'American Gods' Recap: 'Lemon Scented You'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

Since the series premiere, American Gods has managed to captivate us by being an entirely different kind of television show. It's haunting, majestic and most importantly, it bucks the traditional route of adaptation by not condensing down the source material from Neil Gaiman's novel and the end result of taking this 'extended' approach has been nothing short of spectacular.

By taking its time to tell the story, this series has been able to do some incredible work with its characters. We've been able to explore what makes them tick and what they fear and want in life and while that may seem like a bit much to some, there's a rhyme and a reason for everything that happens on this show. Because by diving deep into the characters at every single level, we are invested, we are pulling for them and as we enter the back half of season one, that investment is paying off since Sunday's episode, 'Lemon Scented You', brought all of that character building front and center, using everything we've learned to help propel the plot light years ahead and allow for our characters to react accordingly and at the same time, deliver unto the audience some supremely satisfying moments as well.

Take for example, the reunion between Shadow and his wife. We've learned over the past four weeks that Shadow Moon is a man who hasn't had much to believe in outside of the love his wife shared with him, something that was robbed away by the revelation that his darling spouse died in the midst of a torrid affair, robbing him of what little hope he had left for the world until Wednesday came along and gave him something extraordinary to believe in. We've also learned that Laura Moon had no purpose in life, or faith in it for that matter and her lack of humanity came back to bite her when the afterlife came calling, and despite being gifted a second chance to do things right again, the bitterness within, and the familiarity of it was on full display as she slipped into old habits and worked to seduce and control Shadow once again at the start of this episode and wouldn't you know it, Shadow resisted, taking everything he learned about her and the world in her absence to realize that getting back together with her, would be a major step backwards.

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However, there was little time to bask in this wonderful payoff. Because unfortunately for Wednesday and Shadow, it turns out they have been played all along because Technical Boy and the powerful God he works for turned over evidence of the bank heist to the local police, who put the duo in cuffs and in a precarious position and the whole point of getting Shadow and Wednesday in an isolated place such as a police interrogation room was for the big man in question, Mr. World, to attempt a different approach with Wednesday and appeal to his ego in an effort to avoid this forthcoming war by striking a deal and well, this was our reward for spending all this time learning about the Gods. 

We know now that being forgotten means they die like humans and we know that they fear death as much as we do and what made this part of the story so magnificent is that Mister World, despite his incredible power and knowledge, respects Wednesday immensely and fears war with him. Because that war could end in major bloodshed for the New Gods and to see World put together a presentation from Media and offer up an apology from Technical Boy spoke to just how far he was willing to go to strike a deal and avoid conflict since he more or less offered Wednesday the world; a glorious war and a seat at the table with the New Gods and that's where another reward arrived because just as Shadow resisted temptation when it came to his wife, Wednesday rejected this deal, also knowing full well it would be a step back for him and there was something incredibly satisfying and joyful about seeing Wednesday say 'no' to World and his lackeys, preferring instead to earn his respect and power the hard way and reward mankind for worshipping him. 

Unfortunately, despite Wednesday's noble decision, there will be consequences to go with it since World had Media slaughter every officer at the police station and they will no doubt try to pin it on Wednesday and Shadow meaning they're on the run as they try to assemble their new army. To make matters worse, it also looks like Laura isn't quite ready to give up on her puppy either. Either way, wow, what a wild episode. There was no deeper meaning to be found here or to pour over. Just the beautiful culmination of four weeks of character work, where every decision by the people of this magnificent world made total sense and I'm so glad the show went this slow burn route to bring us to this point because it allowed for everything in this episode to work perfectly. We fully understand why World wants Wednesday in the fold since he could put an end to several if not all of the New Gods and we understand why Wednesday is so hell bent on keeping at his quest...he refuses to be forgotten. Regardless, the war continues to brew and the task ahead for Shadow and Wednesday will be difficult and I cannot wait to see where this bold series takes us next week. Until then. 

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