***** American Gods Season One Discussion thread *****

6,986 Views | 61 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by superunknown
Al Bula
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AG
I agree, I would enjoy much more binging. However it is still pretty good minus the ***** and genie jizz.

Good backstory episode last night. What happened to the coin that Shadow threw on his wife's grave?
SeattleAgJr
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RPM said:

I agree, I would enjoy much more binging. However it is still pretty good minus the ***** and genie jizz.

Good backstory episode last night. What happened to the coin that Shadow threw on his wife's grave?
you saw what happened.
Al Bula
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AG
SeattleAgJr said:

RPM said:

I agree, I would enjoy much more binging. However it is still pretty good minus the ***** and genie jizz.

Good backstory episode last night. What happened to the coin that Shadow threw on his wife's grave?
you saw what happened.
Yeah, it burned through the casket. Did her body absorb it? Does she still have it? Mad Sweeney gonna kill a hoe.
SeattleAgJr
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Sweeney only meant to give Shadow a simple, non-magical gold coin to toss into the grave (reflecting the ancient Hellenistic Greek tradition of sticking a coin in a corpse's mouth - as a payment for Charon the Ferryman. But Sweeney (and Shadow) was stinking drunk when he gave it to him. Shadow almost jokingly tossed it into the grave, but it resurrected his wife as a revenant. It was only after Shadow had done that that Sweeney realized what he'd done. He made an attempt to retrieve it, but since it was already in the grave it was too late.

Clavell
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AG
Finished Anansi Boys last month. Interesting how they brought Anansi into story on slave ship. Been awhile but don't believe he was in first book American Gods, was he? Wonder how much will see him in series. (Haven't watched last night's episode yet)
SeattleAgJr
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That was a great episode.

Gillian Anderson rocked in both roles today.
superunknown
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AG
Clavell said:

Finished Anansi Boys last month. Interesting how they brought Anansi into story on slave ship. Been awhile but don't believe he was in first book American Gods, was he? Wonder how much will see him in series. (Haven't watched last night's episode yet)


He was in the first book. Wanna say he made a few different appearances. He is really good at karaoke.
ag88man
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AG
My wife walked in while I was watching and asked if I thought she would like it. She tried watching Into the Badlands with me, but it was too violent for her. I told her this show was even more violent. She said, "oh, yeah?" I told her yeah; a woman just kicked a guy in the balls so hard that his spine came out through the top of his head. She said she'd pass.
Al Bula
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AG
Gillian Anderson as David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust. Amazing.

Aside from the that, the dead wife is getting old. The show has replayed the "Hi, Papi" scene in three episodes.
SeattleAgJr
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puppy.
Al Bula
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AG
Wow puppy is even worse! Hoping the plot can move forward now.
civilized05
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AG
Never heard of the books or series, but am enjoying watching the show. The visuals are great and I'm enjoying the overall tone of the show. It's interesting to see the different gods interact with each other. Kind of reminds me of the Supernatural episode where several of the gods are sitting in the motel conference room when, I think, Lucifer comes in and tears everyone up.

For you book readers, is the wife character really that bad on paper? I'm finding myself absolutely hating her character and I'm not sure if it's because of the writing or the acting. I actually cringe everytime she says "puppy". Does her character get any better? I wish I could say I'm interested in her powers and where her story goes, but the actress is just killing any bit of caring I may have.

For the most part the rest of the casting has been fantastic. I can even get over Shadow's "derp" moments as he still seems to be in a perpetual state of disbelief which will hopefully start fading away after this latest episode.

All in all I'm digging the show.

SeattleAgJr
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And... there enters Jesus.

Sure there will be a headline on Drudge this week....
Thunder18
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AG
I enjoyed this episode more than the last two, the more Mad Sweeney (the Leprechaun) the better.

I am hoping to see more of Mr. World moving forward as well
Al Bula
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AG
I have to keep in mind this series in on Starz because HBO passed on it. While still interesting, something is just not syncing up after 6 episodes.

The Vulcan stuff was way overdone and laughable. This was new material but supposedly Gaiman has had that storyline for quite awhile in mind.
Quote:

Vulcan wasn't written into Neil Gaiman's original 2001 novel that serves as the inspiration for the series, but the character is an important new addition from Gaiman himself. The idea came back when the author was due to write an episode of the Starz series; though timing rendered that impossible for the first season, Fuller and co-showrunner Michael Green continued to weave Gaiman's idea into the show's fabric.

Green explains the genesis of the character: "He's a brand-new addition who came from an experience Neil had. He was going through a small town in Alabama where he saw a statue of Vulcan. It was a steel town and, as he told the story, there was a factory that had a series of accidents where people were killed on the job and they kept happening because an actuarial had done the numbers and realized that it was cheaper to pay out the damages to the families of people who lost people, rather than to shut down the factory long enough to repair, and that occurred to him as modern a definition of sacrifice as there might be."

I am interested in this horrific industrial Alabama scam that served as inspiration for Neil Gaiman.

This show should stick to its bread and butter: Phenomenal casting (except for Shadow and Laura) with outstanding character interactions. The plot is clearly not the creators' strong suit. No wonder HBO passed on this show.

If you're going to go all political, the story had better be airtight.
Ulrich
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I'm sort of losing interest. The leprechaun, Mr. Wednesday, and the ancillary characters like Czernobog, Vulcan, Media, and Anubis are interesting, but it kind of feels like we're still stuck in world building/pilot mode. We should have a cast of characters and be moving by now. The book was pretty slow and meandering, too, but it's starting to not work for me.

RE: episode 6, I thought that by the end of Vulcan's arc it wasn't that political, but many jimmies will be rustled. There is definitely a sympathetic treatment of illegal immigration and a casting of anti-illegal immigration people as the bad guy (literally murdering Jesus Christ). Then in the little town, it never quite explicitly says that gun owners are racists, but it sure hints a lot with all the glares at Shadow and the tension over the hanging tree. Last, it went after corporations a bit with the dialogue borrowed from Fight Club.

At the end of it, I got the feeling that a lot of that was more the side effect of Vulcan doing his thing. It will be interesting to see how or whether partisan issues crop up in later episodes.
superunknown
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AG
civilized05 said:


For you book readers, is the wife character really that bad on paper? I'm finding myself absolutely hating her character and I'm not sure if it's because of the writing or the acting. I actually cringe everytime she says "puppy". Does her character get any better? I wish I could say I'm interested in her powers and where her story goes, but the actress is just killing any bit of caring I may have.




Trying to be vague to avoid spoilers here so bear with me...

I hated Laura in the book. So far the tv adaptation is (to me) a fairly accurate portrayal. In the book she came across as callous and uncaring, and seemingly the only thing she enjoyed was how she could wrap Shadow around her finger.

Later in the book, the character atones (somewhat) and sort of redeems herself. So there is that.
maca1028
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Just caught up, this show is a lot of fun.
MW03
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AG
I really want this show to be good, but it's just not.
superunknown
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AG
re: your spoiler

You've read the book right?

Regarding the inclusion of the new Vulcan story..

book spoiler --> That sounds awfully similar to the Hinzelman/Lakeside story...theme of sacrificing something to keep prosperity, etc.

Think Gaiman wanted/needed to introduce it here and do something new with it because my spoiler won't happen till season 2?

Ulrich
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I've read it, but it has been a long time. I didn't like it all that much, especially compared to some of the other classics of sci-fi/fantasy I was reading at the time, which tends to make it hard for me to stay focused on the book.

My pitchfork isn't out over my spoiler, that was more a thing to keep an eye on. In any case, the show is boring me enough that this week was probably my last try anyway. Screen time with Laura is a total waste.
Al Bula
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AG
I guess the all star cast is carrying the show since it has been renewed for a second season. Not much plot advancement has happened and there is only 1 episode left.
Kate Beckett
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AG
This past episode was so boring and annoying I fast forwarded through half. More on the Gods, less on that annoying Laura. Good lord.
maca1028
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I was enjoying this show...then I read this thread, shoulda known better.
superunknown
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AG
Finally watched ep 4 and 5 last night.

****ing HATE Laura. It's been so long since I've read the book i forgot how much i hate her.

Loved Ziggy Stardust/Marilyn Monroe. Crispin Glover as Mr. World was dope.

I'm sucked back in.
SeattleAgJr
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that was a great finale, but the season needed more of that. This show suffers from very poor pacing. I am afraid it may have lost a lot of audience because of this. Luckily it has been renewed for a second season. Hopefully they can accelerate the pace somewhat and make it a stronger series.
SeattleAgJr
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I think it would be awesome if they could get Anthony Hopkins to do a very small Cameo as an aspect of Odin. Would be mildly amusing and relevant. Plus I believe he and the guy who plays Odin are friends in real life.
superunknown
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AG
Finished up the season last night. The Vulcan episode felt like the spoiler i mentioned upthread but to a more obvious degree...maybe. Depends on how they tell the next portion of the book. That episode was a little too over the top for me. Ok ok we get it, fascism and gun owners, yay whatever. I dont think the story needs that BS at all but whatever...it did set up the finale. Overall it went in a different direction than the book but i liked how the story advanced and how they tied in the non-book parts to the main story. For example, i was really not digging how Laura wound up in Kentucky. I like the way the book handles her quest for Shadow much more. But they told a great story, even if its not the same one the book tells.

If they **** up the main point behind the war and the reasons for it...man I'll wish the series never happened. Season 2 is supposed to have 10 episodes and be faster paced. I wonder how the story gets split up from here.
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