Five episodes in and American Gods is giving us some clues as Shadow & Wednesday meet Mr. World.

ThisAmerican Godsreview contains spoilers.

Five episodes in and this show is still mostly playing enigmatic.

I can respect that.)

He is gathering Old Gods to challenge the New Gods for the faith of America.

He has Czernobog, the God of Death on this side.

The New Gods fear him, but they dont fear Wednesday.

Not like they should… (In Wednesdays opinion.)

He has knowledge, which is different, which you would know if you had either.

This man deserves our respect.

As seen in the TV show, its hard to nail down exactly what Mr. World stands for.

Mr. World understands brand and corporate globalism, two of the most influential forces in the modern world.

He is strange and he is supremely focused and he tends to get what he wants.

Mr. World asks Shadow if he would like to knock out a few of his teeth.

Shadow, who is not a violent man, looks horrified at the suggestion and the situation.

My gift to you, Mr. World tells Shadow as the teeth roll towards him.

Mr. World is the kind of god who tells you what you want, then gives it to you.

Though both Shadow and Wednesday seem immune to his eccentric, unsettling charms.

Wednesday has no interest.

I hear exile.'

Wednesday doesnt want power and belief on any terms.

He wants the world to be the way it once was.

He wants worship and faith to be the way it once was.

Thats all you do: occupy their time.

We give them meaning.

Its a mass murder scene scene out ofHannibal though, perhaps, messier.

One major difference is that Mr. World wont get caught.

He doesnt just know everything; he shapes the stories that launch the world.

It doesnt matter that Mr. World slaughtered an entire police department.

The story will reflect what he wants it to reflect.

He has Media for that.

Shes his right-hand man and she knows how to sell a story.

Her character continues to be one of the most headache-inducingly meta.

Shadow and Laura reunite.

The reunion of Shadow and Laura was less effective than the second half of Lemon-Scented You.

Laura does not do a very good job explaining herself to Shadow, which is perhaps in character.

Instead, she clings onto her cool girl emotional detachment.

Lauras later interactions with Mad Sweeney are much more compelling.

Emily Browning is a tiny 51.

Paolo Schrieber is a massive 65.

When he tries to intimidate her, she simply flicks him across the room.

Laura might not be the nicest character on this show, but she sure is a likeable one.

They kiss and her heart beats for the first time since she died.

Shadow literally brings her back to life, if only for a second.

Though their conversation was less than riveting, their estrangement is the stuff of tragic romance.

Something tells me they will meet again.

In the mean time, however, Lauras heart wont beat.

(Though the animation itself was gorgeous.)

It also highlights the importance of man in that process.

We have the power to keep gods alive.

Additional thoughts.

If Mr. World wanted to talk to Wednesday, he could have just found him at the hotel.

He didnt need to turn Wednesday and Shadow over to the police.

Im sorry… foy lynching you.

Like a Renaissance pope, I absolve you.

Crispin Glover is wonderfully eccentric as Mr. World.

Spicy, medium, or chunky.

They get a choice, of coure of course!

But they are buying salsa.

Just like an oyster, youre trying to cover me up with something smooth and slimy.

Tracie Thoms, who played the female detective in tonights episode also played Mahandra in Bryan Fullers wonderfulWonderfalls.

Mad Sweeneys bad luck continues… with a little help from the devilishly smart Laura Moon.

He ends tonights episode fleeing from the police station after having been arrested for Lauras murder.

In the mean time, however, his bad luck is most likely going to get in the way.

Was it his bad luck, perhaps, that contributed to the bad timing of the Shadow/Wednesday arrest?

Could this be another god perhaps Yggdrassil from Norse mythology?

Or is it a manifestation of the Bone Orchard that Shadow keeps dreaming about?

He is unwilling or unable to trust his own sense of consciousness.

Rating:

3.5 out of 5