the skipper
Professional Curmudgeon
The series finale is airing this week. I've watched every episode and I still have no friggin' idea what's going on. Anybody else in the same boat or am I just thick?
American Gods. Is it just me, or what?
- Thread starter the skipper
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StimpyWan
Addicted Member
It does seem more interested in introducing characters, than building a plot. Though, I have to admit, I'm not rushing it, as Shadow Moon stills seems confused by the unfolding events too. So, if he's confused, I guess there's no reason that I shouldn't be either. But, I think it's getting there? It looks like a climax is on a slow build, and 'something' will happen soon.
I also admit that I'm really enjoying the cast. It's well chosen. It's nice to see Cloris Leachman and Crispin Glover again. And Ian McShane is having fun chewing up dialog, and he's fun to watch as well. Plus, Gillian Anderson's various appearances as Media have been a hoot. I hope she'll appear in even more episodes in Season 2.
Now as to slow builds, that kept me confused, and entertained, I think Legion on FX did it better. That show was a mind-trip, to the very last episode. Very confusing, but in a good way. One of the best shows I've seen in years. I'm glad it'll be back for another season. I hope that'll be as well done as the first!
I also admit that I'm really enjoying the cast. It's well chosen. It's nice to see Cloris Leachman and Crispin Glover again. And Ian McShane is having fun chewing up dialog, and he's fun to watch as well. Plus, Gillian Anderson's various appearances as Media have been a hoot. I hope she'll appear in even more episodes in Season 2.
Now as to slow builds, that kept me confused, and entertained, I think Legion on FX did it better. That show was a mind-trip, to the very last episode. Very confusing, but in a good way. One of the best shows I've seen in years. I'm glad it'll be back for another season. I hope that'll be as well done as the first!
Agree with you on AG and definitely Legion. I still think the Leprechaun is my favorite character so far.
soundmotor
super modified
I don't have a huge amount of bandwidth for supernatural shows but Legion, wow, just wow. The Bolero sequence just incredible. Looking forward to S2.
StimpyWan
Addicted Member
Yea, that Bolero sequence was insanely good! I think I rewatched that scene at least 3 times. I'm hoping for more episodes from season 2 as well, with hopefully as a good story line too.
soundmotor
super modified
What I liked about that scene was how neatly it tied up loose ends and closed out several story lines too.
The other point is that besides a great story the show is a visual treat, stunning at times i.e. Bolero.
The integration of music and imagery superb for anything much less a cable channel.
soundmotor
super modified
One of the funnier scenes in Legion was where one of David's personas started talking with an English accent and the other David said something like "You call that an English accent? Definitely inside baseball but very funny if you caught it.
dodog
Addicted Member
If Aubrey Plaza doesn't get the Golden Globe, or whatever the TV equivalent of an Oscar is, she'll be getting screwed. She MADE The Shadow King in Legion. I always liked her in Parks and Rec, but that was a very limited role. I honestly had no idea she had this amount of talent in her. Noah Hawley has a really strange ability to take known/semi-known/unknown actors and actresses and bring out the best in them. This season of Fargo started off slow, looked a bit like a stinker and has become as amazing as the two seasons before. Legion might be the best comic adaptation since Nolan's Batman Trilogy, possibly even better.
dodog
Addicted Member
I haven't seen this show but considering it's based on work by Neil Gaiman, I'm not surprised by your and others reactions.
soundmotor
super modified
Decided to watch. Good cast and a few memorable moments but seems conceptual and not fully developed. Oh, and much grossness surrounding Shadow Moon's wife.
/great opening credits though
/great opening credits though
judsonw
Super Member
Having read the book at least three times, I was excited for this series. There were a number of things I was intrigued to know how they would adapt to the show and there are a few little jokes that they have added that if you know the story you will appreciate, but if you do not, it is not to your detriment.
A couple episodes in, I had to accept that this is a different story than the book. It follows some of the same general outline, but a book like American Gods cannot be directly transcribed to television; books are more forgiving of relaxed pacing while TV has to get people hooked and hold onto them.
Season one is definitely a prologue more than a story. It is the introduction of significant characters and setting. It is setting the chess pieces on the board so that the game can begin (or checker pieces if you are Czernobog).
I feel that the show has been well cast so far and I do look forward to how they take the story forward.
For those who are curious, for major plot points, Season 1 finished roughly a fifth of the way into the book. This is a rough estimate though as a) they are not completely following the chronology of the book (Media is not introduced until a quarter of the way into the book and Easter is not introduced until halfway in) and b) there are a large arc that I am not sure how they are planning on fitting into the show. They showrunners have a made a few choices that made it challenging to see how it will fit, but I will not give spoilers.
I do have a couple criticisms. One I will not share because it would be spoilers. One that I can share though is there are occasional inconsistencies that crop up when the switch between following the book and doing their own thing. In the first episode, the warden says that Shadow is in prison for aggravated assault and battery, but later it is shown he was arrested for a failed casino heist.
A couple episodes in, I had to accept that this is a different story than the book. It follows some of the same general outline, but a book like American Gods cannot be directly transcribed to television; books are more forgiving of relaxed pacing while TV has to get people hooked and hold onto them.
Season one is definitely a prologue more than a story. It is the introduction of significant characters and setting. It is setting the chess pieces on the board so that the game can begin (or checker pieces if you are Czernobog).
I feel that the show has been well cast so far and I do look forward to how they take the story forward.
For those who are curious, for major plot points, Season 1 finished roughly a fifth of the way into the book. This is a rough estimate though as a) they are not completely following the chronology of the book (Media is not introduced until a quarter of the way into the book and Easter is not introduced until halfway in) and b) there are a large arc that I am not sure how they are planning on fitting into the show. They showrunners have a made a few choices that made it challenging to see how it will fit, but I will not give spoilers.
I do have a couple criticisms. One I will not share because it would be spoilers. One that I can share though is there are occasional inconsistencies that crop up when the switch between following the book and doing their own thing. In the first episode, the warden says that Shadow is in prison for aggravated assault and battery, but later it is shown he was arrested for a failed casino heist.
the skipper
Professional Curmudgeon
Update: We've been watching it, starting out of curiosity and then it started to make a bit more sense. By the time the season finale hit we were hooked. We haven't read the books but since my original post, they dropped just enough crumbs to allow us to follow the trail.
Recognizer
Member
I found the show to be like the book: boring (to me). I got 3/4 of the way through the book and all they did was drive around (well, some other weird stuff happened), but there wasn't anything very interesting driving the story. So I ended up ditching it and finally reading the stand.
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