‘American Gods’ Recap: ‘The Lake Effect’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 309 of ‘American Gods’.
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If there is one thing, that each and every one of us want in life, it would have to be consistency. Because there is comfort to be found in the norm, and that is why we work hard to attain it in our lives. But while it is nice to find a status quo and immerse ourselves within it, deep down we know it won’t last forever. Simply because change is the only real constant in the universe and it always finds its way into our lives, and sadly… that can be a tough lesson for us to swallow. Especially it arrives at a point in our journey, when we think we’ve found the consistency that we crave and really, all of this relevant to our discussion today, simply because last night’s episode of American Gods, took the time examine change in an incredibly fascinating manner.
 
Because ‘The Lake Effect’ took the time to look at two key aspects of this concept. Specifically, how sometimes change is difficult for people to comprehend when they’re addicted to consistency, regardless of how unsustainable it truly is and also how easy it can be to embrace, when we take an objective look at our lives and the first of those concepts was explored by way of Shadow Moon. For his return to Lakeside, after unsuccessfully looking for Sandy in Florida, was quite unceremonious and uncomfortable. Because Derek took his own life shortly after his return, and it appeared as though he was responsible for murdering Alison after all, and that didn’t sit right with Shadow. Because he knew that Derek wasn’t capable of such an act, and that motivated him to start digging deeper and well, what he found was shocking.
 
For he came to discover, that a lot of kids have gone missing in Lakeside, and that all signs pointed to them being killed as part of some kind of ritual sacrifice, and sadly… he was right in that assumption. For it turns out that Alison’s body was in the trunk of the car that was designated to sink into the lake, and that other kids were in other cars and all of this was part of a tribute to a god. One that turned out to be Ann-Marie Hinzelmann. Who truly did not want these tributes to end since she believed that their sacrifice was worth the spoils that the good people of Lakeside enjoyed. But Shadow was quick to point out otherwise and take action when needed, bringing an end to her bloody reign and putting Lakeside on a bold new path, one free of her direction and well, this plot thread definitely did a wonderful job of hammering home how hard and how destructive it can be to keep change at arm’s length. 

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​As for the other aspect of change that we made mention of, well that was handled by way of Mr. Wednesday. For after years of calling for war and trying to assemble a coalition, he finally decided that peace was the right way to go. Simply because his time with Demeter helped him to understand the err of his ways and that his warmongering was forcing him to miss out on so very much in life, and well, that motivated him to call in Czernobog and have him at his side when he met with Mr. World to call for a truce. Something that ended in disaster since World was eager to offer up rotten terms for the old Gods and also because… someone who has refused to change their ways dropped by to cause some serious trouble. 
 
Because eventually Laura Moon found Wednesday, with a little help from the lucky coin, and she also used that coin to accomplish the seemingly impossible. Since she was able to plunge the spear into Odin’s heart, effectively ending his life and putting this fictional world on an uncertain path. For a God died at the hands of a human being and who knows what kinds of repercussions will come from this, both from the God world and from Laura’s psyche. For there is a fair chance she will feel no satisfaction and reprieve from such an act, leaving her as lost and as angry as ever… and truly, it will be interesting to see what comes out of the stunning ending of this tale since it really didn’t seem as though Laura was going to accomplish this particular mission all that long ago.
 
But while we wait for resolution, we can bask in another fascinating tale, one that more or less made it clear that the old ways from the old Gods are genuinely outdated, and it is a shame that Wednesday died now, since he was ready to reform his life and perhaps the ways of his cohorts. But alas what is done and done, and ironically, change has come to this entire story. Since its primary focus, specifically… preparations for war between the old guard and the new guard, has disappeared from the framework of this tale, to be replaced by a voyage unknown and that is exciting to say the least. Because it genuinely moves this series into bold new territory, that kind that will undoubtedly surprise us further, and it will be quite interesting to see what kind of new horizon awaits us in next week’s season two finale and beyond.

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