American Gods season 3 episode 6, “Conscience of the King” wraps up a storyline 250 years in the making and leaves some questions as to what’s in store for the rest of the season.

Both sides of the war effort are facing new complications in the latest installment of American Gods season 3. Wednesday’s warmongering has taken a quieter, more introspective approach, choosing to speak from the heart and lay his vulnerability on the table to win over Demeter with confessions from their shared past rather than promises of their future. Technical Boy returns to World a shattered version of himself battling a glitch that is causing him to feel emotions, something he confesses that he has not had to face in many years.

Tech and Wednesday have spent many years behind masks of the All Father and technological advances, respectively, both running from emotional trauma of their pasts. Although one has grown exceedingly powerful in a limited amount of time, the other has experienced a steady decline in worship and influence. American Gods uses episode 6 to strip back the masks of our more powerful players and dive into the psyche of both Wednesday and Tech.

How will each side handle these uncovered emotional chinks in their armor? Will Wednesday change his tune after his week with Demeter? Will Tech accept an override after his discussion with World touted his value as a key player in the war effort?

Our American Gods scribes take a look at how these two very divergent stories will play into the final acts of the season and take a spoiler-heavy look at how other events of the episode are making it appear likely that Lakeside will be brought to a close by the end of season 3.

SPOILER WARNING: At the very end of our discussion, there are spoilers below the marked section that discuss the outcome of major plot points in Neil Gaiman’s novel American Gods novel.

‘American Gods’ season 3, episode 6 review in conversation

Brittany: To start off this week the first of the wars in America — The Revolutionary War — is winding down and we meet up with Odin and Tyr, two war gods who are looking for their next conquest. The dynamic duo turn their attention away from the shiny gold spoils of war and toward a more unattainable reward, Demeter. This “Coming to America” flashback of Tyr, Odin, and Demeter spans a bit of the episode, but in this opening we get descriptions of these characters penned by Wednesday, in the care facility. What did you think of Odin’s portrayal of himself and Tyr in this setting, versus how it was acted. Clearly we see the actor playing Tyr more aware of losing battle he is marching into with Odin at his side. What did you think Wednesday’s endgame was at this point?

Natalie: When we opened on the young Gods and had Wednesday’s voice-over telling the story, I had absolutely no idea what was going on, and unfortunately became very distracted by the hotness of Young Odin. It was interesting to see them in younger, fresher bodies, and to learn that Tyr was the one originally courting Demeter, but endgame wise I was really not sure where we were at until it became apparent later that this was a scene from Wednesday’s shadow play. Did you have anything in particular in mind about what it was?

Brittany: When the scene cut pulled back from the retelling and we saw Wednesday scribbling frantically at the desk on these giant sheets of paper, it seemed like a manic act. I wasn’t sure how to contextualize it. We’ve seen cuts to Ibis writing in prior seasons, but this felt crazed and was sort of supported by the fact that Hank comes in and tells Wednesday that he worked through dinner.

Obviously, this did tie in to being another of his schemes to win over Demeter, but the intensity that it was given felt very like something we haven’t really seen from this character before. Thinking about it now, knowing the rest of the context of the story, he was working through getting this buried story out of his psyche. An actual glimpse of Wednesday working on Wednesday, as we said last time. But the actual endgame of the shadow play was definitely news. What these residents (and staff) must think of him. He wins them all over, but sure, let’s go spend our time watching this man put on a very sad play.

Natalie: I must say that when Wednesday bet Demeter one night to win over her heart, I was not expecting it to come via the medium of theater.

Brittany: Not even on my radar of possibilities.

Natalie: I have a lot of questions about the dynamic with the staff, especially our friend Hank. It seems like Demeter is trying to get Wednesday to fail his week trial – planting drugs in his stuff, and later trying to frame him for flowerpot damage – she does not want him to win, does not want to hear what he has to say. But the drug manifestation lets us get to know Hank better, and I must say I find it hilarious how much all these nursing home staff are just going along with Wednesday?

Like, Hank, he is your patient in a mental ward! Why are you treating him with any authority? Or is everyone aware that Wednesday is quite well and is in there by choice to spend time with Ms Wells? It’s confusing – surely they can’t just release one mental patient into the care of another mental patient? Which is what Wednesday was aiming for… anyway. Hank defers to Wednesday’s advice about romance pretty quickly, and it seems Wednesday has the whole home wrapped around his little finger.

Brittany: I do think his influence is at an 11 inside the facility. He is very open about everything that is going on, never throws Demeter under the bus, he’s annoyed meeting all these roadblocks with her, but watching him schmooze everyone from Hank to Elsa was actually amusing. It is something to chew on though, this almost ease in bending to his will and being seen by him. Hank is enamored with the fact that Wednesday sees value in him, Elsa too, especially when he compliments her paintings, even the two guards who trail Hank in the greenhouse are ready to drag away a troublemaker but instead they are greeted with an apology. Plus, everyone involved with the play is so excited to be there. The accompanist looked like he was playing as if a Broadway transfer was on the line.

Natalie: This is a home for very rich people, I think, so I assume that any time a resident has an extracurricular activity they’re focusing on that isn’t harming anyone, they indulge the whim. But indeed, everyone was EXTREMELY into it. Hank slightly misinterprets the script, though, and assumes that Wednesday’s character is Tyr because Odin is… “a colossal asshole.” To his credit Wednesday takes that in stride because this entire event seems to be about flagellating himself. He knows he is an asshole. His One Night with Demeter seems to be dedicated to proving to her that he knows he was wrong and feels terrible. He isn’t really making excuses for himself. It’s all weirdly earnest. And then the play spells out what happened 250 years ago.

Brittany: I might just be starved for a good romcom movie, but I always appreciate a grand gesture.

Natalie: I mean, I’m just over here rooting for Tyr – good, noble and true.

Brittany: You definitely nailed it last time we talked about the couple losing a baby and that grief has never been processed by either of them. Demeter locked herself away and Wednesday dialed his antics up to an absurd level. But Tyr, good old Tyr. Sigh. He just keeps Wednesday at bay, placating him all of these years since he took the one thing he loved and wanted and damaged it beyond repair. So he turned to a life of being “an oral health janitor” while Wednesday went out and waged wars and stayed in the friend zone.

Natalie: I WAS right about them losing a child, but I have questions. How does a baby god just die?

Brittany: I was trying to sort that out as well. But I am no expert on god-science.

Natalie: Either way, I found the dynamic between the three of them fascinating. Tyr and Demeter have this great friendship, she acknowledges that she and Odin had this uncontrolled chemistry that totally wasn’t fair on her long distance pen pal Tyr and he takes it with grace and remains a good friend to the couple when they get together. And of course he shows up to support her at the play when he heard Wednesday was up to some antics. But the scene where he overhears the two friends talking about how much it sucks to love him was the most interesting to me. They’re only all three together for a moment, but it was SUCH a moment from these actors. I just really admire the level of acknowledgement Demeter has for how wonderful Tyr is – “not a false bone in his body” – kind of acknowledging the heartache that came from not being able to passionately love him instead.

Brittany: They had 250 years worth of conversations in that one moment. As if they just knew exactly what would be said and what would come to pass if they had it out and it was more powerful for just letting them exist in the same space then acknowledge it aloud.

Demeter and Tyr’s friendship is beautiful and we don’t even see much of it. But it is so implied by those actors and by the backstory we get — an actual unbiased Wednesday hero-tale! Who would have thought we would see the day? The moment at the end when Tyr is left alone with Wednesday just for a beat, and he still after all that gives Wednesday advice — “It’s hard to see if you care, just ask her what she wants and listen to the answer.” He didn’t have to do that. And yet… and YET. He’s a good war god. I also secretly really wanted to see the story told entirely as a shadow play… sigh.

Natalie: Yes! I think they could have gotten away with it. But again, young Odin, so hot, like an evil Harry Styles.

Brittany: To be 100% honest, didn’t clock him or young Tyr at all. Zero impression. Sorry to those men.

Natalie: As a War God, I believe that Tyr in mythology is more about justice – which is certainly coming through here. And he won’t be shamed for his dentistry.

Brittany: He has that nice collection of teeth! What more could he want in his war chest? I do want to talk a bit about the final confession at the door and the fact that Demeter chooses to hide herself away one last time was crippling. She gives Wednesday the answer he wants to get him to go away. Which, I definitely felt was going to go the way it did. She was never going to go with him and the only way for her to get away was to go for good. I really enjoyed how it played out, how this grief was just overwhelming for her that she couldn’t be angry with Wednesday either, but what was left if she wasn’t angry with him was just too much for her to confront after all this time. Did you think she was going to go with him?

Natalie: I thought she might go with Tyr, actually – that she organized herself to be signed over to him. I did think that the closed door conversation was honest. She believed him about his inability to cope with the unknown enemy (the grief) and agreed that she needed to stop hiding away. Obviously the part where Odin talked about shedding a tear together before leading the gods to victory was not exactly what she wanted to do, but reminded me of the point that Odin has been trying to make the whole time, and what he says to Tyr – all these different contradictions can be true. His depth of feeling can be 100% real (which I now believe it is) but he can also want to put her power to work in the world. For Odin, these different angles aren’t contradictions really – they are all complementary. But I wasn’t expecting her to rejoin the world by literally giving her essence back to the universe.

Brittany: There were two lines that really got me in that moment – one from Odin early where he says, “I felt ambushed by an enemy I didn’t know,” and the other from Demeter after Odin says what you mentioned about leading the gods to triumph where she says, “there you are.” I think they are both getting back to the root of why they would never work together, except Wednesday has his eyes on something he wants. Demeter just finally works out that she needs to give herself back to the universe in this way that doesn’t entangle her with anyone.

Natalie: My main thought about this was like – this has been Wednesday’s main plot all season, right? And now it just went up in sparkly smoke. Does it feel like a waste to you, story wise? Do you think it’s a waste to him, emotionally? Or do you think he needed to get something back from revisiting this relationship no matter how it ended?

Brittany: It was definitely not a waste to me. American Gods has been taking big swings with these characters for a while now and I think that sending Wednesday in this direction was actually very fruitful. I hope that this leaves just a bit of this vulnerability unlocked, which I think Cordelia will play a major role in doing. He is going off with someone who truly cares for his well-being instead of going off alone or back with Shadow who is hostile on his best day. Did you not enjoy it? Or did you want something different for him?

Natalie: No, I did enjoy it! I’m just wondering what comes next from here, whether this experience has fundamentally changed him or softened him – basically, there was a point to this, and I’m curious to find out what it was. That is not to say that I’m watching saying “that was pointless.” There IS a point to it, and I am keen to see basically what the cause and effect of this experience is.

Brittany: Yeah I agree. I think it worked well to give Shadow time in Lakeside and with the Bilquis road trip that Wednesday wasn’t pulling him away all this time. He was contained and not rallying for the cause. Different, but not a bad thing in my book.

Natalie: Wednesday’s experience this week was entirely contained, aside from the potential of a little something or other that we might visit in a spoiler section at the end. He didn’t hear from Shadow, it was all just very tightly centered for him and now I guess he and Cordelia will hit the road again. Shadow and Laura, however, have a story together that dips in and out a little. A very interesting reunion I think.

Brittany: It played out exactly how I had imagined it would, but it was still very good to watch. A lot of unsaid/unresolved emotions coming to light for the father and son duo this episode!

Natalie: I was honestly relieved – I didn’t REALLY think that they’d still be clinging to their roles as husband and wife, but I think I needed to actually see it, see the level of detachment. I have quite a few thoughts about Shadow’s loyalty to Wednesday, though. Dad or not. They’re the same questions I often return to – Wednesday had Laura killed in order to manipulate Shadow into taking this path. How is that not a dealbreaker? How does he not just find Wednesday totally evil? That one factor – that Shadow knows Wednesday had Laura killed – is such a sticking point for me. Maybe he still doesn’t believe it, or maybe he’s like oh well, she got better…

Brittany: I can’t quite place where this loyalty comes from, dad or not. He didn’t do anything when his mother was dying, didn’t come for him. There isn’t anything on the table that Wednesday is offering Shadow to earn this blind devotion. But Laura doesn’t seem to hold it over him too much, she takes it in stride, allowing herself to experience the closure she can get from Shadow even if it isn’t the coordinates of Wednesday’s location. Maybe she just knows and recognizes this as a part of Shadow’s wiring. The same way he was so devoted to her.

Natalie: Shadow seems very detached from that element of Wednesday – both the wife murder and the manipulation of his life path. It kind of feels like he’s in it now, and so just accepts it is what it is? Or maybe making snow is a fine trade off? Obviously we spend lots of time with Wednesday trying to understand him, but just the basic human facts of the situation are still so odd to me. Shadow adored Laura, and I don’t think he loves Wednesday more than he loved Laura, but it’s so confusing. Obviously he’s spent time with Wednesday getting fond of him before he found out the actual truth of what things Wednesday did, and so maybe he just finds it hard to reconcile, but he isn’t willing to aid and abet Wednesday’s murder, just like he defended Wednesday in the end of American Gods season 2.

Still so strange to me, when all the sympathetic characters were warning Shadow about Wednesday. His stubbornness puts him on the side of the bad guy here. But I guess Shadow just left Laura to her attempts, like well, one of them might kill the other then I’ll pick a fave and say I was rooting for them. Shadow’s response to Laura saying Wednesday killed her has never made Shadow look very good to me in this aspect. However, I enjoyed the element of this being two people who know each other very well and are friendly. Laura jibing about his apartment and all, and of course the meeting with Marguerite.

Brittany: Agreed. I thought it was a nice end to that chapter for them as a couple and sets them up to meet again on these new terms whatever they may be. I did quite enjoy that he introduced Marguerite to his “late wife.” And, like Tyr with Wednesday, she gives her ex just a bit of a boost with his new lady before she heads out to meet up with Salim.

Natalie: The late wife comment destroyed me. And the shoving apart from the hug. They almost have a brother/sister bratty dynamic now.

Brittany: I did quite enjoy the Shadow in Lakeside moments this episode. He is really integrated well for someone who keeps leaving. He is getting dinner invites, attending town meetings, connecting with Chad, and painting his apartment.

Natalie: The town meeting – the level of anger about Alison being missing – was quite intense. I felt bad for Chad, but again, NO major crimes since 1981? Despite… maybe that’s better for the spoiler section. His response, the way that one lady accused him at being home at 10:45pm…

Brittany: That and Ann-Marie and her need to be in control is really driving me crazy. I am on Team Chad. He is doing his best, but he is taking all of this on himself.

Natalie: Chad has the right to be upset at the townspeople but he feels only guilt. And honestly. I feel bad for Alison’s parents, I do, but the way the town is acting, in this mob like anger – they should go online and read about how many missing persons cases don’t get solved elsewhere in the country. Lakeside has spoiled them.

Brittany: Yeah, it is Lakeside against the world. Things don’t happen there. But the people there are complex as we come to learn a bit more about Marguerite and her family.

Natalie: Indeed. Shadow takes Laura’s advice to make his place more homey and chooses millennial pink.

Brittany: “It’s salmon mist!”

Natalie: Apparently Ann-Marie would not approve either way.

Brittany: She would not.

Natalie: The pair raise a few eyebrows together about the level of control AM Hinzelmann is trying to assert over the town, as you say. A lot of fingers in a lot of pies.

Brittany: At least Shadow is catching on to this fact. As we’ve discussed early this season we need to keep an eye on her. But before we get her reveal, we do see Shadow dance (good), see some trees in his painting (odd), clean up for dinner (also good), and have a run in with Marguerite’s sister, Sam Black Crow. I’m very glad she was back and that we’re at least laying more familiar groundwork, including more details about the lost Olsen son.

Natalie: Sam was a surprise, not book-wise but pacing wise. Sam arriving in Lakeside and nearly outing Shadow is a huge part of the book and I just wasn’t expecting it in this episode! But when Margie said sister, I knew. Sam acts quite antagonistically to him – I mean, this random guy is living under a fake name next to your sister – but they didn’t part on bad terms or anything like that, so it’s more just a ruthless teasing.

Brittany: Which was perfect. She sensed he wasn’t exactly a threat per say and as long as things are above board, she seems fine leaving well enough alone.

Natalie: Do you think Sam is staying in town for long? In the book she has a fairly iconic Lakeside moment that hasn’t happened yet. Do you think that will happen this season?

Brittany: It seems as if she is in enough contact with Marguerite that she will be back soon. She definitely sets them up to enjoy each other’s company, but they are getting them out ice skating (which to be fair, I’ve seen pictures of when early photos of the season were released), so if we’re getting out on the ice, I think Sam is going to make it back sooner rather than later. We’ve seen imagery of the Thunderbirds over Lakeside already, now the sticker on the car again, if they are setting her up now without the payoff this season I would be shocked. Seems like a waste to bring her in for this and then we don’t see her again.

Since things are shuffled around, I could see it happening this season. I feel as if a lot of things are coming to a head in this episode to set the stage for the inciting action of the season to finally take off. I felt it here when Sam drove away and we see Shadow chase down the panty-stealer, when Wednesday sits in the window, and with two other plot points which we’ll get to. But yeah, it’s definite bringing all the plots back on to fewer tracks.

Natalie: Yes. In terms of tracking the book, I think we are going to get basically to the climax of the Lakeside drama this season. And that involves Sam, it involves the missing persons case, it involves Shadow having to move on from Lakeside, it may well involve someone else we know and love… And in the very endgame of the book, we learn it involves coordination between certain parties that I think we saw a glimpse of in this episode. We’ll revisit the extreme book spoilers at the end of this chat. In the mean time it seems Mabel’s server Derek is the panty thief but I feel fairly certain he didn’t kidnap or murder Alison.

Brittany: I think he is taking the opportunity of the distraction of Alison to cash in on his crime spree. Sees an opportunity and runs with it. I kind of thought Shadow would get caught at the end. But I’m glad he didn’t.

Natalie: Caught in his fake identity?

Brittany: No, with the bag of ladies underwear! Just an unnecessary complication. But it didn’t happen.

Natalie: Oh LOL. Yes indeed. I assume if he takes that to Chad and says “hey, I saw this happen” Chad will believe him. Or I hope so. But what shame Derek has brought on the town.

Brittany: Shame Derek, shame. No more fist bumps for you. Chad just needs help, I think he’ll take it. Plus Shadow has an alibi and Marguerite would be on his side this time.

Natalie: So meanwhile back at the motel outside of Lakeside, the TV is talking to Salim. Lovely and normal. When Laura returns and they talk about this, I felt more strongly the thing we spoke about last week — that everyone in the Salim story is fixated on finding the Jinn or getting over the Jinn, but the universe is trying to invite Salim to take a wider look. Laura basically dismisses the fact the TV was talking to Salim as him needing to get over the Jinn and find a new life, and I was sort of like, there might be a bigger issue here.

Brittany: Yeah, exactly. He is still hyper-fixated and I get Laura’s reaction (which she says as she clutches Sweeney’s ashes) but the idea that he is still new to all of this and may have some role in it all is on the table and should be paid some attention. He does have some tactical skills that prove to be useful as well. He uses the Motel America business center to track Wednesday and link him to the band performing in the Norse underbelly of America — Ohio. Plus he points out the obvious — she still needs the spear. She can find Wednesday, but then what?

Natalie: Truth. This little team is a little bit stuck. Especially when it turns out their lead is dead – the gig is cancelled. Maybe they should go back and ask the TV, honestly.

Brittany: I’m sure Media would be happy to help them at this point.

Natalie: Of course, they are met by an unlikely ally who claims to have a common goal – Mr World, this time dressed as Danny Trejo.

Brittany: The most calming of the Worlds.

Natalie: 100% the nicest and kindest iteration so far – but whether that’s in any way genuine, I doubt. However, he puts on the Danny suit when wanting to play nice with the long lost Tech Boy, so we can loop back and follow the thread that leads to World ending up with Laura in Ohio. Tech is where we left him, in a warehouse full of his old technological advancements, attempting to run some diagnostics on how he’s glitching and malfunctioning. The computer keeps asking about the condition he’s feeling these emotions, and being accused of having emotions at all is not something that Tech is very happy about.

Brittany: Very much annoyed by this revelation. He is not impressed that he “caught feelings” and explains it as such to World when he meets a dead end with his diagnostic saying he thinks he “picked up some malware.” Tech does keep saying he has had emotions before but now they are too much.

Natalie: When Tech returns to New Gods HQ, he seems to very much do it on his own terms but quietly, after a bit of posturing, is actually there to ask for help. He admits with great difficulty that something is wrong and that this Artifact 1 is needed to run further diagnostics or restore himself. Asks, though it pains him, if World knows what that is. And to my amazement, we get this very gentle, parental exchange going on – lots of comforting and soothing Tech about how important and treasured he is. This seems in response to Tech announcing that World had tried to replace him, and didn’t even know he had gone. World spends all days with the faceless goons he sometimes chooses to make faces for, but Tech is another actual god – maybe that counts for something. What did you think about this somewhat emotional exchange? This tactic World is now taking?

Brittany: This was the first time where we see World asking where Tech is and how it was possible for him to go completely offline. Then seeing Tech come in with his glitch and trying to reign in his emotions to keep the glitching in check while he asks for help was a lot. I kind of felt like when we met him in American Gods season 1 he was like a spoiled kid with daddy’s credit card, running around with his fancy hair and limos. Then when that power got checked and when he couldn’t deliver on the final pieces to bring the Shard to existence and he isn’t living up to the family expectations, he starts to spiral, complicated now by whatever it is that Bilquis did to him. But now that we see this stripped down Tech with his track suit and soft hair, crawling back for help. And instead of being met with a bat to the head like the goons, he is treated with a huge amount of kindness which was shocking to me. He is reassured that he is going to play a huge role in this project, he is the processor of all this data — it flows through him to become something meaningful.

He is a god and a son, more particularly the one that World cares about the most. I think this tactic will work on Tech for now, but I also don’t want to have this emotional vulnerability shut off with a reset. And I have a feeling he might come to the same realization. World clearly has a bunch of things going on, but this one he seems confident he can bury even with Tech’s questions. Do you think that World is going to try to do a hard reset on Tech? Or that Tech will get out of it? I think he might go seek out Bilquis again before it comes to anything with World. Play the loyal son, but go off before anything happens. That’s my prediction.

Natalie: Obviously World’s phone call lets us know that at least some of his sympathy was an act. He tells someone else, yeah so Tech Boy has totally lost his shit. Which is true! And may be the way you would bluntly tell someone that someone else (even someone you cared about) had something going wrong. But do you think World’s behaviour was 100% an act? Tech seemed to believe it. World was going to check up on his spooky crystal which may or may not be Artifact 1, and it kind of sounds after the fact like Tech was just another problem. So why he took the tactic to soothe him could have many reasons: he could genuinely need him for the project, he could genuinely care with a facet of him…

Brittany: The shift to Danny Trejo makes it impossible! I can’t tell!

Natalie: Maybe Danny is the face World wears when he’s most in touch with his emotions. But Crispin doesn’t care. Maybe Tech has met Danny before and knows to believe Danny.

Brittany: That’s a good point. I did believe it partially, mainly the bit about them needing Tech as a processor.

Natalie: So Tech has no answers yet, he has just been assured he is an essential worker despite his deeply normal hair. But he has a pretty big clue that the issue is emotion. And did he sort of say he used to have them?

Brittany: That’s what I took away from it. I feel like we are getting two stories of very different sons who are both essential to their father’s ultimate plan, but not exactly clued in on what it will entail when the endgame arrives. We have Shadow who comes in with all the emotion, it’s what drives him to respond the way he does to the situation until he is at a place of emotional detachment. Then we have Tech who comes from this void of emotions, driven entirely by orders with no questions who is now breaking down to a place of questioning his place based on these feelings that he isn’t used to grappling with. I like it, more please. While World toys with the artifact, safe and sound 2 miles underground, he also shifts the focus back to moving another chess piece to his advantage — Laura Moon. Back on the map, as he says.

But who did he say it to? We have a pretty good idea, but if you want to avoid speculation about some big twists in American Gods the novel, STOP READING TO AVOID BOOK SPOILERS now.

Natalie: So jumping into extreme spoilers…. Can we assume that was Wednesday on the phone?

Brittany: I 100% thought that.

Natalie: It’s definitely the right timing for Wednesday and World to pull off their con that happens to close out the Lakeside period, with Wednesday’s death. I feel fairly sure that the next few episodes will return to the book closely in terms of the Lakeside mystery getting solved, Shadow getting outed and arrested, and witnessing Wednesday’s death.

Brittany: I agree, I don’t think this will spill into the next season and it felt like a few things were coming to a head here, especially with World, that set the stage for the final 4 episodes. Plenty of time I think to pull it off.

Natalie: Speaking of the spoilers, I do not understand how Lakeside has had no major crimes when a kid is taken every single year! Do the rest of them simply “run away” or do they forget about it? Sandy Olsen isn’t forgotten…

Brittany: Ann-Marie loves to spin a story, maybe she has more influence over the town by telling and retelling stories of what missing kids are up to/bringing in new people as a sacrifice — like, how many car crashes are there each year to have their pick of klunkers? Seems suspect. Lots of black ice I guess. But… still…

Natalie: I feel we will find out in the coming weeks. I also feel like if we get to the end of Lakeside and Wednesday’s death this season, they could probably wrap up the book narrative in one more season of American Gods, but it depends on how much they want to tease out the side stories. Because after that happens is fairly direct – Shadow does the vigil, works out who he is (which he already knows in American Gods the show) and what Wednesday is doing, the two-man con, and things culminate at Rock City.

Brittany: Yeah, I think that is the road map we have ahead of us. And I think it would work out quite well.

Natalie: I guess in the book the Klunker mystery actually gets revealed in the epilogue. Like the God War climaxes and Shadow has clarity of the lakeside sitch and goes back to find the bodies and confront Hinzelmann. Do you think they’ll do that here, or finish up Lakeside once and for all and leave it behind?

Brittany: I think they will wrap it up here, it makes the most sense narratively for TV I think.

Natalie: Could be, yeah. Structurally. Though there are some reasons why maybe they wouldn’t do it. Anyway, there are 10 episodes this season and I expect things to get very intense from here on out.

Brittany: Same, it’s definitely not going to be an easy ride.

American Gods season 3 airs Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET on Starz.