Watch & Remark: American Gods, The Secret of Spoons

Pretty sure my jaw is still somewhere across the room after that episode! I'm putting this review out right after the episode, so here we go. Let me know what you thought about the episode below in the comments!

Image Source: comicbook.com

And wow, I'm still drooling over that intro. The Medusa head is so cool, having an astronaut as Christ is even more metaphorical, and making it all into a totem pole just gives me shivers.

This episode starts off hard and fast on a Dutch slave ship. But watch out--arachnophobia is a real thing dude, and we got pretty dang close to a spider here. I almost shoved my laptop off my bed. But Anasi? Anansi was really freaking amazing. His monologue got my own blood pumping, and was a uniquely written peace that transcended over 300 years to encourage the black men stolen from their country to take action against the Dutch slave traders. It was a hard-hitting, concurrent monologue, delivered by the excellent Orlando Jones in a way that elicits anger in the viewer's heart as well as the in the hearts of those afflicted onscreen.

"Angry is good. Angry gets shit done." -Anansi, at the moment my heart exploded.

Image Source: comingsoon.net

We return to Shadow Moon. He gets down from the tree, goes to a doctor, confronts Mr. Wednesday about the weird stuff that he's seeing. It's crazy, it's angry, it's emotional, the audio is muffled artistically.

That's what I really love about this series. It's so emotional--their anger, sadness, raw unfiltered pain--and they choose to show that not only through the amazing actors, but also through how they articulate the shots and audio, choosing how to guide their viewers with visual and auditory clues that don't come from the characters themselves. Shadow lets his emotions take him where they may, because he feels oh so deeply. I also really enjoy the cinematography--every shot is made to make Shadow look deliberate and controlled, even when he's falling apart while boxing up the stuff from the house.

Image Source: ibtimes.co.uk

This show is intoxicating even when it is making you cringe. Every drop of blood, every blink, every line of dialogue is planned to elicit an audience reaction--often a visceral pull of disgust, fear, or wild enthusiasm.

We get our first look at Media in a scene pulled straight from the book, with Lucille Ball. We reunite with Bilquis, conquering more worshipers (men and women), and then we move on to one of my favorite interactions--Shadow, the Zoryas, and Czernobog. I can't wait to meet the third Zorya onscreen--she's my favorite (and I was really disappointed we didn't see her this time!). I was on the edge of the couch as Shadow and Czernobog played checkers, even though I knew how it would end, and it was still taken from us at the last moment.

I'm not sure how I would feel about this show if I hadn't read the book. I might not have stuck with it, but it's easier knowing that all the blood has a point, and there's more coming up--and every move serves a purpose. I also wasn't sure how I felt when the episode ended. I was expecting more, because I wanted it to flow into the next chapter of the story as if I was reading the book visually.