Git Gone brings us to the halfway point into American Gods’ first season. For the first time, the traditional American Gods format has been ditched. And, for the first time, American Gods took a step back on quality storytelling.
Here’s the thing – the first season of American Gods is only 8 episodes. Eight precious hours to move the story forward. There shouldn’t be time to revisit events that were already mentioned in previous episodes.
Git Gone does not open with a vignette involving a God. It doesn’t spend time following Shadow and Wednesday on their trek to gather the Old Gods in preparation of war. Nor does make you think or question your beliefs. It is just a rehashing of story bits that end exactly where the previous episode had.
We spend the entirety of the episode from the perspective of Laura Moon, a character who is not likable, and certainly not as compelling as any other shown thus far. We didn’t need a reminder of her unfaithfulness to Shadow, or her demise in the car crash, or her resurrection.
While this episode was mostly unnecessary, it still holds some value. It is still written well, and the visuals are on point – particularly a bloody Laura hobbling down the street, carrying her arm. This occurs after her demolishing of Technical Boy’s faceless henchmen and saving Shadow from a lynching (from back in the first episode). Laura’s back and forth with Anubis is also a scene worth noting. It is a gripping scene about living a life without faith and a heavy heart.
Some fans may say this is a much needed breath of fresh air. It’s just that most of the episode could have been explained through brief flashbacks and conversational exposition.
If you haven’t yet, read the Monkeys Fighting Robots reviews of the previous episodes:
