Posted in: American Gods, Movies, Starz, TV | Tagged: a murder of gods, american gods, recap, Review, Season 1, starz, television

American Gods Review – Episode 6 "A Murder Of Gods" – A Road Trip To See A God

Submitted for your consideration by Bleeding Cool contributor, Ray Flook his thoughts on the latest episode of American Gods.

So you've escaped a police station-turned-slaughterhouse (which is a "sacrifice" in your name as a show of "good faith" by the same new gods you're supposed to be going to war with, by the way…) before getting nearly crucified by a horrific wood creature. Or perhaps you've just escaped out the broken window of the police car you were handcuffed inside (…while the police officer who owns the car is busy getting killed at the station…), though your bad luck partially castrates you in the process. Or maybe you've woken up in a morgue locker (…unintentionally killing the morgue attendant in the process…) and are now looking for the "love of your life."

Overall it's good to be a god, the undead or something…different, but generally bad to be stuck in the middle if you're mortal.

So what's your next move if you're Shadow (Ricky Whittle), Mr. Wednesday (Ian Mc Shane), Mad Sweeney (Pablo Schreiber) or Laura (Emily Browning)?

Isn't it obvious? ROAD TRIP!!!

So that's where things stand as American Gods (Ep. 6- A Murder of Gods) begins: one road trip gets urgently back-on-track; while "strange bedfellows" converge to begin another.

But first, just 'cause I got nuthin' but love for 'ya, baby, a fair warning…

***SPOILERS!…SPOILERS!…SPOILERS!…SPOILERS!***

For the record? This isn't a formal review…but it does cover some themes and "takeaways" involving major plotlines and developments from the episode. If you're not familiar with the book or the show, you definitely want to keep that warning in mind. If you are a fan of the novel or have some idea of what's ahead, then spoilers probably aren't that big of an issue for you but there may be some visual surprises or subtle changes that you might want to avoid until you see them for yourself.

So here's what STARZ has to say about A Murder of Gods:

On the run after the New Gods' show of force, Shadow and Mr. Wednesday seek safe haven with one of Mr. Wednesday's oldest friends, Vulcan, God of the Fire and the Forge.

Overall Takeaway:  There was so much great dialogue in this episode that it was damn near impossible to try to narrow-down the really quality quotes short of copy-pasting entire pages from the book, so I'll be covering some of those when I go over the Spare Parts from the episode. Thematically, I would say that intimacy rules the day in A Murder of Gods in a number of scenarios that I'll list below. Intimacy is a foundational concept in faith and belief, but not something that's necessarily a positive experience or returned in-kind. American Gods has shown us time and again just how one-sided levels of intimacy can be between the faithful and those they put their faith in. Tonight's episode took the concept of intimacy and applied it on a more personal level, showing the power and impact intimacy can have both between our players and on each player individually. Here are some of the scenarios in-play during this episode that I believe demonstrate my point:

In the beginning of the episode, we are presented with a group of Mexican immigrants attempting to cross into the United States, and through their journey we see the intimacy that exists between them and the Jesus they put their faith in. Their journey through the waters to a new land has an almost baptism-level of intimacy to it, exemplified perfectly by the way the one man is rescued from drowning by his Jesus. But this journey to freedom ends horrifically with an onslaught of bullets by men brandishing crosses and rifles, "Thy Kingdom Come" inscribed on the barrels as they kill in name of their Jesus. But even in the face of death, the immigrants' Jesus stays among his people…attempting in in vain to stop the violence but still sacrificing himself to save the man who was drowning earlier and his family:

Though we've only gotten whispers and hints of it so far, there is a certain level of intimacy that already exists in the growing tug-of-war between Laura and Wednesday for the heart, mind and soul of Shadow. While both Laura and Wednesday clearly have their own agendas, their need for Shadow to put his faith in one of them seems much more personal. Interesting to see how this plays-out through the series…(to quote River Song, "Spoilers!") As Mad Sweeney tells Laura, "He's not your man anymore. He's Wednesday's."

Even the situation that currently exists between Mad Sweeney and Laura has a high level of intimacy to it. Laura was gifted the coin by Shadow; has the coin literally inside of her to keep her alive; and would need to willingly give-up the coin to Mad Sweeney for him to get it back. Or for her to rot, to put it bluntly…a point Mad Sweeney continues to remind Laura of every chance he can get.

Shadow is still suffering from wounds back at the police station, with that "shitty little shiv" keeping his body from healing and causing him to bleed-out. Wednesday understands that the situation is serious, pulling-off the road and holding Shadow as he works his magic and talks Shadow through it. That moment of healing is also a very personal, intimate moment between the two…a moment when Shadow put his trust and faith in Wednesday and his "magic." Even the wound itself is a form of intimacy, with "shiving" being a very up-close and personal type of attack…meant for the victim to know firsthand the identity of their attacker.

Salim (Omid Abtahi) and Laura are both mortals who've found themselves caught-up in the world of gods and monsters… and that serves to bond them on their journey. Each of them in their own way has been granted a new life, and they lean on each other to do as much with these new lives as they can with the time they have and the information they've gathered…and not be anchored-down by "old ghosts:"

Salim: "Yes. Fuck those assholes."

Laura: "Yeah. That's the spirit. Fuck those assholes."

Vulcan's (Corbin Bernsen) home town of Vulcan, Virgina, is a living example of intimacy gone disturbingly wrong. The townspeople worship Vulcan through their belief that their America is the real America…an America that's armed and ready 24/7/2365 to shoot first and debate nuance next week. They share a particular type of group-think that doesn't leave room for much individuality, and that's something they're comfortable sacrificing for the "greater good" of their vision. As Wednesday tells Shadow as they first enter the town, "Everyone in this particular town is a dedicated citizen. Dedicated to one sticky belief. America. Their America."

Diverting their road trip to Kentucky with a "quick stop" in Indiana, Salim, Mad Sweeney and Laura spend time in a bar…time that allows Mad Sweeney to become a one-man intervention for Laura regarding her "relationship issues" with Shadow. As Mad Sweeney sees it, his getting back his coin is being delayed by Laura's naive and futile efforts to rekindle her relationship with her husband…and Mad Sweeney's not having any of it: "Your heart's not beating for this life anymore, dead-wife. This life is done." When she counters with the way she feels, especially after kissing Shadow, and that that must mean something, Mad Sweeney hits her with a reality check: "That doesn't obligate him to feel shit." Mad Sweeney doesn't pull punches and he's hitting her to hurt her, but their discussions are intimate enough that I was left feeling that Mad Sweeney wasn't just trying to maliciously hurt Laura…but offer some fucked-up version of leprechaun "tough love" based on what appears to be some painful past experiences. No better example of that is how Mad Sweeney uses anal sex as a metaphor to explain to Laura how she (and others) use unwanted love as a weapon:

The scenes between Vulcan, Shadow and Wednesday are just dripping with layers of intimacy: Vulcan has cameras throughout the town, giving him access to all of their most intimate moments and using it for control ("People tend to behave when they know they're being watched. They like being watched."); and the direct exchanges between Wednesday and Vulcan that show us two "men" who've travelled high and low together, and know each other probably a little too well for where things are leading:

Vulcan:  "You could sacrifice yourself. You've done it before."

Wednesday:  "And the world opened to me…has since closed."

Vulcan (to Wednesday): "I was on the bus before you painted it yellow. When do we leave?"

Wednesday (to Shadow, about Vulcan): "I know who he is. I know who he's always been. I can depend on that."

But it goes beyond just those two and also includes: the intimate connection Vulcan feels with each and every gunowner/follower out there: "They feel my heat on their hip and it keeps them warm at night;" Wednesday's request of Vulcan to make him a sword to have at his side ("a blade worthy of a god") and watching the process of sword-making in-play; and Wednesday's reacting to Vulcan's betrayal by beheading him with his own sword (again, blades are a very intimate weapon) and kicking him into one of the furnaces…and adding an angrily intimate touch to it all by cursing Vulcan's set-up by pissing into the furnace Vulcan was dumped in. In every instance listed just now, there are levels of intimacy that hang over and directly impact the proceedings and the players.

We end with a moment of prayer by Salim, as Laura waits nearby smoking a cigarette and Mad Sweeny hangs by the cab. It's a sweetly intimate moment of sharing with two near-strangers on Salim's part, and even Mad Sweeney is respectful enough to keep quiet. Laura looks at Salim with envy…envious of a man who seems to moving forward with the new life he's been given… envious of a man she wants to be like. Salim's faith isn't enough to get her to "find god" right now (though she'll definitely go with Mad Sweeney's offer of resurrection from his friend Jesus) but it's enough to get her to start understanding and appreciating life:

Salim:  "God is good."

Laura:  "Life is good, Salim-not-Salim."

Salim:  (smiles) "Life is good."

Spare Parts: Some random thoughts, quotes and observations from tonight's episode…

• Curious to see what's in the first wave of American Gods FunkoPOPs…and they could go nuts with the variant and exclusive possibilities.

• "And then I get fucking stabbed by Charlie Brown's Christmas tree!" -Shadow to Wednesday

• "Motherfuck…you never just answer a fucking question!" -Shadow to Wednesday

• "There's always a window. People are frightened to look through it. Safer in the prison cell." -Wednesday to Shadow

• "This times that equals you're a cunt." -Mad Sweeney to Laura

• "Is this you being convincing now? Because you suck at it. Unless you're trying to convince me you're an asshole." -Laura to Mad Sweeney

• "The dead when they come back are tenacious little bastards." -Wednesday to Shadow

• "Oh, she's a lepre-cunt." -Mad Sweeney (about Laura)

• Vulcan Munitions: "There's A Little Bit Of Us In Everything We Make" (new motto?)

• Looks like "The World's Greatest Boss" just went T2…

• Vulcan, Virginia – The Disneyland of Militias

• "And if I know my friend, someone got tossed into the volcano." -Wednesday to Shadow

• Seeing Bernsen makes me nostalgic for L.A. Law and Major League.

• "Shadow made my heart beat again." -Laura

• "I really like anal sex." -Laura to Mad Sweeney and Salim

• "Faith doesn't need to leave the faithful dangling." -Vulcan to Wednesday

• "Question is…can you let her fade away?" -Wednesday to Shadow

• "You got yours…I just want to make sure everybody else gets there's." -Wednesday

• "I was a story people forgot to remember to tell." -Vulcan to Wednesday

• Wednesday pissing into the machinery was a very personal and "fuck you" way of cursing Vulcan's work: Vulcan's betrayal (while maybe not surprising) was one that cut to the bone for Wednesday and Wednesday made sure his response was as personal as the attack.

• Interesting that with everything Mad Sweeney had to say throughout the episode, he shows quiet (if begrudging) respect for Salim and his moment of prayer at the end of the episode.

So lines have been crossed…betrayal has reared its ugly head and met with swift revenge…hard truths have been spoken…and our players' pasts are a bit more exposed than they were before.

But what about Mad Sweeney's story? He was a little too "shy" about himself this week…but he'll get his turn in the spotlight next week as we offer a Prayer for Mad Sweeney:

Ray Flook has been a contributing writer to Bleeding Cool since 2013 and "Ray-splaining" geek stuff his entire life. You can follow him on Twitter at @oldmangeek88; on Instagram at @oldmangeek; and soon through the Big Bad Geek podcast.

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