American Gods – “A Murder of Gods” Recap. You Are What You Worship.

<i>American Gods</i> – “A Murder of Gods” Recap. You Are What You Worship. 1

Laura may be undead but she’s not done yet with Shadow.

Season 1, Episode 6

Air Date: Sunday June 4, 2017, 9PM ET/PT on STARZ

★★★★★

“What came first, the gods or the people who believed in them?” – Wednesday

On The Road Again
By Erin Richards-Kunkel

As “A Murder of Gods,” opens, we find Wednesday (Ian McShane) and Shadow (Ricky Whittle) retreating from their run-in with the New Gods after witnessing their power. Although Shadow reveals to Wednesday that he has seen an undead Laura (Emily Browning), she is nowhere to be found when they arrive at the motel. Eager to distance themselves from the New Gods, Shadow and Wednesday leave the Starbrite Motel quickly.

Meanwhile, Laura and Mad Sweeny (Pablo Schreiber) find common ground and decide to join forces. Mad Sweeny persuades Laura to allow him to try to resurrect her with the promise of returning his coin. She reluctantly agrees, knowing life is her only option back to Shadow.

Mad Sweeney: “Like my friend, Jesus Christ, the only thing you need, Dead Wife, is resurrection.”

Laura: “Did you just name-drop Jesus Christ like ‘you know a guy who knows a guy?”

In the midst of this agreement, Laura and Sweeny steal a cab, which happens to be the same cab belonging to The Jinn (Mousa Kraish) in “Head Full of Snow.” Naturally, the new owner, Salim (Omid Abtahi), stops them from stealing his taxi, but decides to drive them to Kentucky in exchange for The Jinn’s location. The three form an unlikely alliance and set off on a road trip of their own, each motivated by their own reasons.

<i>American Gods</i> – “A Murder of Gods” Recap. You Are What You Worship. 2

Mad Sweeney makes an offer Laura can’t refuse.

One of the best parts of “A Murder of Gods,” and possibly of all the episodes of American Gods so far, is the humor and chemistry among Salim, Laura, and Mad Sweeny. Salim is naïve and wide-eyed, inspired by his magical encounter with The Jinn; Laura is morbid in her outlook on life, but motivated to regain her life with Shadow; and Mad Sweeny’s desire for his lucky coin underlies his willful attitude towards the gods (mainly Wednesday) who have manipulated him.

Wednesday and Shadow’s travels take them to Vulcan, Virginia, a small town where the blue-collar workforce is maintained by the manufacture and production of bullets and guns. This trickles down into every aspect of their life, including the love of firearms. It is this worship that fuels Vulcan (Corbin Bernsen), the ancient Roman god of Fire and the Forge.

The depiction of how worship and faith of gods is transferred into an established modernized worship of guns is shown masterfully in “A Murder of Gods.” The pacing in scenes depicting armbands and bevy of guns in the hands of every man, woman, and child are shown quite literally against the backdrop of an American-flag drenched small-town. The juxtaposition is powerful, one that acknowledges the transfer of something as ancient and barbaric as human sacrifice to the modern love of guns that often ends the same way–in tragedy.

“I’ve franchised my worship. Those that worship the volcano now hold it in the palm of their hands,” says Vulcan. “The power of fire is firepower.”

Seeing his power, Wednesday tries to persuade Vulcan to join him in Wisconsin in his stand against the New Gods and requests he forge him a blade to wear. Vulcan agrees to join him and to make him “a blade worthy of a god.”

Despite his friendly outward appearance, Wednesday discovers Vulcan is working with the New Gods in exchange for his reign in the bubble of a small town in rural America and a power synonymous with the Second Amendment and American freedom. Wednesday makes a surprising strike against Vulcan, killing him with the very blade he forged.

With his blood sacrifice, Wednesday draws a line and sets the stage for the coming battle.

By the Book: Gods, Monsters, and Strange Bedfellows
By Connie Allen

American Gods, much like its literary namesake, continues to push the envelope in the art of storytelling. “A Murder of Gods” includes the fantastic elements from Gaiman’s book but doesn’t lose sight of important character developments. One distinction from the book that differs in the show is the expansion of supporting characters. Salim and Mad Sweeney’s scenes are limited in the book, whereas the series utilizes them to add more drama and tension to the major story lines.

There are several key points in “A Murder of Gods” I love, but it’s the subtle, quieter moments that captivate me the most. Laura’s scene where she stares outside the car window in silent contemplation while Salim drives his taxi becomes symbolic of the immigrant story. The concept of an apocalyptic size war between old and new gods sounds like a video game, but what the show, and Gaiman’s book, does is add layers to the story that don’t entirely rely on sex and violence. That said, when producers Fuller and Green do show the bloody side of you American Gods, it is as Mad Sweeney puts it, “With panache.”

The Good Stuff

There are a lot of great scenes in this episode, but arguably the best are the introductions of the new gods and the return of Salim. After several name drops in episodes past, “A Murder of Crows” begins with “Mexican” Jesus showing his sacrifice in aiding some illegal immigrants to cross the U.S. border. Regardless of how some viewers may feel about the political subject matter of immigration, the direction of the scene by director Adam Kane is done masterfully. It’s interesting how the focus on the violence displayed in the beginning of the episode parallels Vulcan’s story line. It’s brilliant that Vulcan, the Roman god of volcanoes and metal working, prospers by taking advantage of Americans’ obsession with firearms. Vulcan Munitions (VM) and the small town it inhabits, is the perfect hideout for an old god. What I find irksome is how almost cult-like the townspeople are about VM. There’s no subtly in the implied Nazi suggestion with red arm bands declaring ultimate fidelity to VM and their guns—it’s a sight to see as a viewer when bullets rain down from the sky.

As Wednesday continues his mission to recruit allies, Laura searches for a way to rejoin Shadow—a fact Wednesday is aware of and chooses to keep silent about. If Shadow’s ultimate goal in the series is to find faith in himself, then Laura’s goal is to learn about real love that isn’t self-serving. When circumstances force her to band together with Mad Sweeney and Salim, I see a different side of Laura that isn’t entirely horrible. I love Browning’s ability to emote her performances in a manner that adds special nuances to Laura that perhaps some readers didn’t quite envision within the pages of the novel. I like the show’s interpretation of Laura and Browning is perfect in the role.

Overall

“A Murder of Gods” is a good follow-up to “Lemon Scented You,” which preserves the continuity of the story line without losing focus on the themes revolving around love, death, and forgiveness.

At this point of the first season, I’m surprised the growing list of new characters hasn’t strained the pacing or the story arcs. Episodic writers Seamus Kevin Fahey, Bryan Fuller, and Michael Green have a firm grip on the heart of the characters, writing dialogue and scenes that add to the series’ mythology. The humor is on point, and if you’re not sensitive to foul language, there’s a scene where Laura questions who Mad Sweeney truly is while dropping a myriad of f-bombs.

Overall, I like the slower pace in “A Murder of Gods” because it allows viewers to appreciate or, at the very least, get to know the characters in a new way. I’ve always imagined Gaiman’s work would be amazing to watch onscreen and the show is living up to that vision.

Tune in to new episodes of American Gods, Sundays at 9PM E/P on Starz.

For more on the show, go to https://www.starz.com/series/americangods/episodes

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