American Gods Season 1 Episode 4 – Reaction Breakdown Review

We get a Laura backstory. Laura seems to have a death wish with the bug spray. I’m not really sure what the symbolism is with the bug spray. Then we see her and Shadow meet in the casino where she works. Shadow is trying to cheat at her table and she notices which seems to have stricken a cord with Shadow because he waits for her to get off work. She takes him home and they hook up. The next morning he shows her some card tricks and we get a montage of their relationship and it’s clear he is smitten. The two have a conversation about what happens after death and Laura points out that after death all that happens is ‘you rot’. As they progress through their relationship, we see Laura seems somewhat bored. She tells Shadow that she wants more and they should rob the casino and Shadow is not onboard but gives in. This is how Shadow ends up in prison, some how the perfect plan wasn’t so perfect.

Next we get a series of Laura receiving collect calls from Shadow in prison and going about her life on the outside. One day she comes home to her cat dead on the floor. She asks Robbie for help burying him. She tells him she misses Shadow and the two start kissing. This is the beginning of their relationship. They lead up to the time of Shadow’s release in Episode 1. Laura tries to break it off with Robbie and he wants to leave his wife for Laura. They’re in the car, as Audrey explained to Shadow in the first episode, and the accident happens, killing them both. We see Laura leave her body and is with Anubis. As he tried to take her heart, she does not let him. Anubis tells her as she believed in nothing in life, her afterlife will be darkness. Laura trieds to bargain with him and as he is telling her that’s not how it works, she is resurrected.

Laura climbs out of her grave and walks through the cemetery. She comes upon Shadow hanging from the tree. When Laura looks at Shadow he has an aura around him. This is the same scene when Shadow was attacked by Technical Boy’s minions. Laura has super strength and was the one who destroyed them.

Laura then goes to her home and it is a mess as is she so she gets cleaned up. She is covered in blood from killing the minions. Her arm is also severed. As she is in her home she sees the same light she saw around Shadow and goes to hide in the hot tub. I assume this is when Shadow comes to clean the house out. She then goes to Audrey’s home to sew her arm back on to her body. Her stomach starts to hurt and Audrey walks in and is terrified. Audrey hides in the bathroom and Laura breaks the door and enters and she has to use the bathroom. Apparently the embalming fluid is not sitting well. The two talk it through and Audrey helps Laura sew her arm back on as flies hover around her body.

Laura gets a ride from Audrey and reminds her how shitty of a person she was and that she didnt really love Shadow. The road trip is cut short when they run into Anubis (Mr. Jacquel on earth) and Ibis. Ibis is the God Thoth who is the God of magic and writing. I assume his name is Ibis because he has the head of an Ibis in Egyptian Mythology. He is also the one writing the story earlier when we meet Anansi. Ibis and Mr. Jacquel have a funeral home and the two patch her up for the time being. She returns goes to Shadow’s motel and await his return and as he walks in, again we see this aura around him that only Laura can see and the episode ends.

Onto episode 5, see you soon!

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