The Premiere of American Gods Deals in Dualities

A different kind of team starts the episode. In a preface to both the episode and the series, “The Bone Orchard” begins by telling a coming-to-America story of Vikings, more than 100 years before Leif Erikson discovered the same place. When the group finally reaches land, they find only death and misery. But there is no wind for their sail to return home, so they sacrifice first one eye each and then one life to appease their war god so he will help them. When that’s not enough, they start a war amongst themselves, creating two opposing sides where there were none before, so they can get help from a god they weren’t sure was listening.

There’s a lot of foreshadowing in “The Bone Orchard”—for example, the noose that frames Shadow’s face while he is in the prison yard at the beginning of the episode ends up around his neck by the end. So I’m sure this preamble tells more than it seems of what will come in American Gods. (Did you notice that Wednesday only has one good eye, just like the men on that beach in the new world?) In fact, this whole episode feels like a prologue, focusing on Shadow’s background before his story can truly begin.

When Shadow leaves Laura’s grave and his old life to start this new journey, he walks along the yellow lines in the middle of the road. Like Dorothy in Oz, Shadow follows the yellow brick road into a fantasy world that has rules and people he doesn’t understand. American Gods shines in the moments that leave reality behind for something else entirely. When Shadow meets Technical Boy (Bruce Langley), the editing, production design, costumes and sound all combine to create a lush world that’s fun to explore. It feels sharper, weirder and more claustrophobic than Shadow’s normal reality. The children, as Technical Boy calls them, are delightfully creepy, giving off a Clockwork Orange vibe both with their look and the violence they inflict on Shadow.

The scenes that blur fantasy and reality will feel familiar to fans of Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal. Fuller is co-showrunner of American Gods, along with Michael Green, and I know I’ve been anxiously waiting his new foray into a loved adaption. Exaggerated gore and deep, saturated colors are apparent in both Hannibal and American Gods. The otherworldly, tense music during these scenes also sounds similar to Hannibal, and sure enough, Brian Reitzell composed the music for both shows. But where Hannibal had subtext, perhaps because it didn’t benefit from being on a premium channel, American Gods lives in excess. People don’t just die in American Gods, their spine is ripped from their body in a shower of blood. People don’t just have sex, they are eaten by a goddess’ vagina. It would almost be too much if it didn’t include space to breathe and charm to spare, mainly through McShane’s and Schreiber’s performances.

So, do you have good luck or bad luck? Do you want to go to Moscow, Russia, or Moscow, Idaho? Do you choose heads or tails? With American Gods, you can do it all at once.