American Gods review, Episode 306: “Conscience of The King”

American Gods kicks off this week’s episode with a flashback to the Revolutionary War that sets the stage for Demeter (Blythe Danner) and Odin’s/Mr. Wednesday’s (Ian McShane) tragic love story. It was clear from the start that their relationship was complicated, but this episode really puts it into perspective.

Wednesday has always been ambitious, and with Demeter’s help (specifically her money), he hoped there was a way to defeat the New Gods once and for all. And along the way, Demeter got to know him like no one else.

And while Odin is famously shady, there’s a moment in “Conscience of The King” where my heart really went out to him. When Demeter finally lets Odin explain why he’s come to the facility where she’s living, he goes all out and tells his story in the form of a shadow puppet show, and we learn about their tragic romance. Between Odin and Tyr (Denis O’Hare), Demeter ultimately chose to be with Odin. But that decision backfired after she and Odin lost their child…and he abandoned her.

It was Tyr that stuck around as her emotional support, and it is Tyr whom she calls to join her during Odin’s nostalgic look back at their love story. Despite Odin’s efforts, he fails to convince Demeter to join him in the cause, one she never quite intended to join anyway. Instead, the next day they both prepare to leave the facility, but much to Odin’s surprise, Demeter vanishes into a magical cluster of leaves and butterflies. So much for that, Odin!

The Moon reunion

Last week’s episode of American Gods ended on a mini cliffhanger, as a newly revived Laura Moon (Emily Browning) reunited with Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle). It was the first time in a long time that Laura was actually alive. And even after everything she’s been through, her goal remains the same: kill Wednesday.

She comes looking for Shadow in the hopes that he would lead her to Wednesday. But as we’ve seen, Shadow has more or less joined his father’s mission again. Of course, Laura has no idea that Wednesday is actually Shadow’s father, but learning the truth doesn’t change her mind in the slightest.

Despite her efforts, Shadow doesn’t budge and she has no choice but to leave and figure out what to do next. On her way out she bumps into Marguerite (Lela Loren), and Shadow introduces her as his late wife. Awkward.

All’s well that ends well, because the connection between Marguerite and Shadow seems quite strong, and not even his dead ex-wife is going to get in the way of it. Instead, Marguerite invites Shadow to dinner with her and her sister Sam (Devery Jacobs).

As it turns out, Sam is the very same woman who Shadow came across in season 2 while trying to make his way to Cairo, Illinois. He’s a bit surprised and taken aback to see her, and it doesn’t help that he’s going by a different name in Lakeside. But she doesn’t reveal his secrets and even gives her blessing, along with a stern warning to be careful with her sister.

Salim and Laura

After failing to convince Shadow to help her out with finding Wednesday, Laura returns to the motel to reconvene with Salim, who seems to be imagining the television speaking to him about the Jinn. Their options are limited, and decide to attend a Blood Death concert in the hopes of getting closer to Wednesday. Of course, that band has completely fallen apart, quite literally, and it leaves Laura with yet another dead end.

That is until the new Mr. World (Danny Trejo) approaches the two of them with a proposition. It’s unclear what he intends to do, but rest assured, things are going to get pretty interesting with him involved.

Technical Boy’s glitches

Technical Boy (Bruce Langley) continues to glitch out this week, which I must admit gives me the heebie-jeebies. There’s something about the way his body breaks out into pixels that gives me the whole “nails on a chalkboard” type feeling.

Out of frustration, Tech Boy tries to run a diagnostic on himself and learns that the system is asking him for something called “Artifact 1.” It’s the only way he can get a full restoration, but when he goes to Mr. World hoping for a solution, he gets stone-walled.

Naturally, Mr. World is hiding something. Time will tell what exactly Artifact 1 is. Side note: Can we get Ms. World back at some point?

The third season of American Gods is leaps and bounds better than season 2. We’ve got a coherent structure, an intriguing plot, and a set of characters that each get their time to shine.

American Gods is proving to be a whimsical, entertaining journey, and I’m eager to see where these roads lead by the end of the season. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll finally get the Old Gods vs. New Gods battle we’ve been promised since the series started.

Grade: B-

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