Review: Season 2, Episodes 4-8 of “American Gods”

Release Date: Season 2 March 10, 2019
Starring: Ricky Whittle, Emily Browning, Crispin Glover, Bruce Langley, Yetide Badaki Yetide Badaki, Pablo Schreiber, Ian McShane, Mousa Kraish, Omid Abtahi, Kahyun Kim, Orlando Jones, Peter Stormare
Genre: Fantasy

My Thoughts

What American Gods does well is tell stories about stories. Quoth Mr. Ibis, “Stories are truer than the truth,” and that might as well be the show’s tagline. No “coming to America” opening tales this season means that all the stories-about-stories have to be inserted directly into the main narrative. With Wednesday, we have learned to expect a thick layer of lies with every “truth” he tells, but he’s also so good at telling stories that it can be near impossible to tell fact from fiction, for those on the receiving end. With a single story, modified for its audience, he can shatter a loving relationship between his own son and a weak American goddess, reshape that goddess’ role in American mythology, and (later) cause the irreversible death of his only child. The story Wednesday tells Shadow about why he needs him and what Shadow’s role is in the coming battle is just that: a story. There is truth and lies and obfuscations, but it is, in the end, a story Shadow is desperate to believe…

To read the rest of my review, head over to Tor.com.