American Gods star Yetide Badaki breaks down “incredible” Bilquis scene

American Gods has seemingly returned to form after a rough patch during its second season. The third season, so far, has dived deeper into the nuances of each character, and given us a rich story of the battle between the Old and New Gods.

But one story in particular has caught the eyes of many: the story of Bilquis (Yetide Badaki), an ancient goddess of love who years for the worship she inspired in days of old. How she chooses to “love” is rather interesting and involves occasional orgiastic rituals, together with some *ahem* intense love scenes — those of you who have watched know exactly what I’m referring to.

In the most recent episode of American Gods, Bilquis is captured and tortured by Mr. World (Crispin Glover) after the “disappearance” of tech billionaire Bill Sanders (Gil Bellows). Her imprisonment has Bilquis in a heightened emotional state. As she begins to cry and her tears hit the ground, she conjures Oshun (Herizen F. Guardiola), the Yoruban goddess of love, purity and fertility. This encounter has Bilquis celebrating and dancing with her ancestors in a pure state of ecstasy. Kudos to Badaki for one hell of a performance!

Yetide Badaki elaborates on Bilquis’ transcendant experience on American Gods

Speaking with Digital Spy, Badaki broke down that scene and what it meant for Bilquis:

"And so this journey that we see Bilquis take where she goes into this moment of absolute isolation, where the walls are closing in – it mirrors so much, it feels like what a lot of us are experiencing right now. So it’s actually incredible that we see how she goes through that – how she moves through it. We speak of the tear, and we speak of what happens when you’re in isolation – since you can’t travel outward, you travel inward, and discover more about yourself. […] So, as you go inward, you’re literally dancing with the ancestors. And in that, you find that you’re never really alone. I think that’s a wonderful message to be able to retain through this past year."

American Gods has dived deeper into Bilquis’ character than it has before, and I feel like the show is really trying to establish a place for her that goes beyond those wild sex scenes. For the first couple of seasons, that’s all we really saw, but there is a change coming, and I’m here for it!

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