American Gods Review: Git Gone

The Git Gone episode is all about Laura and the events that lead to her death before Shadow’s release from jail. Emily Browning shines in this one, and we, the audience, are to have an array of emotions as Laura is unapologetically herself. If that means that there is some Egyptian God stating that she has a small, minuscule place in the universe that no one will bother to remember, well please F* off, sir. But she will be remembered as the one who came back after death, in some sort of zombie existence.

Laura, Our New Anti-Hero

Laura isn’t the most sympathetic of characters. She cheats on a husband that is willing to serve a full jail sentence to protect her, for her best friend’s husband, but we are made to understand her motives. In Laura’s world, the colors are dull blue and gray, with flies hounding her from the start. Boring and lifeless. The only brightness that comes across our introduction to her is from the cartoons that she allows her cat, Dummy, to watch when she’s at work. Speaking of work, Laura works in a casino that features a caricature of an Egyptian God, Anubis. The only thing she enjoys doing, card shuffling, is now a machine’s job. So what else is a woman to do besides get in her hot tub and huff bug spray?

Shadow walks into the casino as if he’s made out of the trouble that could rob this casino blind, but Laura is quick to deflate his sails. She catches his shameless cheating, and sends him on their way, but that night begins their relationship. The promise of fun and danger converts to mindless, relationship dynamics, and Laura finds herself bored out of her mind. The expositive scene shows what happens to a marriage when routine settles, but Laura’s plain existence is too much. However, instead of thinking of a career move to change the monotony, she decides robbing her place of employment would be all that she needs. Until Shadow gets caught.

From the beginning of the episode, we have watched Laura’s existence turn zombie-like, but after her cat dies, she chooses a path that will destroy multiple lives. And Robbie falls in love, but Laura isn’t willing to give up Shadow so easily. After the car accident, she faces Anubis and the God just wants to do his job; take a soul, direct it to the path it needs to go, and be on his merry way. Simple! But Laura wants to cause a ruckus about living her life with no regrets, but she’s sucked back.

And the fight scenes that come after! The passion Laura never had in real life finally shows up to protect Shadow. There is some Mortal Kombat kick-ass moves where spines are ripped out of bodies, and heads are thrown. Shadow is saved from his lynching, but Laura can’t face him. Not yet. So she runs to Laura’s house with an arm fallen off.

When (Former) Best Friends Keep it Real

Audrey and Laura’s honest conversation about their friendship is the best scene of this episode. It’s slapstick silly; Laura is in Audrey’s crafts room in order to stitch up her arm when Audrey finds her, ensuing tons of screaming in a locked bathroom. Laura forces her way in, but the scene reflects their personalities well. Audrey, the care-taking friend that does her best to help Laura keep the pieces together, while Laura literally releases her excrement of embalming fluid. Even after death, Laura finds a way to shit on Audrey’s life.

This scene is so necessary thanks to its refusal to gloss over Laura’s faults, as well gives Audrey the necessary tools to vent her frustrations directly to one of the culprits responsible for altering her life. Audrey is powerful, because she makes peace with the anger; Robbie’s resting position in his coffin could attest to that. (HEH!) So while she stands to help Laura stitch back her arm and drive her former friend to Shadow, Audrey has questions about Laura’s personal choices. Laura answers, coldly, but she’s apologetic for hurting her only friend. Laura also states that Shadow is her own personal sunshine, which tickles the other woman, but she contests due to Laura’s treatment and calling Shadow a “puppy.” Audrey is the type of honest friend you want on your team.

But Laura continues to search for Shadow, the man she quickly realizes that yes, she is truly in love with him. He is her only sunshine.

Observations:

• Loving to hate a character is always fun, and Laura is a complicated one – yet it’s too easy. Could we frown upon her life choices? Yes. But are we really going to hate a woman who grabs everything she wants? Nah.
• Also, I would never cheat on Ricky Whittle for the likes of Dane Cook. DOUBLE NAH!
• Betty Gilpin is a goddess in this episode. Audrey in the book was annoying as the flies haunting Laura’s zombie-body, but the actress was given more to work with her character AND SHE SOLD IT. I hope we have more scenes in the future, because I loved her so much!
• Oh, and if anyone has a gif of Audrey stating “F- your feelings,” please send my way. ASAP.