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What is more American than a mid-western road trip? Shadow and Mr. Wednesday drive further towards their adventure which leaves Shadow wondering: Is he insane? But first, the man of the hour has to pack up his former house, scroll through Laura’s phone, and pick up a few cowboy-inspired romance novels. For (the) Gods’ sake.

The opening scene is another Coming to America vignette dedicated to the people forced on to America’s shores – African slaves. After one catches a glimpse of a spider, he sings to Anansi, the trickster spider god. Anansi responds by weaving in the future dilemmas of segregation and police brutality to the men’s ears. Swelling the enslaved men’s anger further, they raised up from their chains to set fire to the ship and the Dutch, but one has to ask: what do the gods gain by these spiels? Anansi – played by the grand Orlando Jones – made it across the shores with the splinters of the destroyed boat’s wood, all help from the men who died for their freedom. But we, the viewers, are starting to put the pieces together. Who needs what more: Do the gods need our faith more than we need their blessings?

Also, how far would the gods go to court Shadow? Gillian Anderson takes on the face of iconic Lucille Ball to lay out her terms if he switched sides. The old gods are old, slow and quickly dying out, but the new gods are fast, more insidious as they could court power on their side within something as small as a smart phone. Media, as Lucille, even tempts Shadow to show off some special body parts, as if that will get him to run to their side. Curious as to what these gods choose to bestow on the people they need.

The duo makes their way to Chicago, which is where Shadow finds the space to lean further into this world. The reason why the different gods find Shadow tantalizing is because he is a void aptly named because he is a shadow of a human, walking this earth. What god wouldn’t want to try to claim someone in such a state? In the books, this is discussed much further, but in the show, we’re truly aware of the pain he’s in. The camera isn’t shy to pan in on him as he dreams of Laura or watch the bubbles of blood form under cuts from his hands gained by cleaning too hard. Nor are we comfortable as he scrolls through Laura’s phone to find a d**k pic that covers his wedding photo. America’s racist themes circle around Shadow as he was almost lynched last episode, yet we still see the marks on his neck. He’s not crazy, but he’s targeted for more reasons explained here.

As Mr. Wednesday tries to convince his former hammer to join the war, Czernobog (Peter Stromare), a Slavic god of evil, is quick to decline. But once again, another god is interested in Shadow and tempts our protagonist to play a game of checkers. It’s a deadly game: If Shadow loses, well, Czernobog is given free reign to crush his skull like one does to a cow. And the hammer is ready for new blood.

Observations:

• We learn of what makes Bilquis’ sexual romps out of this world – because literally, her vagina transports you to another galaxy. However we see the sadness as she visits a museum and we watch as her body fills in the display where her body chain, a beautiful, gorgeous thing, and a statue are held. I wonder if some of her power lie in these items.
• D*** pics make Shadow feel like a d*** head. Awesome!
• The way Czernobog speaks about killing cows in a monologue and relates it to how modern times make everything too simple, I love him, but oh my God, did this creep me out.
• Cloris Leachman as Zorya Vechernyaya is such a treat, that I want my coffee cup to be read by her. Tell me I’m dying a slow death, but do it in the hilarious way only you could.
• How did Shadow get saved from a lynching? We shall soon find out…

Photo Credit: Starz