American Gods Season 2, Episode 2 recap: The one with all the road trips

In the second episode of American Gods Season 2, everyone takes a road trip with their least favorite person and Shadow must relive his troubled past.

This episode of American Gods picks up where the season premiere left off, post-shootout at the diner. After getting kidnapped, Shadow wakes up in a spaceship-like room hooked up to the same machine Mr. Incredible was hooked up to in The Incredibles, the one that suspends you by your arms and shocks you if interrogation questions aren’t answered within record time; the same machine if it had a headpiece.

As he’s hanging there, none other than the guy from the Allstate commercials walks in (Dean Winters) playing the unknown sniper from the previous episode, Mr. Town. And that’s how Shadow’s morning starts off.

This is why you should never take a vague job from an unknown man you meet on a plane, who looks like Ian McShane with a glass eye and knows way too much about your personal life. You take that job and next thing you know, you’re hooked up to a machine in a dark room getting lectured over your poor life choices. But Shadow was never a good judge of character, just look at his wife.

Road trips

In the wake of Zorya’s death, the Old Gods hold a wake for her in the parking lot where they argue in a typical sibling fashion. Because she was a God, most of them believed Zorya would just be reincarnated but because she had no believers, she’s dead and gone. Czernobog mentions a new Star rising, one who will take Zorya’s place, who they need in their revenge mission. He then leaves, presumably in search of this new Star.

Meanwhile, Wednesday assigns The Jinn and Salim with the task of finding his ancient spear, Gungnir, as he and Nancy hit the road for a road trip that can only be defined as an amusingly debauched couple of hours. You’d think Laura and Mad Sweeney would tag along, but Wednesday ends up stranding them at the diner because according to him, they make a good pair. He’s not wrong, but would it kill him to give a straight answer for once?

Laura, who sees Shadow as a light beam, takes it upon herself to follow his trail and save him, and because Sweeney isn’t leaving the lucky coin lodged in Laura’s stomach, he goes with her.

Most of the four mini-adventures aren’t in any way eventful. Wednesday and Nancy spend most of theirs making witty retorts and Nancy getting angry over a bucket of fried chicken. Salim and The Jinn pretty much disappear after they leave the diner and we don’t see Czernobog at all after the beginning.

Shadow’s flashbacks

As Mr. Town interrogates Shadow, he asks the vital question of why Shadow never relies on himself. He follows the flow of life and never speaks up when the opportunity arises.

Since the start of the series, Shadow has followed the leads of others without question. He attempted a casino heist at Laura’s insistence and joined a war between two sets of Gods because Wednesday told him too; a living man without a life to live, simply existing without a purpose.

More from Drama

• The Serpent Queen season 2 release updates and everything we know
• Is Quantum Leap on tonight? (November 22, 2023)
• Is Magnum P.I. on tonight? (Nov. 22, 2023)
• Miss Scarlet and the Duke returns for season 4 at the top of 2024
• The Way Home season 2 trailer reveals 1800s storyline and release date!

With nowhere to go and nothing to distract him, Shadow is forced to reminisce about the past and the loss of his cultivated mother, what led him on the path of a convicted felon traveling with Gods. Through these brief glimpses into the past, we learn that Shadow’s life wasn’t originally geared towards petty crime. Raised around the world, primarily in France, Shadow grew up with his well-educated single mother who had a painfully astute yet progressive view of the world.

It wasn’t until the brutal reality of prejudices broke all sense of security and his mother’s death left him alone, did he take up violence.

One particular insight the flashbacks offer is the possibility of Shadow being a demi-God. The show previously hinted at this when Shadow was able to make it snow on command and the fact that Laura sees him as a huge beacon of light. Certain moments in Shadow’s past certifies this theory.

While his mother was sick in the hospital, Shadow is introduced to coin tricks by a mysterious man who was clearly a younger Mr. Wednesday. The coin Shadow always carries with him was a gift from Odin, who purposely didn’t reveal his face and risk Shadow recognizing him years later. This means Wednesday has been watching Shadow since early childhood and given how well versed in history and literature his mother was, I’d say Ms. Moon was probably a fan of certain Norse Gods.

Another clue is how Shadow’s mother would tell him that he has a thriving light. This may sound like something any mother would say, but she was clearly being literal.

A two-faced Queen and Media’s vanishing act

After betraying her fellow Gods, Bilquis meets with Mr. World who offers her a position in his ranks. However, she refuses, stating that love and war shouldn’t exist on the same planes.

Bilquis is not happy with her actions, but it was a debt settlement she owed Tech Boy. Now that it’s owed, she wishes to go on her merry way, but as World points out, she’s officially an outcast. Now a traitor to the Old and an enemy of the New, she’s alone with a high chance of not surviving the war.

Meanwhile, Tech Boy is on the hunt for Media who went into hiding after the showdown against Wednesday in the Season 1 finale. The real reason for her absence is that Gillian Anderson left the show and they have to give a reasonable explanation as to why Media will suddenly look different.

Tech Boy gives her an ultimatum, either come out or he’ll force her out. Media’s answer is basically a “no” and Tech Boy is once again empty-handed.

Laura and Mad Sweeney

Everyone’s favorite frenemies are now one step closer to being best friends. While following Shadow’s light beam, the pair runs into multiple obstacles on the road, including a cow, a nail and a magically disappearing road.

As expected, they argue the whole way there, with Laura insisting the Gods are powerless without humans yet they ultimately seek out to ruin the lives of those who worship them, while Sweeney scorns her for blaming others on her mistakes and for cheating on a man who loved her unconditionally.

Their road comes to a stop without warning, almost abnormally one might say, ending at an empty field as Shadow’s beam gets further and further away. Defeated at the frankly irritating obstacles that won’t let them be, Laura lies in the grass like the corpse she is and welcomes the worms. The entire field of flowers around her is very appropriate.

Seeing someone like Laura suddenly give up doesn’t sit well for Sweeney, her self-loathing melts the soft heart we all know hides beneath his macho leprechaun-ness, and he shares a transporting trick he’s been holding out on.

You got to wonder though, why hasn’t he used this before? All the times they traveled long distance with stolen cars, you’d think he’d have shared a teleporting shortcut a bit sooner. The method itself looks to be something awful but it’d have saved them so much time! He calls it his horde, going through the horde, and when they come out, they’re right where Shadow is.

To Valhalla

Shadow and Mr. Town are on a train that Laura and Sweeney quickly aboard. Together, they pretty much slaughter, and I mean slaughter, the guards and find Shadow. Laura crushes a man’s skull in front of her husband, showing the aggression inside her that Shadow always chose to ignore. He looks at his dead wife, flesh rotting away, blood splattering her face and desperate “understand me” eyes in shock and something like fear.

I like Sweeney and Laura as friends, but I just want to say that while Shadow seems put off by Laura’s aggression and cynical personality, no matter how blind he was to it before, Sweeney has no problem with it. Just saying. Zombie + Leprechaun = Best odd couple since Dragon and Donkey.

Further up on the train tracks awaits none other than Wednesday, who knew where Shadow was the whole time. Shady prick. He parks his car on the tracks, and after Nancy ditches in a huff, gives his beloved car a final farewell.

I don’t know if the car was alive or not, but he sure acted like it was. He called it a berserker and promised they’ll meet again in Valhalla. The train then crashes into the car as Wednesday watches the explosion from his glass eye.

I know the book fans are probably giddy with their knowledge of what’s going to happen, but the show is making the big revelation, or one of them, painfully obvious. Spoiler alert! Wednesday is a two-faced rat purposely starting a war against the New Gods with the help of Mr. World. If Gods really were always this annoying, then it’s no wonder why people stopped worshipping them.

The next episode of American Gods will air Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. ET on Starz.