“American Gods” has all the parts to make a luxuriously layered story. Outwardly shocking, very much cast, with nuanced analyzations of American culture and what does or doesn’t make something worshipped at its heart. But then the amount of its parts simply feels lacking. There’s emptiness behind the dazzling visuals, a dullness to the exchange that leaves you needing something undeniably really trying, and melodic signs that can frequently make one a little wincey. It draws near to the imprint, yet at the same time misses truly nailing the point, streamlining convoluted story matters with twisty visual upgrades and reference as opposed to truly representing anything at its centre.
Zeroing in such a great amount on the excursion of Shadow Moon this season has eventually debilitated the delightful interwoven unique blanket this story could at last be. A disgrace, considering we’ve arrived at the story’s significant peak (Czernobog climax jokes to the side).
It kind of breaks the heart to compose this as an enthusiast of the source material thus numerous individuals included. The scene is—all things considered—at last fine, yet having perused the Neil Gaiman epic and cherished the primary season, there’s aching for what American Gods might have truly been that you feel in each choice it makes, during a particularly significant point in the story. In the season three finale, Shadow Moon has, at last, made it to the World Tree at the core of America, to hold vigil for his dead dad, Wednesday/Odin. He realizes Laura has killed Wednesday and releases her regardless of the Norse code. She interfaces with Bilquis as Shadow ties himself into the tree for nine days and evenings of hellfire. Eventually, that is all that truly occurs until both Wednesday and Shadow Moon’s dead bodies vanish. A strict situation begins unfolding toward the end.
Disclosures unfurl: Technical Boy is more than he appears, as is Mr World—to a degree. Maybe the most pounding blow of everything is that of Shadow coming to comprehend that this vigil was really something of a stratagem to make Odin get back to his most almighty structure. Double-crossing has a method of evolving things, and the finale unquestionably sets up an intriguing “what’s to come.” Whether or not it will actually want to pull that off is something else altogether.
There’s a level of that Tyra Banks “we were all pulling for you!” image feeling going on in this audit. Perhaps one can mind excessively and be not able to simply take this finale and this emphasis of the story for what it is and isolate it from the set of experiences one has with the story. In any case, from a watcher point of view, everything simply feels somewhat slapdash and at last missing the core of the story that was set up in its muddled and lovely first season. Without the rage of somebody like Orlando Jones’ Mr Nancy, the adoration for the Jinn and Salim, and the wide range of various little stories woven all through Gaiman’s unique story, American Gods doesn’t feel like it’s getting at the full extent of America and what drives it.
Also, that—particularly as a watcher in 2021—is something baffling. Maybe for more easygoing enthusiasts of the story, this does the trick, however with a story this convoluted, is there truly something like this? Just time and the number of individuals actually watching (how idyllic), will reveal to us this.
