What's a god?
Can we even know they exist?
People believe things...
which means they're real.
Welcome to
the world of "American Gods."
You must have questions.
- Yeah. - Let me tell you a story.
Before we begin,
here are some important facts.
Gods are real.
Praise the lords.
Gods live and work in America,
and look like regular people,
but they have varying levels of power.
See? You're hooked.
Just get on with it, huh?
There are old gods,
gods of religion and culture
that were brought over to America by immigrants.
God bless the believers.
Many of the old gods have been long abandoned,
struggling to eke out a living in the modern day.
You deserve better than this.
Then there are new gods.
We're the coming thing. The screen's the altar.
Representing popular trends in society
that we sacrifice our time and attention to.
Better than lamb's blood.
You can't fight progress.
You are what you worship.
The old gods and new gods
are both vying for our worship and belief.
So who are you?
You wouldn't believe in me if I told you.
Our story begins at a prison in Indiana
where we meet Shadow Moon,
an inmate about to be released from prison
after three years.
I love you.
Something feels weird.
Shadow spent his time in prison
for attempting to rob a casino with his wife,
Laura Moon.
I love you, too. What feels weird?
Laura's not the fully supportive wife
that you might expect;
she's been sleeping with Shadow's best friend.
You knew this had an expiration date.
You've been very sweet,
and let goodbye be sweet as well.
Your wife,
she died in the early hours of this morning.
On the flight home, Shadow meets a man
offering him a job as a bodyguard.
What might I call you?
What's today?
- Wednesday. - Today is my day.
Mr. Wednesday,
an old god from Norse mythology.
But don't worry, I've got an eye for these things.
Just the one.
Wednesday arrived in America with the Vikings,
and although they didn't stay,
he remained on the shore.
Of course, Shadow doesn't know anything about this
when he meets Wednesday again.
I could use a fellow like you.
- Workin' for our man, then. - Who are you?
This is Mad Sweeney,
a leprechaun from Ireland
who arrived in America in the 1700s.
You're a little tall for a leprechaun.
That's a stereotype.
Like Shadow, he has a talent for coin tricks.
- How'd you do it? - Tell you what,
I'll fight you for it.
♪♪
Not the reunion you were hoping for.
Oh, shit, Shadow. No one told you?
She died with my husband's cock in her mouth.
Shadow tosses the coin he won from Sweeney
into Laura's grave.
You are dead, Laura Moon.
- I want to go back. - Death is not a debate.
Fuck. You.
♪ Let me tell you that God's come to cut you down ♪
Laura sees a light leading her to Shadow.
Shadow is abducted...
by Technical Boy.
How are you, Shadow?
The personification of modern technology.
You're working for Wednesday.
Fed by the amount of attention
people give their devices.
Kill him.
♪ You may run
♪ For a long time
Laura finds Shadow being lynched
by Technical Boy's children.
♪ Run on
♪ For a long time
♪ Let me tell you that God's gonna cut you down ♪
Shadow wakes up not knowing who
or what saved him,
so he goes to the one person
he thinks might have answers.
The fuck you do?
Well, it depends on who you ask.
I was lynched.
An assault on you is an insult to me.
Don't think because I didn't lose my temper,
I'm not angry or am lacking a plan.
With only one arm still attached,
Laura goes to Audrey's craft room
to sew herself back up.
Laura?
Hey, Audrey.
So what's the plan?
We will be meeting with a number of people
preeminent in their respective fields.
Wednesday is on a mission to unite the old gods
into a war against the new gods.
We need to talk, Shadow.
This is Media,
a new god who appears in many forms,
from television, film, music, and more.
I want to offer you a job.
I want you in my camp with us.
I think I'm losing my mind.
Well, when will you know for sure?
Shadow and Wednesday travel to Chicago.
What's in Chicago?
My hammer.
Searching for Shadow, Laura is stopped by...
Mr. Jacquel and myself, yours truly, Mr. Ibis,
two old gods originally from Egypt.
In America, we run a funeral home,
and take Laura in to restore her deteriorating body.
- Was it love? - I suppose it is now.
That is unfortunate.
In Chicago, Wednesday and Shadow
arrive at the home of...
Zorya Vechernyaya.
He don't going to be happy to see you.
The Zorya sisters,
three old gods from Slavic mythology.
and they share their apartment with Czernobog,
the old Slavic god of death.
Voton.
Nice to see you, Czernobog old friend.
I'm not going with you!
You brought that madness into my life once.
Never again.
Czernobog gambles on a game of checkers.
If Shadow wins, Czernobog will go with them.
But if Shadow loses,
Czernobog gets to smash his head
at a time of his choosing.
Shadow loses.
Just one blow. Is good?
How about another game.
Shadow challenges Czernobog to a rematch,
which he wins.
All right. I'll go to Wisconsin.
Then I'm gonna kill you.
♪♪
Oh, you're up.
We're gonna rob a bank.
What we need is snow, hard.
I want you to think snow.
Think snow.
Uh-oh, look what the goat dragged in.
Give me my coin.
You want your lucky coin back,
make your way to Partridge Cemetery.
There you'll find my wife's grave.
I'll see you in Wisconsin.
Good luck, Mad Sweeney.
As the snowstorm picks up,
Shadow assists Wednesday in conning a bank,
making off with hundreds of deposit slips.
Shadow and Wednesday return to their motel
where Laura is waiting.
Hi, Puppy.
You've gotten yourself mixed up
in some really weird shit, Shadow.
I just need to wrap my head around what I've seen.
Hands where I can see 'em.
You're under arrest, genius.
Technical Boy is summoned by Media,
now appearing as Ziggy Stardust.
Take a look at you, beating up the wrong guy.
Apologize.
Wednesday's collecting monsters.
- He's recruiting. - Apologize.
Back at the motel...
You're the dead wife.
Give me my fuckin' coin, dead wife.
...Mad Sweeney discovers that his coin
is inside Laura, giving her life.
How do you know my husband?
I was told to be at a bar, pick a fight with your man.
Said he wanted to see what your man was made of.
- Who said? - The dude he calls Wednesday.
- Freeze! - She ain't dead.
Oh, you're an asshole, dead wife.
You're an asshole, dead wife!
Okay, how'd you do that?
See that little spider? He's a friend of mine.
Someone big is after you.
The power surges and Media enters,
now in the form of Marilyn Monroe,
followed closely by Mr. World,
the leader of the new gods representing globalization.
They want to help you find your audience.
So you're offering a truce.
No, not a truce.
- A merger. - Yes. Show him.
In an attempt to avoid a war with Wednesday,
the new gods offer to re-brand him
for the modern day
by sending a missile with his name
to attack North Korea,
and gain him new worshippers.
You say merger, I hear exile.
Wednesday rejects their offer.
Did that just happen?
It's still happening.
The new gods murder the police,
and allow Shadow and Wednesday to escape.
At the same time,
the police pull up with Mad Sweeney in tow.
Shadow admits to Wednesday
that Laura is back from the dead.
So your dead wife showed up.
- You scared? - Yeah.
Get in.
Shadow!
Laura reconvenes with Sweeney...
Hi.
...who agrees to help resurrect her for real.
- What the fuck are you? - I'm a leprechaun.
Oh, well, that makes sense.
- Does is now? - No!
Please stop stealing my cab.
They meet Salim,
an Omani business man who recently met a jinn,
or a genie.
After a sexual encounter, they swapped lives,
leaving Salim with his taxi.
Take us to Kentucky.
I'll tell you where to find your jinn.
I'll tell you where to find a whole murder of gods,
demi and otherwise, every goddamn one of 'em.
Welcome to Vulcan, Virginia.
Wednesday takes Shadow to meet the old god Vulcan,
the Roman god of fire and weapons.
He's re-branded himself as a manufacturer of guns,
and bullets.
Trying to start a war, Glad-O-War?
We're at war already, and we're losing.
Come with me to Wisconsin.
When do we leave?
When you can forge me a blade
in the heat of your volcano.
♪♪
After learning of Vulcan's betrayal to the new gods,
Wednesday turns his blade on him.
♪♪
I think we should let Salim go.
I'm only taking this detour for you.
You and that coin in your belly
are the only reasons I'm not driving
straight to House on the Rock.
House on the Rock, Wisconsin.
Go find your man.
With Salim gone,
Laura steals an ice cream truck.
♪♪
Sweeney finally gets his coin back,
but starts to feel guilty,
and returns the coin to Laura.
Shadow and Wednesday wait for suits
to be made for them by Mr. Nancy,
also known as Anansi the Spider,
the West African trickster god.
Once upon a time,
there was a fucking queen.
He tells the story of Bilquis,
the Middle Eastern goddess of love.
Worship me.
Once known as the Queen of Sheba,
she feeds on the love of her worshippers
by consuming them.
Gift me your body.
After arriving in America, her believers dwindled
until she met Technical Boy.
Wanna play?
You owe. I'm calling it in.
He directs Bilquis to go to the House on the Rock.
where the old gods will be meeting.
Wednesday makes another stop on his recruitment mission
at a party for Ostara,
the pagan goddess of Spring and resurrection.
She's re-branded herself as Easter
by partnering with both Jesus and Media.
Candy cream eggs, bunnies and duckies.
You're as forgotten as any of us.
I'm doing just fine.
This is your day.
You do all the work, he gets all the prayers.
That's why we need you.
To fight them, to show them who we are.
They will worship you if you make them pray.
Sweeney calls in a favor with Easter.
Resurrection, can you do it?
Easter discovers that Laura can't be resurrected
because she was killed by a god.
Which fucking god?
Sweeney admits that Wednesday arranged
both Laura's death and Shadow's imprisonment.
Just fucking with us to fuck with us?
What do you think gods do?
Media questions if Easter is still on her side.
You feel you've been treated unfairly?
I feel misrepresented in the media.
Saint Nick took the same deal you did.
The only reason why you're relevant
is because Easter is a Christian holiday.
The new gods gather to put a stop to
Wednesday's threats of war.
We have the guns,
we have the fire power.
You die out either way.
I dedicate these deaths to Ostara.
Which deaths?
Do you want to know my name?
Tell me.
I am Odin!
And you are Ostara of the dawn.
Show them.
Easter casts a drought over America,
taking away the spring.
Tell the believers
they can have it back when they pray for it.
What have you done?
You wanted a war,
you have one.
It will be the war you die in.
I believe.
What do you believe, Shadow?
Everything.
I'd like to have a word with my husband.
That was season one of "American Gods."
And in season two,
Wednesday unites the old gods...
Won't you join us, Shadow?
...and declares war.
Is everyone in here a god?
♪♪
You are in the fairytale now, aren't ya?