AMERICAN GODS: “Muninn” (S2E3): Keep Searching Or Give Up

As I type this, I’m sitting amongst others who are hard at work at my local library. At this point I’ve been here for about 45 minutes, and this is my second attempt at starting this recap. I tried a surprise attack but I couldn’t seem to get my “writing momentum” going. So I did what all good writers do: I stared straight at my screen, and started writing about what was around me until I could sneak up on what I really wanted to write about, which we have now arrived at: American Gods.

TV Shows, like people, sometimes simply need to find some momentum in order to find their way. Even though I felt episode 1 of S2 was a strong start and a great way to get back into Gaiman’s world, episode 2 left me nervous. But with episode 3, American Gods feels like it’s got its land legs and can tell us a great story.

While episode 2 nearly gave me whiplash from all of the back and forth between different pairings and plot-lines, “Muninn” feels like a more controlled look at the different characters in the vast expanse of this universe. Shadow, free from the train in which he was tortured, wanders alone through American forests and meets Sam Black Crow, (Devery Jacobs) who agrees to give him a ride to Cairo, where Wednesday waits for him.

Elsewhere, Laura and Wednesday seek out Argus, the surveillance deity, so that Wednesday can kill him in order to keep him from the New Gods. Technical Boy pairs up with the New Media, (Kahyun Kim replaces Gillian Anderson as a new incarnation of the goddess) as they attempt to reach Argus before Wednesday. Salim and The Jinn continue their “will they won’t they” (I hope they will!) as they seek out Odin’s spear, Gungnir. It’s a lot again, but this time it doesn’t feel like too much.

What They Want

This episode brought me closer to these characters than perhaps any of its predecessors. “Muninn” probes its characters in dire fascination of what they want and who they are. We’re rewarded as viewers by getting a good hard look at who we’re rooting for. In maybe my favorite scene of the entire series,  Sam Black Crow and Shadow drive in silence one night. After Shadow tells her of his strange dreams and she replies with a sarcastic “good luck”, he leans his head back and says, “I don’t want luck. I want peace.”

It’s a rare quiet moment for this explosive and surrealist show that reminded me how beautiful these characters are, and how much they have to go through. Shadow has just been tortured. His wife is dead. He’s seen his die. While it’s riveting for us to see him go through these trials, this moment felt like a reminder that he’s only human. It’s very nearly a breaking of the fourth wall, where Shadow barely even wants to be his character anymore, because he knows what Shadow must go through. And it’s handled masterfully. It’s a stunning moment of humanity in a supremely divine show.

In only her first episode, Sam Black Crow also introduces herself to the viewers in a poignant way. She remarks to Shadow that she is, “Two spirits in one body. Both masculine and feminine.” She later reveals that she is half Cherokee, and that she is always searching, which gives her purpose. Sam is a character of internal division. In a show with gods and the fate of the world, it’s refreshing to see a character struggle with their humanity. Sam brings the show back to Earth in a way no other character could, because she sits on the edge of the world of fantasy that Shadow has been thrown into.

Shadow Wants Answers

It’s nice when there’s a natural arc for a character in an episode. After Shadow’s conversation with Sam about wanting peace and the search for identity, it’s only fitting that he ends the episode by demanding answers from Wednesday. It’s a cathartic way to close, and is rare for a show as ambitious in its plot as American Gods. Wednesday tells Shadow that he should go to bed, and that if he doesn’t feel better in the morning, he can leave.

But we know Shadow will stay with Wednesday, because that’s who Shadow is. We can already tell that if he wants to reach the peace that he so desires, he has to help Wednesday with his sadistic and twisted plans. And that’s enough to keep me hanging on till next week.

What did you think of “Muninn”? Is Sam Black Crow your new favorite character? Do you miss Gillian Anderson as Media? Let me know in the comments below! I’ll be back next week for S4E2!