American Gods: The Musical
Last week’s somewhat lackadaisical tone seems to be in full swing this week on American Gods. We begin the episode in a Burlesque club that Wednesday is running, singing and dancing for an eager audience before waking up next to Shadow who jokes that he thought the Old God was dead. They’re on the hunt again this week, searching for an artifact to help them in the upcoming war. Whilst driving to their destination, Wednesday sheds light on his son, Donar. A flashback reveals that he was one of the main attractions in the Club we saw earlier on but was recruited by Nazis as a strongman. Thanks to the influence of Wednesday, Donar is shipped off to the Nazi’s, determined to set the Old God’s name alight. Back in the present, Shadow and Wednesday arrive at their destination, ready to pull off a heist involving counterfeit money and Shadow dressed as an FBI agent. Intercepting Wednesday exchanging fake money for a leather jacket, this item happens to hold significant value for one of the dwarves who works in the mall. Having successfully fooled the cashier, they return to the dwarf who agrees to repair the Spear for their troubles and a possible sign of the fight turning in their favour. Interspersed around this quest are numerous flashbacks illuminating more of Wednesday’s shadowy past. We learn about Donar’s rise to superstardom in Germany as a fighter but unfortunately things are not as black and white as they appear. Donar is deliberating over a decision given to him by the Nazi’s, told to lose a fight intentionally which he eventually refuses to go ahead with. He arrives back in the club and tells his lover Columbia he’s decided to stay with her. Before they can ride off into the sunset together, Wednesday interjects and spins a web of deceit for them both, resulting in Donar and Wednesday squaring off outside in a dimly lit alley. As we cut back to Shadow and Wednesday in the present, the episode then ends with the Old God seeing Donar commit suicide some years later and a final acoustic song from Wednesday to end the episode. Six episodes in and with only two left to go, American Gods has had a real issue getting going this season. Despite some good work early on, the story has really fizzled out and devolved into a showcase of style over substance. While some of the monologues are interesting and the clashes between the old and new way of viewing faith well written, there just doesn’t feel like an urgency brewing in this upcoming war. It’s difficult to see how this season is likely to end but if there isn’t some pace injected into the story soon, American Gods feels in danger of losing its audience to bigger and better things. A shame for sure but hopefully this fantasy series can turn it around and deliver a showstopping finale. Right now though, it’s hard to see how that’s going to happen.
