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American Gods |OT| You Had Me At Bryan Fuller - Sundays on Starz

water_wendi said:
Soooo.. good episode?
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Aly13Yy.gif
 
Next week's ep looks like
it'll really push things forward a lot too judging by the promo, with the intro of Mr. World and more Technical Boy.
Should be good!
 
As someone who hasn't read the book yet, I seriously hope they release an edition with a cover based on the show's title card (instead of the current cover based on the promo image).
 
Pretty good stuff. I feel kind of strange about it, in that I liked the info it threw out there - Laura's nihilistic depression leading to a much more one-sided relationship than we had naturally assumed (and Dane Cook, what fantastic casting) - but the execution didn't land with me as well as the idea itself. But, it was probably still just enough overall to make me continue to sit down and watch this on Sundays.

Real talk, Audrey might be the highlight of this show so far.
 
I thought that episode was... 40 minutes of meh-to-awful followed by 20 minutes of pretty good.

Comparing the book to the show:
The change in dynamic to Shadow and Laura was off-putting to me. Like, the core issue is the same - Laura finds Shadow boring. But in the show, he's a charismatic wannabe thief that charms his way into her life. He's as exciting as a person can reasonably be. Laura, on the other hand, is so bored with life that she's willing to engineer a harebrained casino robbery. The book has them as two people, introduced, meet on a blind date, he's solid and dependable and sweet, and she can't think of any reason not to stick with him. The shallowness of the relationship, and her dissatisfaction with it, seems a lot more measured.

In the book, Shadow is extraordinarily boring. In the show, Laura is extraordinarily bored. That's a huge difference, and I think it undermines what makes Shadow work as a protagonist in the book. There'll be longterm thematic issues if they can't course correct there, thinking of the conversation they have in the graveyard WAY down the line.

And honestly, the first 40 minutes or so revolved around three actors who aren't particularly good or interesting to watch. Without any of the gods to spice things up, or anything weird to break up the pacing, we're left with an undercooked domestic drama. Thankfully it's a one-off, so I doubt we'll be getting any major speedbumps like this again.

That being said, glad to see Audrey again. Her actress really nails the character, and that whole scene was this horrific, goofy black comedy. I wonder if they'll find an excuse to bring her back again...
 
On its own merits, the episode was very good. But I feel like going off an entire tangent episode this early is not a good way to keep non book readers engaged. I'm stuck watching it regardless because of my wife, but I worry they'll lose people. I just hope that by the time the second season comes out, people won't mind that it's so slow to actually explain wtf is going on.

Next episode preview:

Looks like they're finally going to get closer though.
 
I actually thought this was the best episode to sort of ground "what is happening."

And Laura never really worked for me as a character in the book. This was a better interpretation.
 
I can kinda understand that downhill slope of progression from being depressed to suicidal to possible hope of it getting better to fear of becoming numb to all joy in life to crazy impulsive behavior. Laura's still crap but I get it.
 
jph139 said:
I thought that episode was... 40 minutes of meh-to-awful followed by 20 minutes of pretty good.

Comparing the book to the show:
The change in dynamic to Shadow and Laura was off-putting to me. Like, the core issue is the same - Laura finds Shadow boring. But in the show, he's a charismatic wannabe thief that charms his way into her life. He's as exciting as a person can reasonably be. Laura, on the other hand, is so bored with life that she's willing to engineer a harebrained casino robbery. The book has them as two people, introduced, meet on a blind date, he's solid and dependable and sweet, and she can't think of any reason not to stick with him. The shallowness of the relationship, and her dissatisfaction with it, seems a lot more measured.

In the book, Shadow is extraordinarily boring. In the show, Laura is extraordinarily bored. That's a huge difference, and I think it undermines what makes Shadow work as a protagonist in the book. There'll be longterm thematic issues if they can't course correct there, thinking of the conversation they have in the graveyard WAY down the line.
.
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That's an interesting point, but I think you're playing up Show-Shadow a bit. He was a thief...a terrible one that she spotted coming a mile away. Once he started dating her, he seemed to give that life up by and large. At best, he seems to be a petty thief, doing small time shit that isn't as interesting as you'd think it'd be. At any rate, he's certainly not going to be recruited by Ocean's 11. Hence her wanting to do something truly epic in robbing a big institution like the casino.

But yeah, there is a shift in that this is now more culpable for the event than before. I'm just not sure that's a bad thing.
 
I love Mr. Wednesday and the sheer confusing nonsense of the show so much, that I was actually a little bummed to hear they'd do an episode all about Laura as a flashback. I did enjoy it, though. Mostly in the end when the crazy god stuff starting to ramp back up again.

I really like the death god with the scales. Just his entire presence is great.
 
dead souls said:
I can't believe so many people are hating on Laura up in here.

I'm #TeamLaura all the way.
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I could see being empathetic to her condition, but no way would I be TeamLaura. If the other option is Audrey, I'm rocking with her. The whole scene where she freaked out, while Laura used her bathroom was funny.

"Hurt people hurt people" Too bad for Shadow he couldn't see Laura could never love him the way he loved her. Laura taking out the techno boys for him was a cool scene.
 
Audrey's scenes are the best non-book addition yet.

Re: Laura...we only saw her through Shadow in the book. He's obviously an unreliable narrator. This, to me, makes her a fuller, more round character
 
Qvoth said:
you're saying if you do recognize a murderous cannibal you're actually going to still be friendly to the person?
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The argument is likely that liking the character =/= liking them as a person. Aka an interesting character.

Though while I agree with the statement, there are plenty of times I can appreciate a character's depth but dislike them regardless because I can't separate my personal feelings over them. In this case, I feel more people have strong feelings towards cheaters vs cannibals.
 
Qvoth said:
you're saying if you do recognize a murderous cannibal you're actually going to still be friendly to the person?
Click to expand...

What kind of idiot would deliberately antagonize a murderous cannibal to his face? I'd smile, be polite, and then get the fuck away. Then I'd call the police once I was away. Hopefully he's also not a murder wizard that can escape any police squad after him and doesn't have nigh omniscience to know I ratted him out.

What I'm confused by is the implication that I would have the same relationship with a real life person as I would a fictional character.

Admiral Woofington said:
Though while I agree with the statement, there are plenty of times I can appreciate a character's depth but dislike them regardless because I can't separate my personal feelings over them. In this case, I feel more people have strong feelings towards cheaters vs cannibals.
Click to expand...

This is in the direction of what I'm getting at, but not quite it. Laura isn't a deep character, atleast not yet. But she's currently a super powered zombie discovering new feelings after being revived from the dead. That's the premise of her character as part of the story, and that's the part we should be paying attention to. Her being a terrible person is a footnote and largely unimportant except in reference to how she and shadow interact from this point forward. And THAT is where things will get interesting.
 
I have not read the books yet, but i found this episode to be amazing. I like this kind of storytelling that focuses and gives more depth to characters and their decisions which further deepens one connection to certain characters. The flashback and its connection to the now is very well done i thought.
 
- A|V Club Review: American Gods’ “Git Gone” is an existential wail wrapped in a heist tale.
- TVLine: American Gods Recap: Mrs. Moon Speaks — Plus: Emily Browning Breaks Down Laura's One-Armed Return.
- EW: American Gods recap: 'Git Gone'.
- Guardian: American Gods recap: season one, episode four – the unstoppable Laura Moon.
- Vulture: American Gods’ ‘Git Gone’ Is a Great Standalone Episode of Television.
- Uproxx: ‘American Gods’ Book Club – ‘Git Gone’ Gives Laura Moon A New Personality.
- Vanity Fair: American Gods Author Neil Gaiman on Laura’s Big Episode, George R.R. Martin, and His Plans for Season 2.
- THR: 'American Gods' Star Defends Violent Flashback Episode: It's Not "Gore Porn".
- EW: American Gods: Emily Browning on playing a revolutionary dead wife.
- IndieWire: ‘American Gods’: Neil Gaiman and Bryan Fuller on Fixing The Story’s Most Important Female Character.
 
Good episode. I really liked getting the backstory on Shadow and Laura. It had some really cool sequences too. I generally enjoyed the change of pace in structure from the previous episodes as well.
 
Ugh, this episode felt like a bit of a waste to me.
literally zero story progression and it's all background on a character I really couldn't give a shit about...
 
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