Warning: This post contains spoilers from the premiere of American Gods’ Season 3.
By the end of American Gods‘Sunday premiere, Shadow Moon has arrived Lakeside, the sleepy town where he spends a significant amount of season 3. It was cold and Shadow did not have the necessary outerwear to weather the winter in Wisconsin. Therefore, he quickly walks into the general store to find a ride to his new apartment, and there he receives the warmest welcomes from the owner, Ann-Marie Hinzelmann.
Within moments of meeting Shadow, Ann-Marie (played by Saturday Night Live vet Julia Sweeney) treats him like a girlfriend she’s known for years. Beautiful, right? Until Shadow’s ride arrived, and Ann-Marie introduced him through his alias, Mike Ainsel … which he did not share with her.
It was a moment you would snap, but Shadow definitely noticed it (though he said nothing). And us too. When TVLine recently spoke to Ricky Whittle, we asked him about it. It went like this:
TVLINE | When Shadow arrives at Ann-Marie Hinzelmann’s store, she’s referring to him without telling him, right?
[Long pause] American Gods is blessed …
TVLINE | Wait, start saying your elusive quote again, because I laughed too hard and it will be hard to transcribe.
[Laughs loudly] American Gods is full of Easter eggs. We are gifted by an intelligent audience in the world of science and fantasy that I love, and that you do not have to create. And if you look, we’ve told you everything you ever need to know. Just like Neil Gaiman told you everything you ever need to know in Chapter 1, in Episode 1 … But it’s so finely detailed and so meticulously laid out that it’s one of those moments, for example, if you did the whole show once saw play out, and you go back and look at it again, that’s when you realize, ‘He just said that. She just said it. Of course it all makes sense! They knew from the beginning. It’s those moments. And so there are always moments that you need to pay attention to, character traits, things they say, things they do. It is always very fascinating.
Hmmmm … right? For the record: Whittle, as always, was very charming while giving his non-answer. Also for the record: The exchange in question does not take place in Neil Gaiman’s novel on which the series is based – Shadow and Hinzelmann’s introduction is very straightforward – but it’s hardly the only deviation from the source material in the coming season. In the book, for example, Richie Hinzelmann is male. (And if you have read American Gods, please do not spoil anything in the comments for those who have not.)
Overall, the episode felt like the start of a season that was creatively fueled. (I’ve seen the first few episodes; so far the trend continues.) Here are some other events noted in ‘A Winter’s Tale’:
* Wednesday crowd-pigeon at a concert that was also doubled as a tribute to the allfather himself. When he arrived on stage, lead singer Johan (played by goth rocker Marilyn Manson) wrapped a sword and knelt in front of him, proving his allegiance.
* In New Orleans, Laura’s attempts to bring Mad Sweeney back to life backfired when she cut his coin from her, ending her life and turning her into dust. Nearby, the bottle of resurrection juice she obtained from a local witchy woman breaks closer to her heap of powder.
* Mr. World chose to act as Ms. World (played by Set‘s Dominique Jackson), who was annoyed that the crowd surfing on Wednesday – and not the message of the New Gods – went viral. When one of the millennials working for her did not take her anger seriously, she hit a baseball bat and beat him into a paste while Technical Boy and the rest of her staff were splashed with his blood. She reminded Tech Boy that the New Gods are trying to build a pipeline in everyone’s brains, but they’re struggling to get financing. Then she sent him to bring Bilquis to their side. He did not succeed, and Bilquis put a slap on him through touch that hurt him well.
* Early in the episode, Shadow got Shadow to accompany him in Betty’s latest incarnation – a Winnebago – to see Whiskey Jack. They entered another dimension with a bad, cool, northern light, but Shadow was the only one who had a meaningful connection with Whiskey Jack. The mystical man (a god?) Told him that he had a destiny to fulfill, “do not pervert it, otherwise everything will come to an end.” When Wednesday and Shadow return to the real world, they are met by Cordelia, a young woman who was introduced as his fiancée on Wednesday. Before he and Cordelia took off, his son was reminded on Wednesday that a paid apartment in Lakeside was waiting for him. “I do better when I make my own decisions,” Shadow said. But when he wanted to take a bus to literally anywhere else, a sudden winter storm determined that he would indeed go to Lakeside.
* At the end of the episode, Shadow tries to break into his apartment after the key in the lock is broken. And it was then that he realized that someone was aiming a gun at his neck, so that he slowly raised his hands.
Now it’s your turn. What did you think of the episode? Did you catch the moment when Ann-Marie mentioned the name? Rate the premiere via the poll below and then print the comments with your mind!