The VerdictĪmerican Gods’ third season is a more focused but also more monotonous take on the exciting and messy series it once was. The lack of subtlety in dissecting and depicting the darker, stinkier bits of what really “makes” America tick is a disservice to the story that could and should be told, if the show didn’t keep following such well-traveled roads. But the fact that the series never seems to want to dig deeper into that aspect of its own story is what makes it feel so uninspired, so one-dimensional when it should be vital and incisive. It was never going to be perfect, which ultimately feels pretty on-brand (and American, let’s be honest). Compounding matters, some of the most memorable and engaging characters like Bilquis (Yetide Badaki) and Laura Moon (Emily Browning) are deeply underutilized, which is undeniably frustrating.Īll of the actors who’ve come in contact with the series have only enriched what was always going to be an incredibly hard story to tell. The series never felt like something that needed to hew so closely to the book, and in doing so, the show has managed to become a watered-down, oversimplified version of itself that feels like a bit of a slog. The meandering plot, unique locations, the myriad fascinating gods and all their disambiguations made for a potential playground of richly nuanced storytelling about the complicated American patchwork, by way of a mysterious buddy road trip. Gaiman’s source material has always been a complicated, imperfect beast, but one with so much potential, an arena in which to explore what makes America, well, America, and all that it holds sacred. Though the writing does feel improved over Season 2, the heart of what made this show particularly weird and exciting under the tutelage of Fuller and Green is still missing.

(now played by Dominique Jackson), but efforts to “right” and focus the story leave the whole thing feeling at a loss. There are certainly worthy attempts at mixing it up here, like the reincarnation of Mr. Unfortunately, the show handles it all quite predictably, both in tone and measure. For those who’ve read the book, the location is familiar, home to a spooky mystery and its own cast of characters that - you guessed it - result in Shadow getting into a lick of trouble. Wednesday (Ian McShane), understandably wants to get away from all this Old and New Gods stuff, and finds himself hiding out in Lakeside, Wisconsin. Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle), dealing with the fallout of learning that his father is in fact Odin/Mr.

The current point in the story doesn’t help matters much, either.

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