweeney pair

- To me, Djinn and Salim pair is just meh

- So Salim is a Muslim.  I wonder if the showrunners dare to show and make a character out of Salim's god, at the risk to offending some (most?) people of that religion  

- I also missed the short stories that introduce the gods.  They could have done 1 with Mama Ji or heck, I take 1 of the dead gods from ep 1. 

- So no believers = dead gods.  That reminds me of a comic series called Fables

On 3/18/2019 at 7:41 AM, nodorothyparker said:

I kept waiting for the character to needlessly crash a car or fall through a roof or something. 

Well, a door did crash to him 😄

Edited March 20, 2019 by DarkRaichu

[The Mighty Peanut]

I, too, miss Anansi/Mr. Nancy's stories. This is a lot to ask, probably way too much even for cable and not really needed for narrative purposes, but I could die a happy woman if he told the story of 

Spoiler

Tiger's balls.

[JayBird23]

4 minutes ago, The Mighty Peanut said:

I, too, miss Anansi/Mr. Nancy's stories. This is a lot to ask, probably way too much even for cable and not really needed for narrative purposes, but I could die a happy woman if he told the story of 

  Hide contents

Tiger's balls.

LOL!!  Thanks for the reminder of that little gem of a story--made me smile.  Since Gaiman is part of the series I am a lot more accepting of what gets used from the book.  Gaiman is drawing from a book, one he would have written if he could go back in time.  In that book he would have told the story of American Gods from Laura's perspective.  BTW, I'm not making this up, lol.  I got it from an interview of Gaiman about the past, present and future of American Gods.  https://nerdist.com/article/neil-gaiman-interview-american-gods-season-2/.  He never intended to give out any spoilers but there are a few tiny ones.  For me, I don't regret reading the interview one bit.  But it's up to you.  

[Bruinsfan]

5 hours ago, DarkRaichu said:

- So Salim is a Muslim.  I wonder if the showrunners dare to show and make a character out of Salim's god, at the risk to offending some (most?) people of that religion 

- So no believers = dead gods.  That reminds me of a comic series called Fables

I would imagine that Ibrahim is going to be the show's representative of that particular religion. Though they did surprise me with the Choose-your-own-Jesus garden party in last season's finale.

We'd already found out about the fate of gods bereft of worship in the animated opening segment about Nunyunnini leading his people over the land bridge to America and being forgotten.

[Lemur]

On 3/18/2019 at 9:26 PM, Kel Varnsen said:

Has Dean Winters ever played someone who is not a total asshole?

When he was on Law & Order: SVU.  

[Kel Varnsen]

20 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

I would imagine that Ibrahim is going to be the show's representative of that particular religion. Though they did surprise me with the Choose-your-own-Jesus garden party in last season's finale.

What is interesting is that Salim is muslim but at the same time obviously believes in genies. I don't know a lot about Islam but from what I know it is pretty clear about there being only one god you should worship.

3 hours ago, Lemur said:

When he was on Law & Order: SVU.  

Nope, they brought Cassidy back in recent seasons and made him an asshole too.

[Bruinsfan]

I'm no expert on Islam myself, but I don't think jinn are something people worship. More like a type of supernatural creature acknowledged by the culture, kind of the way leprechuans were by the Irish.

[AuntieMame]

On 3/20/2019 at 2:18 PM, The Mighty Peanut said:

I, too, miss Anansi/Mr. Nancy's stories. This is a lot to ask, probably way too much even for cable and not really needed for narrative purposes, but I could die a happy woman if he told the story of 

  Hide contents

Tiger's balls.

Oh that is funny! When I was reading more about Anansi, that was the first story I ended up reading. 

[DarkRaichu]

On 3/20/2019 at 9:05 PM, Bruinsfan said:

I would imagine that Ibrahim is going to be the show's representative of that particular religion. Though they did surprise me with the Choose-your-own-Jesus garden party in last season's finale.

Right, the show made a point to make representation of gods in human forms, something specifically forbidden in that religion. Hence my comment

19 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

I'm no expert on Islam myself, but I don't think jinn are something people worship. More like a type of supernatural creature acknowledged by the culture, kind of the way leprechuans were by the Irish.

Yep, which was why it made perfect sense that djin did not go to the carousel room with the rest of the gods in episode 1

[formerlyfreedom]

Let's please watch the discussion in here and take Book Talk , spoilers, and speculation over to the appropriate topics, please. Thank you!

[Nashville]

On 3/18/2019 at 9:26 AM, terrymct said:

From this week's episode, it should be pretty clear to everyone who Shadow's father is and why he's been so strangely important to many of the gods.

I haven’t read the book (yet) so it is quite literally impossible for me to spoil ANYTHING from it - but I will say I’d already guessed it’s no coincidence that...

Spoiler

...Wednesday’s child is full of woe.

;>

[HunterHunted]

On 3/18/2019 at 8:26 PM, Kel Varnsen said:

Has Dean Winters ever played someone who is not a total asshole?

On 3/21/2019 at 2:00 PM, Lemur said:

When he was on Law & Order: SVU. 

On 3/21/2019 at 5:13 PM, Kel Varnsen said:

Nope, they brought Cassidy back in recent seasons and made him an asshole too.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles where he plays Sarah's clueless nice guy fiance, Charlie. He's an EMT. Sarah breaks up with him and goes on the run. Years later the Connors meet up with him. He helps them out and they ruin his life by putting him on the Terminators' radar.

[Drogo]

On ‎3‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 9:26 PM, Kel Varnsen said:

Has Dean Winters ever played someone who is not a total asshole?

Casting him as a non-asshole is a waste.  That said, I enjoyed him as Mr. Town.  On the flip side, Mr. Nancy lost a worshipper when he threw a bucket of perfectly good chicken out the window.  Some sins are unforgivable.

...Unless your wish is to ride in a sidecar!  Why does the Jinn have a sidecar?  Who the hell has a sidecar? 

A train crashing fullspeed into Black Betty is so cool until you realize Betty's the reincarnation of a poor horsey. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

17 minutes ago, Drogo said:

Why does the Jinn have a sidecar?  Who the hell has a sidecar? 

“Sidecars are for dogs and poor people.”

- Lindsay (You’re the Worst)

[Nashville]

4 hours ago, Drogo said:

On the flip side, Mr. Nancy lost a worshipper when he threw a bucket of perfectly good chicken out the window.  Some sins are unforgivable.

TOTAL agreement on the fried chicken.

Edited March 25, 2019 by Nashville
Trimming

[Nashville]

4 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

“Sidecars are for dogs and poor people.”

- Lindsay (You’re the Worst)

Beats riding bitch - barely.  ;>

Edited March 25, 2019 by Nashville