Warning: This post contains spoilers for the American Gods third season premiere.
Near the end of American godsdebut on Sunday, Shadow Moon arrived in Lakeside, the sleeping city where he will spend a significant amount in season three. It was cold and Shadow didn’t have the proper clothes to avoid Wisconsin’s winter. So he quickly went into the warehouse to try to find a ride to his new apartment, and that’s when he received the warmest welcome from the owner, Ann-Marie Hinzelmann.
A few moments after meeting Shadow, Ann-Marie (played by Saturday Night Live (veterinarian Julia Sweeney) was treating him like a friend she had known for years. Cool, right? Until Shadow’s ride arrived and Ann-Marie introduced him by his nickname, Mike Ainsel … which he hadn’t shared with her.
It was a blinking moment and you will lose, but Shadow certainly noticed (although he didn’t say anything). And we too. So when TVLine recently spoke to Ricky Whittle, we asked him about it. See how it was:
TVLINE | When Shadow walks into Ann-Marie Hinzelmann’s store, she refers to him by name without him telling her, right?
[Long pause] American gods is blessed …
TVLINE | Wait, start saying your evasive quote again, because I was laughing a lot and it will be difficult to transcribe.
[Laughs loudly] American gods it’s full of Easter eggs. We are gifted by an intelligent audience in the world of science fiction and fantasy that I love, that you don’t need to feed. And if you watch, we’ve told you everything you need to know. Like, Neil Gaiman told you everything you need to know in Chapter 1, in Episode 1 … But it’s so minutely detailed and so meticulously placed that, it’s one of those moments, for example, where, once you’ve seen it all this show plays, and you go back and watch it again, that’s when you realize: “He just said that. She just said that. Of course, now it all makes sense! They knew from the start. ”These are the moments. And then, there are always times that you need to pay attention, character traits, things they say, things they do. It is always very fascinating.
Hmmmm … right? For the record: Whittle, as always, was very charming in delivering his non-response. Also for the record: the exchange in question does not happen in the Neil Gaiman novel on which the series is based – the introduction of Shadow and Hinzelmann is very straightforward there – but it is hardly the only change from source material in the season ahead. In the book, for example, Richie Hinzelmann is a man. (And if you read American gods, please don’t spoil anything in the comments for those who didn’t.)
Overall, the episode felt like the beginning of a season that was zhushed creatively. (I saw the first episodes; so far, the trend continues.) Here are some other noteworthy events that took place in “A Winter’s Tale”:
* Wednesday the crowd plunged into a concert that doubled as a tribute to their own father. When he reached the stage, vocalist Johan (played by Gothic rocker Marilyn Manson) drew a sword and knelt before him, offering his allegiance.
* In New Orleans, Laura’s attempts to bring Mad Sweeney back to life backfired when she cut his coin – wiping out his non-life and turning it to dust. Nearby, however, the bottle of resurrection juice she acquired from a local witch broke and slid close to her pile of dust.
* Mr. World chose to appear as Ms. World (played by PoseDominique Jackson), who was annoyed that Wednesday’s crowd-surfing – not the New Gods message – went viral. When one of the millennials who worked for her didn’t take her anger seriously, she lifted a baseball bat and beat it to a paste while the Technical Boy and the rest of his team were splashed with blood. She reminded Tech Boy that the New Gods are trying to build a channel in everyone’s brains, but are having trouble getting funding. So she sent him to bring Bilquis to their side. He was unsuccessful, and Bilquis put a touch on him, via touch, which messed him up a lot.
* At the beginning of the episode, Wednesday had Shadow to accompany him in Betty’s last incarnation – a Winnebago – to see Whiskey Jack. They entered a different dimension with an incredibly cold sky, like northern lights, but Shadow was the only one to have a significant connection with Whiskey Jack. The mystical man (a god?) I told him that he has a destiny to fulfill, “so don’t screw it up, or it will all be over”. When Wednesday and Shadow returned to the real world, they were met by Cordelia, a young woman whom Wednesday was introduced as his bride. Before he and Cordelia took off, Wednesday reminded his son that there is a paid apartment waiting for him in Lakeside. “I do better when I make my own decisions,” said Shadow. But when he tried to take a bus to literally anywhere else, a sudden winter storm determined that he was, in fact, going to Lakeside.
* At the end of the episode, Shadow tried to break into his apartment after the key broke in the lock. And that was when he realized that someone was aiming a gun at his neck, so he slowly raised his hands.
Now it is your turn. What did you think of the episode? Did you notice the moment when Ann-Marie mentioned the name? Rate the debut through the poll below, then give your opinion in the comments!