Watch & Remark: American Gods, A Murder of Gods

This episode is one of my favorite so far! It was heavy, bloody, and disturbing in all the right ways. American Gods is a book that embodies those descriptors, and I wasn't sure how well it would transfer to television, but Bryan Fuller has really outdone himself, and Starz will be making money on this for a really long time. Hopefully for several more seasons!

This episode shifted point of view a lot, and it paid off. We got more character development than action, and it worked well. Shadow is starting to break down, and he's finding it difficult to reconcile everything that Wednesday does with things that normal people do. He's also struggling with the gods that Wednesday is visiting, and how much those gods seem to hate the two of them.

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We once again start the episode with a Coming to America story, and this time we get to meet Jesus. Then bullets start flying.

It was kind of scary.

We return to Shadow and Wednesday, and discover that Wednesday really doesn't want Shadow to reunite with Laura. Wednesday takes Shadow to visit Vulcan, a god who has managed to bind himself to guns and bullets to ensure he isn't forgotten and is continually worshiped. Wednesday tries to ensure Vulcan will be on his side, but they run into some trouble of Vulcan's own making. Wednesday gets a newly forged blade from Vulcan, and then does some unspeakable things that freak Shadow the fuck out, including laying a curse.

Shadow is, however, starting to trust Wednesday. He lets Wednesday pull something out of his body, follows Wednesday into Vulcan's creepy house, and lets Wednesday take him away from his confusing emotions. It's a good relationship, and if you know what happens in the book, it's heartwarming while also slightly sinister.

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I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Mad Sweeney is one of my favorite characters, and I love how much we get to see him in this show. We also get to see the return of the cabbie, two separate road trips, and a hella cool sword.

The trio set off on their own trip, each with their own goals in mind, and create a surprising solid partnership. We learn more about Laura's goals, Mad Sweeney's contempt, and more about Salim's journey to find his djinn again.The trio is strange and beautiful, an addition that I think will take this show to new and interesting places.

We also get to see Salim praying, which was a really cool part of how the show is doing an amazing job at representing all of the conflicting religions that come from a book that talks about almost all of them.

This episode was amazingly bloody and creative, and I hope the rest of the season is as great! However, the most unconvincing part of this episode was the boss of Vulcan's smelting place holding his coffee cup straight on his clipboard and not spilling any. I'm not buying it, he must have been a monster.

Also, I'm starting to miss the buffalo. Join me next week for a look at the next episode!