American Gods Season 3 Episode 6 Conscience Of The King Review- Danny Trejo’s Mr. World And Demeter Tal

Demeter found the strength to say goodbye to Odin in an expository American Gods Season 3 Episode 6 that set the stage for the battle to come.

American Gods is at its best when emotionally resonant moments sneak up on you. Either in the form of blistering speeches or quietly contemplative nuggets of truth, that is the secret sauce. When unexpected behaviors speak volumes about a person’s true feeling, that is where it shines. It has always been about the duality of good and evil, right and wrong, and life and death. There is a beauty in the balance. A simplicity that could be appreciated between the blurred lines of the Gods and their not so benevolent offerings. Odin and Tech Boy each took another step on their journey. Both found surprising revelations in American Gods Season 3 Episode 6.

The opening this week isn’t hard-hitting or enlightening, just informational. Odin and Demeter have a past that we haven’t explored yet. To understand his story and to know his motivations for Demeter’s love are to understand better what drives Odin. Is he a man besotted, or a war God driven by a need to obtain power? By the end of the episode, we find it is both.

Like the series itself, American Gods feels like the Wednesday show. It’s understandable; Ian McShane is a force. His charisma is almost godlike, but some of the best moments have stemmed from everyone else’s plights. He is more the black hole everyone is slowly getting sucked into than the hero astronaut we desperately hope will survive. That was never more true than tonight.

Wednesday has laid his trap for Demeter. Like a spider waiting for his web to ensnare dinner, Wednesday is biding his time. It isn’t that Demeter doesn’t see the moral depravity of Wednesday, it is just that she isn’t totally able to withstand his onslaught. When she tells Hank Odin may not appear sick but his soul is black with rot she isn’t wrong. Power and time have taken their toll on the God who was already deeply flawed. Regardless of her attempts to get him kicked out of the facility, Wednesday is able to talk his way out of every situation. It is his greatest skill and worst attribute. Even Gods should have humility.

He may finally have met his match with Demeter. She was devastated by the loss of their child ages ago. Odin’s abandonment was something she never got over. He was easier to hate than love. Tyr is the better man, but she loved him like a friend. After Odin orchestrated a shadow puppet show to manipulate Demeter into remembering her love for Wednesday, she played one final card. Blythe Danner has been a welcome addition to the cast. She exudes feminine beauty, gentleness, and power. When she chose to leave Odin in a flurry of grain and birds it was a quiet victory befitting the Goddess. Odin is left with her money as cold comfort for her loss. Likely, his grief will only galvanize him in his effort to start a war.

The second big revelations were Technical Boys. The glitchy man/boy is a hot mess. He tries to run diagnostics on himself, but the 80s computer only succeeds in confusing him more. What is Artifact 1? Danny Trejo joins the cast tonight, and it is everything we hoped for. Mr. World may be a tool, but this God has the best actors portraying him. The latest, Trejo brings his signature scariness to the role. His easy wolfish grin as he tracks down Laura and Salim and hides intel from Tech Boy is quintessential Trejo. His insincere speech to Tech Boy makes the swaggering hubristic God sympathetic. What happens when Tech Boy realizes Mr. World doesn’t give a megabyte about him? I almost feel sorry for him. Bruce Langley has grown into this role and is now a standout.

Shadow and Laura reunite in Lakeside. She wants to know where Wednesday is and to recruit him potentially. He wants a chance to start over and urges her to take the same opportunity. It’s not often that you get a second second chance. Laura intuitively understands, though, that until Wednesday is stopped, no one will be safe. In typical Laura fashion, she is nonplussed by the news that Wednesday is Shadow’s father. Parent or no, he has to go. Sooner rather than later.

Laura proves she has learned something from her time in Purgatory and as an undead American. She tells Marguerite he is a good guy. Laura has had the most personal growth, even if she is still hellbent on revenge. Salim is a calming force on her. I hope Mr. World isn’t able to undo all that progress. More likely, he will be one more man who underestimates the “fragile female”.

In Lakeside, Shadow is trying hard to put down roots. If Lakeside has some quirks like a panty raider, kidnapper, and seriously antagonistic citizens, so be it. He has faith in a possible life with Marguerite. When those plans are almost derailed by Sam Black Crow’s surprise visit, who is her sister Shadow is concerned. She keeps his secret though. How are these two connected and why does his heart pound when he sees her? American Gods loves symmetry, and here is another one. Sooner rather than later, he will have to tell Marguerite who he really is.

Finally, Shadow catches the panty raider, red-handed, literally. Derek is the thief. How Spencer MacPherson’s(Reign) Derek factors into all the other weirdness is anyone’s guess, but it is one interesting development.

No big revelations happened in American Gods Season 3 Episode 6. It was more about setting up the narrative end game that everyone sees coming. Pawns needed to be shifted into place, Queen’s protected, and gambits played. Between all the development of the plot, there wasn’t any time left for actual character development. That’s okay for now, as there is a ridiculous number of plates spinning. For the finale to hit hard, however, deeper looks inside Tech Boy and Shadow are necessary. Some of the best episodes focus on one or two characters instead of the entire collection of Gods. Although fun to watch and essential for progression, episodes like this one are like looking at a kaleidoscope. They are gorgeous and intriguing but ultimately lacking any substance. Find all our American Gods coverage here.

Stray Faith

• Shadow’s dance painting to Bell Div DeVoe’s Poison is chiseled sweaty, gloriousness.
• I would never have guessed Shadow was a Salmon Mist kind of guy.
• There has been no serious crime in Lakeside since 1981. Fans of the book, no why that is. I can’t wait to see what the series does with the same material.