Pros:
-Fascinating concept involving the implementation of established mythology, cultural diversities, and personal beliefs. One of the most brilliant things about this show is just how much lore can be mined from history, legends, and the world today. There's a "sky's the limit" feel to the character roster that I immediately latched onto once I realized what the central premise of the show was. As a result, there is always something refreshing to look forward to with each and every episode. Not many shows can actually say this about their created universe and story concept.
-A truly diverse and unique set of characters that are worth diving into individually which the season does a solid enough job at executing.There are a few surprisingly highly engaging character spotlights sprinkled throughout that kept me fully invested in their background and origins. I also enjoyed some of the banter between the central characters as it mostly came across as either entertaining witty remarks or a small piece of interesting mythology allusions.
-The entire season is visually imaginitive for the most part considering some of the CGI imagery used for particular character presentations, the unique settings explored in each God mythology introducing episode opening, and the commendable character designs utilized throughout.
Cons:
-A shaky first two episodes that throws everything and the kitchen sink at the screen without a strong enough sense of context to back it up. Where some may find this to be a positively jarring way to start off a new show, I personally feel that this technique only works well if there's a character for us, the audience, to relate to onscreen as someone struggling to process what's taking place. Our main protagonist here, Shadow Moon, is essentially this individual, yet his reactions to said bizarre events doesn't really come across as ever being truly surprised during this specific time. This was an issue for me as someone who wasn't entirely sure how to feel about these fantastical moments at first. Thankfully, this is mostly remedied later on in the season. I chuck my issues with those first two episodes to questionable direction.
-Some of the visual FX can definitely be tweaked a little such as some of Shadow Moon's dream sequences and a few background set pieces that looked a bit too distracting with its green screen effect for my liking.
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| Crispin Glover showing up as a shape shifting villainous God that represents our entire world? Count me in! |
-There's a strange sense of pacing that felt as though the series was rushing through certain character moments in order to catch up to other key points of focus. Due to the rushed pacing regarding some of the more fantastical components, there were a few money shots that felt lacking of dramatic weight which resulted in those particular scenes having a more surface level of enjoyment and nothing more. It's a shame to say this considering how fun and creative some of those scenes are.
Personal Recommendation:
If you enjoy shows like Preacher (AMC) and Legion (FX), then American Gods is basically begging for your attention. However, I suggest keeping an open mind when tuning your mind to its interesting story structure and pacing. With only 8 episodes taking up the first season, this will be an easy quick binge for anyone with the time and interest in the show's compelling mythology. More importantly, it's a quick binge that will hopefully get you eagerly awaiting the next wave of intriguing characters and bold artistic sensibilities.
Season Rating: 8/10
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