American Gods Season 3 Episode 4 The Unseen Review- We’ve Found A Reason To Worship Again

American Gods Season 3 Episode 4 proves they have found the magic again and we will be in for a wild ride.

What happened in the writing room between Season 3 episode 2 and American Gods Season 3 Episode 4? The last episode was great. The cosmic vastness of Laura Moon’s reintroduction and the quirky weirdness of Shadow Moon’s town was electric. It was much more like the brilliance found in Season 1, but no one was willing to fully give into the hope that American Gods was back in full form. After two stellar episodes, I think it’s safe to call it official. The STARZ scorcher based on Neil Gaiman’s has found its mojo, and the rest of the season should be spiritual gold.

The opener of American Gods Season 3 Episode 4 harkened back to the searing emotion we haven’t seen since Season 1. It was poignant and hopeful while being simultaneously profoundly affecting. We as a nation should feel guilt for our wrongdoings. The series has done well in the past to look into the dark heart of a country and force us to see ourselves for what we are, not what we have convinced ourselves we are. Sometimes it is done with anger and indignation, and others with softly spoken words and quiet tears. “We is power,” ask the Wallstreetbets crew. They are sticking it to the man by sticking together. AMC and GME are going to the moon.

Tech Boy is nothing more than a glitchy soy boy beta cuck now. He is virtually(pun intended) rendered useless. His only purpose at this point is to regurgitate voice mails and scare people with his Virtuosity impersonation. He is a shell of himself right now. He and Shadow team up to find Bilquis when Shadow finds her apartment full of blood and empty except for Tech Boy. Bilquis called to him to find her last episode. When he finds Tech Boy there initially, he thinks he did something to her but quickly realizes someone else had a hand in her disappearance.

They are an interesting duo. Tech Boy is malfunctioning, and Shadow hasn’t come into his power yet. Shadow is the often clueless, placid everyman. He rarely has much agency and, although angry about it, isn’t emotional like Laura. Tech Boy is the opposite. He is a mass of condescension, arrogance, and insecurity. He also would not know how to dial anything to 2 if it saved his life. Their dichotomy makes them good foils for one another and provides both a much-needed dose of intrigue. They now know where Bilquis is being held.

There are consequences to Bilquis’ consumption of William Sanders. Not only is it messing up Mr. World’s plan for domination, but it has also placed her in grave danger. Her kidnapping did provide Mr. World a chance to exhibit his dual personality. Both personas are captivating, but they choose who to project based on need and power. That decision-making process could provide compelling insights into the megalomaniacal New God.

It’s by no coincidence Mr. World chose to project a white man(Crispin Glover) instead of a fellow woman of color(Dominique Jackson) to Bilquis. He needs to intimidate her into joining forces with him. Mr. World is trying his best to recruit Bilquis to the New God’s team. He tells her she will have direct access to her worshippers if he agrees to join him. As enticing as that is, Bilquis is an Old God who, in the final moments of American Gods Season 3 Episode 4, remembers where her power comes from. Oshun, Herizen Guardiola from Dare Me, arrives to remind her. The two women engage in a gorgeous dance of strength and endurance that is moving and powerful.

Mr. Wednesday is still trying to manipulate Shadow and gather his own troops. When more passive pressure doesn’t work to free his lady love Blythe Danner’s Demeter, he resorts to more extreme measures and literally burns Valhalla East down and then strips naked in traffic. You can bet Wednesday is not losing his marbles, but it is a ploy to get placed in the same facility where Demeter is. He will have to rely on Cordelia(Ashley Reyes) to orchestrate things on the outside. She has skills but is clearly a few crayons short and on borrowed time herself. With Wednesday locked up, it’s only a matter of time before she snaps.

It’s no real shocker the last two exceptional episodes coincided with Laura’s return. Emily Browning is a powerhouse and an absolute must for the series to continue to sizzle. She is still biding her time in Purgatory, and even if she isn’t exactly patient, she isn’t ripping the place apart either. Laura has begun to accept her new reality. That doesn’t mean she will take it sitting down or without a buttload of curses. Too bad she was yanked out of purgatory and back to Earth by an ill-placed boot heal and a hose full of water. She isn’t a zombie anymore; she is truly alive again. Gone for good, however, is poor Mad Sweeney. RIP, you sexy leprechaun.

Laura is on a quest now to find a song. She’s really on a quest to find a purpose for her third chance at life. After determining Mad Sweeney did love her, and that love provided her the spark she needed to return to Earth, she wants everything to mean something. If only she can get a song out of her head. That song is Schweiger’s Requiem of Baldr. Baldr in Norse Mythology is one of Odin’s most powerful sons. Considering she was married to Shadow, it makes you wonder if all roads lead to him.

American Gods Season 3 Episode 4 got back to what they do best. The series’s sweet spot has always been team ups and road trips coupled with hard truths. Laura continued to strut her undead stuff, and Mad Sweeney returned to us, if only in montage form. The opener reminded everyone as much as we would love to tout ourselves as an evolved nation of revolutionaries, we are just capitalists and consumers who didn’t want the British to take a piece of the pie was a highlight. Oddball team-ups and a proud reclaiming of power hint towards something big on the horizon.

Life is a series of journeys, made up of trials and pitfalls to be endured and avoided. As a series, American Gods has been through all of that. It has seen unbelievable highs and almost catastrophic lows. Like a never-aging beauty, it was stunning to look at and an addictive curiosity through it all. Now, finally, the pieces have fallen into place with a soft exhale of Laura’s first real breath in a long time. It’s a new dawn, a new day, and we are feeling good. Follow up on all our American Gods coverage here.

Stray Spirits

• In Norse Mythology, the numbers 3 and 7 are indeed significant. Requiring full 21 digits phone numbers is insane, though. Can’t you use telepathy or something?
• Orishas in American Gods are ancient gods from Africa. They come to the enslaved men and women when they need it most. Orishas are Gods of the Yoruba religion, which includes Santeria and Voodoo. They are the manifestation of Olodumare. Olodumare is the supreme owner of the universe. Shadow and Bilquis both have the African Gods speaking to them. This feels like a plot beat that is about to get really intriguing.
• If there is a Valhalla East, where is Valhalla West?