‘American Gods’ Recap: ‘Conscience of the King’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 306 of ‘American Gods’.

It is definitely safe to say that season three of the STARZ series, American Gods, has been quite the unique venture. For this year’s adventures through the world of the Gods has offered up some surprisingly intimate stories, the kind that feel supremely familiar as the Gods work to deal with some of the heartache and roadblocks that mankind deal with on a regular basis. But while this has made for some compelling and unique storytelling, the ‘why’ behind this fascinating paradigm shift in the structure of the series has yet to make itself apparent to the audience. Which isn’t a bad thing by any means, since these tales do indeed draw you in, but it would be nice to get some inkling as to where this is all headed. 

If anything, this is relevant to our discussion today, simply because… the next episode in this story, kept that mystery going by once again offering up an episode that examined more fascinating aspects about the human condition. For ‘Conscience of the King’ took the time to ponder upon how the past can come back to haunt us, while also exploring how second chances can go sour when we don’t let go of what prompted the need for a fresh start to begin with; alongside a storyline that explored how important it is to have closure in life in order to move on. And it accomplished these grand explorations, by way of three key plot lines involving Shadow, Laura and of course… the infamous Mister Wednesday and well, it’s best we start with Shadow’s storyline, since it offered up the simplest exploration of all. 

Because in this particular tale, everything that Shadow was running from found its way to Lakeside. Since Laura dropped by in a desperate attempt to get him to reveal Wednesday’s location, which he wasn’t willing to do and… it also turns out that Marguerite’s sister is someone that Shadow already knows. Because an invitation to dinner, allowed for Mister Moon and Sam Black Crow to reunite and kinda, sorta catchup and of course… this little twist, put Shadow’s cover story at risk. But thankfully, Sam made a point to keep his real identity a secret and while this didn’t end in disaster, the lesson inherent was quite clear. In that, the past will always find new ways to haunt us and come back around until we finally deal with it, and it will be interesting to see when Shadow will finally opt to do just that.

---

As for Laura’s journey… well that handled the whole matter revolving around how one can waste a second chance. Something that was hammered home by Shadow himself. Because he was quick to point out to her that she’d been to the void and beyond and made it back to Earth in one piece and had the opportunity now, to do whatever she wanted in life, so why focus this second chance on exacting revenge upon a God? Words that were wise but fell upon closed off ears since she was hellbent on executing her plan. If anything, all of this boils down to the fact that while Laura has indeed made peace with her past, she has yet to understand that blaming others for one’s hardships doesn’t exactly heal one’s soul and that it can in fact, muck up a second chance when that fury is pointed in the wrong direction. And it should be equally as interesting to see if Laura can come to that particular epiphany or if she will let the cycle continue.

But while it was fascinating to see Shadow and Laura get some fine schooling in regard to this wild journey known as life, it was Mister Wednesday and Demeter that examined our final lesson of the night. Because we came to learn in this tale, what it was that ruined their relationship, and it turns out that the loss of a child and Wednesday’s decision to choose war and glory over compassion… drove Demeter away. And that realization motivated Odin to finally apologize properly and help his love to understand that he did care and felt similar pain over losing someone so important to the both of them. Which was everything that Demeter needed to hear and that motivated her to finally forgive Wednesday and make peace with her journey, which in turn allowed for her to simply move on from this plane of existence. A decision that was hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking for certain, and this plot line deserves some serious credit for finally showing us a side to the God of War that we’ve not seen to date. Since it helps us to understand that he does have a heart, and that perhaps there is hope for Wednesday after all. 

However, while this episode offered up a great deal of life lessons and everyday moments that Gods and mankind share alike, it did take the time to push the plot along in the background as well. After all, Shadow is continuing to discover that Lakeside is not what it seems, and that Derek is the undergarment thief in this town… and it was also heavily insinuated that Marguerite’s son might have fallen victim to the same invisible force as dear Alison. Plus, Mister World (played brilliantly by Danny Trejo in this tale) put in motion an attempt to forge a shaky alliance with Laura Moon in the hopes of bringing down Wednesday, and he even revealed he may be taking orders from a higher power and well… all of these little surprises definitely motivate one to continue this unique journey. So, that we can see where this plot is headed, when it is finally ready to reveal is secrets. Until next time.

---