By Rosa Griffin
War is declared—old gods versus the new gods in April 2017! What a climax for the finale of the first season of Starz’s American Gods cable television show. Mr. Wednesday shows who he really is in the finale. And, he gets Easter (or Ostero), female god of spring to reveal her true power that she held dormant for a long time, taking a back seat to new gods being worshipped. So many gods, so little time.
Old gods were waning because they were no longer being worshipped. New gods like technology, food, gambling, drug and sex addiction, etc., were moving into their territory and being worshipped. Mr. World is a new god who sees no necessity for a war if the old gods join the new gods. The cast is a delicious mix of diverse veterans as well as actors lesser known to me.
Dealing with the fickleness of the gods had always been violent. And, if a few thousand humans were killed along the way on many occasions, it was to be expected. Human survival has never worried the gods.
Old gods
Ian McShane plays Mr. Wednesday, who you know is either a powerful or crazy “man” from the beginning.
Rickie Whittle plays Shadow Moon, Mr. Wednesday’s human sidekick.
Emilie Browning plays Shadow’s wife, Laura, who died and came back mysteriously.
There is a “man” that leads you after death and also dresses dead bodies like a mortician.
Another “man” who dips his pen in “ink”, writes the stories told in a book, and helps the dead body dresser.
Pablo Schreiber, the tall handsome red-headed/bearded leprechaun, Mad Sweeney, is used as a pawn working for Mr. Wednesday and shares in the guilt of Laura’s death. He explains to Laura that good people suffer sometimes more than bad because of the whim of the gods.
Yetide Badaki plays Bilquis the goddess of love who swallows her worshippers whole.
Gillian Anderson plays the modern goddess Media who looks great as the modern women of media like Lucille Ball, etc.
Peter Stomare (one of my favorite actors) as the old Slavic god who kills with a hammer.
Corbin Bernsen as the Vulcan god of guns, based on the Roman god of weaponry and fire. He snitches to the new gods.
Orlando Jones, Mr. Nancy, convinced me that he could tailor suits for Mr. Wednesday and Shadow Moon, although the spiders hanging around his threads were creepy.
Adult themes only. All are pawns in Mr. Wednesday’s game of the combat to come.
The histories of the characters are wonderfully and painstakingly developed. The cinematography and special effects held me spell bound. The writing is flawless. I can’t wait until next season.
New: Ricky Whittle (aka Shadow Moon) compares American Gods [Starz] to Game of Thrones [HBO]. “He was adamant about the Starz series being something new that exists in a different space than its peers…completely fresh.” One reviewer said that “American Gods uses color as a language on its own.” The article author calls both shows “immersive, supernaturally-infused world they can get lost in”. American Gods will return to Starz on March 10, 2019.
Source: “American Gods’ Ricky Whittle Thinks His Show Is ‘More Beautiful’ Than Game of Thrones”, Charles Pulliam-Moore, March 7, 2019. io9.gizmodo.com.cdn.ampproject.org
Written by Rosa L. Griffin
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