In Review: American Gods – The Beguiling Man

Synopsis: Promising vengeance for the death of a beloved old god, Mr. Wednesday begins preparation for a great battle; Laura and Mad Sweeney chase Shadow’s diminishing light after he disappears.

Review: This episode gives us a look at Shadow Moons past.

The Story

Mr. Wednesday and Mr. Nancy send Laura and Mad Sweeney on a mission to track down Shadow who has been captured and is enduring torture at the hands of Mr. Town who is very much on the side of the new Gods.

Elsewhere, Technology Boy is still searching for Media but isn’t having a great deal of luck.

Meanwhile, Mr. World has a meeting with the Goddess Bilquis who is reluctant to hand her fellow Gods over to the leader of the New Gods, which has World questioning why he is keeping her around.

The Acting

There are some wonderful performances in this episode and the double act of Emily Browning and Pablo Schreiber as Laura Moon and Mad Sweeney continues to amuse.

I was also impressed with the young actor that played the teenage version of Shadow Moon in the Flashback sequences to Shadows early days in America with his mother.

Overall

This episode didn’t really do a great deal to advance the story, but it does give us some interesting information about Shadow Moon and why Mr. Wednesday chose him as a companion. In one of the scenes with the young Shadow and his Mum. His mother tells him that there is a light burning inside of him, which is the brightest she has ever seen. We even get a brief scene in which Shadow meets Wednesday for the first time and learns the coin trick he always does. Only he is not aware that it is Wednesday. It is just one of those coincidental passing meeting that people often have.

The road trip stuff between Mad Sweeney and Laura Moon continues to be fun as the two share a really antagonistic relationship. Sweeney wants his coin back and Laura wants her life back.

The scenes where Mr. Town tortures an already tortured Shadow are really good and clever use is made of the flashback sequences to give us more backstory. Which leaves you wondering if Shadow Moon’s father is one of the old Gods. If not Wednesday himself?