1.2 The Secret Of Spoons Why else would Wednesday want to drive to Chicago to meet with a skull-crushing maniac and a vodka-swilling fortune teller? And why else would Shadow get beaten up by a toad-skin smoking kid in a virtual reality limo? And why on earth would Lucille Ball (Gillian Anderson as Media) appear on the TVs at a big-box store and offer to flash skin in exchange for Shadow switching teams? I have to give American Gods a lot of credit. Every time they’ve introduced a new character, it’s been spectacular. The cold opening introduction of Mr. Nancy (a brilliant Orlando Jones) is incredible; he inspires a whole ship of people to revolt in a scathing invective against America’s history of racial problems. Or, I suppose, America’s future of racial problems, since this is 1697. Mr. Nancy is a wonderful combination of well-dressed dandy and rabble-rousing pulpit preacher, equal parts invective and inspiration. David Slade does another wonderful job this week of making the elements of American Gods balance. Czernobog is scary and pathetic all at once, while not losing Peter Stormare’s natural ability as a comic actor. Ricky Whittle continues to impress; he’s found a balance between the impassive nature of Shadow as a character in the book and the necessity for a television actor to not be a complete blank slate with things bouncing off him. He emotes well, but he’s stony enough to communicate that Shadow is a man used to being guarded, whether by his general nature or due to being in prison. Nancy’s introduction is incredibly well done, but the highlight might be the checkers game between Czernobog and Shadow. It echos Ingmar Bergman’s famous chess with death scene, except with a little more singing and a little less philosophical discussion. However, Shadow’s fate hangs in the balance on the egalitarian game of checkers. Every piece is the same, and every piece is equal. It’s very much an American game, and it seems like it would naturally appeal to these gods, who have been stripped of most of their powers and forgotten, adrift in a world where Lucille Ball is more powerful than Bliquis, Odin, or any of the old gods. He’s been battered and beaten for his boss, and now he’s putting his life on the line for lack of something better to do (and possibly a little curiosity about this new world he’s becoming a part of). Even when the visuals get a little confusing, as they do in this episode, the writing remains the show’s greatest strength. The characters are clearly defined, and have their own motivations. Shadow is lost, but he’s slowly finding his feet as the world around him divulges more and more of its mysteries. Michael Green and Bryan Fuller have another winning script on their hands, and the two of them plus David Slade means television gold. The visuals do the characters a service, and vice-versa. Even when nothing’s really happening (or perhaps I just didn’t understand what was happening), it’s at least pleasant to watch. When the characters are taking centre stage, the show goes from being a visual treat to something more substantial. It’s still early, but thus far all the elements of American Gods seem to be balanced. There’s comedy and drama, chills and thrills, interesting writing and incredible visuals. Provided that they can keep a similar balance on their growing roster of characters without marginalising the two central cast members, the road movie structure being hinted at by the first two episodes is going to work out just fine. I could watch Shadow and Wednesday drifting around the country, meeting Gods and getting into adventures for four or five seasons. Anything to keep Ian McShane in steady work. Read Ron’s review of the previous episode, The Bone Orchard, here. US Correspondent Ron Hogan believes that American Gods has one of the best casts on television. If you can have Ian McShane and Cloris Leachman in the same scene, you’re going to have magic. Find more from Ron daily at Popfi.
