American Gods 8/8 Reaction (SEASON FINALE)

SPOILERS!!! 

So, they made Anansi a weaver. Nice touch to have him weave the cloth. And yes, like with the other "rituals" on the show, they give you every...single...solitary...step. To show this is what Anansi does to occupy his brain. 

And we get to see Anansi in present time. He tells the story of the fall of Queen Bilqis to the modern world. How her debauchery and worship of pleasures of the flesh have been re-appropriated into hookup culture and new dating ideals. Her story was quite touching in this light. Never thought I'd feel for the Queen of Sheba, but here I am. 

Anansi raised an interesting point when he talked about the changing of Vulcan from an Old God to a New God. Regardless of your stance on gun control, it is a unique twist to see how our ideas of the forge and weapons worship have changed over the years. Volcan didn't die--he's just been altered to fit the needs of the times. Something Wednesday could stand to learn. 

Kristin Chenoweth was a spot-on Easter. She embodied the bubbly personality and fun-loving style of the holiday at just the right point. The Christ gatherings I saw made me nickname the episode "Jesus-Con". Every denomination with their own Christ was a really nice touch. Though I was looking for the Messianic representation (Torah) as well as Isa (The Jesus in the Quran), but couldn't find either of them. Still, this show finds newer and newer ways to be creative. 

Ending the series at this point, at this cliffhanger, was very gutsy. Even if they didn't know if they'd get a Season Two, this was a big declaration of War. And the reveals of Odin and Ostara were as they were in the book. And the messages of the New Gods representing human greed and ambition, whereas the more conservative Odin is for the traditional "explain the inexplicable" approach to worship. Shadow has been converted from a "Flat-Earth Atheist" to an agent of Odin. And the mere fact we never see the House on the Rock, which was such an integral part of the book, makes me want a Season 2 sooner rather than later. 

And this we come to the end that's...really not. Again, this is only half the book we're dealing with here. Though if I were to review this series as a Lost in Adaptation, I would strongly commend it. It takes the elements from the book that work, including expanding on characters that need it. It doesn't streamline the story, but rather understands how to make the book episodic. The plot is building up to something, but the book as a series of encounters and meetings feels realized in this depiction. It's not a perfect show due to its pacing problems and some out-of-character elements, but it gets my approval. Gaiman's hand in the production may have bettered my opinion. But as it stands, good book, good series, and a pretty solid adaptation all around. 

Grade: A

Season Grade*: A- 

*Not an average of episode grades; just how I felt about this season as a whole.