American Gods 2 Episode 6

Published April 15, 2019 · Updated July 6, 2022

So, obviously this show has been up and down, and as king bee has said repeatedly, no matter how many times they do something cool or visually stunning, “I still don’t care”. Those words are the simple reason that despite some really nice acting performances, visual aesthetics, and some decent soundtracks, American Gods falls short. At the end of the day, being controversial, or shocking on its own, without furthering the story is just shock tv. We need real stakes and we ultimately need to feel, whether good or bad, we need those feelings to move along.

This brings me to episode 6, of season 2, which for the most part I really appreciated. No not for the flashback in time, but actually showing us several parallel ideas in our culture that directly correlate with the show topic. First they took “classic” rock and showed us the American Gods of the 70s and 80s, men like Sebastian Bach formerly of Skid Row, and the great Lou Reed formerly of the Velvet Underground. This was the most effective comparison to date for this show, who better to help push the idea of the American Gods and the struggle to adapt, evolve, or burn out than old rockers who just fade from time if they do not evolve. Lots of rockers from that era existed, they were like Gods, and very few of them evolved and adapted the way a Bon Jovi, or Metallica did. There are much more who like Sebastian Bach faded from the limelight. I loved the way they integrated that idea into the show.

In the same sequence we see a mall, like so many in America, barely populated, with more stores than people. Not too long ago, the Mall concept was a booming economy, and they too were and are being forced to evolve, adapt or fade from memory. So appropriate for the show, super effective. I love that they allowed you to grasp these many correlations without adding heavy handed dialogue to force it. They allowed these scenes to breath and develop at a realistic level, and sadly, that’s something this show has not done effectively.

I just wanted to point out these things I noticed, and I was much more up on this episode. So often, I can’t wait for it to be over, but this episode really was enjoyable and was laid back, allowing the nostalgia to hit us. It’s the way this show needs to be, tugging on nostalgia, showing the evolution of the Gods throughout, and showing us why a war is necessary. I look forward to seeing that.

Loyal shatter and listener
Kenny P (ducommun)

Ps, back a month ago gene, I really felt the way I did about rickey whittle, and that he’s awful, and I tried to save you from a devout whittle fan by backtracking my comment on twitter lol. But you just doubled down on that guy, even after I attempted to give you an out, good on you for being all in on it, I just imagine people who are that into whittle are psychotic, and I really don’t want to find out. Keep up the good work

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